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)

A Western Australia Big Year 2015 (Part 2)

A Big year on a small budget (The Kimberley)

 I was ready to put the final preparations in place for our 2 week odyssey in the Kimberley! Unfortunately, my plans were a little sabotaged by influenza. My daughter went down with it first and I became full time nurse for a very sick and grumpy 12yr old. Four days out from the trip and I woke with a sore throat...........oh oh............ I went to the doctor and got some antibiotics (and even though I took them for 2 weeks they proved to be as effective at fighting the flu as crossing your fingers).

 To be honest, I can't really remember the flight to Broome or picking up the hire car, but the adrenaline kicked in once we got out of the airport. It was "game on" and I needed to focus. New birds for the year came thick and fast, Little Curlews on the town oval, Red-headed Honeyeater in the court gardens, Red-collared Lorikeets feeding in the palms. We booked into the Broome Bird Observatory and then promptly left, to head down the highway to see Flock Bronzewing (a species I had never seen before). Our second day in Broome proved to be even better, having got the tides completely wrong, we arrived at the beach to find the tide so high that all those thousands of waders that Broome is famous for, were nowhere to be seen! Disaster...........until, we found a small group of waders in a secluded cove. In amongst them was a Eurasian Curlew! A mega-rare bird for WA and a completely unexpected find. Add in a couple of Redshanks and the disaster had turned into a success. The day got even better when searching for Eastern Yellow Wagtails at the caravan park, when we came across a stunning breeding plumage Yellow-headed Wagtail (a race of Western Yellow Wagtail). Having never been officially seen in Australia before, this was without doubt one of the two best birds of the whole year. On our third and final day in Broome we went out birding with George Swann, what he doesn't know about birding in the Kimberley isn't worth knowing! We had a whistle-stop tour of the various wetlands and lakes, picking up Little Ringed Plover, Swinhoe's Snipe and White-throated Gerygone amongst others.



Swinhoe's Snipe - Lake Eda (near Broome)

A Western Australian Big Year 2015

A Big year on a small budget (Part 1)

If you haven't heard of a "Big Year" then search around in the bargain bin in the local DVD shop and find the "The Big Year" starring Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson. I think it just about covers it all, although being an American Big Year, it doesn't have any crocodiles!

A Big Year in birding terms, is trying to see as many bird species as you can in a single calendar year. The area you cover is up to you, some people do World Big Years, others do countries and I chose my home state of Western Australia (even though it's only a state, it is larger than many countries and twice as hot).

Why, you ask??? Well, why not! Birders talk about doing things and sometimes just never get around to it and that had been the case with a WA Big Year since Archaeopteryx decided to take to the wing. I was going to be the first, which has positives and negatives.........first you've bound to get the record but on the other hand you have no benchmark to aim for.  I pored over the maps and books and came up with a rough target. I reckoned a birder with bottomless pockets and all the time in the world could get 450+  (probably closer to 460) in WA, those with either limited time or money could get 435 and those less fortunate could get 420.........so 420 it was! I decided on a couple of rules, to only includes birds I saw and identified myself (no heard only records) and to not use "playback". Living in Perth, the southwest of WA would be where I would have to find the majority of the species. A rough calculation produced a figure of around 300 species within a days drive of Perth, added to that I had a total of 4 weeks holiday when I could venture further afield.

New Year's Day came around and before the crack of dawn I was ready at Lake McLarty (RIP) to try to start the year with some waders. Luckily for me the lake had one more day left before it baked dry, the birding gods were smiling on me and I managed to see a good selection of waders including Pectoral Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper and Long-toed Stint with the bonus of a Ruff at a nearby wetland. I spent the rest of the day racing around to various habitats and by nightfall I had a total of 110 species, a good start to a very very long race. The rest of January was spent gradually picking off the relatively easy species and by the months end the total was up to 175. February held the exciting prospect of adding some seabirds to the list with pelagics scheduled in Albany (on the south coast of WA).

Black-browed Albatross - Albany pelagic 8th Feb 2015

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.

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.

Crake City - Thomson's Lake

“This must be Crake City”, my son proclaimed. Summer at Thomson’s Lake is probably as close as you can get to Crake City in Western Australia. We had started the morning at Kogolup Swamp but the water levels there were too high. It was ankle deep at the edge of the shallowest rushes and the crakes could be heard tucked up deep in the rushes where our spying eyes could not see them. We moved to Thomson’s Lake which dries earlier and had plenty of mud exposed at the edges of the rushes. Crake heaven. Well, crake watching birders' heaven!

Australian Spotted Crake at Thomson's Lake.

The Sea, The Sea

Winter is finally upon us here in SW Western Australia, and all right-minded birders turn their thoughts to the arrival of hordes of petrels and albatross from more southerly climes. So it was on Friday that I drove down to Point Peron to indulge in a little seawatching. A cold front was passing over and the winds were forecast to be in the region of 20-25 knots.

For those people who don’t know, seawatching is just that - spending hours just staring at the waves, imagining what fantastic species might fly past (but never do!). Sean Dooley in his book “Anoraks to Zitting Cisticola” defines seawatching as “trekking out to an exposed spot on the coast… and sitting for hours as you scan the oceans for any birds that fly past; the worse the weather the better, as deep ocean species are more likely to be blown towards the shore”.

So what did I see on my seawatch?  First I have to explain to you that the south-western Indian Ocean must surely be the worst seawatching spot there is (if you know better, then please tell me, not that I’ll believe you).  This is made worse because just around the corner (literally) is the Southern Ocean, which has albatross and petrels galore. But given that it’s a five hour drive to get down there, that is not a viable option, so I’m stuck with Perth.


Those were the days.........