Eaglehawk pelagic report Friday 17th November

Unfortunately the report attachment failed to join the message when it was sent last night, so the report follows here. Apologies for any confusion.

Karen Dick

PELAGIC TRIP OFF EAGLEHAWK NECK, TAS
Friday 17th September 2017

OBSERVERS: Paul Ashley, Sheila Ashley, Helen Cunningham, Seb Galloway, Malcom
Graham, Mona Loofs-Samorzewski (recorder), Steve Pratt, Effie Pryer, Carolyn Upston,
George Vaughan, Els Wakefield (recorder) and Karen Dick (organiser and reporter).

BOAT: Pauletta Charters, with skipper John Males and deckhand Hugh Smith.

There was an air of excited anticipation among the birders who arrived at Pirates Bay for the first of a full weekend of pelagic trips out of Eaglehawk Neck. For some, the knowledge that large numbers of mottled petrels had been seen a week before set the pulses racing, while for some less experienced participants, a combination of nerves and excitement contributed to the general buzz as we waited for the boat to come alongside. The weather was not good with drizzle and fog restricting the visibility to around 300m when we left.

A moderate east-northeast breeze of around 15kts created a low sea against a southwesterly swell of around 1.5m, so the ride out was reasonable but a little choppy. We chose to head due east out of Pirates Bay and Mottled Petrels started appearing around 1 nautical mile
outside the Bay. A lone great albatross also surprised us well inshore of the line to the Hippolyte Rocks. Despite the fog, it was not too cold but the visibility worsened to around 100m. Birds were darting in or out of the fog, providing some identification challenges.

Three unidentifiable ‘cookilaria’ petrels passed by inshore, disappearing into the gloom as quickly as they appeared. We started to see a number of Mottled Petrels well inshore and a couple more ‘cookilaria’ petrels remained unidentified as they passed by the boat on our way to the continental shelf. Some sharp shooting by the photographers in the gloom allowed one to be identified after the trip as our first Cook’s petrel. A second Cook’s passed by a short while after we passed into
offshore waters, without stopping to pose for pictures. Further offshore, the fog started to burn off, sunshine was abundant and visibility improved for the rest of the morning.

We started the first berley at 9:40 over 350 fathoms, drifting slowly until 11:20. At the first stop an Arctic Tern flew in to the boat and gave fantastic views and photographs as it hovered over the stern. Several Gibson’s Albatrosses that came to the first berley stop were joined by an immature Snowy Albatross at the back of the boat and they remained with us for the remainder of the trip, with one following us right back to Pirates Bay. During the day, Mottled Petrels were surprisingly confiding and one stayed with the boat for the best part of an hour at the berley stop. A White-Headed Petrel was another highlight as it passed close to the boat in the sunlight. Several Wilson’s Storm- Petrels were seen together in the slick and 4 Australasian Gannets passed close to the boat while we were stopped.

After the first stop, we moved further south to a second berley stop over 450 fathoms, at 16nm from shore. The wind swung further north during the second stop and the sea calmed slightly. The continued sunshine was a nice change from the earlier fog.

At the second berley stop a lone Southern Royal Albatross joined the other large albatrosses at the boat. The majority of the Shy Albatrosses and both Campbell Albatrosses from the first stop stayed with us. A couple of Cape Petrels joined the party at the boat as well. A couple
more Gould’s Petrels passed by at this stop, but were not inclined to hang around.

At 13:00, we reluctantly started back to port, and two more Mottled Petrel provided excellent views in offshore waters. We docked at 15:00.

The list for the day totalled 29 bird species and 1 mammal species and a good time was had by all!

MAMMALS: Two Australian fur seals were seen, one offshore and one in pelagic waters, although the sea conditions may have prevented more sightings and we had stayed away from their usual haunt around the Hippolyte Rocks.

Another trip passed without sighting any dolphin species and the skipper reports that the offshore bottlenose dolphins appear to have left the area, as they have not been seen for several months.

BIRDS: We tallied 29 species beyond the entrance to Pirates Bay, which is a good number for a Tasmanian pelagic. Without doubt the highlight was the number of Pterodroma species, which was exceptional, and the close views of several of the rarer species.

Bird list (IOC ver 7.3) Total numbers seen, with largest number seen in brackets.

Wilson’s Storm-petrel: 28 (11). 4 offshore, the rest pelagic.
White-faced Storm-petrel: 2 (1) pelagic.
Wandering Albatross (exulans): 1 (1) juvenile, pelagic.
Antipodean Albatross (gibsoni): 8 (6). 1 inshore and the remainder pelagic
SOUTHERN ROYAL ALBATROSS: 1 adult pelagic.
Campbell Albatross: 2 (2) pelagic.
Campbell/Black-browed Albatross: 1 juvenile pelagic.
Shy Albatross: 18 (9). 6 offshore, the rest pelagic. All adult barring one juvenile.
SALVIN’S ALBATROSS: 1 seen offshore when returning
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross: 1 pelagic
Northern Giant Petrel: 2 (1). 1 offshore, 1 pelagic. Both immature.
Cape Petrel: 2 (2). Both pelagic, both nominate race.
Fairy Prion: 60 (8). Split equally between offshore and pelagic.
Grey-faced Petrel: 2 (2) pelagic.
White-headed Petrel: 3 (1). 2 pelagic and 1 offshore in the afternoon.
Mottled Petrel: 13 (1). 8 inshore in the morning, 1 circling the boat regularly in pelagic water, 2 offshore in the afternoon.
Gould’s Petrel: 5 (1). One offshore and 4 pelagic.
COOK’S PETREL: 3 (1). One inshore in the morning, 1 offshore and 1 pelagic.
Unidentified Cookilaria: 3 inshore, 2 offshore and 1 pelagic.
White-chinned Petrel: 4 (2) all pelagic.
Sooty Shearwater: 3 (1). 1 inshore and 2 pelagic.
Short-tailed Shearwater: 1200 (250). Approx 200 inshore, 600 offshore, 300 pelagic and another 100 inshore in the afternoon.
Common Diving Petrel: 6 offshore.
Australasian Gannet: 5 (4). Small flock appeared in pelagic waters, another seen inshore in the afternoon.
Black-faced Cormorant: 6 (1). 4 inshore in the morning and 2 inshore in the afternoon.
Silver Gull: 9 (4). 8 inshore in the morning and 1 inshore in the afternoon.
Pacific Gull: 1 inshore.
Kelp Gull: 9 (5). 6 inshore in the morning and 3 inshore in the afternoon.
Greater Crested Tern: 13 (6). 3 inshore, 1 offshore, 2 pelagic and a flock of 6 including 1 juvenile, 1 inshore in the afternoon.
ARCTIC TERN: 1 pelagic