TRIP REPORT

On Saturday the 7th of June, a group of both local and foreign birders boarded the Zest II in dark and still conditions in Simonstown, Cape Town for another Anne Albatross Pelagic Trip. Conditions for sea birding were good and the light south easter from the previous two days had resulted in a small swell and little cloud to speak of. The forecast for the day was good, with a fresh north westerly expected
in the late afternoon. The trip was led by Ian Sinclair, Alvin Cope and Rob Leslie with assistance provided by Cliff Dorse and Andrew Hester.

The trip to the point was relatively uneventful, except for a brilliant sun rising above the Hottentots Holland mountains casting a rosy pink colour onto the cliffs of the point. Once at the point, the pelagic birding started in earnest and we were joined by large numbers of Sooty Shearwater, their silvery underwing flashes showing well in the early light. The sea was relatively flat and a light northerly provided for excellent pelagic opportunities. Other early birds included the usual Whitechinned Petrel, Cape Gannet, Pintado Petrel, Subantarctic Skua and a pair of Indian Yellownosed Albatross. The first real excitement of the day was produced by two breaching cetaceans. The cetaceans which remained unidentified despite our efforts were most likely a species of Beaked Whale.

A likely trawler was located in amongst a number of longliners and we made our way towards it. As we approached the trawler, bird numbers picked up significantly and we had eyeball views of Blackbrowed and Shy Albatross, Antarctic Prion, Wilson's Storm Petrel and more of the commoner species. The trawler held reasonable numbers of birds including the first Southern Giant Petrel of the day and relatively large numbers of Indian Yellownosed Albatross. After about half an hour in the wake of the trawler, we moved towards another trawler and were presented with a similar array of birds and an additional Southern Giant Petrel and an Atlantic Yellownosed Albatross.

After a similar length of time at the second trawler, we headed north east to what appeared to be a longliner. We had not gone far when shouts of "white backed albatross" filled the air. This was followed by
shouts of NORTHERN ROYAL ALBATROSS as the identity of the "white backed albatross" was established. Unfortunately the bird did not hang around long enough for everyone to get a good view.

About half an hour later, we were at the longliner and working our way through good numbers of Prions feeding behind the boat. It was not long before shouts of SLENDER-BILLED PRION got the blood pumping again. At least two sightings were gained of this somewhat tricky species. An unusually close fly-by from a Manx Shearwater down the length of the boat provided the final excitement of the afternoon. After about an hour behind the longliner, it was time to head back to shore. The trip home produced a large Oceanic Sunfish swimming just below the surface.

The following is a list of the birds seen during the day with numbers being an estimate only. Numbers in brackets indicate the greatest numbers of birds seen at any one time.

African Penguin - 15 (5) pelagic, common at Boulders
Northern Royal Albatross - 1
Shy Albatross - c250 (30)
Black-browed Albatross - c150 (20)
Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross - 1
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross - c15 (4)
Yellow-nosed Albatross juv. - 5 (2)
Antarctic Prion - 150 (25)
Thinbilled Prion - 2 (1)
White-chinned Petrel - c900 (70)
Pintado Petrel - c150 (25)
Southern Giant Petrel - 3 (1)
Sooty Shearwater - c500 (30)
Manx Shearwater - 1
Wilson's Storm Petrel - c50 (10)
Cape Gannet - common coastal and deep
Subantarctic Skua - c25 (5)
Kelp Gull - common coastal
Hartlaubs Gull - common coastal
Swift Tern - common coastal
Bank Cormorant - coastal
Cape Cormorant - common coastal
Crowned Cormorant - coastal
White-breasted Cormorant - common coastal

Mammals
Beaked Whale (species unknown) - 2
Cape Fur Seal - many

Other
Oceanic Sunfish - 1

Many thanks to the skipper and his crew for another memorable trip, and to the guides for looking after the birders and spotting all the special birds, and to Andrew Hester for writing the report.