• Sunday 29th October 2017 SOSSA PELAGIC TRIP, KIAMA, NSW, AUSTRALIA.

    Date / Month: Sunday 29th October 2017 Recorded by Lindsay E. Smith
    Location: Kiama NSW
    Air temp: 30 Water temp: 19.6 In Shore 21.0 Off Shore
    Air pressure: 1004 Hp Cloud cover: 2/5
    Wind speed and direction: Calm in the morning till 1300hrs N-NW 5-7knots in the afternoon
    Sea conditions: 0.5-1.0 swell 1.5-2.0 SE

    Comments
    A very comfortable day at sea, though with very few birds about. The difference between yesterday and today was remarkable. The numbers of birds yesterday was far greater than today though the species were largely similar without any major rarities being observed today.

    The calm conditions ensured that what birds were about were staying on the water or had moved on. Mammals on the other hand were quite conspicuous with several pods of Humpbacked whales, Common Dolphins, Bottle-nosed Dolphins and New Zealand Fur-Seals being clearly visible in the calm conditions.

    Sp No Species Number
    075 Great-winged Petrel, Pterodroma macroptera - 2
    971 Providence Petrel, Pterodroma solandri - 5
    069 Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Puffinus pacificus - 30+
    072 Flesh-footed Shearwater, Puffinus carneipes - 1
    071 Short-tailed Shearwater, Puffinus tenuirostris - 5
    068 Fluttering Shearwater, Puffinus gavial - 20+
    913 Hutton’s Shearwater, Puffinus huttoni - 5
    Fluttering/Hutton's 30+
    088 Black-browed Albatross, Thalassarche melanophrys - 2
    091 Shy Albatross, Thalassarche -
    861 White-capped Albatross, Thalassarche steadi - 3
    063 Wilson’s Storm-Petrel, Oceanites oceanicus - 3
    104 Australasian Gannet, Morus serrator - 100+
    100 Little Pied Cormorant, Phalacrocorax melanoleucos - 2
    099 Pied Cormorant, Phalacrocorax varius - 1
    097 Little black Cormorant, Phalacrocorax sulcirostris - 2
    096 Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo - 3
    106 Australian Pelican, Pelicanus conspicillatus - 6
    945 Pomarine Jaeger, Stercorarius pomarinus - 3
    128 Arctic Jaeger, Stercorarius parasiticus - 1
    125 Silver Gull, Larus novaehollandiae - 80+
    115 Crested Tern, Sterna bergii - 12+