• Saturday 27th September 2014 SOSSA PELAGIC TRIP, WOLLONGONG, NSW, AUSTRALIA.

    Here's a list of what was seen on the boat outside the harbour on Saturday 27 September. It uses the BARC Australian Checklist (v2014 July based on IOC v4.2) for taxonomy, nomenclature & order of species and gives fairly conservative numbers. For the commoner species the numbers are estimates.


    Cape Petrel

    Leaving at 07.15 hrs, we travelled out to 34° 26' 30" S; 151° 16' 26" E, 12 km E of the harbour in 80m+ shelf waters, where we caught and banded a Wandering Albatross type with measurements which fitted Antipodean Albatross subspecies gibsoni or Tristan Albatross, then continued out to 34° 31' 23" S; 151° 16' 21" E, 35.3 km E of the harbour and past the shelf edge in 300m+ pelagic waters, where we drifted WNW for 1 km, 10.53-12.10 hrs, catching and banding 1 Wandering and 1 Antipodean Albatross, then turned back in, travelling to 34° 29' 30" S; 151° 07' 07' E, 20.9 km E of the harbour in 130m+ shelf waters, where we stopped and drifted 600m WSW, 13.18-37 hrs, then continued in to 34° 27' 44" S; 151° 01' 34" E, 11.8 km E of the harbour in 80m+ shelf waters, where we caught an adult Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross with a damaged wing and banded an immature Campbell Albatross, 14.27-50 hrs, before arriving back in the harbour at 15.55 hrs.


    Probable Gibson's Albatross

    Seas were bumpy in the morning on a low swell but eased as the wind dropped in the afternoon. Sea temperature was 18° inshore and 19.6° out at the shelf edge.



    Maximum number seen at any one time in brackets


    086 Wandering Albatross 2 (1) both exulans, one a female, the other not determined
    846 Antipodean Albatross 1 (1) female antipodensis
    Wandering Albatross type 5 (1) including 1 banded, size indicated either Antipodean gibsoni or Tristan Albatross
    088 Black-browed Albatross 5 (5) sub-adult
    859 Campbell Albatross 1 (1) immature, but there may have been other immatures present
    Black-browed/Campbell Albatross 15+ (10) immatures
    091 Shy Albatross 25 (13) mainly adult & immature steadi, possibly some cauta too
    864 Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross 2 (1)
    080 Cape Petrel 1 (1) australe
    083 Fairy Prion 3 (2)
    971 Providence Petrel 2 (2)
    069 Wedge-tailed Shearwater 20 (5)
    071 Short-tailed Shearwater 1,000+ (100)
    068 Fluttering Shearwater 200 (50)
    106 Australian Pelican 1 (1)
    104 Australasian Gannet 5 (3)
    125 Silver Gull 100 (50)
    981 Kelp Gull 2 (2) both adults
    115 Greater Crested Tern 25 (15)
    114 White-fronted Tern 1 (1) immature

    Other
    Bar-tailed Godwit 3 (3) heading south over the sea 16.9 kms E of the harbour


    Bar-tailed Godwits


    We saw a couple of Humpback Whales on the surface, a seal, probably Australian Fur Seal, and several Common Dolphin.

    Cheers
    Graham


    Antipodean Albatross