Sections
CalendarBoat: M.V. Imagine, skippered by Frank Future.
CONDITIONS
For the third time running, we had largely benign conditions for a Port Stephens pelagic aboard Imagine. There was a gentle onshore air flow as we headed out, but the wind never topped 8 or 9 knots all day. We commenced the first drift at -32.7803215 152.7267924 at 10:31am after having stopped a few miles west but finding the water rather greenish, as opposed to the deep blue we're used to. We drifted very quickly downhill and headed back for port from around ten miles south of where we started. Water temperature was 24.3 degrees at the start of the drift.
ACTIVITY
Departed D'Albora Marina at 7:09am returning by 4:28pm. Activity wasn't exactly 'jumping', but it was a vast improvement on the near-birdless experience from the 31st Jan. We did at least have plenty of birds to look at, with a few customers attracted to the berley, plus a good array of cetaceans - in fact six species (see below). There were reasonable numbers of Fleshy-foots following the boat and a couple of pre-shelf Wilson's Storm-petrels always gets the punters excited. Along our southerly drift we attracted plenty more Wilson's, with a max count of at least 30 birds down the slick at one stage. An Arctic Jaeger appeared in tandem with the first of two (indeterminate) Shy-type Albatrosses.
We continued to attract a few more shearwaters to the boat, then the only petrel for the day - a Solander's - zoomed around without giving good views at all. But it was the sea monsters - the cetaceans and fish - that started to steal the limelight. There were five Mahi Mahi (Dolphinfish) gathered beneath the stern and a Striped Marlin was watched free-jumping a few hundred metres away. Before long, a ~2 foot Remora was watched swimming close to the Mahi Mahi; a first for a Port Stephens pelagic. On the return leg we were fortunate enough to encounter a pod of Pygmy Killer Whales that were right up alongside the boat, allowing great views. A Wilson's Storm-petrel was also present at this location, followed not long later by a second Buller's Albatross.
Buller's Albatross
BIRDS
15 species were recorded outside of Port Stephens (not including birds seen associated with islands). 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 V4.
Wilson's Storm-petrel: 55 (30). Count based on likely turnover of birds with a max of ~30 on the slick at once.
Wedge-tailed Shearwater: 300 (200). Fairly low numbers for a Port Stephens pelagic.
Flesh-footed Shearwater: 85 (30). Far better numbers than late January and was the dominant shearwater at times.
Short-tailed Shearwater: 10 (1). Most inshore but some pelagic birds.
Sooty Shearwater: 1. Single bird early in the day.
Hutton's Shearwater: 2 (1). Both inshore.
Fluttering Shearwater: 4 (1). Mostly inshore, the first bird being a juvenile.
Fluttering-type shearwater: 2. Two unidentifiable birds.
Solander's Petrel: 1. Single bird seen halfway through the drift was the only Pterodroma for the day.
Buller's Albatross: 2 (1). One pelagic, one in neritic waters.
Shy-type Albatross: 2 (1). Two indeterminate adults, but both very likely White-capped.
Australasian Gannet: 18 (2). All but one were immature birds.
Pomarine Jaeger: 1. Adult seen on the inward journey.
Arctic Jaeger 2 (1). One at the shelf, one at the heads.
Crested Tern: 6 (3). Three of these close to the shelf.
Silver Gull: 1. Inshore.
MAMMALS
Pantropical Spotted Dolphin: 25: One pod at the shelf and another pod that followed the boat briefly wide of the shelf.
Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin: 10. A few seen just outside of the heads.
Offshore Bottlenose Dolphin: 30. Several pods seen in deep water, including some animals that swam under the boat.
Short-beaked Common Dolphin: 10. A single pod seen on the outward leg.
Risso's Dolphin: 1. Seen and photographed from a great distance at the same time that the Striped Marlin was seen.
Pygmy Killer Whale: 10. A pod seen at close range about halfway back to shore on the return leg.
Whale sp. A distant blow was seen not too long after we left the Pygmy Killers. No hope of an ID.
Pygmy Killer Whales
FISH
Striped Marlin: 1. Seen free-jumping during the drift and confirmed by photos.
Mahi Mahi (Dolphinfish): 5. Sheltering under the boat for most of the drift.
Remora: 1. Associating with the Mahi Mahi for a while.
Flying-fish seen in fairly low numbers (probably <10).