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CalendarKiama Pelagic Trip Report Saturday 27th January 2024
Vessel: M.V Kato
Report:
Here s what was seen outside the harbour on the Kiama pelagic aboard the MV Kato on Saturday 27th January 2024. The trip list uses the IOC World Bird List v14.1 (Dec 2023) for taxonomy, nomenclature and order of species. It gives conservative estimates of numbers for the commoner species.
Leaving the harbour at 07.30 hrs we travelled directly to the shelf edge without stopping as there was little of interest to see on the way. A jaeger was seen not far out of the harbour but the sighting was too fleeting to enable identification. A few dolphins were seen in the distance but again identification to species was not possible. The only tubenoses seen on the way to the shelf were a few Flesh-footed and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and the occasional Shy Albatross. After a fairly bumpy ride on seas of 1.5 metres we arrived at the first chumming stop in 115 fathoms at 34 44 42 S; 151 07 19 E.
A slick was set but it was not of much interest to the birds present. Flesh-footed Shearwaters were the most numerous birds present, with lower numbers of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and small numbers of Shy Albatrosses. We drifted south-west for 45 minutes so the motor was then engaged briefly to regain our position on the shelf. After a further half hour there was still little on offer, the only new species being a single Crested Tern; attempts to catch shearwaters for banding proved unsuccessful.
It was therefore decided to head to deeper water. We next stopped at 34 45 55 S; 151 10 05 E in 131 fathoms, and here there was an increase in bird activity which looked promising. Sadly our optimism was unfounded as we were still seeing the same few species, the only new one being a single Grey-faced Petrel. The birds seemed to be well-fed and showed little interest in the chum, although a Flesh-footed Shearwater was finally caught and banded. We gave up after an hour and decided to try our luck in shallower water where the skipper advised there had been much activity on the previous day.
We stopped at 34 45 00 S; 151 05 29 E in 85 fathoms, but things did not improve, with Lindsay commenting this is terrible! A pair of Pilot Whales were seen to the south of us but they did not linger. After 40 minutes we decided enough was enough and started the homeward leg, but at that point someone noticed a gathering of birds to the south. The skipper was directed to approach them, but again it was the same few species in evidence. On our return to the harbour a single Australasian Gannet followed us for a short time and a pair of Fluttering Shearwaters made a rapid fly-by.
All in all a rather disappointing trip with low bird numbers and low species diversity. Throughout the trip cloud cover was complete with mild temperatures of around 19 - 21 degrees and occasional drizzle. Winds of 15 knots decreased as the day went on, with seas of 1.5 metres. The sea surface temperatures were 21 degrees inshore and 24 degrees at the shelf.
Species seen outside the harbour, maximum at any one time in brackets:
Greater Crested Tern: 3 (3) a single bird followed the boat, later joined by two more.
Silver Gull: 20 (10) seen inshore on the way out and on returning
Jaeger spp: 1 (1) Brief glimpse inshore
Shy Albatross: 10 (4) Individuals seen at intervals from inshore to the shelf, including 2 immatures
Grey-faced Petrel: 1 (1) one bird seen at the shelf
Flesh-footed Shearwater: 100 (40) seen from inshore to the shelf with occasional aggregations
Wedge-tailed Shearwater: 20 (5) seen with the Flesh-footeds but in lower numbers
Short-tailed Shearwater: 3 (3) a single sighting of this species
Fluttering Shearwater: 2 (2) birds seen briefly inshore as we returned
Australasian Gannet: 1 (1) 1 adult seen inshore on return
Great Cormorant: 1 (1) flew past inshore as we were approaching the harbour.
Report by Martin Potter