Hi all,
Last Thursday, Alan Stuart and I, as members of the Hunter BOC, joined the
local Marine Parks Authority for a sea bird survey off Port Stephens, just to
the north of Newcastle, NSW. It was a great success with a good variety and
number of birds observed as well as being an educational experience for the
park rangers.
The highlight (for me anyway) was the number of Solander's Petrels that came in
to the boat with at least 20 birds observed during the course of the day.
Several of these birds displayed an extremely grey wash in their fresh plumage,
not just on the upperwing but also on the body of the bird. Some birds were
silver-grey all over, save for the browner head, primaries and coverts. We also
had good views of a Gould's Petrel that investigated the slick for a short
period. A Common Noddy was also seen on two occasions though it was difficult
to determine if it was the same bird both times or not.
Birds observed - Total (max. number around boat at one time):
Wilson's Storm-Petrel 6 (1)
Wedge-tailed Shearwater 200+ (25)
Flesh-footed Shearwater 200+ (20)
Short-tailed Shearwater 4 (2)
Solander's Petrel 20+ (4)
Great-winged Petrel 10 (2) (one bird in particular appeared more like a
nominate race bird)
GOULD'S PETREL 1 (1)
Australasian Gannet 3 (2) (all imm.)
Common Noddy 2? (1)
Pomarine Jaeger 3 (2)
Arctic Jaeger 2 (1)
It is hoped that these surveys will occur regularly in the future.
Cheers,
Mick Roderick
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