Sections
CalendarLeaving Kiama Harbour at 07.25 hrs, we travelled directly out to the shelf edge in a >1.5m swell, reaching the first of our chumming spots at 09.10 hrs. This was at 34° 41’ 54” S; 151° 07’ 51” E, nearly 25 km east of the harbour in 183 m/100 fathoms. We set up a slick with a mixture of cod liver and vegetable oil, supplemented by chicken mince and suet. Delicious! The birds in the area soon found us and numbers gradually built up in the hour or so we drifted 4 km south in the wind and current.
We thought it might be worth trying further east in deeper water, but had only gone a few kilometres when we had the first of what would be several sightings of Streaked Shearwater, a bird we see every now and then in summer, but usually closer inshore. Having stopped for the shearwater at 34° 43’ 42” S; 151° 08’ 40’’ E, 26.8 km east south east of the harbour, we set up our second chumming session in 207 m/113 fathoms at 10.25 hrs. Again we threw out our usual bird treats and waited to see what else would appear. As we drifted steadily 10.3 km south over the following two hours, we were rewarded with further sightings of Streaked Shearwater and then two sightings of a Cookilaria petrel. The first was fairly distant, but the second, about 10 minutes and less than 2 kms later, was much better with the bird showing well less than 100 m from the boat. The photographers got a series of excellent shots allowing the bird’s identity as Cook’s Petrel to be confirmed once we returned to shore. Despite the excitement of the occasion, the banding carried on working steadily away, as they processed a number of Grey-faced Petrels, Wedge-tailed and Flesh-footed Shearwaters.
By 12.25 hrs it was time to begin our return journey, so we turned back west and headed for harbour, though there was sufficient time to set up a third drift and chum session on the way back. This was at 34° 44’ 48” S; 151° 00’ 16” E, 15.7 km south east of the harbour in 120 m+ shelf waters. We followed our usual procedure, drifting 2.46 km south in the 45 mins we stayed in the area. The banding team caught a Pomarine Jaeger here, along with usual Flesh-footed and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters. Eventually we had to continue our journey in, arriving back in the harbour at 15.45 hrs.
Sea conditions were reasonably comfortable in the >1.5 m swell. Sea temperature at the shelf edge was a warm 24°.
Highlight of the day were the good views of some local rarities: Cook’s Petrel and Streaked Shearwater.
Species seen outside the harbour, maximum at any one time in brackets:
005 Little Penguin - 1 (1) not seen by all observers
063 Wilson’s Storm-petrel - 8 (2)
065 White-faced Storm-petrel 2 (1)
091 & 861 Shy Albatross - 10 (5) mainly cauta, but 1 steadi based on moult & bill colour
075 Grey-faced Petrel - 20 (5)
918 Cook’s Petrel - 1 (1) 2 passes by a single bird, possibly the same individual
853 Streaked Shearwater - 6 (1)
069 Wedge-tailed Shearwater - 50 (8)
071 Short-tailed Shearwater - 4 (2)
072 Flesh-footed Shearwater - 100 (20)
068 Fluttering Shearwater - 1 (1)
913 Hutton’s Shearwater - 3 (1)
Fluttering/Hutton’s Shearwater - 2 (2)
Great Egret - 1 (1) seen heading east as we were going out to the shelf edge
104 Australasian Gannet - 5 (1) adults
097 Little Black Cormorant - 1 (1) just outside the harbour
125 Silver Gull - 15 (10)
115 Greater Crested Tern - 20 (10)
120 Sooty Tern - 6 (4) includes 2 adults each with an accompanying immature bird
945 Pomarine Jaeger - 12 (4)
933 Long-tailed Jaeger - 7 (3)
Surprisingly, we did not see any cetaceans, fish or seals.
Report prepared by Graham Barwell