Saturday 11 April 2026 – Eden pelagic The bar for COG’s first round of 2026 Eden pelagics was set high, with a Victorian group scoring some very unusual warm-water records in the fortnight prior. A group of Australian Ravens harassing a Grey Goshawk kept us entertained as we waited to board, and we motored out towards the continental shelf in south-westerly winds and decent swell. Within the first hour we amassed a good following of Shy Albatross and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, many of them sticking with us for the entire day. About halfway to the shelf, I was very surprised to see a Grey-backed Storm-Petrel ducking between the waves some distance behind us – while Eden is one of the best ports from which to see this species, in my experience it is unusual to encounter one over shallow waters before the shelf break. The bird reappeared twice more, but sadly didn’t catch up to us for good views. At the shelf we were surrounded by a large flock, many poached from a passing fishing boat that we moved to intercept – Shy, Black-browed, Campbell, Indian Yellow-nosed and Buller’s Albatross gathered around us, along with large numbers of Flesh-footed Shearwaters. At least 20 Wilson’s Storm-Petrels put on a spectacular show, and a brief but satisfying appearance from a White-faced Storm-Petrel rounded out the Eden storm-petrel set. Not to be outdone, a pair each of White-chinned and Grey-faced Petrels circled the boat at close range. The undisputed highlight of the day was a single Black Petrel, picked up by Anthony among the throng of shearwaters right beside the boat. Everyone enjoyed excellent views, and had a chance to compare it to the closely-related White-chinned Petrels and visually similar Flesh-footed Shearwaters at close range. An occasional summer-autumn visitor to the east coast, this is only the fourth eBird record of this species off Eden. By early afternoon the wind had died off, the chum had run low and the birds were beginning to lose interest. We set off for shore with only a few albatross giving chase, and enjoyed a quiet (if slightly bumpy) ride in, punctuated by our traditional stop at the sawmill pontoons to view the Black-faced Cormorant colony. Unfortunately, the Sunday trip had to be cancelled at the last minute due to forecast 30 knot winds and heavy swell offshore. Instead, a group of 10 enjoyed a circumnavigation of Lake Curalo, one of my favourite birding spots on the south coast. In just under four hours we tallied up 74 species, including Buff-banded Rail, Bar-tailed Godwit, Southern Emu-wren, Crescent Honeyeater, Varied Sittella and a frustratingly heard-only Black-faced Monarch. As always, our thanks to Mark and Lindsay from Freedom Charters for another great day out, and to all participants for maintaining good cheer in the face of unpredictable pelagic birding. Julian Teh