Birthday Lifers

WTNT: record shot but personal best

On Wednesday, I headed out by train to Moss Vale to follow up a report of four Painted Snipe from a week earlier. Having already dipped on them five times in the last three months, it came as no surprise that I couldn't find them, although a pair of Shelduck at the site was nice. From there, I cycled 40km east through Robertson to Budderoo NP. At the site on the Budderoo Track where I (and Josh Bergmark and Max Breckenridge, two fellow teen birding friends) had had Ground Parrots late last year, the habitat was markedly different, still only in the early stages of regrowth after a wildfire in early September. As a result, the birdlife was completely different, with a pair of Scarlet Robins, two Latham's Snipe, and, most surprisingly, a Stubble Quail all birds that would not have been there three months earlier. A group of 16 White-throated Needletails, my first of the season, was also cool. Moving down the road to Barren Grounds, I eventually got onto an Eastern Bristlebird and a pair of Southern Emu-Wrens. The Bristlebird, I realised just as I started to try photographing it, was tending a nest, so I beat a hasty retreat. From there, it was straight down the Illawarra Escarpment (on the way hitting speeds of up to 75km/h) then through the rolling hills into Kiama. An excellent day out which brought me two hard-earned year ticks, and 84 species recorded for the day.

However, that little tale is not the point of this report. This is. Saturday was my 19th birthday, and to celebrate, I went out on the Sydney December pelagic. Josh Bergmark took some time out from HSC study to join me, and shortly after 7am, we got underway on board the Halicat (a catamaran) from Rose Bay wharf. After a rough trip out of Wollongong in August (my first real pelagic) on which I was laid low for almost six hours by sea sickness, I was resigned to a similar fate today, especially when it became apparent that the less top level of the boat was the best place from which to see birds, a hawk's nest sort of view. Passing out through the Sydney heads, the waves were rough and the swell much larger than in the harbour. I had to give up scanning for penguins and fix my eyes on the horizon. Thankfully, Josh's promise that the mouth of the harbour was always rougher than out beyond the heads came to fruition, and the boat settled down into a steady path through the waves, heading east.

Mine! Mine! Mine! Just a few of the many many Grey-faced Petrels seen

It was not long before the first shearwaters were spotted and, in a frustrating, but tantalising start to the day, a couple appeared to have light enough underwings to be Sooty Shearwaters, a potential lifer. However, with a low sun, and insufficient views, a positive ID could not be made. Similarly, a call of "Jaeger!" soon went up, and while some said Arctic was most likely, the fact that it was sitting on the water made certain identification practically impossible. Shortly after, we had good views of our first definite Short-tailed Shearwaters of the day, as well as a couple of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters. The first majorly exciting (for me) sighting was of a Pomarine Jaeger which gave a close pass, allowing me to see the key identifying features, and gave me my first ever lifer on my birthday!

False Killer Whales

As we pushed further east, we began to cross the Abysmal Plain, so-called because the constant, reasonably shallow sea depth is nutrient and fish-poor, meaning that the birds are subsequently scarce. Indeed, barely half a dozen individuals of any species were seen for well over an hour of travel. To make up for this, a pod of maybe 30 False Killer Whales passed by. Our boat turned and followed them, but they were rather wary. This, in spite of the fact that, apparently, they are the world's most aggressive cetacean, which cannot be kept in captivity with other dolphins, because they will eat them!! A couple of sunfish (in this case, Southern Sunfish, Mola ramsayi), that bizarrely disc-shaped fish that looks like its missing its back end also gave us views, but were not overly approachable.

Lucky photo: the Providence Petrel

The first (and one of only three) Flesh-footed Shearwater of the day heralded our arrival at the edge of the continental shelf, and soon we began to see Great-winged Petrels (race gouldi, aka Grey-faced Petrel). We set up a berley trail and drifted, attracting more Great-winged Petrels and a passing adult Shy Albatross. With the Travacalm have a better effect on me than the Kwells had had in August, I was able to attempt some photos of the Grey-faced Petrels. As I brought yet another into focus, I noticed that there was something different about it. It was greyer, and had a vague pattern on the back. About a second later the call of "Providence Petrel!" was made, and I realised that that was the bird in my viewfinder. This was a good sighting for December, and even better, it was my 450th Australian bird!!

Wilson's Storm Petrel

As more birds began to come in, so our hopes rose. And a shout of "Storm Petrel, Wilson's Storm Petrel" had me jumping for my binos. Over the course of the day we would see up to half a dozen of them, but never more than two at once. Very soon after this, however, the highlight of the day arrived, when "Black Petrel" was called. After six had been seen off Port Stephens just two weeks earlier, and with a couple having been seen on the November Sydney trip, expectations had been high for this species, and Josh and I were delighted to have this yellow-billed beauty show up. As people, including the two of us, began to review our shots, confusion began to lift. The bird didn't have the characteristic dark bill tip, yet neither did it have the white chin of the more unusual (off Sydney) White-chinned Petrel. This was solved when seabird expert Nikolas Haas pointed out that White-chinned Petrels often didn't have white chins at all, and the bill colour was more important. So there it was: a White-chinned Petrel!!!

White-chinless: the White-chinned Petrel

This one individual hung around for a few hours, giving excellent views, and following the boat when we moved to a second berley point, near Brown's Seamount. Here, we had the only Hutton's Shearwater of the day, as well as a fly-by from a definite Arctic Jaeger, my fifth lifer of the day! Shortly after, the first of three Wandering Albatross turned up, to join the young Black-browed and Campbell's Albatross that had followed us from the first stop. Suddenly a Tern was spotted and all eyes turned to the tropical tern in the sky, which, photos revealed, was a Sooty Tern, and not the more unusual Bridled Tern. Immediately after, another tern call of a bird on the distant horizon led to the only Long-tailed Jaeger of the day, which the more experienced birders on board IDed from the shape of the bird. Given that, up until today, I had never seen a Jeager, I was not willing to tick it, and neither was Josh.

The only melanophrys Black-browed Albatross of the day; the few others were Campbell's

At last, we turned west and headed back across the Abysmal Plain. And again, cetaceans broke the boredom when a pod of Common Dolphins was seen. Unfortunately they were not in a playful mood, and, despite joining the boat for five or ten minutes, no nice shots were taken. As the coast emerged from the haze, we went back into high alert, spotting another couple of Pomarine Jaegers, and a young Gannet. Despite Josh's best efforts, he could not transform any of the dark shearwaters into a clear-cut Sooty, or a Buller's. And back inside the harbour, as we dodged yachts, we failed to find a Little Penguin. As we pulled up at the wharf, I was able to celebrate a day of lifers (one of few on board to do so), and of good health (which all but one poor soul had enjoyed). Josh and I have already penciled in March next year as probable, and I am already looking forward to it!

PS. The Phototwitch results came out just a few hours ago, and I can happily confirm that I clinched the win by just a handful of species, with myself on 106, followed closely by scores of 99, 97, 97, and 94. Any of those totals would have won all three previous years of the competition, so the bar has well and truly been raised!