Ivan PapaninTop Predators ObservationsWeek 1, 1 — 7 December 2007Open sea area between Cape Town and the Pack Ice ZoneDay 1, 1 December 2007Coordinates and Counts: From 33°55'S 018°25'E to 36°06’°S 018°00’E. Departure from Cape Town: 08.30 Observation until: 20.00, 8 counts between 12.00 and 20.00, ‘Trawlers zone’ located roughly around 34°59’S 018°24’E Weather: nice and sunny, around 3 Bft. Good vision but strong sunlight making some identifications a bit difficult (especially for some albatrosses).
Birds:
Cape Gannet : common till the Trawlers zone (around 70 km south of Cape Town ), than fewer and fewer. Parasitic Skua : one or two individuals identified. Pomarine Skua : ca 30 ind. identified, mostly adults. Para/Pom’s Skua: around 5-10 individuals unidentified. Subantarctic Skua : 5-10 ind . Grey Phalarope : 2-3 ind . Cory’s Shearwater : 50-100 ind . Sooty Shearwater: 20-30 ind . White-chinned Petrel: ca 100 ind., most before the Trawlers zone. Great-winged Petrel: ca 200 ind . Shy Albatross: first just before noon, then ca 100 ind. mostly Shy-White Capped, at least 2 Salvin’s Albatrosses, maybe up to 5% of this (sub)species, but immatures tricky to identify with bright sun. Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross: at least 4 ind . Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross : at least 2 ind . Unidentified Yellow-nosed Albatross : 10 ind., young birds or distant adults Indian. Pintado (Cape) Petrel : 1 ind .. Flesh-footed Shearwater : 1 ind . Sabine’s Gull : 5 ind . Manx Shearwater : 10 ind . European Storm Petrel : 3 ind . Arctic Tern : 20 ind . Black-browed Albatross : 2 ind . White-headed Petrel : 1 ind . Soft-plumaged Petrel: ca 5 ind .
Note : many birds were seen in the “Trawlers zone”, south of Cape Town . The following nine species were not taken into account as those birds are mostly coastal and not pelagic.
Hartlaub’s Gull: 50 ind . in the harbour Kelp/Dominican Gull: in the harbour but common till the trawlers zone. Common Tern: 1000+ ind. first 5 miles Sandwich Tern: 10 ind . African Penguin: 2 ind. just outside the harbour, 1 ind. 15 miles after departure Bank Cormorant, Crowned Cormorant, Cape Cormorant : all three cormorants present. Crowned and Cape in big flocks, Bank only some individuals Swift Tern: some ind. in the 20 first miles
Mammals:
Southern Bottlenose Whale : 3 individuals distant at 18.35 (at ca 35°50’S 018°00’E). African Fur Seal : some tens of individuals seen from Cape Town until the «Trawlers zone», not seen further south. Day 2, 2 December 2007Coordinates and Counts: From 38°12’S 018°27’E to 40°43’S 018°59’S.12 counts from 06.30 to 20.00 (no counts around 11.30 and 13.30). Weather : Nice weather until midday, then the wind got stronger, up to 7 Bft, with more clouds. Good vision anyway, but a little difficult on the evening.
Birds:
Wandering Albatross : first at 14.30, only 2 ind . Black-browed Albatross : at least 2 ind . Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross : 1 ind. at the end of the day. Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross : 3 ind. in the first hours of the day. Dark-mantled Sooty Albatross : 1 ind . Giant Petrel sp : 1 ind . White-headed Petrel : a few, ca 20 ind . Great-winged Petrel : 40-50 ind., not seen after 15.00. Soft-plumaged Petrel : hundreds during the whole day. White-chinned Petrel : 40-50 ind . Grey Petrel : 2 ind. at the end of the day. Prion sp .: First at 16.50, S 40°, 50-60 ind. after, probably Antarctic (desolata), almost all birds show heavily moulting secondaries. Black-bellied Storm Petrel : first at 16.40 (at around 40°S), 15-20 individuals after. Long-tailed Skua : a flock of 7 ind. at 17.20, minimum 10 ind. at 18.30 and 5 ind. at 19.40
Mammals :
Nothing, bad conditions with rough sea. Day 3, 3 December 2007Coordinates and Counts: From 42°50’S 019°30’E to 45°50’S 020°14’E. 13 counts between 06.30 and 20.00 (no count around 11.00). Weather : Still 8 Bft in the morning, with clouds and some slight fog. Cloudy but wind go down to 5-6 Bft in the afternoon. Good conditions of observation.
Birds:
Wandering Albatross : max 6 ind. together, at least 13 different (from pictures) individuals during the day, but counts difficult as birds follow the ship. Probably 15-20 birds on the whole day. Southern Royal Albatross: 1 ind. first seen at 7.20, 3 ex. during the day, at least one still there at dusk. Black-browed Albatross : 5 ind . Grey-headed Albatross : 6 ind . Light-mantled Sooty Albatross : 3 ind . Southern Giant Petrel : 2-3 ind . Pintado Petrel: 1 ind . White-headed Petrel : ca 10-15 ind . Atlantic Petrel : 1 ind . at 18.30 (RML). Soft-plumaged Petrel : ca 100 ind . White-chinned Petrel : ca 150 ind . Grey Petrel : 5 ind . Little Shearwater : 4 ind. at 7.30. Prions: 1000 + ind . ( probably as follows: 90% Antarctic, 7-8% Salvins/Broad-billed, 1-2 % Slender-billed? ), mostly between 06.00 and 10.00. Salvins/Broad-billed Prion : some birds early in the morning with strong bills, than less and less, becoming rare at 11.30, identification not confirmed but pictures taken). Antarctic Prion : at least 100 ind. identified, seems to be the vast majority of Prions encountered. Slender-billed Prion : a few birds seem to be this species from pictures, but not confirmed) Black-bellied Storm Petrel: ca 100 ind .
Mammals:
Nothing, rough sea conditions. Day 4, 4 December 2007Coordinates and Count s: From 47°59’S 020°46’E to 51°14’S 021°35’E. 14 censuses between 05.30 and 20.00 (only the one at 18.30 missing because it was snowing). Weather : Cloudy, with slight wind of 2-3 Bft strengthening in the afternoon (up to 5 Bft). Very good observation conditions, with only light waves in the morning, allowing observations of Diving Petrels, Penguins and Hourglass Dolphins.
Birds:
Macaroni Penguin : 6 ind . Penguin sp : 5 ind., probably also Macaroni. Wandering Albatross : max 3 ind . together, at least 6 individuals (from pictures), probably 7-8 ind . Southern Royal Albatross : 1 immature. Black-browed Albatross : ca 5 ind . Grey-headed Albatross : 3 ind . Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross: 1 adult at 08.45. Dark-mantled Sooty Albatross : 1 ind . Light-mantled Sooty Albatross : 10 ind . Southern Giant Petrel: 2-3 ind . Northern Giant Petrel : 1 ind . Pintado Petrel: 2 ind . White-headed Petrel : 10 ind . Kerguelen Petrel : 4-5. ind . Soft-plumaged Petrel : 50-60 ind . White-chinned Petrel : 10 ind . Grey Petrel: 1 ind . Antarctic/Salvin Prion : between 500 and 1000 individuals. Salvin’s Prion?: an important part of Prions seen that day had quite broad bills (broader than on Antarctic Prions seen further south), but not black, so it’s presumed that they were Salvin’s. Antarctic Prion: Pictures showed this species to be regular, and probably formed the majority of birds encountered. Slender-billed Prion: ca 5% ?, identification confirmed by pictures. Fairy Prion: at least 10 %. Blue Petrel: 10. ind . South Georgian/Common Diving Petrel: around 15 birds (pictured): possibly both species involved. Black-bellied Storm Petrel: hundreds of ind . Arctic Tern: ca 7 ind .
Mammals:
Hourglass Dolphin 6 individuals at 08.20 (at ca 48°35’S 020°54’E) . Humpback Whale 1 individual distant, spyhopping at 09.45 (at ca 49°00’S 021° 09’E). Day 5, 5 December 2007Coordinates and Counts : From 53°06’S 021°36’E to 56°11’S 023°10’E. 16 counts between 04.40 and 20.00. Weather : Good, although windy in the morning (5-6 Bft), and some snowfalls and fog intermittently. Observation conditions ok.
Birds:
Chinstrap Penguin: 5 ind . at 13.30 at sea, and a hundred birds on a huge iceberg around 14.30. Penguin sp: 2 big ones at sea might have been Royal at 10.00, and around 10 at sea between the ice floes in the afternoon (probably Chinstrap). Light-mantled Sooty Albatross : max 6 together, ca 15 ind . Southern Giant Petrel : 5 ind. including a nearly white bird. Antarctic Fulmar : first at 06.30, ca 10 ind . Antarctic Petrel : first ind . at 16.30, 3 hours before to reach the ice floes, and ca 150 ind . from that time. Pintado ( Cape ) Petrel : ca 10 ind., including 5 ind. on the ice floes zone in the evening. Snowy Petrel : First at 18.30, at around 56°S, an hour before reaching the ice floes, then regular in the ice zone in the evening, ca 30 ind . Kerguelen Petrel : Many birds in the morning until 13.00 (min. 60 ind.), then some birds until 16.30 (10 ind .). The strong wind in the morning made many birds visible at long range when they did looping like typical Pterodroma. White-chinned Petrel : 1 ind. followed the ship until the evening. Antarctic Prion : more than a thousand birds. Many birds were following the ship, and still regular in the ice zone. Blue Petrel : Common, with around 250 ind. for the day, seen until the ice zone, but more frequent in the morning and midday time. Arctic Tern: min 1 ind . ? Antarctic Tern: a possible bird in the evening, but too far for a positive ID, although the bird seemed in breeding plumage (ADB). Catharacta Skua sp.: 1 ind. in the ice zone, far away.
Mammals:
Cetacea sp .: 1 distant cetacean, possibly a Southern Bottlenose Whale, at 12.35 (ca 54°45’S 021°58’E). Other observations between 14.40 and 15.10 of 2 blows (ca 55°02’S 022°13’E), and at 17.37 some big blows at big distance (at ca 55°45’S 022°45’E): these observations concerned large “physalus” whales. Crabeater Seal : first individuals sighted at around 19.45, on the first Ice floes. Day 6, 6 December 2007Coordinates and Counts : From 57°40’S 024°57’E to 61° 08’S 026°37’E. 12 counts between 03.40 and 19.30: only a few counts in the afternoon. Weather : Wind 3-4 Bft slowing at midday, snowfalls and fog regularly, not much light.
Birds:
Chinstrap Penguin : Seen in small numbers: a hundred on an iceberg, and some small parties of 4 to 8 ind . Light-mantled Sooty Albatross: 1 ind. from 07.30 to 10.00. Southern Giant Petrel : 1 grey ind . with a white head in the morning. Antarctic Fulmar : 3-4 ind . mostly in the morning. Antarctic Petrel : common, a few hundreds. Pintado Petrel : a few individuals, around 10 ind., scattered all day long. Snow Petrel : up to 35 ind. together, around 150 ind . Kerguelen Petrel : 1 individual at 10.00. White-chinned Petrel : 2 ind. until 09.00. Antarctic Prion : a few hundreds still present along the ice floes. Blue Petrel: around 20 ind. until midday. Arctic Tern : ca 25 ind., including a group of 16 ind .. ? Antarctic Tern : a breeding bird in a group of Arctic terns, but not conclusively identified . Pack Ice Zone and Antarctic Coastal ZoneDay 7, December 2007Coordinates and Counts : roughly between 62°50’S 027°12’E (07.00) to 65°20’S 026°30’E (22.00). Only 2 counts between S 63°51’S 027°11’E (13.45) and 64°36’S 026°57’E (17.45). Weather : Wind 1-2 Bft, cold and sunny.
Birds:
Emperor Penguin : 2 individuals (separated). Adelie Penguin : seen in small numbers: around 15 birds close to the ship while waiting for the motor to be repaired, and then some small groups of 5 to 10 ind., total around 50 ind . Antarctic Petrel : still common, up to 35 ind. around the ship during the «stop». Snow Petrel : a few individuals scattered but regular, max. 5 ind . together. Wilson ’s Storm Petrel: 1 ind. followed the ship just before the «stop» (08.30). Arctic Tern: ca 5 ind .
Mammals :
Leopard seal: 1 individual at 63°54’S 027°12’E. Crabeater Seal : common in the pack ice, around waterholes, ca 45 individuals, scattered during the day.
Next week — Week 2
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