22nd August 2009, SOSSA PELAGIC TRIP, WOLLONGONG, NSW, AUSTRALIA.
Report prepared by: P.J. Milburn.
Departed: 07:15 returned at 16:20.
Sea conditions: calm at first then NW to 0.5m.
Swell: negligible.
Weather: clear skies at first with cloud developing from the north later.
Temperature range: 9.9 to 18.6°C.
Barometric pressure: 1015 HPa falling.
Wind: calm at first then changeable westerly
breezes becoming NW at 5 to 8 knots.
Sea surface temperature: 16.5 to 18.5°C.
Primary chumming locations: 34° 31'S : 151° 12'E and 34° 32'S : 151° 18'E.
Summary:
A weak high-pressure ridge was developing over
southeastern Australia in the wake of a fast
moving cold front that had passed through the
region overnight. A deep depression located well
to the south of Tasmania was too distant to
affect local conditions. Accordingly, we left
port in calm conditions under a clear blue sky.
Post-spawning Giant Cuttlefish (Sepia aparma)
were evident on the surface outside the harbour
and we were eager to see what might be feeding on
these carcasses. The calm conditions were almost
surreal with land birds such as Galahs and
Welcome Swallows featuring early on. Conditions
were ideal for observing marine mammals and,
following reports of orcas in the area during the
week, the hopes of those interested in creatures
other than birds were also raised. Two Little
Penguins seemed embarrassed by how obvious their
presence was and remained on the surface as we
passed. Birds were scarce however and only 2
Black-browed Albatross were observed over the
inshore reefs.
A juvenile Indic Yellow-nosed Albatross and a
smattering of Fluttering and Hutton's Shearwaters
held the stage until we were well offshore and
finally, our harbinger of spring, the first
Wedge-tailed Shearwater of the 2009 breeding
season was observed at the 60-fathom line.
White-fronted Terns began to tag along with us
until we had at least 9 birds following astern
and eventually perched on the boat.
A WHITE-FACED STORM-PETREL and a Solander's
Petrel heralded our arrival at the edge of the
continental shelf. Since the former species has
become very scare in Wollongong waters in recent
years we hauled up and set up a drift-and-berley
session. The storm-petrel remained in view for
several minutes and, gradually, we accumulated a
small flock of albatross. After some
deliberation a small grey headed cauta type
albatross was identified as a first year SALVIN'S
ALBATROSS.
Unusually, as we left our berley trail, more
albatross appeared suggesting that perhaps these
birds had been holding their distance in the calm
conditions. Irrespective of the cause we were
very pleased to receive the arrival of a male and
female Gibson's Albatross, 2 first year
White-capped Albatross and a 4th year BULLER'S
ALBATROSS. We elected to head eastward to the
600-fathom line and, as we prepared to stop for a
second drift-and-berley session, a New Zealand
Cape Petrel appeared over our wake.
A 'leopard morph' Diomedea attracted attention as
it circled the boat, being larger than the
Gibson's Albatross. The SOSSA banding team
captured the bird easily as it charged toward the
boat, showing considerable aggression towards the
other albatross present. Morphometric data
confirmed its identity as a female TRISTAN
ALBATROSS. By contrast, two female WANDERING
ALBATROSS showed little inclination toward a
close approach.
Several more WHITE-FACED STORM-PETREL were
observed as we approached the edge of the
continental shelf on the return leg of the
cruise. Several Campbell Albatross and a Brown
Skua were additions to the species tally along
with a Little Pied Cormorant just outside the
breakwater.
Despite the perfect conditions no marine mammals
or fish were observed on this trip. In contrast
there were plenty of albatross in view all day,
many following us right back to the harbour
entrance.
Highlights:
A very pleasant winter day that was dominated by
albatross sightings; 10 species in all that
included WANDERING, TRISTAN, BULLER'S and
SALVIN'S ALBATROSS.
Birds recorded according to the latest
Environment Australia Reporting Schedule:
Species code: Species name: Numbers:
(Note: numbers in parenthesis = highest count at any one time)
005 Little Penguin Eudyptula minor 2 (2)
080 New Zealand Cape Petrel Daption capense australe 1
971 Solander's Petrel Pterodroma solandri 5 (3)
068 Fluttering Shearwater Puffinus gavia 585+ (500+)
913 Hutton's Shearwater P. huttoni 36 (25)
069 Wedge-tailed Shearwater P. pacificus 8 (4)
086 WANDERING ALBATROSS Diomedea exulans 2 (2)
845 TRISTAN ALBATROSS D. dabbenena 1 female
847 Gibson's Albatross D. gibsoni 11 (8)
088 Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophrys 8 (3)
859 Campbell Albatross T. impavida 4 (4)
931 BULLER'S ALBATROSS T. bulleri 1
091 Shy Albatross T. cauta 1 (1)
861 White-capped Albatross T. steadi 2 (2)
862 SALVIN'S ALBATROSS T. salvini 1
089 Indic Yellow-nosed Albatross T. carteri 35 (15)
065 WHITE-FACED STORM-PETREL Pelagodroma marina dulciae 4 (1)
104 Australasian Gannet Morus serrator 10 (5)
100 Little Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax melanoleucos 1
106 Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicillatus 3 (2)
980 Brown Skua Catharacta lonnbergi 1
125 Silver Gull Larus novaehollandiae 75+ (35+)
114 White-fronted Tern Sterna striata 5 (1)
115 Crested Tern S. bergii 35 (15)
In the harbour:
100 Little Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax melanoleucos 2 (2)
106 Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicillatus 7 (7)
16 species of procellariiformes in a total of 24
species of seabird identified outside the
breakwater.
Other birds
131 Sooty Oystercatcher Haematopus fuliginosus 4 (2)
273 Galah Cacatua roseicapilla 11 (11)
357 Welcome Swallow Hirundo neoxena 4 (4)
Mammals
None
Reptiles
None
Fish
None
For previous trip reports and selected images from this trip visit
http://www.sossa-international.org/
Future Trips
All Pelagic Trips from NSW are operated at no
profit to the organizers, being operated as group
boat charters for the benefit of all who wish to
join us. If you would like to join one of these
trips please contact us as detailed below:
To make a booking on the SOSSA Wollongong Pelagic
Trips that departs on the 4th Saturday of each
month contact:
SOSSA: Phone 02 4271 6004.
Email:
Carl Loves Phone: 0427 423 500
Pete Milburn: Mobile 0428 249 506, 02 6255 1313 (AH) or 02 6125 4173 (BH)
Note: SOSSA = Southern Oceans Seabird Study Association
--
Dr P.J Milburn
Technology Specialist
Australian Cancer Research Foundation Biomolecular Resource Facility
John Curtin School of Medical Research
Australian National University
GPO Box 334
Canberra ACT 0200
'Phone +61 2 6125 4326
FAX +61 2 6125 9533
==============================www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
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