birding-aus

Fwd: Heard Island Pelagic Trip list

To: New birding-aus <>
Subject: Fwd: Heard Island Pelagic Trip list
From: Peter Shute <>
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 21:28:26 +1000
Please see below.

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: Richard Baxter <<>>
Date: 31 July 2014 7:48:06 pm AEST
To: "<>" 
<<>>
Subject: Heard Island Pelagic Trip list
Reply-To: Richard Baxter <<>>

Hello all,
             It's been nearly two years since our Southern Ocean pelagic trip 
to Australia's Heard and McDonald Islands in the sub-antarctic Indian Ocean.  
Earlier today I finally got around to putting our bird count data onto my 
computer.   I'm pretty sure these figures haven't previously been published on 
birding-aus and as its winter again and Southern Ocean seabirds are once again 
on the local pelagic menu, I thought you might enjoy seeing some of these 
figures.

In total, we spent six days in Australian waters. One and a half days 
approaching and another one and a half days departing, with three days on the 
island.  North of the Antarctic Convergence the water temperature was thirteen 
degrees and as we crossed on our journey south the sea temperature dropped 
rapidly to six degrees, eventually falling to three degrees around the island.

Species: Heard Island waters only - Nov 2012

King Penguin - 100-200 on Heard Island and approx 50 seen on McDonald Island.
Gentoo Penguin - 60+ on HI.
Southern Rockhopper Penguin - 250+ on HI.
Macaroni Penguin - 1000+ on HI and 50+ seen on McDonald Island.
Wandering Albatross - 20+
Southern Royal Albatross - 8
Sooty Albatross- 5
Light-mantled Sooty Albatross- 50+ On HI and in surrounding waters
Black-browed Albatross - 30+
Shy Albatross - 1
Grey-headed Albatross - 20+
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross - 1
Southern Giant Petrel - 100+ On HI and in surrounding waters
Northern Giant Petrel - 30+ On HI and in surrounding waters
Snow Petrel - 2
Southern Fulmar - 100+
Cape Petrel- 100+
Blue Petrel - 200+
Salvin's Prion - 12
Antarctic Prion - 100,000 +
Slender-billed Prion- 300+
Fairy Prion - 1
Fulmar Prion - 10,000 +
Kerguelen Petrel - 20 +
Great-winged Petrel - 10
White-headed Petrel - 60+
Soft-plumaged Petrel - 250+
Mottled Petrel - 2
Grey Petrel - 15
White-chined Petrel - 150
Little Shearwater - 1
Wilson's Storm Petrel - 30
Grey-backed Storm Petrel - 22
Black-bellied Storm Petrel - 60
South Georgia Diving Petrel - 50
Common Diving Petrel - 50+
Heard Island Shag - 12 All close to HI.
Black-faced Sheathbill - 11
Kelp Gull - 8
Arctic Tern - 5 Feeding in shallows on HI.
Antarctic Tern - 7
South Polar Skua - 1 - On HI roosting with Brown Skuas
Brown Skua - 50+

During the other 22 days at sea we saw tens of thousands more birds than listed 
above, including the following species; Amsterdam Albatross, Northern 
Rockhopper Penguin, Northern Royal Albatross, Salvin's Albatross, McGillivray's 
Prion, Barau's Petrel, Gould's Petrel, Sooty Shearwater, White-faced Storm 
Petrel, White-bellied Storm Petrel and Mascarene Petrel.

Cetaceans included: Blue Whale, Fin Whale, Sei Whale, Antarctic Minke Whale, 
Humpback Whale, Sperm Whale, Southern Bottlenose Whale, Bottlenose Dolphin, 
Dusky Dolphin, Hourglass Dolphin and Long-finned Pilot Whale.

Regards
Richard Baxter







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