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A Cape Town Pelagic trip left Simonstown
on Sunday 19th April 2009 guided by Cape Town Pelagics
guide Dalton Gibbs. We were experiencing the tail
end of a small cold front that had passed through
Cape Town the day before and set off in mist and light
rain.
In Simonstown harbour we found the usual Cape
and Hartlaub’s Gull,
Swift Terns and Cape Cormorants.
We had light rain just outside the harbour,
coming across a number of immature Cape Gannets
and a few Cape Cormorant. The characteristic
view of Cape Point was largely obscured in mist with
light rain as we checked out with the radio operator
at the lighthouse. Amongst the wet weather we soon
found our first White-chinned Petrels,
followed by Sooty Shearwaters. At
Bellow’s Rock near by we came across flocks
of Swift and Sandwich Terns
chasing bait fish. Amongst these was a single Parasitic
Jaeger (Arctic Skua) harassing birds for
food.
A few miles further out were a few Cory’s
Shearwater as well as a flock of White-chinned
Petrels loafing on the water. In amongst
these birds was a single Manx Shearwater.
The sea temperature at this point was 11 deg C and
a green murky colour; an indication of in shore conditions.
We headed further out through a band of rain to locate
warmer water and a trawler; being rewarded with our
first Shy Albatross and Great
Shearwater. A few Storm Petrels made
an appearance and we picked up a European
Storm Petrel soon followed by Wilson’s
Storm Petrel.
After crowing the shipping lane we stopped to chum
the water with pilchards that we had brought along.
The water temperature had risen to 18 deg and had
the signs of clear oceanic water. A few Shy
Albatross soon made an appearance for food,
followed by Great Shearwater, Wilson’s
Storm Petrel, White-chinned Petrel
and Sooty Shearwater around the boat.
An immature Black-browed Albatross
made an appearance, followed by an Indian
Yellow-nosed Albatross.
With intermittent rain we decided to chance our luck
further out and passed through a few rain squalls
until we reached some open weather. On board Enrico
Leonardi spotted a boat out on the horizon that had
shown up as a blip on the radar, so we headed off
in that direction. It turned out to be a trawler which
we fortunate to find given the weather. On the way
to the trawler we came across our first Sub-antarctic
Skua which didn’t stay with us long,
but like us was heading for the trawler.
From a distance out we start coming across groups
of Shy and Black-browed Albatross
that we loafing on the water, waiting for the trawler
to pull up its nets. This the trawler did shortly
and the numbers of albatross behind the boat was soon
in the hundreds. We found several Indian Yellow-nosed
Albatross before a single Atlantic
Yellow-nosed Albatross gave us fly by past
our boat. By now a mass of several thousand birds
was behind the trawler, mostly comprised of White-chinned
Petrel, Sooty Shearwater,
Great Shearwater, Shy Albatross,
Black-browed Albatross and Wilson’s Storm Petrel.
A number of Sub-antarctic Skua flew
above the mass of birds, ready to pick up scraps below.
We decided to have lunch whilst slowly following the
trawler. Almost on queue as Alan and I were taking
lunch out of the cabin the cry for a Spectacled
Petrel went. Luke had one that passed next
to the boat but it was unfortunately soon swallowed
up the mass of birds behind the trawler. Our consolation
however was a Northern Giant Petrel that
came over to have a look at us.
After lunch we used the remaining half a box of pilchards
to see if we could lure birds closer for a photo shoot
and to see if perchance the Spectacled Petrel
would put in an appearance. Unfortunately
it did not, but we had plenty of close up views of
most of the species present.
By this stage of the afternoon the wind had swung
to the south-west and started to pick up. This was
our queue to head for home, which we did with the
wind at our backs and a gentler ride back in than
on the way out. We crossed into False Bay and the
shelter of the Cape Point cliffs after checking in
with the light house. Our visit to the Castle Rock
Bank Cormorant colony yielded views
of these birds as well as White-breasted
and Cape Cormorant. On the adjacent
rocks we had close up views of Cape Fur Seals, accompanied
by all the smells when we were down wind of the colony!
A solitary Crowned Cormorant on these
rocks completed the list cormorant species in our
area. Just off the Boulders penguin colony we got
close up views of fishing groups of the resident African
Penguins before returning to Simonstown Harbour.
Bird species seen and approximate numbers:
Swift Tern coastal
Hartlaub’s Gull coastal
Cape Gull coastal
Cape Cormorant coastal
Bank Cormorant coastal
Crowned Cormorant coastal - 1
White-breasted Cormorant coastal
African Penguin coastal
Cape Gannet coastal & pelagic – 150
Africa black Oystercatcher coastal - 2
White-chinned Petrel 750
Spectacled Petrel 1
Northern Giant Petrel 1
Sooty Shearwater 500
Great Shearwater 300
Cory’s Shearwater 70
Manx Shearwater 1
Shy Albatross 750
Black-browed Albatross 1000+
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross 11
Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross 1
Wilson’s Storm Petrel 750
European Storm Petrel 1
Parasitic Jaeger 1
Sub-antarctic Skua 8
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.
To book, simply email
or phone us, or submit a
booking enquiry online.
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