Saturday 19th December 2020 SOSSA PELAGIC TRIP, KIAMA, NSW, AUSTRALIA

Here's what was seen outside the harbour on the SOSSA Kiama pelagic on the MV Kato on Saturday 19 Dec. 2020. The trip list uses the IOC Checklist v10.1 (Jan. 2020) for taxonomy, nomenclature & order of species. This is a change from Kiama pelagic reports from previous years with the species sequence differing significantly. It gives fairly conservative numbers, which are estimates for the commoner species. There's also a map from Google Earth showing our route and chumming spots.

Leaving Kiama Harbour at 07.35 hrs we travelled out to the shelf edge, 26.2 km east of the harbour, where we stopped in 212 m/116 fathoms shelf edge waters at 34° 41’ 23” S; 151° 08’ 44” E at 09.55 hrs. Here we set up a slick with the usual mixture of chicken mince and tuna/vegetable oil and waited to see what would come in. Grey-faced Petrels were the commonest species with slightly fewer Flesh-footed Shearwaters also present. After some time we were delighted to see a fresh-plumaged Black Petrel come in to the back of the boat, providing excellent opportunities for the photographers on board. There were also a couple of species of storm petrel attracted to the oil, but only single birds were seen. The banding team was occupied with catching and banding the Grey-faced Petrels. While drifting we were visited by a large (c. 200) pod of Common Dolphins, both adults and younger animals, giving excellent views as they sometimes leapt out of the water.

Having drifted 2.6 km north in the southerly wind, we decided to try further out, so went 3.5 km to 34° 40’ 38” S; 151° 10’ 22” E, 28.6 km from the harbour in slightly deeper (223m/122 fathoms) shelf edge waters. Again we set up a slick and looked to see what was attracted, as the banding team went about their business. Among the birds caught was a Grey-faced Petrel with a band SOSSA had put on it nearly two years previously on 26 Jan. 2019. Interesting that this bird had returned to the same foraging ground more than a thousand kilometres from its New Zealand breeding location. After 35 mins of drifting about 1 km north, the decision was made to try further inshore.

Accordingly, we travelled 13 km in to 34° 40’ 05” S; 151° 01’ 33” E, about 13 km east of the harbour in shallower shelf waters. In the 30 mins or so we stopped and drifted here, the birds which came in were no different from out at the shelf edge and in relatively low numbers, so we decided to call it a day and headed back into harbour, arriving at 14.40 hrs.

Sea conditions were fairly bumpy in the morning in a 2-2.5 m swell, but this gradually diminished to about 1 m making for a comfortable return trip. Sea temperature was 21° at the shelf edge.

Bird highlight was the handsome Black Petrel seen at close quarters.

Species seen outside the harbour, maximum at any one time in brackets:

125 Silver Gull - 4 (3)
115 Greater Crested Tern - 15+ (5)
945 Pomarine Jaeger - 7+ (2)
933 Long-tailed Jaeger - 1 (1)
063 Wilson’s Storm Petrel - 1 (1)
065 White-faced Storm Petrel - 1 (1)
075 Grey-faced Petrel - 15+ (7) one bird caught had been banded previously
917 Black Petrel - 1 (1)
069 Wedge-tailed Shearwater - 5+ (2)
071 Short-tailed Shearwater - 4+ (2)
072 Flesh-footed Shearwater - 25+ (5)
913 Hutton’s Shearwater - 1 (1)
097 Little Black Cormorant - 2 (2) just outside the harbour entrance

The only cetaceans seen were a large pod (c. 200) of Common Dolphins at our first chumming spot at the shelf edge.

Report prepared by Graham Barwell