Hi all. I don’t think anyone has posted anything about this trip apart from John Weigel. If so please forgive the repetition.
My wife and I had the pleasure of travelling across the Great Australian bight on the Spirit of Enderby from 2 December to 9 December. Best birds of the trip were the approximately 15 Sooty Albatrosses seen in mostly South Australian waters, as well as numerous White-headed petrels, Gould’s Petrels, White-chinned Petrels, Soft-plumaged Petrels and White-faced Storm Petrels. Two Southern Royal Albatrosses were also a highlight. As we approached Tasmania, the Short-tailed Shearwaters and Shy Albatrosses kicked in with massive numbers of STSWs in particular. Somewhat surprising were the Bridled Terns in WA waters.
We also saw some good cetaceans- Blue Whales, Orcas, Sperm Whales, Long-finned Pilot Whales, Common Dolphins, Striped Dolphins, Common Bottlenose Dolphins, Southern Right Whale Dolphins as well as some unidentified beaked whales, possibly Southern Bottlenose Whales, some other unidentified dolphins and some New Zealand Fur Seals south of Kangaroo Island.
It was good to meet the birding identities, many for the first time and enjoy their company as well as some non birders who nevertheless enjoyed the trip.
At the completion of this trip my wife and I spent a week on Flinders Island, the subject of the next email.
Happy Birding.
