• Sunday 29th October 2023 SOSSA PELAGIC TRIP, KIAMA, NSW, AUSTRALIA

     
    Published on 29-10-2023 07:56 PM
    29th October 2023, SOSSA PELAGIC TRIP, KIAMA, NSW, AUSTRALIA.
    Vessel: M.V Kato
    Departed: 07:25 returned at 14:40
    Seas: North-easterly around 1.0 - 2m in the morning, increasing to 2.0 - 3m from mid-morning as the wind picked up.
    Weather: Sunny, with a few scattered clouds at times. No rain.
    Temperature range: 13 to 23 degrees.
    Wind: 10 - 15 knots north-easterly on our way out, increasing to 15 - 20 knots from around midday.
    Sea surface temperature: 18.1 degrees in shore, 19.4 degrees at the shelf.

    Report
    We set off into strong north-easterly seas and clear skies. The trip out was uneventful, a few Gannet's and some distant Wedge-tailed Shearwater s, which showed little interest in us. There were a number of Humpback's inshore, which seemed to be mother/calf pairs, although they were distant. The first albatross sighted was a juvenile Shy, probably a White-capped, but it didn't approach the boat. There was a large flock of predominately Short-tailed Shearwaters, mixed with Wedge-tailed Shearwaters half-way to the shelf, but they too didn't show much interest in the boat.

    We stopped the boat just over the shelf, as the Captain was concerned about the forecast increase in wind, and drifted south in a moderate current. We soon sighted our first petrel of the day, a Solander's, which was quickly followed by a Wilson's Storm-petrel. Bird numbers weren't high though, with single fly-by's by Shy and Black-browed Albatrosses. Spirts were lifted when a Wandering Albatross came into view, doing a few passes, setting down on the water behind the boat. A Buller's Albatross and Northern Giant-petrel were soon added to the day's list, but didn't hang around.

    After drifting 3km south, we motored back north to ensure the trip back to the harbour would be with the sea behind us. We stopped again, just over the shelf and started our 2nd drift. The 2nd stop added one new bird to the day's list, a single Grey-faced Petrel. We were joined by another Wandering Albatross, which was a different bird to the one from the 1st stop. It was soon joined by a 2nd Wandering Albatross, which was likely the one from the 1st stop. Besides a few more single passes by Shy, Black-browed and Buller s Albatross, we didn't see much else. With the wind starting to pick up, we started the engines and set off on the return trip to the harbour.

    Birds sighted (number in brackets was the greatest number seen together)

    Australian Gannet: 10+ (3) primarily inshore.
    Silver Gull: 20+ (10) seen inshore on the way out and back in.
    Crested Tern: 6+ (2) seen at various times during the trip.
    Shy Albatross: 6+ (3): sighted on a number of occasions, but didn't show much interest in the boat.
    Wedge-tailed Shearwater: 100+ (30) mainly inshore, mixed with the Short-tailed Shearwaters.
    Short-tailed Shearwater: 500+ (100) a conservative estimate. A large flock inshore, outnumbering the accompanying Wedge-tailed Shearwaters around 3 to 1. There was a constant stream of birds travelling south in small groups while we were travelling out to the shelf.
    Flesh-footed Shearwater: 2 (1) a single bird seen at the 1st and 2nd stopping points.
    Buller's Albatross: 2 (1) first seen close to the shelf. A number of sightings during the rest of the trip.
    Black-browed Albatross: 3 (1) single birds did a number of passes, but didn't hang around.
    Wandering-type Albatross: 3 (2) one was sighted at the 1st stopping point, landing on the water and feeding behind the boat. It had quite distinct salt related staining on its neck. At the 2nd stopping point a different bird was sighted, without any staining, also landing behind the boat. It was joined by a second bird, possibly the bird from the 1st stopping point, as it had very similar staining on its neck.
    Solander's Petrel: 8+ (3) joined us from when we crossed the shelf. While we were at the shelf, they were in constant attendance.
    Grey-faced Petrel: 1 (1) a single bird at the 2nd stopping point.
    Long-tailed Jaeger: 1 (1) flew by at the 1st stopping point.
    Wilson's Storm-petrel: 2 (1) single bird seen at the 1st and 2nd stopping points. At times quite close to the boat.
    Fluttering Shearwater: 10+ (2) a number of individual s/pairs inshore, mainly on the way in.
    Northern Giant-petrel: 1 (1) came in at the 1st stopping point, but didn't land.

    Mammals
    Humpback Whales - a few mother/calf pairs inshore, 6+ sighted. Mainly distant, but we had to give way to a pair just outside the harbour on the way in.