Sections
CalendarBoat: M.V. Contagious, skippered by Dale Wellham.
CONDITIONS
Despite forecasts hinting at glassy conditions, we were treated to a steady 10-15 knot southerly airflow almost all day. This was initially offshore, swinging round to almost due south at around midday. The skipper took it pretty easy for the first half of the outward leg, as there was a reasonable amount of flood debris floating, presumably from some of the estuaries to the north (e.g. Manning and Hastings; some of the worst-affected areas in the NSW floods). There was little in the way of swell and in fact most of the sea appeared to be wind waves. We commenced our drift at -32.8405669 152.6110992 at 0952 drifting south for nearly 17km, ending at -32.98927,152.56587 at 1309. Water temperature about 24 degrees at the shelf. A heavy shower interrupted what was otherwise a very pleasant few hours at the shelf.
New Caledonian type Storm-petrel. Photo: Allan Richardson
ACTIVITY
Departed Nelson Bay public wharf a tad late at 7:21am returning earlier than normal, by 3:55pm. There was some initial excitement as we left the heads, with a Peregrine Falcon making a lightning-fast (and unsuccessful) swoop at a group of Crested Terns that were feeding on baitfish. Very few birds observed on the outward leg and virtually no berley was tossed. At our drift start we noticed a lot of dolphin activity that was matched by a flurry of birds. Before we had cut the engine a Solander’s Petrel flew over the boat and the first Wilson’s Storm-petrel appeared. As is often the case, thing quietened down a bit after that, with just attendant Flesh-footed Shearwaters feeding behind the boat, offset by the odd wedgie, as numbers of Wilson’s started to grow.
The dolphins kept us entertained as a large pod of Offshore Bottlenose came into the boat and performed some spectacular acrobatics about 300m off the stern. A Brown Noddy was cause for some excitement as this is a bird rarely seen on our trips. After a couple of hours of drifting we had a solid contingent of up to 100 Wilson’s Storm-petrels ‘dancing’ in the slick, some relating to the rear of the boat to pick up tiny scraps from the ocean surface. Then a stormy with pale underparts was picked up and it was immediately apparent that it was another New Zealand/New Caledonian type; our second bird in three trips. The bird did not hang around for long. The only other excitement for the day came in the form of a Streaked Shearwater that presented not far from the stern just before the rain squalls hit. The journey home was rather uneventful.
BIRDS
15 species were recorded outside of Port Stephens. 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: 180 (100). We had birds in our slick for the entire duration of the drift. This is a rather conservative estimate given there seemed to be evidence of turnover and there being ~100 birds in the slick at the one time.
NEW CALEDONIAN (‘CORAL SEA’) STORM-PETREL: 1. The bird arrived at around midday and was only observed a few times before disappearing (or merging with the throng of Wilson’s). The bird distinctive facial markings that initially made us think it could have been the same individual as January but scrutiny of photos show the bird to be a different one.
Wedge-tailed Shearwater: 80 (20). No flocks of this species seen today. Highest count was not far from the heads on the return leg.
Flesh-footed Shearwater: 130 (30). Good numbers of fleshies and many birds coming in to feed behind the boat.
Short-tailed Shearwater: 2 (1). One inshore, one at the shelf.
Sooty Shearwater: 4 (3). All in neritic waters.
Hutton’s Shearwater: 3 (1). One bird photographed early on at the shelf.
Fluttering-type Shearwater: 3
Streaked Shearwater: 1. Appeared behind the boat just before the rain squall hit. Was only in view for a few minutes.
Providence (Solander's) Petrel: 1. Seen literally as we arrived at our drift start and no other Pterodroma sighting for the day.
Australasian Gannet: 15 (3). All immature birds.
Pomarine Jaeger: 1. Inshore on outward leg.
Brown (Common) Noddy: 1. Single bird about an hour into the drift. Did a few passes of the boat before flying off.
Crested Tern: 5 (4). All but one inshore, which was present at our drift start.
Silver Gull: 6 (6). Inshore on way back in.
Peregrine Falcon: 1. Made an electrifying swoop at Crested Terns at the heads on the way out.
MAMMALS
Offshore Bottlenose Dolphin: 100+: Several pods including one of 50+ individuals and some very entertaining antics from some that came close to the boat.
Pantropical Spotted Dolphin: 3: None seen on the surface but three picked up close together in GoPro footage taken of the other dolphins.
FISH
Some small flying-fish seen throughout the day (not as many as the earlier 2021 trips) and a fin was seen briefly, attributed to most likely a marlin.
OTHER
At one stage at the shelf, a large insect was seen hovering off the stern. It was large and initially we thought we were looking at a Microchiropteran bat. We managed some photos and the closest we could get to was a Hawk Moth (Sphingidae), though I am still not entirely convinced (so please contact me if you’re interested in seeing photos).
Bottlenose Dolphins