Trip Report
Southern Seabirds (Bluff to Auckland Islands return)
8 - 12 January 2007
I was fortunate to join a DOC transfer and supply run to Auckland Islands 8-12 January. A party of six was heading south for the all-important annual NZ Sea Lion survey. They were to relieve a team of three who had been on Enderby Island for six weeks. We were aboard MV Clan Macleod, the same vessel we’d chartered for our Chathams, Bounties and Antipodes trip. I was making this trip to undertake systematic seabird counts duriing the voyage (more on this shortly).
We departed Bluff late on 8 January and during the evening crossing of Foveaux Strait saw large numbers of diving petrels, prions and Sooty Shearwaters, plus the occasional White-capped and Buller’s Albatross. Next morning at dawn we were well to the south of Stewart Island and the DOC team true to form (apparently) were mostly below, sleeping out the boat ride. A 15kn nor’easterly, which swung to 10-15kn sou’easterly around midday, made for a rolly but not unpleasant ride. It was fascinating to see the changes in seabird occurrence as we left Stewart Island’s continental shelf, and crossed to the shelf surrounding the Auckland Islands. Also, the larger concentrations of birds that forage along the shelf edges and slopes.
Birds seen on his leg: Southern Royal, White-capped, Campbell, Buller’s, Gibson’s, Light-mantled and Salvin’s Albatrosses, Sooty Shearwater (many), Antarctic, Fulmar and Fairy Prions (although ‘Prion sp’ figures highly in my notes given the grey conditions and sloppy sea), Black-bellied and Grey-backed Storm Petrels, Northern Giant Petrel, White-chinned, Cape and Mottled Petrels, and Common Diving Petrels.
We arrived at Sandy Bay, Enderby Island at night (9 January). In the morning Louise (Chilvers) who heads the sea lion programme landed on Enderby to initiate the changeover, while we (with the rest of the team) cruised down to Figure of Eight Island at the head of North Arm, Carnley Harbour. Although overcast we enjoyed fairly light conditions with a 10-15kn sou’easterly along the east coast of Auckland Island. Good numbers of Antarctic Prions, Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses, pods of Yellow-eyed Penguins (YEP) ‘porpoising’ and Auckland Island Shags in the water.
The eastern entrance to Carnley Harbour is imposing, the great bulk of pristine Adams Island on the port (left) and main Auckland Island to starboard (right). My notes include descriptions of three Southern Royals soaring hard against the cliffs of Adams; Light-mantled Sooties in synchronous flight against a backdrop of windswept kanuka and megaherbs; YEPs doing ‘flips’; and right up at the head of North Arm a group of 40-50 stormies (Black-bellied and Grey-backed Storm Petrels). One lasting ‘little’ memory is of one chunky BBSP leading four delicate GBSPs, all skipping along in single file. Once the team had completed the survey of Figure of Eight Island the boat dropped supplies and gear at Adams Island for that intrepid couple Kath Walker and Graeme Elliot. They were on Adams for their summer stint studying Wandering Albatrosses. It was too late to drop the team off at Enderby, so went to an anchorage at Terror Cove in Port Ross for the night.
Next morning (10 Jan) the drop off/changeover went smoothly – the DOC team shuttling back and forth with gear and food while the rest of us took in the sights between helping with loading: Sea lions on the beach and all their activity; Yellow-eyed Penguins coming and going at various points around the bay: a Yellow-breasted Tit flicking about on the edge of the bush; YEPs swimming with attendant Antarctic Terns hovering over them as the headed out of the bay; prions flying by quite close to shore; Auckland Island Shags on basalt columns at the western end of the bay; Brown Skua on the beach (probably checking out the new necropsy team as they came ashore – apparently these skua would join Andy when he did his work on dead sea lion pups), and Northern Giant Petrels feasting on a sea lion carcass floating in the water. A few days earlier the previous team had watched as a Great White Shark took a large male sea lion (not a pup) just off the beach (they have some video of this). Another sea lion was found washed up on the beach with great chunks out of it.
We left Enderby at noon and set sail for the Snares, our route back to Bluff would take us up the western side of Stewart Island. Conditions were 15kn SE overcast with low cloud and some light showers for the rest of the day. The birds seen heading north to the Snares were pretty much a rerun of the trip down although I saw a lot more diving petrels in the area immediately north of Auckland Island. I was impressed by the numbers of Black-bellied Storm Petrels to quite a long way north, and a little cluster of Grey-backed Stormies about half way between Auckland and Snares. We reached the Snares at dawn the following morning – thick mist and in the half light could only just make out the islands. We drifted in the lee of the Northeast Island (the largest of the Snares group) for a couple of hours breakfasting and waiting to see if the mist would clear: amazing numbers of birds around the boat: Sooties, Common Diving Petrels, Cape Petrels, Buller’s Albatross and the occasional Mottled Petrel.
At 0735hrs decided to head away with the wind dropping. Fortunately, as we rounded Broughton Island the mist cleared enough to reveal the eastern shoreline. Very dramatic (!) and we enjoyed great views of the Snares Crested Penguin ramp (with many penguins), rafts of Buller’s Albatross, penguins and Sooties on the water (the Buller’s Albatrosses could also be seen on nests amongst the vegetation), Fairy Prion (often in groups foraging), Brown Skua, Antarctic Tern, Northern Giant Petrel and Common Diving Petrel. Also, a pod of Dusky Dolphins. At 0840, after almost circumnavigating the main islands, we were on way to Stewart Island.
North of the Snares we came across more rafts of Sooties and Buller’s Albatross (with some White-capped and Salvin’s amongst them). Plenty of Common Diving Petrels, including a good look at a South Georgian Diving Petrel preening itself on the water. Sooties were ever present, so too were Fairy Prions. I also saw one White-faced Storm Petrel (only one!) and one Chatham Island Albatross. Quite a few Mottled Petrels on this stretch as well.
The sky cleared and the wind died completely as we closed on the bottom of Stewart Island: clear views of Big South Cape Island and the rest of the Southern Titi (Muttonbird) Islands; the extraordinary bald granite peaks of Gog and Magog with the rest of Island beyond. A shark fishing boat at work had a nice collection of birds around it but nothing new. In fact from here all the way to Codfish we saw only a handful of birds, but the views of Stewart Island’s western coast were spectacular (Doughboy Bay, Mt. Rakeahua where most of the southern NZ dotterels breed, Mason’s Bay, Little and Big Hellfire Beaches and the impressive Ruggedy Mountains with Mt Anglem beyond). We ducked through the Ruggedy Passage between Codfish and the main island; spied someone from the Kakapo base walking along the beach; a Blue Shark in clear water caused some excitement for us on board (we were all up on the fly bridge); this was followed by a Blue Penguin swimming beside the boat. Back across Foveaux Strait, passed the Spirit of Enderby heading the other way (south to Antarctica) and duly arrived at Bluff at 1830hrs.
Happy seabirding
Chris Gaskin (on the Mokohinaus, Hauraki Gulf)
Pterodroma Pelagics
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