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The morning of the November 21st
saw a Cape Town Pelagics trip heading out from Simonstown
harbour in calm conditions, lead by Cape Town Pelagics
guide, Dalton Gibbs. We set off into a light southerly
wind blowing ahead of a light cold front.
Whilst in the harbour we picked up a row of Cape
and White-breasted Cormorants on
the marker buoys, as well as Common
and Sandwich Terns. A Grey
Heron put in an unusual entrance in the harbour,
with a Bank Cormorant making an appearance
on the “Noah’s Ark” rock stack just
outside the harbour. We had a quiet trip across False
Bay, with no whales about and just the occasional
Cape Gannet to keep us company. After
a photo session at Cape Point and signing out with
the lighthouse keeper, we headed off for the deep.
We soon picked up a few Sooty Shearwaters
and White-chinned Petrels, with a
single Parasitic Jaeger offering
fleeting views as it chased a Swift Tern.
The first Shy Albatross appeared
a good few miles off the Point as the water warmed
up slightly and half a dozen Cory Shearwaters
put in an appearance.
Once through the quiet shipping lane we had news of
fishing boats at the 30 Nautical mile mark and headed
out to them, on the way picking up a few Sabine’s
Gull with their delicate wing patterns. The
occasional Shy Albatross were eventually
interspersed with an immature Black-browed
Albatross a few miles from the fishing boats.
They were two long liner boats and we took up station
behind one that was hauling in fish. There were two
dozen or so albatross behind the boat, being mostly
Shy and Black-browed Albatross.
We soon however picked up an Indian Yellow-nosed
Albatross followed by an Atlantic
Yellow-nosed Albatross, which
were scattered among Sooty Shearwater
and White-chinned Petrels. Three
Sub-Antarctic Skua also hung around
the fishing boat, mixing with the Cape Gulls
that had come out from the land.
A Southern Giant Petrel was hulking
around the boat, giving us good views as it dominated
a feeding squabble. Northern Giant Petrel
also appeared, giving us good comparison views between
the two species. A surprise appearance at this stage
was a lone Pintado Petrel; a species
that is present in large numbers in the winter months,
but is usually absent at this stage of the year. Two
Great Shearwater were also about
as small groups of Wilson’s Storm Petrels
flew about the boat. We stayed with the fishing vessel
for two hours, travelling in her wake and having excellent
views of the various species. Of note was a particular
Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross which
at times appeared as if it wanted to come on board
the boat! Although there were not huge numbers behind
the fishing vessel, we were rewarded with an excellent
variety and great views.
We headed for home with a light wind at out backs,
which made the trip home a lot smoother than that
coming out. A leisurely lunch in False Bay under the
cliffs of Cape Point brought us to the Castle
Rock Bank Cormorant colony which yielded
views of these birds as well as White-breasted
and Cape Cormorant. On an adjacent
rock was a single Crowned Cormorant,
which completed the cormorant species. At Boulder’s
Beach we stopped off to view some African
Penguin before returning to Simonstown Harbour.
Bird species seen and approximate
numbers:
Swift Tern – coastal
Sandwich Tern – coastal
Hartlaub’s Gull - coastal
Cape Gull – coastal
Sabine’s gull - 15
Cape Cormorant – coastal
Bank Cormorant – coastal
Crowned Cormorant – coastal - 1
White-breasted Cormorant – coastal
African Penguin – coastal
Cape Gannet – coastal & pelagic –
30
White-chinned Petrel – 90
Southern Giant Petrel – 5
Northern Giant Petrel - 4
Pintado Petrel – 1
Cory’s Shearwater – 15
Great Shearwater - 2
Sooty Shearwater – 60
Shy Albatross – 20
Black-browed Albatross – 15
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross – 4
Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross - 4
Wilson’s Storm Petrel – 50
Sub-Antarctic Skua – 3
Parasitic Jaeger - 1
Mammals:
Cape fur seal
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 Dalton Gibbs
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