Hi All, Sundays’ trip report for Southport. Cheers – Paul W.
Location: Southport, Queensland Date: 4/11/2012 Vessel: 37 ft monohull MV Grinner Crew: Craig Newton (skipper) Pax: Paul Walbridge (leader & organiser), Brian Russell, Rob Morris, Michael Wood, Stuart Pickering, Andrew Sutherland, Carl Billingham, Glen Pacey, David Robertson, Andrew Walter, Rick Franks, Colin Lunt
Weather conditions: A high over the Tasman extended a weakening ridge over the east coast of Queensland. Light SE winds to 10 knots early on abating to < 5 knots ESE by mid morning, picking up again slightly in the afternoon when approaching the coast. Light, high cloud for most of the morning with rain squalls confined to the coast and cloud largely lifting by mid afternoon. Max. air temp. 28* C, barometer 1020 hPa. Sea conditions: Light seas on leaving the Seaway on a light swell, with the swell rising to a maximum of 1.5 metres, with the falling breeze the sea became quite glassy by mid-morning. Sea surface temps. 21.9* C at the Seaway, rising to 22.8* C at the Shelf-break and a max. of 22.3 out wide in Slope waters. Current running at just over 1 knot. Summary: Left the Seaway at 0605 hrs and proceeded ENE to Jim*s Mountain, some 30 nautical miles from the Southport seaway. Crossed the Shelf-break at 0850 hrs, reaching our final drift point at 0940 hrs, with at least one rerun back over the berley slick. Headed for home at 1240 hrs, arriving back at the Southport Seaway at 1525 hrs * duration of trip, 9 hrs 20 mins. On leaving the Seaway, we encountered 3 or 4 trawlers returning from a nights work but they had already finished cleaning up and little bird life around them, save for a couple of foraging Common Terns, Crested Terns, a Silver Gull and Pied Cormorant. Little sighted crossing the Shelf in the calm conditions with low numbers of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, one or two Short-tailed heading south and an Arctic Jaeger and a couple of Pomarine Jaegers appearing. Just before the Shelf-break a lone Sooty Tern approached the vessel, circling a couple of times; a few more Wedge-tailed Shearwaters were also starting to appear, no doubt attracted to the berley bag over the stern. Within 5 minutes of reaching the drift point, at 0945 hrs the first bird arrived, a Black Petrel, which showed well and fed on the slick for a few minutes before flying lazily off to the south. With the now zephyr of a wind, the scent of the slick was not travelling far and just a lone Wedge-tailed Shearwater and a Crested Tern appeared before, at 1025 hrs when the first 2 of many Wilson*s Storm-Petrels arrived. Shortly after this another Black Petrel arrived from the north, this bird hanging around the vessel and the slick for considerably longer than the first bird. This species is becoming more frequent in SEQ waters, with 3 three birds sighted this year alone. With the increasingly calm conditions, little was turning up with mainly Wilson*s Storm-Petrels and Wedge-led Shearwaters but at 1107 hrs a Long-tailed Jaeger appeared, albeit briefly and showing little interest in the vessel. Shortly afterward a late, well worn Providence Petrel appeared in the slick at the back of the vessel, the first of two for the day. With one or two Pomarine Jaegers harassing birds in the slick the main numbers were with Wilson*s Storm-Petrels and the only new bird to appear before leaving was a Brown Booby, passing astern of us at 1210 hrs. On the way back over the Shelf not much sighted with just a few more Wilson*s Storm-Petrels, Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, Short-tailed Shearwaters and Pomarine Jaegers noted. Recent history in these waters suggests that Black Petrels usually appear in the presence of Flesh-footed Shearwaters, until today. So far this Spring there have been no Flesh-footed Shearwater sightings in this region, a species that has always in the past, reappeared in September. Species: Wilson*s Storm-Petrel * 48 (15) Black Petrel * 2 (1) Wedge-tailed Shearwater * 57 (20) Short-tailed Shearwater * 6 (2) Providence Petrel * 2 Brown Booby * 1 Pied Cormorant * 1 Pomarine Jaeger * 7 (2) Arctic Jaeger * 2 (1) Long-tailed Jaeger * 1 Sooty Tern * 2 (1) Common Tern * 2 Crested Tern * 5 (4) Silver Gull * 7 (6) ******************************************************************************** This email, including any attachments sent with it, is confidential and for the sole use of the intended recipient(s). This confidentiality is not waived or lost, if you receive it and you are not the intended recipient(s), or if it is transmitted/received in error. Any unauthorised use, alteration, disclosure, distribution or review of this email is strictly prohibited. The information contained in this email, including any attachment sent with it, may be subject to a statutory duty of confidentiality if it relates to health service matters. 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