• Saturday 6th September 2014 SOSSA PELAGIC TRIP, WOLLONGONG, NSW, AUSTRALIA.

    Date / Month: 6th -September 2014 Recorded by L.E.Smith
    Location: Wollongong
    Air temp: 18 Air pressure 1032 Cloud cover 8/10
    Wind speed and direction: SW-SE 15-20 Knots Sea conditions: 2 metres SSE / 2-3 metre swell

    Comments
    Moderate seas and swell. Overcast conditions for most of the day. We left harbour at 0715Hrs. Returned to harbour at 1530 Hrs. Trip organised for Ryde TAFE. No regular birders or photographers on board.
    Banding crew L. E.Smith and Darryl MacKay. (6) Wandering Albatrosses captured and banded including one re-trapped, Wandering Albatross 140-33214. It was first banded at Bellambi NSW August 12th 1979 by Bill Lane as an adult. Minimum age now thought to be 40+ years! This is our first recovery of this bird anywhere since it was first banded.


    Northern Royal - Photo: Ashwin Rudder

    Blue Petrel and Wedge-tailed Shearwater together - Photo L. Smith


    Blue Petrel - Photo: Ashwin Rudder

    The approximate and probably conservative species counts were as follows (maximum at one time in parenthesis):

    Wandering Albatross - Exulans: 8 (8)
    Gibson's Wandering Albatross: 15 (7), including Antipodean - 1 (1)
    Shy Albatross: 30 (8) - both cauta and steadi
    Black-browed Albatross: 30 (20)
    Campbell Albatross - 5 immatures
    Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross: 2 (1)
    Buller's Albatross: 3 (1)
    NORTHERN ROYAL ALBATROSS: 1 (1)
    Northern Giant Petrel: 10 (6)
    Southern Giant Petrel: 2 (1)
    BLUE PETREL: 1 (1)
    Solander's Petrel: 15 (4)
    Great-winged Petrel: 2 (1)
    CAPE PETREL: 1 (1)
    Fairy Prion: 40 (30)
    White-faced Storm Petrel: 2 (1)
    Wedge-tailed Shearwater: 70 (10)
    Fluttering-type Shearwater: 15 (3)
    White-fronted Tern: 10 (2)
    Crested Tern: 20 (5)
    Australasian Gannet: 25 (4)

    Inshore:
    Silver Gull 150+
    Kelp Gull 5 (2)
    Sooty Oystercatcher (3)
    Australasian Darter (2)
    Pied Cormorant (1)
    Australian Pelican (6)


    Cetaceans:
    Common Dolphin - 50
    Offshore Bottlenose Dolphin - 1
    Unidentified x2 (Minkie?)
    Unidentified x1 (Rorqual?)

    Also 2x seal spp.

    With thanks to Joshua Bergmark, Ashwin Rudder and Lindsay Smith