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A Cape Town Pelagic trip left Simonstown
on Saturday August 29th in perfect weather conditions,
guided by Cape Town Pelagics guide Rob Leslie.
We raced across the pond-like calm of False Bay and
shortly before reaching Cape Point we had our first
excitement for the day, a close encounter with a Bryde’s
Whale. We rounded Cape Point expecting the
rough, lumpy conditions that usually prevail off the
Point, but the sea was so unusually calm and we headed
out into the Atlantic Ocean making for the head of
the Cape Canyon.
Soon after rounding the Point a we saw distant blow
of a Humpback Whale. This was soon
followed by a huge school of Common dolphin
– it was starting to look more like a cetacean
than birding trip. Unfortunately the dolphins were
the last cetaceans for the day.
We continued out in the mill pond conditions and soon
picked up two trawlers. In the calm conditions the
trawlers were visible from miles away and we didn’t
even need to use the radar. The first trawler Foxglove
was hauling her gear – she had such a big bag
that she appeared to be going backwards while hauling.
Although, by coming up to Foxglove as she was hauling
we had timed things perfectly, and there was a large
cloud of birds, the diversity was rather disappointing
– mainly Cape Gannets and
Pintado Petrels. So after only a brief stop
we moved off to the second trawler, Bluebell. She
had also just hauled her net and was starting the
process the catch, however she also had mainly Gannets
and Pintados in attendance. Again
we paid only a brief visit before moving on to a third
trawler that was just visible over the horizon about
6 miles further offshore.
At last we hit the jackpot, or was it a case of third
time lucky? Anyway the third trawler, Forest Lily
had a mixed flock in attendance including lots of
Shy and Black-browed Albatrosses
and both Northern and Southern
Giant Petrels and a white morph Southern
Giant Petrel. We turned and drove down the
wake of the trawler and this is where the calm, windless
conditions showed the down side – there wasn’t
enough wind for the Albatrosses to stay airborne and
there were little groups of Albatrosses sitting on
the water as far as the eye could see. We motored
through the groups for over a mile and there were
still groups of Albatrosses on the water all the way
to the horizon. Just when I was thinking that we should
turn around and head back to the trawler I at last
spotted a Northern Royal Albatross
on the water. We had great views of the bird sat before
it flushed and moved further down the wake. We continued
on but didn’t find it again, so eventually we
turned around and motored back to the Forest Lily.
On the way back we had fleeting views of 3 young (1
juvenile and 2 subadult) Indian Yellow-nosed
Albatrosses.
As we came up to the Forest Lily (by this time she
had joined the other 2 trawlers) we had a quick fly-by
from an Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross
and a friendly adult Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross.
After spending some time with the 3 trawlers and having
a very pleasant lunch, we set off home. The predicted
cold front was approaching and a freshening wind made
the return trip a bit bumpier than the outward journey.
About 5 miles off the Point we had our final excitement
for the day, an Antarctic Fulmar.
After we rounded the Point we took a leisurely drive
across False Bay following the scenic route via the
Cape Rooikrans and the obligatory stop at the Bank
Cormorant and Cape Fur Seal
colonies off Partridge Point. The breeding season
at the Bank Cormorant colony is well underway and
good views were had with the white rump patches of
their breeding plumage clearly visible. A family party
of 5 Crowned Cormorants was also
found.
Pelagic Species
Northern Royal Albatross 1
Shy Albatross 750
Blackbrowed Albatross 2000
Atlantic Yellownosed Albatross 1
Indian Yellownosed Albatross 4
Southern Giant petrel 20
Southern Giant petrel (White morph) 1
Northern Giant petrel 10
Whitechinned Petrel 1000
Sooty Shearwater 300
Great Shearwater 1
Pintado Petrel 10000
Antarctic Fulmar 1
Wilson’s Storm Petrel 50
Cape Gannet 6000
Subantarctic Skua 20
Kelp (Cape) Gull 50
Arctic Tern 2
Coastal
Jackass Penguin Common
Whitebreasted Cormorant Common
Bank Cormorant Few
Cape Cormorant Common
Crowned Cormorant 5
Kelp (Cape) Gull Few
Hartlaubs Gull Common
Swift Tern Common
Common Tern Few
Grey Heron 1
African Black Oystercatcher 4
Egyptian Goose 2
Mammals
Bryde’s Whale 1
Humpback Whale 1
Common Dolphin 1000
Cape Fur Seal Common
A message from Cape Town Pelagics:
A huge thank you to our experienced skippers who are
able to safely lead us to the best birding areas and
skillfully manoeuvre the boat into just the best position
while all on board are busy concentrating on the birds!
Coordinating a pelagic trip over a year in advance
with guests from all across South Africa and different
countries around the world requires an organised office
team. We thank them for their special eye for detail
- and for the sometimes last-minute rearrangements
and frustration if the weather delays the trip to
another day! Our biggest thank-you is to our Cape
Town Pelagics guides who take time out of their work,
often involving seabirds and conservation, and time
away from their families, to provide our guests with
a world-class birding experience. Cape Town Pelagics
donates all it profits to seabirds, and so all the
participants who join the trip make a contribution
towards bird research and conservation – a big
thank you from all of us.
Trip report by Cape Town Pelagics guide Rob Leslie.
To book, simply email
or phone us, or submit a
booking enquiry online.
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