TRIP REPORT

On Sunday morning the 3rd of August a group of excited birders boarded the Zest II in Simonstown, Cape Town, for an Anne Albatross Pelagic trip. The forecast for the day was for calm weather with a south-easter picking up in the afternoon. A good base swell from the previous few days' north-westerlies was also forecast.

The trip was lead by Ian Sinclair and Alvin Cope with assistance from Cliff Dorse and Andrew Hester.

Off Smitswinkel Bay we were joined by our first of many Sub-Antarctic Skua and it was followed by relatively good numbers of Antarctic Prion in the Bay. We quickly added Sooty Shearwater and Whitechinned Petrel to the day list as we moved past a relatively calm Cape Point. At Bellows rock, an immature Yellownosed Albatross made a brief appearance. From Bellows rock we headed south west towards the trawling grounds and the possibility of finding a trawler or two. Our path south west provided good numbers of Shy and Blackbrowed Albatross, Wilsons Storm Petrel and more Sooty Shearwater and Antarctic Prion.

Approaching the first trawler our attention was drawn to a cetacean "blowing" off to the starboard side. The identification of the animal was not without debate, however, after considering the shape of the dorsal fin, the overall size of the animal and its blow, we concluded that it was a Brydes Whale. Leaving the whale, we turned our attention to the trawler, which provided the usual winter spectacle, including our first Pintado Petrel of the morning and good numbers of Southern and Northern Giant Petrel and more Blackbrowed and Shy Albatross.

A shout of ANTARCTIC FULMAR provided some shortlived excitement, as the bird disappeared into the sun, not allowing reasonable views for anyone on board. After satisfying ourselves with decent views of all of the pelagic species on show we followed the radar north in search of more fishing vessels. A single Greatwinged Petrel, surprisingly the only Pterodroma of the day, allowed brief views for most on board, while an Atlantic Yellownosed Albatross followed the boat for a few minutes.

Moving behind the second boat (longliner) another Antarctic Fulmar was spotted on the water next to the boat, this time giving good views..
The Longliner also attracted good numbers of both Giant Petrel species and two Antarctic Tern. We spent the next half an hour in the wake of the longliner working through the continual stream of birds. A third Antarctic Fulmar put in an appearance shortly before we headed east and back to Simonstown. The trip home was relatively uneventful. It was one of those perfect trips with pleasant weather, huge amounts of
seabirds, and more trawlers than we could visit.

The following is a list of the birds seen during the day, with numbers being an estimate only:
African Penguin - 3 pelagic, common off Boulders
Shy Albatross - c150
Blackbrowed Albatross - 350
Atlantic Yellownosed Albatross - 1
Indian Yellownosed Albatross - 2
Northern Giant Petrel - c5
Southern Giant Petrel - c10
Giant Petrel (sp) - c5
Antarctic Fulmar - 3
Pintado Petrel - c150
Antarctic Prion - c400
Greatwinged Petrel - 1
Sooty Shearwater - c650
Whitechinned Petrel - c1500
Wilson's Storm Petrel - c25

Cape Gannet - common coastal and pelagic
White breasted Cormorant - common coastal
Cape Cormorant - common coastal
Bank Cormorant - 2
Crowned Cormorant - 2
Subantarctic Skua - c45
Kelp Gull - common
Hartlaubs Gull - common coastal
Antarctic Tern - 2
Swift Tern - common coastal

Thanks to the skipper and his crew, and thanks to the guides, for making the trip memorable for the visiting birders, and to Andrew Hester for writing the trip report.