Fremantle Pelagic Trip Report – 21 August 2016

Summary: An excellent day out started off with a small pod of Orca, including a large bull, just off Rottnest Island. We continued on to the head of the Perth Canyon for two berley and drift sessions with a good mix of eastern Indian Ocean birds, where the undoubted avian highlight was a single Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross. It left it late and only joined the birds on the slick for five minutes towards the end of the day. Other good sightings included a single Arctic Tern, two Southern Giant Petrels and up to 35 Soft-plumaged Petrels (including a darkish morph bird and several intermediate morph and streaked individuals).

Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos off Fremantle Western Australia. The ‘puffin-like’ black triangles around the eyes made this Atlantic easy to pick out from the closely related and common Indian Yellow-nosed Albatrosses (photo: Plaxy Barratt)

Albany Pelagic Trip Report - 24 May 2015

Summary: A second good trip for the weekend, again with 13 tubenose species recorded, though the species mix varied a little from the Saturday trip. The highlights included an Arctic Tern, several Black-bellied Storm-Petrels, and a brief visit by a small group of Orcas.

Arctic Tern. Photo courtesy Dan Mantle.

Albany Pelagic Trip Report - 23 May 2015

Summary: This was a good trip, with a good variety of seabirds seen (including 13 tubenose species). However, we didn't see anything different as a result of travelling further offshore to deeper water. The highlights were at least one South Polar Skua, an intermediate-type Soft-plumaged Petrel, better-than-usual views of a number of Little Shearwater, several Wandering-type Albatross, and a pair of Sperm Whales.

South Polar Skua off Albany. Recent observations indicate the species is a regular, moderately common passage visitor along the southern WA coast through April and May, and this was the fifth consecutive May pelagic off Albany where they have been recorded. Photo courtesy Plaxy Barratt

Albany Pelagic Trip Report - 8 February 2015

Summary: This was also an interesting trip, with a reasonable variety of seabirds, though most species were the same as the previous day’s trip. 11 tubenose species were recorded, along with several skua and tern species. The highlights were more Sooty Terns and Short-tailed Shearwaters, and several close passes from a Wandering-type Albatross.

Wandering-type Albatross, suspected Gibson’s D. [e.] [antipodensis] gibsoni. Photo courtesy Plaxy Barratt.

Albany Pelagic Trip Report - 7 February 2015

Summary: This was the first trip run off Albany in February (or any summer month, for that matter) so it was difficult to know what to expect. It turned out to be an interesting trip, with a reasonable variety of seabirds. 9-10 tubenose species were recorded, along with several skua and tern species. The highlights were close views of a large pod of Pilot Whales around the boat, and records of Sooty Tern, Long-tailed Jaeger, and Short-tailed Shearwater. The latter two were not unexpected at this time of year, but both represent the second records of the species for Albany pelagics. The Sooty Terns were more unexpected, and appear to represent the first records of the species off the south coast of WA.

Pilot Whales (suspected Long-finned Pilot Whales) off Albany. Long-finned and Short-finned are barely separable at sea in areas where they overlap. Long-finned is the more likely species off Albany, and the relatively prominent and well-defined pale saddles are also suggestive of Long-finned. Photo courtesy Plaxy Barratt.

Albany Pelagic Trip Report - 16 November 2014

Summary: Once again, the calm conditions made this a relatively disappointing trip with low species variety and bird activity in general. The highlights were the first records of White-chinned Petrel on a WA pelagic trip, and more Wandering Albatross (though fewer than were recorded on the Saturday). Overall, 8-9 tubenose species were recorded, depending on the specific identity of the Wandering Albatrosses seen.

White-chinned Petrel, a first for Albany pelagics. Photo courtesy Plaxy Barratt.

Albany Pelagic Trip Report - 15 November 2014

Summary: Overall, this was a disappointing trip, particularly for the pelagic veterans, as both species variety and bird activity in general were low, likely due to the calm conditions. The highlight was the large number of Wandering Albatross, more than we have seen on any previous Albany pelagic trip. However, the number of tubenose species recorded was a record low for Albany trips (seven or so, depending on the specific identity of the Wandering Albatrosses seen).

Immature Wandering-type Albatross. The plumage of this bird suggests it could be any of exulans, gibsoni or dabbenena

Albany Pelagic Trip Report - 4 May 2014

Summary: This trip was another excellent trip, following on from the Sunday trip. 13 tubenose species were recorded, highlighted by more excellent views of Black-bellied Storm-Petrels, a dark intermediate morph Soft-plumaged Petrel, and large numbers of Little Shearwaters. Two South Polar Skuas were also seen on the return journey, unfortunately views were again rather brief and distant, and several Arctic Terns were seen at the shelf. As on the Saturday trip, albatross numbers were notably low.

Arctic Tern, one of three present around the boat for an extended period, note the fine, neat dark trailing edge to the primaries and relatively short, dagger bill. Photo courtesy Bernie O'Keefe

Albany Pelagic Trip Report - 3 May 2014

Summary: This trip was another excellent trip, continuing the recent success of early May trips from Albany – at least18 tubenose species were seen, a record for Albany pelagics, highlighted by several prions, including a Fairy Prion (a rarity in WA). A South Polar Skua (and probably a second) were also seen, strengthening suspicions that the species is a regular passage migrant off the WA coast in April-May – unfortunately views were frustratingly brief and distant. Although we saw a good variety of species, total albatross numbers were notably low.

Wilson's Storm-Petrel are abundant on passage off WA at this time of year. Photo courtesy Stewart Ford.

Esperance Pelagic Trip Report - 30 November 2013

Summary: This was the first pelagic trip we've organised off Esperance, so we were unsure exactly what to expect. Although we did not pick up any particularly unusual sightings, overall it was a successful trip, and likely to be well worth repeating. The highlights were a high counts of Wandering(-type) Albatross and White-faced Storm-Petrel, several Great-winged Petrel of the NZ race gouldi ('Grey-faced Petrel') with extensive pale faces, and a good number of Short-tailed Shearwaters – although common off Esperance, the species has only been recorded once before on WA pelagic trips (a single bird off Albany) and was a lifer for several on board. Overall, at least 11 tubenose species were recorded.

Wandering-type Albatross. The heavy build and extensive white in plumage suggests Snowy Albatross, but male Gibson's or Tristan are also possibilities. Photo courtesy Dan Mantle.

Hillarys Pelagic Trip Report - 4 August 2013

Participants: Alan Collins (Organiser), John Graff (Organiser), Sue Abbotts, Ben Allen, Steve Burns, Wes Cooper, Cheryl Davis, Alison Gye, William Gye, Murray Hennessy, Mark Henryon, John Litherland, Josan Moss, Clive Nealon, Simon Nevill, Diego Pitzalis, Jill Rowbottom, Georgina Steytler

Conditions: Winds were forecast to be north-westerly at less than 10knts during the morning increasing to 15-20knt as the day progressed. Seas were forecast up to 2m, with a swell of 1m. Conditions on the day were roughly as forecast. Sea temperatures were in the range of 20-21 degrees Celsius.

Report: This trip produced a fairly standard variety of species, however overall numbers were low, with the notable exception of Soft-plumaged Petrels. The low numbers of Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross was a surprise for this time of year, and the complete absence of Hutton’s Shearwater even more so as August is generally the peak passage time for the species off the south-west coasts (they had been recorded on all ten previous Hillarys Pelagics in August).



Cape Petrel, race australe (Snares Cape Petrel). Note the relatively limited white in the upperwing, particularly the extensive dark division between the two white patches.



Albany Pelagic Trip Report - 5 May 2013

Participants: Alan Collins (Organiser), John Graff (Organiser), Sue Abbotts, Xenia Dennett, Stewart Ford, Alison Gye, William Gye, Jane Hogben, Ross Hogben, John Lillywhite, Dan Mantle, Michael Morcombe, Simon Nevill, Glen Pacey, Ray Turnbull, John Weigel

Conditions: Seas were forecast to be around 1m, with swell to 2-3m, and light NE’ly winds. Conditions were generally as forecast, but the wind was light-moderate from the SE throughout the day. Overall, conditions were fairly typical for an Albany trip

Report
Following on from a successful Saturday trip, this was another excellent trip with at least 13 tubenose species recorded, highlighted by a pair of Sooty Albatross and a Black-bellied Storm-Petrel, along with another South Polar Skua.

The second Sooty Albatross of the day. The buffy collar indicates an immature bird.

Albany Pelagic Trip Report - 4 May 2013

Participants: Alan Collins (Organiser), John Graff (Organiser), Sue Abbotts, Xenia Dennett, Stewart Ford, Peter Huggins, Darryl Jones, John Lillywhite, Dan Mantle, Michael Morcombe, Simon Nevill, Glen Pacey, Jon Pridham, Ray Turnbull, John Weigel

Conditions: Seas were forecast to 1m, with swell 1.5-2.5m, and light SE’ly winds. Conditions were reasonably close to the forecast though it was a little rougher in the morning, even within King George Sound, flattening through the day.

Report
This was an excellent trip - 11 tubenose species were seen, but it was the skuas and terns that provided the major highlights with three South Polar Skuas, a breeding plumaged Arctic Tern, and at least one Long-tailed Jaeger seen.

The second South Polar Skua seen on the day. A dark bird but note the overall slimmer build (cf. Brown), very dark underwing lining, and slight pale nape.

Hillarys Pelagic Trip Report - 24 March 2013

Participants: Alan Collins (Organiser), John Graff (Organiser), Sue Abbotts, Robin Ashford, Martin Cake, Cheryl Davis, Rose Ferrell, Stewart Ford, Michael Hancock, Mark Henryon, Nigel Jackett, Darryl Jones, Val La May, John McMullan, Rob Morris, Clive Nealon, Margot Oorebeek, Annette Park, Robyn Pickering, Louis Purdy, Peter Taylor, Ray Turnbull, Peter White

Conditions: Winds were forecast to be south-easterly at 12-15knts during the morning shifting to an 18knt southerly in the afternoon, with seas 2m and swell of 1.5-2m. Conditions on the day were roughly as forecast. Sea temperatures were in the range of 22-23 degrees.

Report
This was the first pelagic off Hillarys run in March, and the earliest in the year a trip has been run off Hillarys so it was interesting to see what was about. There was no repeat of the high Streaked Shearwater numbers from last year’s April trip and these seem to have been a cyclone-related occurrence. Overall though it was a reasonable trip, with 7 true seabirds recorded, along with a variety of jaegers and terns. Unfortunately, no unusual species were seen and the majority of species did not spend much time (if any) close to the boat.

Flesh-footed Shearwater, the everpresent at all stops on the trip.

Albany Pelagic Trip Report - 29 July 2012

Participants: Alan Collins (Organiser), John Graff (Organiser), Ron Broomham, Mark Carter, Rose Ferrell, Stewart Ford, Nigel Jackett, Darryl Jones, Dan Mantle, Glen Murray, Graham Palmer, Leif Reidell, Peter Taylor, Roy Teale, Nathan Waugh

Conditions: Conditions for the trip were a little rougher than the Saturday trip, with NE'ly winds around 10knts in the morning, increasing to around 15knts for the return journey. Seas were forecast to be 1.5m, and the swell was forecast to be 2m, increasing to 2.5m through the day. Overhead conditions were fine and sunny for the majority of the trip, though there was cloud and rain away to the SE

Report
Overall this was a disappointing trip for Albany, especially for regular participants. Only 9 pelagic species were recorded, with no unusual sightings, and it proved difficult to bring any birds in behind the boat. The highlight was another sighting of Orcas (Killer Whales), following on from the sighting on the Saturday trip, though the views were not as good on this occasion.

Great-winged Petrel. Photo courtesy Dan Mantle.

Albany Pelagic Trip Report - 28 July 2012

Participants: Alan Collins (Organiser), John Graff (Organiser), Prue Anderson, Ron Broomham, Martin Cake, Stewart Ford, Nigel Jackett, Liz King, Richard King, Dan Mantle, Robyn Pickering, Jon Pridham, Roy Teale, Nathan Waugh, Gavin White

Conditions: Conditions on the day were relatively calm, with winds less than 10knts all day. Seas were forecast to be less than 1m and swell was forecast to be 1.5-2m. Overhead conditions were mostly overcast, with significant shower (occasionally heavy) activity offshore in the morning

Report
Overall this was an average Albany trip, with 11 pelagic species recorded, and most of the expected species making an appearance. However, no Wandering Albatross were seen for the second Albany pelagic weekend running, and there were no unusual sightings. The highlight of the trip was a group of Orcas (Killer Whales), which showed quite well at our second stop – these represent the first record for WA pelagics.

'Type A' Orcas off Albany- note the shape of eyepatch for type identification. Photo courtesy Dan Mantle.

Hillarys Pelagic Trip Report - 1 April 2012

Participants (21)
Alan Collins (organiser), Ben Allen, Dimitris Bertzeletos, Steve Burns, Martin Cake, Cheryl Davis, John Graff, Mike Green, Greg Howell, Liz King, Richard King, Louise Little, Wayne Merritt, Clive Nealon, Jenny Preston, Jon Pridham, Mark Stanley, John Vogel, Nathan Waugh, Bruce Wedderburn, Pete White

Conditions
Departed Hillarys Boat Harbour at 7.20am. Returned at 3.45pm.  The forecast was for a partially cloudy day with showers and 10/15 knots W/SW winds increasing to 18/23 knots by early afternoon. Seas were 2m with a swell of 2m.

Description
The highlight of the trip was the large numbers of Streaked Shearwater seen. At least 40 birds were seen very close to the northern shore of Rottnest Island; this species has never been seen in the SW of Western Australia, before this trip the furthest south they had been recorded at sea in WA was just north of Geraldton. Other highlights included prolonged and close views of Wilson’s Storm-Petrels and a couple of very obliging Hutton’s Shearwater.

Streaked Shearwater, Hillarys Pelagic Trip April 2012.

Streaked Shearwaters near Rottnest Island

Streaked Shearwaters are relatively common visitors to waters off northern Australia, but there are few (if any) records from the seas off Perth, and certainly no recent records. Hence it was something of a surprise when the recent pelagic trip organised out of Hillarys Boat Harbour recorded good numbers just north of Rottnest Island. The first birds were recorded c. 12km NNE of Rottnest Island (c. 15km off the mainland) on the outward passage of the boat. Several birds were seen in this area, but no further birds were seen on the outbound journey. However, on the return journey, several more Streaked Shearwaters were recorded c. 8km NW of Rottnest, and larger numbers (probably 20+) 2-5km due N of Rottnest Island. Overall, it was estimated that 40+ birds were recorded on the trip.

A Streaked Shearwater with the Perth skyline in the background, April 2012.



Location of Streaked Shearwater records on April 2012 pelagic. Click here for full Google Map.



Intermediate Morph Soft-plumaged Petrels off Perth

The Soft-plumaged Petrel (Pterodroma mollis) is a common visitor to offshore waters of southern Western Australia, predominantly from late autumn to early spring. Pelagic seabird trips off Perth, run since 1996, have recorded the species on 27 of the 31 trips run (an 87% recording rate). The species has been recorded less commonly on pelagic trips off Albany, run since 2003, having been recorded on five of the nine trips run (a 56% recording rate).

Soft-plumaged Petrel off Perth.

Soft-plumaged Petrels are one of several petrel species to exhibit polymorphism. The pale morph is easily the most commonly occurring variant, but dark morph individuals are also regularly (but rarely) recorded. Intermediate individuals have been recorded, but these are particularly rare. Indeed, Onley & Scofield [1] report only “a few scruffy intermediate specimens … in museum collections” and “no recent records at sea or from breeding grounds”. This assertion is clouded by differences in treatment of intermediate individuals between authors. Shirihai [2] for example appears to include all intermediate morphs, along with the wholly dark morph, under the dark morphs. He describes the dark morph as being “partially (mottled) to wholly dusky-brown/sooty-grey on underparts, with variable breastband, but rest of plumage as pale morph”. Much of the confusion is likely down to the fact that in reality there is not a distinct intermediate morph; rather intermediate birds can fall anywhere on a spectrum between typical pale morph birds and fully dark individuals.

Pale morph Soft-plumaged Petrel off Perth.