A group of birders left Simon's Town aboard a Cape Town Pelagics trip on Saturday October 24th in calm sea and no wind, lead by Cape Town Pelagics guide Alvin Cope.
No birds were seen on the way to the Point, but two pods of Southern Right Whales were sighted. We headed outside the Point still in no wind and no sea and sadly very few birds - a single Parasitic Jaeger and a big patch of Sabine's Gulls provided some interest. The skipper spotted a trawler at about 20 miles as we approached them another 4 were seen in the distance. None of the vessels had pulled their net, so we, like the birds just sat around and waited. It was not too long before the birds gathered around one of the vessels and the rest of the day was spent amongst these boats and their birds. The windless conditions caused the birds not to fly as easily as usual and very close views of all the birds available were had by all. The lack of any Storm Petrels was a bother, but we did manage reasonable looks at a few towards the end of the trip. The trip back was very pleasant but bird-less except for a large flock of Sabine's Gulls - for sure the same lot we saw on the way out. The wind in the Bay was from the west and probably up to 15 knots in gusts. A group of Southern Right Whales and a single Bryde's Whale were seen by some inside the Bay.
Of interest, a lack of Storm Petrels.
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.
Birds seen, with numbers where known and estimated, excluding all the usual stuff on the inside.
Shy Albatross 100
Black-browed Albatross 30
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross 2
Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross 4
Southern Giant Petrel 4
Northern Giant Petrel 10
Giant Petrel sp 10
White-Chinned Petrel 2000
Sooty Shearwater 10
Great Shearwater 80
Pintado Petrel 50
Wilson's Storm Petrel 3
Sub-Antarctic Skua 5
Parasitic Jaeger 1
Sabine's Gull 300
Arctic Tern 30
Mammals
Cape Fur Seal
Bryde's Whale
Southern Right Whale