Sections
CalendarBoat: M.V. Contagious, skippered by Dale Wellham.
CONDITIONS A stiff offshore breeze prevailed for most of the day, with intermittent fronts of rainfall. The wind dropped off at the shelf by the end of the drift but picked up again on the return journey. Seas and swell 1-1.5m. An alternative strategy was trialled this trip, with Dale heading first to Broughton Island and then out to the shelf-break from there. We commenced our drift at -32.6971, 152.7582 and surprisingly ended up slightly further north at -32.6778, 152.7628.
Black-bellied Storm-petrel. Photo: Allan Richardson
ACTIVITY
Departed Nelson Bay wharf at around 7:30am returning at around 4:00pm. Inshore activity was limited to the large flocks of Australasian Gannets, with a few Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross and a single Fluttering-type Shearwater. Solander’s Petrels became a feature of the day, with the first bird encountered just under 6 nm from the shelf-break. A Shy-type Albatross presented itself just before the drift commenced, as the numbers of Solander’s Petrel steadily increased. There was rarely too long a wait for a new species, with Black-bellied Storm-Petrel being added within 40 minutes and a Brown Skua some 30 minutes after that. A Cape Petrel was a welcome sight (being the first on these trips since September 2015), which hung around in the slick without coming close to the boat. This resulted in the drift being ended in pursuit of closer views, at which point a Norther Giant-Petrel also appeared. The undoubted highlight of the trip was on the return journey at around 18 nm from the heads, where a pod of at least three Orcas was encountered, presumably hunting along the Humpback migration.
Cape Petrel. Photo: Allan Richardson
BIRDS
13 species were recorded outside the heads felt like a good return for what was an enjoyable and relatively productive winter trip. Counts are totals for birds seen outside the heads (with the maximum number visible from the boat at one time in brackets) – many are estimates. Taxonomy follows the BirdLife Australia Working List V3.
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel: 1. A single bird seen around 9 nm into the return journey.
Black-bellied Storm-Petrel: 1. A single bird was first observed 40 minutes into the drift and remained within the slick for the duration.
Fluttering-type Shearwater: 1. An unidentified bird observed around 19 nm from the heads on the outward journey was the only Fluttering-type for the day.
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross: 15 (5). Mostly within 7 nm of the shelf-break.
Shy-type Albatross: 2 (1). Both observations occurred during the drift along the shelf-break.
Shy-type (likely White-capped) Albatross: 1. This bird seemed to be doing a circuit, investigating our boat and the game-fishing boats at the shelf. Never came into the boat though.
Northern Giant-Petrel: 3 (2). The first was seen at the end of the drift, with another two birds being flushed from the deck around 21 nm from the heads on the return journey. Solander’s (Providence) Petrel: 70 (10). All offshore. A few birds were encountered from 6 nm short of the shelf-break on the outward journey, with numbers steadily increasing throughout the drift. A single bird was also seen on the return journey, around 21 nm from the heads.
Grey-faced Petrel: 2 (1). A couple of birds were picked up whilst drifting, amongst the more numerous Solander’s Petrels.
Cape Petrel: 1. A single bird was in the slick towards the end of the drift. It did not come close to the boat, despite attempts to reduce the distance and was eventually lost to view whilst observers were distracted by the appearance of a Northern Giant-Petrel.
Australasian Gannet: 700 (250). Numerous birds were encountered throughout the day, including a few large flocks within coastal waters and one flock at the shelf-break. Brown Skua: 1. A single bird was seen at mid-distance whilst drifting. It didn’t show any interest in the boat, heading straight for a distant feeding flock of Australasian Gannets. Crested Tern: 12 (3). Occasional birds encountered throughout the day.
Silver Gull: 1. A single bird seen close to the heads on the return journey.
MAMMALS
Pan-tropical Spotted Dolphin: small pods (<10 individuals) were encountered occasionally.
Humpback Whale: small groups were encountered within coastal waters
Orca: The presence of distant ‘whale’ blow was noticed behind the boat on the return journey at around 18 nm from the heads. Dan Williams then observed ‘porpoising’ of a large dark mammal with a huge fin following the blow and suggested to Allan Richardson that it could be Orca. Upon then observing similar, Allan confirmed he thought it was Orca and the boat was turned around to get closer views. Upon approaching the location of the observed activity, a large male fin was spotted, and the boat was stopped. A female was seen surfacing off the port side, followed by a third individual close to the stern of the boat. The pod then disappeared, with no further sightings.
Dan Williams