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Highlights: Flesh-footed
Shearwater, Cory's Shearwater,
Common Dolphins and Sabine's
Gull.
The morning of the 29th
January was calm in Hout Bay harbour after a week
of strong south-easterly winds. Eight birders eagerly
boarded a Cape Town Pelagics boat with Cape Town Pelagics
guide Dalton
Gibbs. In the harbour we met up with Cape and
Hartlaub's Gulls, Cape Cormorants, Swift Terns,
and a lone Crowned Cormorant. We cruised
out of the harbour in calm flat conditions and were
soon under the towering mountains of Chapman's Peak.
Out of the bay we encountered a lone Giant Petrel
in shore; unfortunately this bird flew in the rising
sun and headed straight away so we couldn't get it
down to a species. Off Kommetjie we found a feeding
group of African Penguin and also started to
encounter some south-westerly wind which made the
journey out a bit bumpy. White-chinned Petrels
and soon Cory's Shearwater in large numbers
turned up, followed by a few Sooty Shearwaters.
The water was a cool 13.5 deg C.
Sabine's Gull on the Cape Town Pelagics trip of
29 January 2012 © Dalton Gibbs
We set on out on a south-westerly
course, passing numerous groups of Cory's Shearwater
and a single Manx Shearwater in such a group.
At the 15 N Mile mark the water rose to 18 deg C and
we picked up a trawler on the radar and headed in
her direction, on the way picking up a few Shy
Albatross, Wilson's Storm-petrel and loose
groups of Sabine's Gull. The trawler was a
stern trawler, the 'Sandile' out of Cape Town. She
had not yet lifted her nets, but a few hundred birds
hung around her in anticipation. Amongst these we
found Great Shearwater, Sub-Antarctic Skua
and Black-browed Albatross.
Cory's Shearwater on the Cape Town Pelagics trip of
29 January 2012 © Dalton Gibbs
A lone Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross
turned up and put in an appearance, which was
followed by a Flesh-footed Shearwater that
was very interested in our boat and alighted on the
water next to us. The trawler pulled in her net and
it was soon covered by Cape Fur Seals, Cape Gannet
and hundreds of Cape Gulls. The pelagic birds squabbled
over scraps of food, allowing us to get close to many
of them. As the trawler began to process her catch
we had a long trail of birds which we could view as
we had some food to eat ourselves. A flock of very
pale terns, Antarctic Tern, hung around us
for a while. During lunch time a white-backed albatross
was spotted some distance off; we headed in that direction
but turned up nothing.
Flesh-footed Shearwater on the Cape Town Pelagics
trip of 29 January 2012 © Dalton Gibbs
We followed the line of birds for
some time to work through the different species, but
didn't turn up anything new. We turned for home and
again a white-backed albatross was seen out on the
horizon; we gave chase but again the bird disappeared
into the distance without any firm species confirmation.
By this time the wind had dropped off considerably
and we had a smooth ride home, which was lightened
up by the sight of two Hump-backed Whales,
followed by dozens of Dusky and Common Dolphins.
A few of these animals put on a display for us as
they rode our bow wave and jumped out of the water
nearby.
We entered Hout Bay and picked up
a Parasitic Jaeger amongst a group of Swift
and Sandwich Terns before entering the harbour
after an excellent trip.
Common Dolphin on the Cape Town Pelagics trip of 29
January 2012 © Dalton Gibbs
Bird species seen and approximate numbers:
Swift tern – coastal
Arctic Tern – 30
Antarctic Tern - 20
Sandwich Tern - coastal
Hartlaub's Gull – coastal
Cape Gull - coastal
Cape Cormorant – coastal
White-breasted cormorant – coastal
Crowned Cormorant – coastal – 1
African Penguin – coastal
Cape Gannet – coastal & pelagic –
30
Sub-Antarctic Skua - 4
Parasitic Jaeger – 1
White-chinned Petrel – 200
Cory's Shearwater – 50
Manx Shearwater - 1
Great Shearwater – 5
Sooty Shearwater – 5
Flesh-footed Shearwater – 4
Shy Albatross – 100
Black-browed Albatross – 50
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross – 4
Wilson's Storm Petrel – 20
European Storm Petrel –250
Sabine's Gull – 200
Mammals:
Cape fur seal
Hump-backed Whale
Common Dolphin
Dusky Dolphin
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.
Photographs by Cape Town Pelagics
guide Dalton
Gibbs.
To book, simply email
or phone us, or submit a
booking enquiry online.
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