Hi all, I’ve finally gotten around to completing the report for the inaugural Esperance pelagic trip run at the end of November. Overall it was a successful trip (despite a gale warning!), though we had no really unusual sightings. The highlights were a number of Wandering Albatross, large numbers of White-faced Storm-Petrel, several gouldi Great-winged Petrel, and a good number of Short-tailed Shearwater A text version of the report is included below. There is a full version with photos online at http://wabirdingblog.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/esperance-pelagic-trip-report-30.html Cheers, John ESPERANCE PELAGIC TRIP REPORT – 30 NOVEMBER 2013 Participants: John Graff (Organiser), Deb Sullivan (Organiser), Plaxy Barratt, James Bennett, Heather Beswick, Kylie Bishop, Bart Brieffies, Pam Burgess, Martin Cake, Dave Crossley, Stewart Ford, Jen Ford, Mike Gibbs, Greg Howell, John Lillywhite, Dan Mantle, Bill McRoberts, Wayne Merritt, Josan Moss, Margot Oorebeek, Ken Read, Pam Smith, Athol Staaden, Derek Stokes, Vicki Stokes, Roy Teale, Ray Turnbull. Conditions: Despite a gale warning for the Esperance Coast region, forecast conditions off Esperance itself were relatively moderate, with seas forecast below 1.5m, increasing to 2-3m in the afternoon, and swell forecast at 1.5-2m, increasing to 2-3m in the afternoon. Winds were forecast at 15-25knts. Actual conditions were roughly as forecast, but towards the milder end of the forecast range. A few light showers were encountered on the outbound journey, but for the most part overhead conditions were fine and sunny. REPORT This was the first pelagic trip we’ve organised off Esperance, so we were unsure exactly what to expect. Although we did not pick up any particularly unusual sightings, overall it was a successful trip, and likely to be well worth repeating. The highlights were a high counts of Wandering (-type) Albatross and White-faced Storm-Petrel, several Great-winged Petrel of the NZ race gouldi (‘Grey-faced Petrel’) with extensive pale faces, and a good number of Short-tailed Shearwaters – although common off Esperance, the species has only been recorded once before on WA pelagic trips (a single bird off Albany) and was a lifer for several on board. Overall, at least 11 tubenose species were recorded. We met bright and early just before 5am and boarded the Southern Conquest at Taylor St jetty. Unfortunately it became clear that there had been some miscommunication about the object of the trip, so some hasty negotiations were required to get us to the shelf break. Fortunately we were able to work out a solution that seemed to work for everyone without too much trouble, and started motoring out. Pacific Gulls followed the boat out, and the first shearwaters appeared not long afterwards, both Short-tailed Shearwater and Flesh-footed Shearwater. Nothing new was seen for a period, before the first albatross was seen off the port side – unfortunately it disappeared into the rising sun and couldn’t be identified, though thoughts centred on Black-browed Albatross. Shortly afterwards, the first Shy Albatross made an appearance and a Little Shearwater was seen by a few people. The first Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross then appeared, and a couple of Hutton’s Shearwaters were seen. Bridled Terns also made regular appearances, and a group of three Fairy Terns was also seen. Shy Albatross continued to be almost everpresent, along with Flesh-footed and the occasional Short-tailed Shearwater. As we passed Termination Island and approached the shelf, the first White-faced Storm-Petrel and Great-winged Petrel were also seen. We stopped at the shelf edge in around 400m of water, and deployed the chum. Flesh-footed Shearwaters and Shy Albatross moved in immediately, along with Great-winged Petrels. At least one of these had enough white in the face to indicate the NZ race gouldi (‘Grey-faced Petrel’) which is relatively rarely reported in WA waters. Soon after, the call went out for a Wandering-type Albatross coming in from a long way off, but it made a reasonable pass – quite a white individual, most likely a Snowy Albatross (exulans), but possibly a male Gibson’s ([antipodensis] gibsoni) or Tristan (dabbenena). White-faced Storm-Petrel numbers in the slick built up, and the first Wilson’s Storm-Petrel made an appearance, along with the first few Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross joining the Shy Albatross. Then a jaeger was called just off the stern – though it didn’t remain in the area, we were able to identify it as an Arctic Jaeger. Several Wandering-type Albatross made passes, likely involving at least two taxa; Snowy, and Gibson’s and/or Tristan. After a while, we had drifted into shallower water and so we repositioned at our initial starting point and deployed the remaining chum. The same species mix continued to be seen, including high numbers of White-faced Storm-Petrel and regular passes from several Wandering-type Albatross. A Short-tailed Shearwater made a few close passes before sitting behind the boat. The Great-winged Petrels seen here included several more individuals of race gouldi. The first new species was a young Black-browed Albatross that made a mid-distance pass, then remained distantly off the stern but did not come in. Shortly afterwards though, another individual did come in to the back of the boat, and a third individual was seen soon afterwards. A dead shearwater (probably a Short-tailed Shearwater) floated past, and was picked at by a group of young Shy Albatross. However, nothing different was seen and eventually we had to head for home. Due to the long distance to the shelf, the return journey took 4hrs, and little different was seen. A few more Hutton’s Shearwaters were seen, along with a distant jaeger sp. As we moved closer to shore, some small dolphins were seen, unfortunately not well enough to establish their identity with certainty – however they weren’t Common Bottlenose Dolphins, the typical species on other WA pelagics. A Brown Skua also flew purposefully past the stern. Just before docking, we made a detour for some close views of the Black-faced Cormorants at the end of the Tanker Jetty. All in all, this was a fairly successful first trip from Esperance, and hopefully will be repeated. Thanks as always to all the participants, and to the skipper and crew for their friendly assistance throughout the day. A further thanks to all on board, participants and crew, for the way the early issues were sorted out. Species List [Total Count (Maximum seen at one time)] Wandering Albatross [sp.] 8+ (3) (most probably Snowy exulans, 2+ more likely Gibson’s ([antipodensis] gibsoni)/Tristan (dabbenena) Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross 15 (6) Black-browed Albatross 4 (2) Shy Albatross 60 (12) Great-winged Petrel 35 (7) Great-winged Petrel (race gouldi) 5 (1) Flesh-footed Shearwater 400 (45) Short-tailed Shearwater 40 (14) Hutton’s Shearwater 10 (3) Little Shearwater 1 (1) Wilson’s Storm-Petrel 8 (3) White-faced Storm-Petrel 170 (60) Australasian Gannet 9 (1) Brown Skua 1 (1) Arctic Jaeger 1 (1) Jaeger sp. 1 (1) Crested Tern 6 (2) Bridled Tern 18 (4) Fairy Tern 3 (3) Silver Gull 2 (1) Pacific Gull 12 (4) Dolphin sp 10+
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