birding never sleeps: Birding Down Under part 11: At Sea: Chatham to Bluff (19-20 December 2023)

Wednesday 20 December 2023

Birding Down Under part 11: At Sea: Chatham to Bluff (19-20 December 2023)

Tuesday 19 December. I was on deck from 05:55-19:00 with breaks for breakfast and lunch but didn’t return after dinner – the bright light made seawatching hard work, more so when heading into a lowering sun. The days talks mainly focused on various aspects of the Chathams but they didn’t tempt me.

Birds seen: Brown Skua, 3 Erect-crested Penguins (far from land), 6 White-faced and a Black-bellied Storm-Petrel, 2 Southern and 2 Northern Royal and 10 Salvin’s Albatrosses, Northern Giant and 8 Cape Petrels, 30 Prion sp., White-headed, 4 Grey-faced, 4 Soft-plumaged, 3 Mottled, 40 Cook’s and 3 White-chinned Petrels and a Buller’s and 200 Sooty Shearwaters. Also 2 Gray’s Beaked Whales.

Grey-faced Petrel at sea west of Chathams (photos: Paul Noakes)

Cook's Petrels at sea (photos: Paul Noakes)

Salvin's Albatross at sea (photos: Paul Noakes)

Cape Petrels at sea (photos: Paul Noakes)

Wednesday 20 December. Our last day was fairly calm but although morning mist cleared after lunch few birds were seen with most sitting on the sea. What had been an excellent cruise was ending with a bit of a whimper as my last chance of a Black-winged Petrel slipped away.

Birds seen: Kelp Gull, White-fronted Tern, 2 Wilson’s and 2 Black-bellied Storm-Petrel, Gibson’s, 5 Southern and 2 Northern Royal, Black-browed, 3 Campbell, 50 Shy and 8 Salvin’s Albatrosses, 3 Northern Giant and 200 Cape Petrels, 20 Prion sp., 2 Grey-faced, 4 Mottled, 12 Cook’s and 120 White-chinned Petrels and a Buller’s and 400 Sooty Shearwaters. Also 3 Dusky Dolphins.