The morning of the November 21st saw a Cape Town Pelagics trip heading out from Simonstown harbour in calm conditions, lead by Cape Town Pelagics guide, Dalton Gibbs. We set off into a light southerly wind blowing ahead of a light cold front.
Whilst in the harbour we picked up a row of Cape and White-breasted Cormorants on the marker buoys, as well as Common and Sandwich Terns. A Grey Heron put in an unusual entrance in the harbour, with a Bank Cormorant making an appearance on the “Noah’s Ark” rock stack just outside the harbour. We had a quiet trip across False Bay, with no whales about and just the occasional Cape Gannet to keep us company. After a photo session at Cape Point and signing out with the lighthouse keeper, we headed off for the deep. We soon picked up a few Sooty Shearwaters and White-chinned Petrels, with a single Parasitic Jaeger offering fleeting views as it chased a Swift Tern. The first Shy Albatross appeared a good few miles off the Point as the water warmed up slightly and half a dozen Cory Shearwaters put in an appearance.
Once through the quiet shipping lane we had news of fishing boats at the 30 Nautical mile mark and headed out to them, on the way picking up a few Sabine's Gull with their delicate wing patterns. The occasional Shy Albatross were eventually interspersed with an immature Black-browed Albatross a few miles from the fishing boats. They were two long liner boats and we took up station behind one that was hauling in fish. There were two dozen or so albatross behind the boat, being mostly Shy and Black-browed Albatross. We soon however picked up an Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross followed by an Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross, which were scattered among Sooty Shearwater and White-chinned Petrels. Three Sub-Antarctic Skua also hung around the fishing boat, mixing with the Cape Gulls that had come out from the land.
A Southern Giant Petrel was hulking around the boat, giving us good views as it dominated a feeding squabble. Northern Giant Petrel also appeared, giving us good comparison views between the two species. A surprise appearance at this stage was a lone Pintado Petrel; a species that is present in large numbers in the winter months, but is usually absent at this stage of the year. Two Great Shearwater were also about as small groups of Wilson's Storm Petrels flew about the boat. We stayed with the fishing vessel for two hours, travelling in her wake and having excellent views of the various species. Of note was a particular Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross which at times appeared as if it wanted to come on board the boat! Although there were not huge numbers behind the fishing vessel, we were rewarded with an excellent variety and great views.
We headed for home with a light wind at out backs, which made the trip home a lot smoother than that coming out. A leisurely lunch in False Bay under the cliffs of Cape Point brought us to the Castle Rock Bank Cormorant colony which yielded views of these birds as well as White-breasted and Cape Cormorant. On an adjacent rock was a single Crowned Cormorant, which completed the cormorant species. At Boulder's Beach we stopped off to view some African Penguin before returning to Simonstown Harbour.
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.
To book one of Cape Town Pelagics weekly scheduled pelagic trips, simply email or phone us, or submit a booking enquiry online: www.capetownpelagics.com
Bird species seen and approximate numbers:
Swift Tern - coastal
Sandwich Tern - coastal
Hartlaub's Gull - coastal
Cape Gull - coastal
Sabine's Gull - 15
Cape Cormorant - coastal
Bank Cormorant - coastal
Crowned Cormorant - coastal - 1
White-breasted Cormorant - coastal
African Penguin - coastal
Cape Gannet - coastal & pelagic - 30
White-chinned Petrel - 90
Southern Giant Petrel - 5
Northern Giant Petrel - 4
Pintado Petrel - 1
Cory's Shearwater - 15
Great Shearwater - 2
Sooty Shearwater - 60
Shy Albatross - 20
Black-browed Albatross - 15
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross - 4
Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross - 4
Wilson's Storm Petrel - 50
Sub-Antarctic Skua - 3
Parasitic Jaeger - 1
Mammals:
Cape fur seal