Hi again,
The highlights of the Sunday trip were probably the excellent views of an
Arctic Tern around the boat and a brief pass by a small pod of Orcas.
The full report is available online at
http://wabirdingblog.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/albany-pelagic-trip-report-23-may-2015.html.
Once again, I've included the text only version below
Cheers,
John
Summary
A second good trip for the weekend, again with 13 tubenose species recorded,
though the species mix varied a little from the Saturday trip. The highlights
included an Arctic Tern, several Black-bellied Storm-Petrels, and a brief visit
by a small group of Orcas.
Participants
Alan Collins (Organiser), John Graff (Organiser), Plaxy Barratt, Damian Baxter,
Richard Baxter, Bill Betts, Bob Dawson, Ben Dicker, Stewart Ford, Geoff Glare,
Neil Macumber, Dan Mantle, Ian Mayer, Wayne Merritt, James Mustafa, Sean
Tomlinson, Chris Tate, Gavin White
Conditions:
Wind was forecast SW’ly at 10-15 knots, dropping to variable below 10 knots
during the morning then swinging NW’ly and increasing to 10 knots in the
afternoon. Seas were forecast at 1m, decreasing to 0.5m before increasing
again, with swell forecast SW’ly at 2-2.5m. Conditions were approximately as
forecast, which made for a relatively comfortable trip, though the swell was
more noticeable than the previous day.
Report
We again departed early at 0510, and made our way across King George Sound and
through the heads in darkness. Some extra cloud cover to the east meant that we
were even further offshore before the light was sufficient to identify birds
with confidence. Indian Yellow-nosed and Black-browed Albatross and
Great-winged Petrels all appeared fairly quickly, though Black-browed numbers
were lower than the previous day. We were also surprised to see a Tree Martin
pass behind the boat again in a similar location to the previous day's
sighting. A Shy Albatross was also seen, and the first Wilson's Storm-Petrel
also made an appearance. As we approached the shelf break, two Little
Shearwaters were seen briefly crossing the bow, and a few people briefly saw a
Cape Petrel. We headed for two seamounts to the south-east of our usual
stopping point, approximately half way between the 1000m and 2000m contours.
However, on stopping to the south-west of the seamount, the depth readout was
only 1100m, though we may have been over the outer parts of the seamount at
this point.
We deployed the chum shortly after stopping. The winds were light, so the
build-up of birds was slower than the previous day. The numbers of Indian
Yellow-nosed Albatross around the boat grew steadily to fifteen, and were
joined by a Black-browed Albatross, while Great-winged Petrels made regular
passes. The first Wilson's Storm-Petrels also arrived, and a Soft-plumaged
Petrel made a couple of passes. Although activity was generally lower than the
previous day, the species list continued to grow steadily with the addition of
the first White-faced Storm-Petrel. The first major sighting of interest came
when an Arctic Tern made its way up the slick and approached the boat. It fed
in the slick close to boat, and made several passes around (and over) the boat,
allowing good views. This was followed shortly afterwards by the first
Wandering-type Albatross, a relatively dark bird with quite a dark cap,
suggestive of nominate antipodensis. However, taxon identification was not
possible with any certainty. This was followed shortly afterwards by a juvenile
Northern Giant-Petrel, which landed at the back of the boat.
We drifted more slowly than the previous day and as a result, the storm-petrels
were feeding in the slick closer to the boat, and a Black-bellied Storm-Petrel
was seen in the slick. We moved back up the slick to try to approach it, and
located a second individual. Shortly after repositioning, a second
Wandering-type Albatross of the day made several passes. The large bill and
overall size, and extensively white plumage suggested a Snowy Albatross
(exulans). After another quiet period, a dark intermediate Soft-plumaged Petrel
made a brief pass, and the first Cape Petrel arrived. Shortly afterwards, an
unusual small albatross made a brief pass and disappeared to the west.
Unfortunately it didn’t return – photos show a small albatross with a
relatively white underwing, dark bill and a greyish face and upper throat. Both
Indian and Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross were considered, along with Buller’s
Albatross, but the available evidence shows inconsistencies with all three
species and it remains unidentified. The number of Cape Petrels around the boat
had increased to three, and the Wilson's Storm-Petrels continued to provide
entertainment feeding close to the boat. We were also briefly distracted by a
Man-of-war Fish (Nomeus gronovii) associating with a man o’ war. We had also
drifted across both seamounts and into just 700m of water so the decision was
made to move to the location of our last stop the previous day, not far from
our usual stopping location, though we were briefly delayed by the appearance
of a Brown Skua.
We motored west for about 20 minutes and stopped in about 1000m of water and
began a new slick. Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross and Wilson’s Storm-Petrel
appeared around the boat almost immediately, and Great-winged Petrels continued
to make passes. An adult Black-browed Albatross also arrived at the boat, and a
few Little Shearwaters passed in the mid-distance. A Shy Albatross was also
seen. After about an hour, the call went up for whales, and a small, loose
group of Orcas (Killer Whales) were seen; unfortunately, they didn’t remain in
the area for long. The final new species for the weekend came when an adult
Campbell Albatross joined the Black-browed Albatross at the boat.
Male Orca, with a slightly deformed dorsal fin. Dorsal fin characteristics like
this can be used to identify individual whales within a population. Photo
courtesy Plaxy Barratt.
The return journey was relatively comfortable, though there was some spray from
the port side. A Cape Petrel followed us for a large part of the return
journey, but nothing new was seen for the return journey. After entering the
heads, we noted a number of skuas sitting on the water. There were at least six
individuals present, but all appeared to be Brown Skuas. A few people also saw
a Little Penguin briefly on the surface. We docked at about 1635 to finish
another weekend of trips. As always, thanks go to all trip participants for
making these trips possible, and the boat crew Tony and Fred from Spinners
Charters for their usual patience and friendly assistance
Species List [Total count (Max. seen at one time)]
Little Penguin 1 (1)
Wandering Albatross 2 (1) – 1+ Snowy
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross 30 (16)
Black-browed Albatross 5 (1)
Campbell Albatross 1 (1)
Shy Albatross 3 (1)
Northern Giant-Petrel 1 (1)
Cape Petrel 5 (3)
Great-winged Petrel 50 (8)
Soft-plumaged Petrel 7 (1) – 1 intermediate/dark intermediate
Little Shearwater 8 (1)
Wilson's Storm-Petrel 100 (55)
White-faced Storm-Petrel 13 (3)
Black-bellied Storm-Petrel 3 (2)
Brown Skua 8 (5)
Arctic Tern 1 (1)
Australasian Gannet 18 (6)
Orca 5+ (5)
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