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CalendarDate / Month Sunday 27th August 2017 Recorded by LINDSAY E. SMITH
Location Kiama
Air temp: 7-15 o Water temp: 19 o
Cloud cover: 3/5
Wind speed and direction: 10-30 Knts WSW Sea conditions: 1-2.5 Mtrs SSW
Comments
Conditions on leaving the harbour were quite favourable with low swell and light winds from the SW. However once we were about 10 miles to sea, the wind increased rapidly to above 25 knots from the SW. This combined with the South flowing current at approx 1.5 knots made conditions very uncomfortable and forced us to head back into inshore waters closer to shore.
Albatrosses and Shearwaters were in good numbers here and we made several runs up and down the coast until the wind increased to more than 30 knots from the WSW at which time we decided to head back to the safety of the harbour at 13.00Hrs.
Mammals
Hump-backed Whale 4
Common Dolphin 8
New Zealand Fur seal 1
Sp No Species Number
069 Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Puffinus pacificus - 30+(20+)
068 Fluttering Shearwater, Puffinus gavia - 20+ (8)
913 Hutton’s Shearwater, Puffinus huttoni - 8+ (3)
088 Black-browed Albatross, Thalassarche melanophrys - 12+ (5)
859 Campbell Albatross Thalassarche impavida - 1 (Sub adult)
091 Shy Albatross, Thalassarche cauta - 3 (2)
861 White-capped Albatross, Thalassarche steadi (Adult & Imm) - 3-5 (3)
864 Indian yellow-nosed Albatross,Thalassarche bassi - 10+ (7)
065 White-faced Storm-Petrel, Pelagodroma marina - 5 (3)
104 Australasian Gannet, Morus serrator - 20+(15)
100 Little Pied Cormorant, Phalacrocorax melanoleucos - 2 (2)
097 Little black Cormorant, Phalacrocorax sulcirostris - 4 (2)
096 Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo - 2 (2)
106 Australian Pelican, Pelicanus conspicillatus - 6 (6)
8698 Brown Skua, Catharacta skua - 1
125 Silver Gull, Larus novaehollandiae - 30+
115 Crested Tern, Sterna bergii - 15+ (5)