birding never sleeps: Birding Down Under part 8: At sea and Antipodes Islands (14-15 December 2023)

Friday, 15 December 2023

Birding Down Under part 8: At sea and Antipodes Islands (14-15 December 2023)

Thursday 14 December. A day at sea, I was on deck from 05:30-21:00 with breaks for breakfast, shower, Antipodes briefing and dinner. Talks I didn’t go in for involved Albatrosses, Penguins and History & Conservation of the Antipodes and Bounty Islands. All potentially interesting and as it turned out I wouldn't have missed anything critical on deck by not attending, but I wasn't to know that. Seeing nine species made it my best albatross day ever.

Birds seen were 2 Grey-backed and a Black-bellied Storm-Petrel, 2 Antipodes Wandering, 2 Gibson’s Wandering, 2 Southern Royal, 5 Light-mantled Sooty, Black-browed, 50+ Campbell, 3 Shy, Salvin’s and 2 Grey-headed Albatrosses, 30 Cape Petrels, 100+ Antarctic and Fairy Prions, 10 White-headed, 3 Mottled and 20 White-chinned Petrels, 250 Sooty Shearwaters and a Common Diving-Petrel.

panoramic double rainbow distorted by significant swell

Shy Albatross at sea

Campbell Albatrosses at sea

Grey-headed and Campbell Albatrosses at sea

Grey-headed Albatross at sea

Grey-headed Albatross at sea (photo: Paul Noakes)

Southern Royal Albatross at sea

Southern Royal Albatross at sea (photo: Paul Noakes)

Gibson's Wandering Albatross at sea

Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses at sea

Light-mantled Sooty Albatross at sea (photo: Paul Noakes)

Antipodes Wandering Albatross at sea

White-headed Petrel at sea

White-headed Petrels at sea (photos: Paul Noakes)

Soft-plumaged Petrel (photo: Paul Noakes)

White-chinned Petrel (photo: Paul Noakes)

Cape Petrels at sea

Friday 15 December. We were woken soon after midnight by the ships PA announcing that the Aurora Australis was visible from the rear decks. Rushing there we caught the end of the show – very impressive although my photos didn’t quite convey that, the cruise photographer showing how it should be done. Despite the interrupted night I seawatched from 05:15 seeing the Antipodes come into view. We cruised up the east coast, had a quick buffet breakfast from 07:00-07:20 while the ship dropped anchor in Anchorage Bay. Back on deck it was soon obvious that the conditions were too rough to launch Zodiacs with swell approaching 2m. We hadn’t permission to land but with two endemic parakeets a close Zodiac cruise was essential. We returned to Ringdove Bay on the more sheltered southeast coast and after a couple of dicey moments and much to our relief launched the Zodiacs. Our cause wasn’t helped by being with a very cautious Zodiac driver as there always seemed to be at least one other Zodiac between us and the shore/birds. Fortunately the majority in our Zodiac were very keen birders and both species (Antipodes and Reischeck’s Parakeets) were frequenting the same bay. Our driver was encouraged to keep station, as best he could, and we all saw them although from an unstable boat more plumage detail was revealed from photographs than was visible through binoculars. We were back on board for a latish lunch, winched in the Zodiacs, raised the anchor and headed north. I seawatched from 13:30-21:00 before going in for a late dinner. Highlights were the Erect-crested Penguins (my sixth new penguin this trip!), 18 Subantarctic Shearwaters (having missed some a couple of days earlier) and 26 Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses (my highest count and the last day I was to see them).

During the day I saw 10 Kelp Gulls, 5 Antarctic Terns, 3 Brown Skuas, 4 Southern Rockhopper and 1000 Erect-crested Penguins, a Wilsons, 9 Grey-backed and 30 Black-bellied Storm-Petrels, 15 Antipodes Wandering, 2 Southern Royal, 2 Northern Royal, 26 Light-mantled Sooty, 500 Black-browed, Shy and 4 Salvin’s Albatrosses, 3 Northern Giant and 30 Cape Petrels, 50+ Fairy Prions, 60 White-headed, 80 Soft-plumaged, a Mottled and 50 White-chinned Petrels, 150 Sooty and 18 Subantarctic Shearwaters, 2 Common Diving-Petrels, 2 Cormorants, an Antipodes and 3 Reischeck’s Parakeets.