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A Cape Town Pelagic trip left picturesque
Hout Bay on Saturday 5 March guided by Cape Town Pelagics
guide Cliff Dorse. It was with much anticipation as
the boat headed in a south-westerly direction to the
trawling grounds in the deep.
There were good numbers of Common Terns
with the mandatory Parasitic Jaegers in
attendance as we left the coast. It was not long before
we saw our first Sooty Shearwaters and
White-chinned Petrels. Great
Shearwater, Sabine’s Gull
and a single Manx Shearwater were
also soon added to our ever growing trip list. Our
first albatross, a juvenile Shy Albatross,
followed shortly thereafter.
We could see at least three trawlers in the distance
and we made a beeline for them. Bird numbers started
to grow and we soon added Black-browed
and Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross,
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel and the
only Great-winged Petrel for the
day which put in a brief flyby. A single Flesh-footed
Shearwater did a few circles around the boat
before disappearing. We then spent a great deal of
time moving between three trawlers and a long-lining
vessel. It was an amazing spectacle and we enjoyed
great views of all the regular species while looking
for species not yet encountered.
At the trawlers we added Indian Ocean Albatross,
Subantartic Skua and our only Northern
Giant Petrel of the day. We also managed
to pick up a Flesh-footed Shearwater
on the water which allowed a few photos. A Manx
Shearwater was also feeding on the water
in close proximity. Amongst the big numbers of Wilson's
Storm-Petrel, we were able to pick out three
European Storm-Petrels.
The highlight on the way home was a pod of Common
Dolphins which put in a very brief appearance
and a single Humpbacked Whale just
off Hout Bay.
The following is a list of the species seen during
the course of the day. The numbers reflected can be
considered as rough estimations only.
Shy Albatross c. 250
Black-browed Albatross c. 100
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross c. 10
Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross c. 50
Northern Giant Petrel 1
Giant Petrel sp. 2
White-chinned Petrel c. 200
Great Shearwater c. 300
Cory’s Shearwater c. 10
Sooty Shearwater c. 50
Flesh-footed Shearwater 1
Manx Shearwater 2
Great-winged Petrel 1
Wilson’s Storm Petrel c. 100
European Storm-Petrel 3
Subantarctic Skua 10
Parasitic Jaeger c. 15
Sabine’s Gull 5
The following species were common close to the coast:
Cape Gannet
Cape Cormorant
Kelp Gull
Hartlaub’s Gull
Common Tern
Swift Tern
Sandwich Tern
Mammals
Cape Fur Seal
Humpbacked Whale 1
Common Dolphin 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 Cliff
Dorse.
To book, simply email
or phone us, or submit a
booking enquiry online.
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