Hi all,
The Hunter BOC held their inaugural Seawatch on Saturday 28th June, attended by
around 20 people (‘inaugural’ in an organised sense, that is). The Seawatch was
done from Fort Drive, Newcastle (near Nobby’s Beach) which provides a good
vista onto the ocean at the point where ocean birds seem to come closest to the
coast at Newcastle (Newcastle Baths). Though having said that, birds generally
do not appear to come in as close to shore off Newcastle as they do at the
other well-known seawatching sites (eg Maroubra, Soldiers Point).
Conditions were favourable for a comfortable and leisurely seawatch, which
translated as not so ideal conditions for seeing multiple birds. A gentle
westerly breeze combined with a moderate swell meant that the seas were
generally calm. We did manage to see some good birds including 2 species of
Albatross and some Fluttering-type Shearwaters that were just too far away to
call an ID. A White-fronted Tern made several passes along the rock platform,
enabling excellent flight views. An Aussie Pelican was seen flying east until
it was about 2km offshore before doing a u-turn and heading back for the coast
– we wondered what it’s motives were.
Whale numbers were far fewer than recent weeks though a large, leaping pod of
Bottlenose Dolphins that joined the surfers off the Cowrie Hole made for a
great spectacle.
The following were seen on or over the ocean:
Birds:
Black-browed Albatross – 12
Yellow-nosed Albatross – 2
Fluttering-type Shearwater – 7
Australasian Gannet – 14Little Pied Cormorant – 2
Pied Cormorant – 2
Great Cormorant – 1
Australian Pelican – 1
Crested Tern – 11
White-fronted Tern – 1
Silver Gull – 30+
Mammals:
Humpback Whale – 10+
Bottlenose Dolphin – c. 20
We will be running an organised Seawatch off Newcastle monthly, on the last
weekend of the month or thereabouts. For further info if you are interested,
contact me at this email.
Regards,
Mick Roderick
Get the name you always wanted with the new y7mail email address.
www.yahoo7.com.au/mail
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