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A Cape Town Pelagic trip departed
from Simonstown at 07h30 on Sunday 06 February 2011,
guided by Cape Town Pelagics guide Barrie Rose.
Light westerly conditions provided a pleasant although
uneventful trip to Cape Point with only coastal species
been recorded.
Outside Cape Point we headed in a South-westerly direction,
a stiff breeze resulted in some spray but the mild
sea did not hinder our progress. First pelagics of
the day were White-chinned Petrels,
Sooty and Great Shearwaters
which we found while passing and beyond Bellows Rock.
The water was cool and strongly discoloured after
a week of SE gales, it was clear from the outset that
if we were to find a fishing vessel that it would
be well offshore.
Cory’s Shearwater, Shy
Albatross, Sabine’s Gull and
a pair of Manx Shearwaters kept our
interest alive during a wet run offshore.
At last and at 25mls a dot on the horizon provided
relief as we homed in on the hake trawler ‘Isabella
Marine’. This vessel was busy processing its
catch and we were provided with a real spectacle as
4 species of albatross –
Shy, Black-browed,
Atlantic Yellow-nosed and Indian
Yellow-nosed Albatross argued over fish scraps
with a large flock of White-chinned Petrels
and Great Shearwaters. After 30mins
we turned to a second trawler which had moved into
the area, the ‘Flamethorn’ had just raised
its net and had an even larger flock of seabirds and
Cape Fur Seals in attendance. We
added Long-tailed Skua and Great-winged
Petrel to the list and turned for home when
the wind showed signs of freshening.
The trip back to Cape Point proved very interesting
with another Manx Shearwater, 2
Pomarine Skuas, a brief interlude
with a school of Common Dolphins
and a huge Sunfish that allowed us
to approach within 2 meters.
We made the usual stop at Partridge Point to get great
views of Bank Cormorant before heading
back to Simonstown.
Bird species seen and approximate
numbers:
Shy Albatross - 50
Black-browed Albatross - 30
Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross - 20
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross - 5
Southern Giant Petrel - 2
White-chinned Petrel – ca 1500
Great-winged Petrel - 2
Sooty Shearwater - 150
Cory’s Shearwater - 40
Great Shearwater - 600
Manx Shearwater - 3
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel - 15
European Storm-Petrel - 60
Cape Gannet - 80
Subantarctic Skua - 5
Pomarine Skua - 2
Long-tailed Skua - 2
Sabine’s Gull - 40
Arctic Tern - 4
Common Tern -30 and coastal
Swift Tern - coastal and to 8mls
Sandwich Tern - coastal
Kelp Gull - 30 and coastal
Cape Cormorant coastal and to 5mls
White-breasted Cormorant - coastal
Bank Cormorant - coastal
African Penguin - coastal
Mammals and Fish:
Cape Fur Seal – 50+
Common Dolphin - 40
Oceanic Sunfish - 1
Blue Shark - 1
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 Barrie Rose.
To book, simply email
or phone us, or submit a
booking enquiry online.
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