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A Cape Town Pelagic trip departed
from Simonstown at 07h30 on Wednesday 10 February,
guided by Cape Town Pelagics guide Barrie Rose.
A light SW’erly wind made for a pleasant
trip up to Cape Point. Shoals of pilchard and anchovy
in False Bay resulted in enormous flocks of Cape
Cormorants with terns and gulls
in attendance right across Simons Bay and up through
to Cape Point. As we approached Cape Point a substantial
movement of gannets and Sooty Shearwaters
became evident.
Around Cape Point we headed into a moderate
SW’erly sea and began seeing White-chinned
Petrels and Cory’s Shearwaters before
reaching Bellows Rock. Sabine’s Gulls
and Pomarine Skuas attended the flocks
of Common and Swift Terns feeding
over Yellowtail. A Shy Albatross also
caused some early excitement.
A hake trawler, ‘Isabella Marine’ was
located at 20miles and provided 2hrs of excellent
sea-birding. All 4 species of albatross that one expects
to see at this time of year were seen - Shy,
Black-browed, Atlantic Yellow-nosed
and Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross
- and were examined in detail. Giant Petrels
were in low numbers and only Northern Giant
Petrels was identified with certainty.
Stand-out bird of the day was undoubtedly
Leach’s Storm-Petrel; one was
seen as we approached the trawler and another on the
return journey at 14miles from Cape Point. Although
regular off the Cape this species is rarely seen closer
than 40miles from the coast. I guess we can thank
the ‘El Nino’ weather system and 22°C oceanic water
for this sightings.
Also of note was the presence of a
number of Long-tailed Skuas and
a pair of Manx Shearwaters.
The return trip was not without its highlights and
found a loose group of Great-winged
Petrels at 15mls before spending 5mins with
a hyperventilating Sperm Whale. The
huge male lazed on the surface while we drifted (at
the appropriate distance!) and enjoyed the spectacle.
Two Oceanic Blue Sharks completed a
fine day at sea. The vessel docked in Simonstown just
after 15h00.
Bird species and approximate numbers :
Shy Albatross - 180 Black-browed Albatross - 60
Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross - 20
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross - 4
Northern Giant Petrel - 2
Giant Petrel sp - 2
White-chinned Petrel ca 1000
Great-winged Petrel - 12
Sooty Shearwater - 400
Cory’s Shearwater - 250
Great Shearwater - 20
Manx Shearwater - 2
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel - 50
European Storm-Petrel - 20
Leach’s Storm-Petrel - 2
Subantarctic Skua - 6
Pomarine Skua - 2
Arctic Skua - 2
Long-tailed Skua - 5
Arctic Tern - 6
Common Tern - coastal
Swift Tern - coastal and to 8mls
Sandwich Tern - coastal
Sabine’s Gull - 20
Kelp Gull - 150 and coastal
Cape Cormorant - coastal and to 5mls
White-breasted Cormorant - coastal
Bank Cormorant - coastal
African Penguin - coastal
Mammals :
Cape Fur Seal - 60+
Sperm Whale - 1
Fish :
Oceanic Blue Shark - 2
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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