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A Cape Town Pelagics trip left
Simonstown harbour in calm conditions on Sunday 18
July 2009, guided by Cape Town Pelagics guide Dalton
Gibbs. We set off slightly later to allow the wind
to settle from the windy conditions the day before.
The usual Cape and Hartlaub’s
Gull were knocking around the harbour, with
a line of Cape and White-breasted Cormorants
on the marker buoys. We didn’t find any African
Penguins in the water at Boulders, but saw
lines of them on the rocks preparing to launch themselves
into the sea. Hundreds of Cape Cormorants
crowded onto the granite rocks in the bay, signalling
fish that would be near by. The trip across False
Bay was uneventful apart from a few Cape Gannets;
we were soon at Cape Point and took in the view and
checked out with the lighthouse keeper. Beyond Cape
Point we soon picked up a few Sooty Shearwaters,
followed by White-chinned Petrels
a bit further out. At Bellow’s Rock, a group
of Cape Gannet, Cape Cormorant
and Swift Terns worked the water
for fish.
Shy Albatross appeared in small numbers
further out, giving us far off views, with White-chinned
Petrels closer by loafing in small flocks
on the water.
Once through the shipping lane we picked up on a boat
on the horizon and headed for it, picking up occasional
Shy Albatross along the way. Before
reaching the trawler our first Sub-antarctic
Skua trailed along with us for a while, before
realising we weren’t dishing out food and headed
off toward the boat in the distance. When we reached
the boat it turned out to be a stern trawler, with
fair numbers of birds behind it. Pintado Petrels,
with their characteristic splinter pattern plumage,
appeared in large numbers, with a lone Southern
Giant Petrel in their midst. Black-browed
Albatross, both adult and immature birds,
were present in numbers.
We followed the trawler for a while; she had her nets
up and was moving at speed. Presently another trawler,
the Stavia, came passed us with her nets set. We followed
behind her, picking up a lone Antarctic Prion
amongst the group of birds behind her. We had lunch
whilst waiting for her to raise her nets, which she
did after an hour. This was a signal to all the birds
in the area and we were treated to the display of
hundreds of birds, with Cape Gannets
diving out of the sky with their characteristic wind
folding action as they sought out the net being raised.
Shy and Black-browed Albatross, mixed
with Sooty Shearwater, White-chinned
and Pintado Petrels wheeled around us. Some
25 Sub-antarctic Skua hung in the
air above the trawler, pouncing down on unsuspecting
albatross as they picked up bits of fish.
We searched the mass of birds over and over for the
yellow-nosed albatross species, but
could not find either Indian or Atlantic species.
It was time to turn back, with a fresh south-easterly
picking up. Near Bellow’s Rock we found a pod
of five Breede’s Whale, watching them as they
moved in a line off to the east.
Back in False Bay calm conditions prevailed and we
travelled along the Rooikrans cliffs and sea caves,
coming across a medium sized sunfish that lazed on
the water surface. A short trip brought us to the
Castle Rock Bank Cormorant colony
which yielded views of these birds as well as White-breasted
and Cape Cormorant. On the
adjacent rocks we had close up views of three Crowned
Cormorants and the small Cape Fur Seal colony
before a smooth ride brought us back 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 - 3
White-breasted Cormorant – coastal
African Penguin – coastal
Cape Gannet – coastal & pelagic –
500
White-chinned Petrel – 600
Southern Giant Petrel – 2
Pintado Petrel – 600
Antarctic Prion – 1
Sooty Shearwater – 900
Shy Albatross – 500
Black-browed Albatross – 500
Wilson’s Storm Petrel – 5
Sub-antarctic Skua - 30Mammals:
Cape fur seal
Breede’s Whale
Trip report by Cape Town Pelagics guide Dalton Gibbs.
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.
To book, simply email
or phone us, or submit a
booking enquiry online.
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