Sections
CalendarLeaving Kiama Harbour at 07.30 hrs we travelled out in persistent light rain and dull, overcast conditions to the shelf edge at 34° 42’ 21” S; 151° 10’ 16” E in 230m/126 fathoms, 29 km east of the harbour. On arrival at 09.35 hrs we set up the usual slick with chicken mince and tuna/vegetable oil, and waited to see what would come in. And waited. And waited. Bird numbers were very low with only a smattering of Grey-faced Petrels, Flesh-footed and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters. A Shy Albatross came in for a look, probably one of the Tasmanian breeding birds, subspecies cauta, judging from the light yellow tinge to the culminicorn. A single White-faced Storm Petrel likewise also paid a visit. Otherwise there wasn’t a lot to see over the nearly 3 hours we spent here, drifting nearly 5 km slowly west.
At 12.20 hrs we decided to move up the slick and stopped a short time later at 34° 43’ 11” S; 151° 07’ 29” E, 25 km east of the harbour. Here our luck turned and we had a succession of species we don’t see all that frequently. First was a Grey Noddy, which gave excellent views to all aboard, our first record on the Kiama pelagics, then a Sooty Tern came and fed on the slick. This bird still had spots of darker juvenile plumage on its breast. After this we were delighted to have good views of a Gould’s Petrel which made several passes near the boat. Our first jaegers for the day appeared about this time.
After a hour of so of drifting west, we again moved along the slick and stopped for our third chumming session at 34° 43’ 41” S; 151° 06’ 26” E in shelf-edge waters, 23.5 km from the harbour, at 13.30 hrs. We remained here for about 20 minutes drifting slowly west and, just before we left, a distant grey and white bird was seen briefly but not identified. Photographs later revealed it to be a Mottled Petrel, a reportable bird for NSW and our second record off Kiama, though no-one got a good look at it and it didn’t come in. Time was getting away from us, so we turned in to the harbour, arriving back at 15.10 hrs.
Sea conditions were comfortable in a 1 m swell, though the persistent rain was a trial for camera and binocular lenses and for anyone with spectacles or sunglasses. Sea temperature at the shelf was 23°.
Bird highlights were the Grey Noddy and Gould’s Petrel with the Mottled Petrel remaining disappointingly distant.
Species seen outside the harbour, maximum at any one time in brackets:
982 Grey Noddy - 1 (1)
125 Silver Gull - 1 (1)
115 Greater Crested Tern - 5+ (1)
120 Sooty Tern - 1 (1) a subadult, still with some dark spots of juvenile plumage
945 Pomarine Jaeger - 2 (1)
128 Parasitic/Arctic Jaeger - 1 (1) identified from photos
933 Long-tailed Jaeger - 1 (1)
063 Wilson’s Storm Petrel - 1 (1)
065 White-faced Storm Petrel - 1 (1)
091 Shy Albatross - 1 (1) probably subspecies cauta
075 Grey-faced Petrel - 15+ (8)
919 Mottled Petrel - 1 (1) distant views, identified from photos
078 Gould’s Petrel - 1 (1)
069 Wedge-tailed Shearwater - 20+ (6)
071 Short-tailed Shearwater - 3+ (3)
072 Flesh-footed Shearwater - 10+ (3)
No cetaceans were seen.
Report prepared by Graham Barwell