TRIP REPORT
5 March 2011
At 07h00 on Saturday morning, eight excited birders gathered at the quayside at Hout Bay harbour. We bordered the Obsession and were soon on our way out of the picturesque Hout Bay. It was with much anticipation that we headed in a south-westerly direction to the trawling grounds in the deep.
There were good numbers of Common Terns with the mandatory Parasitic Jaegers in attendance as we left the coast. It was not long before we saw our first Sooty Shearwaters and White-chinned Petrels. Great Shrearwater, Sabine's Gull and a single Manx Shearwater were also soon added to our ever growing trip list. Our first albatross, a juvenile Shy, followed shortly thereafter.
We could see at least three trawlers in the distance and we made a beeline for them. Bird numbers started to grow and we soon added Black-browed and Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross, Wilson's Storm-Petrel and the only Great-winged Petrel for the day which put in a brief flyby. A single Flesh-footed Shearwater did a few circles around the boat before disappearing. We then spent a great deal of time moving between three trawlers and a long-lining vessel. It was an amazing spectacle and we enjoyed great views of all the regular species while looking for species not yet encountered. At the trawlers we added Indian Ocean Albatross, Subantartic Skua and our only Northern Giant Petrel of the day. We also managed to pick up a Flesh-footed Shearwater on the water which allowed a few photos. A Manx Shearwater was also feeding on the water in close proximity. Amongst the big numbers of Wilsons, we were able to pick out three European Storm-Petrels.
The highlight on the way home was a pod of Common Dolphins which put in a very brief appearance and a single Humpbacked Whale just off Hout Bay.
Thanks must go to Dave Christie who did an excellent job as skipper of the Obsession.
The following is a list of the species seen during the course of the day. The numbers reflected can be considered as rough estimations only.
Shy Albatross c . 250
Black-browed Albatross c. 100
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross c . 10
Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross c . 50
Northern Giant Petrel 1
Giant Petrel sp. 2
White-chinned Petrel c . 200
Great Shearwater c . 300
Cory's Shearwater c. 10
Sooty Shearwater c . 50
Flesh-footed Shearwater 1
Manx Shearwater 2
Great-winged Petrel 1
Wilson 's Storm Petrel c . 100
European Storm-Petrel 3
Subantarctic Skua 10
Parasitic Jaeger c. 15
Sabine's Gull 5The following species were common close to the coast:
Cape Gannet
Cape Cormorant
Kelp Gull
Hartlaub's Gull
Common Tern
Swift Tern
Sandwich Tern
Mammals
Cape Fur Seal
Humpbacked Whale 1
Common Dolphin 1Thanks to Cliff Dorse for guiding and Dave Christie for skippering for an excellent summer pelagic trip. Excellent birds and good numbers.