Two one-day pelagics have been booked, departing from Eden at 7am to approximately 3pm each day. Cost will be about $164. Currently, the boat is fully booked on both days but there are usually cancellations, so if you would like to go on the waiting list, I require the following information (please reply by numbering 1 to 4 and providing your answers):
- Name and mobile number
- Name and number of an emergency contact
- Which day do you wish to register for? Sat 22, or Sun 23, or don’t mind
- Would you like to express an interest in a second day if it becomes available? yes or no.
Register at smlashko@gmail.com
This year’s Eden pelagics were, by far, the most comfortable pelagic trips I’ve ever undertaken. Conditions over the weekend were extremely calm with very pleasant temperatures, and hardly more than a gentle breeze. I’ve never seen a flatter ocean at the shelf! Truly wonderful days to be a human on the water.
Unfortunately, by the same token, the birds were a bit harder to come by than we’re accustomed to off Eden. Each day started slowly and we struggled to attract a following on the ride out to the shelf; nevertheless, on both days we managed to return home with a respectable species list.
The Saturday trip began with an Arctic Jaeger at the edge of the heads, followed by a second bird slightly further out. On the way to the shelf we managed to capture the attention of some Flesh-footed Shearwaters, providing a nice ID exercise among decent numbers of Wedge-tailed and Short-tailed Shearwaters. Over the course of a few hours at the shelf we set up a couple of drift points, and birds slowly meandered past; a handful of Shy Albatross and a single Buller’s Albatross put on a nice show, as did a couple of Grey-faced Petrels. With such good visibility across the ocean surface, I was surprised at the lack of storm-petrels, with none of any species recorded. Throughout the day we were accompanied by the usual roving flocks of Australasian Gannet.
With even calmer conditions forecast for the Sunday, my hopes of adding to the species tally were not high. The journey to the shelf was uninspiring, with even the shearwaters showing little interest in a free feed, though we did again record Flesh-footed, Short-tailed and Wedge-tailed. Very brief flybys gave us just enough blurry photographs to confirm the identity of single Hutton’s and Fluttering Shearwaters. Once at the shelf we began to gain momentum, and ended up having a great time! Good numbers of Shy Albatross sat with us throughout the day, providing fantastic views and entertainment as they accepted our fishy offerings. Two Buller’s Albatross also dropped by, though they mostly kept their distance. We were treated to incredibly good views of a White-chinned Petrel that sat with us for an extended period in the afternoon, and the missing Storm-petrels from Saturday finally showed up, with a somewhat distant Wilson’s and two very obliging White-faced.
The most unusual sighting of the entire weekend wasn’t a seabird – on our journey back to shore on Sunday afternoon, we were joined by a Grey Fantail. First encountered roughly 15km offshore, the bird made a beeline for the boat and flew straight into the cabin! Unfortunately it was disturbed and flew outside again where it spent the next half-hour or so following the boat, attempting to land on the slippery railings. Flying low across the surface of the water, at times it seemed certain that it would run out of energy and crash into the ocean – but every time it disappeared behind a fleck of surf, it would reappear and make another pass. Thankfully it did eventually succeed in landing, and stayed aboard for some time before taking off, gaining altitude, and disappearing to the southwest.
On both days we were treated to our usual tour of the Black-faced Cormorant roost on the southern edge of Twofold Bay. This colony seems to have had an especially good season, with a healthy 193 counted on Sunday!
Many thanks to Mark and Lindsay from Freedom Charters for their ongoing skill, enthusiasm, flexibility and well-timed biscuit runs, and to all of the participants who made it such an enjoyable weekend on the water.
Julian Teh
