birding-aus

Albany Pelagic Trip Report - 4th May 2014

To: "" <>, Birding-Aus <>
Subject: Albany Pelagic Trip Report - 4th May 2014
From: John Graff <>
Date: Sat, 17 May 2014 21:54:13 +0800
Hi all,

I've also finished the report for the 
Albany Pelagic trip run on the 4th May this year. This report with photos
 is viewable online at 
http://wabirdingblog.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/albany-pelagic-trip-4-may-2014.html
 but again I include the text-only version below.

Highlights
 included more Black-bellied Storm-Petrel, two more 
South Polar Skua, a dark intermediate Soft-plumaged Petrel, and three Arctic 
Terns

Cheers,
John

Participants: Alan Collins (Organiser), John Graff (Organiser), John Bailey, 
Stewart Ford, Nigel Jackett, John Litherland, Wayne Merritt, David Mitford, 
Bernard O’Keefe, Stuart Pickering, Jon Pridham, Colin Reid, Bev Thiele, Nathan 
Waugh, John Weigel, Gavin White

Conditions: Conditions were forecast to be flatter than the Saturday trip, with 
seas of 1m, and a swell of 2-3m, easing further during the day. Variable light 
winds (5-10knts) were forecast. Conditions were reasonably close to the 
forecast, making for a relatively flat ride throughout the trip.

Report
This trip was another excellent trip, following on from the Sunday trip. 13 
tubenose species were recorded, highlighted by more excellent views of 
Black-bellied Storm-Petrels, a dark morph Soft-plumaged Petrel, and large 
numbers of Little Shearwaters. Two South Polar Skuas were also seen on the 
return journey, unfortunately views were again rather brief and distant, and 
several Arctic Terns were seen at the shelf. As on the Saturday trip, albatross 
numbers were notably low.

We left Emu Point a little after 0700. The journey across King George Sound was 
quiet, with the first Flesh-footed Shearwaters not appearing until quite close 
to the heads. Two Brown Skuas were also seen, causing some brief excitement in 
the hope of South Polars. We passed through the heads, but as with the previous 
day there was little activity initially. Both Wilson’s and White-faced 
Storm-Petrel were seen, along with a single Hutton’s Shearwater, another Brown 
Skua, and a Soft-plumaged Petrel (shallower than usual). The only albatross 
seen were singles each of Black-browed, Shy and Indian Yellow-nosed, as 
activity remained low until just before the shelf edge. Here, a distant tern 
was called off the port side; this was probably a ‘Commic’ type but before it 
could come closer, attention was drawn to several Little Shearwaters flying 
along with the boat, allowing better than normal views. Several more were seen 
over the next few minutes, along with a number of Hutton’s Shearwater. 

We stopped the boat in 600m of water and started to chum. The light winds meant 
birds were slow to arrive, but the Flesh-footed Shearwaters and Wilson’s 
Storm-Petrels started to trickle in. The first major interest came when the 
first Black-bellied Storm-Petrel put in an appearance – though numbers appeared 
to be down compared to Saturday, the species was again almost everpresent in 
the chum slick. A dark or dark intermediate morph Soft-plumaged Petrel followed 
shortly afterwards. Typical pale Soft-plumaged Petrels, Great-winged Petrels, 
and Shy and Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross all made appearances, but the action 
was slower than on Saturday in the lighter winds. We drifted into 100m of 
water, so followed the slick out again; however, the depth had only reached 
150m by the time we reached the deep end of the slick. Nonetheless, a short 
stop here proved worthwhile as an Arctic Tern made an appearance. Several more 
Little Shearwater were also seen, with more good views.

At about 1145, we repositioned to the deep edge of a sharp drop-off, in about 
600m of water, and set up a slick. Once again, bird numbers were slow to build, 
but an Arctic Tern reappeared, followed by a second, then later a third. They 
continued to remain in the slick for an extended period, and made several close 
passes. A few Black-bellied and White-faced Storm-Petrels continued to share 
the slick with numerous Wilson’s Storm-Petrels. A shark, thought to be another 
whaler sp., was also seen around the boat for an extended period, but it kept 
away from the surface. An immature Black-browed Albatross added to the tally, 
and then the call went up for a Wandering Albatross. The presence of numerous 
vermiculations in the plumage, and little white in the wings suggested gibsoni 
or dabbenena. Occasional Little Shearwaters continued to pass, and the final 
interest came when the first Cape Petrel of the weekend appeared.

We headed for home at about 1345, and for most of the journey bird activity was 
quiet. A few Little Shearwaters were the main birds of interest. As we 
approached the heads, activity increased again. An Arctic Jaeger passed across 
the bow, and some people also saw a skua at the same time. Closer to the heads, 
two Black-browed Albatross were seen, including an adult. We decided to stop 
briefly to use the last of our chum. We waited for 15 minutes, but only a young 
Black-browed Albatross showed any interest, so we motored on. However within 
minutes of setting off, two skuas passed behind the boat, heading west. Views 
were frustratingly distant, but prominent white wing flashes and relatively 
pale body colouration on both birds indicated two South Polar Skuas. This was 
confirmed by some distant photographs. This was the last major excitement of 
the trip, though another Brown Skua and (interestingly) two Hutton’s 
Shearwaters were seen in King George Sound. We finally docked at approximately 
1645. As always, many thanks go to all the participants, and to Tony and Fred 
from Spinners Charters.

Species List [Total Count (Maximum no. seen at one time)]
Wandering Albatross [sp] 1 (1) – prob gibsoni/dabbenena
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross 13 (4) 
Black-browed Albatross 7 (2)
Shy Albatross 10 (3)
Cape Petrel 1 (1)
Great-winged Petrel 30 (4)
Soft-plumaged Petrel 15 (3) – including 1 dark morph
Flesh-footed Shearwater 100 (20)
Hutton’s Shearwater 20 (10)
Little Shearwater 35 (8)
Wilson's Storm-Petrel 500 (95)
Black-bellied Storm-Petrel 20 (3)
White-faced Storm-Petrel 45 (3)
Brown Skua 5 (2)
South Polar Skua 2 (2) – second skua seen travelling with this bird also likely 
a South Polar
Arctic Jaeger 1 (1)
Arctic Tern 3 (3)
Australasian Gannet 12 (5)

Common Bottlenose Dolphin 2 (2)
Shark [Whaler sp.] 1 (1)

                                          
_______________________________________________
Birding-Aus mailing list

To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the birding-aus mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU