Ivan PapaninTop Predators ObservationsWeek 4, 22 — 28 December 2008Day 22, 22 December 2007Coordinates and Counts 64°16’SN 021°56 E ( 04.45’ ) to 61°00’ S 021°44’E ( 21.00’ ). 9 counts. Weather : cloudy and misty, with strong wind at the end of the day, snowfalls.
Birds:
Penguin sp. (Adelie?) : 5 individuals in the morning. Light-mantled Sooty Albatross : 3 ind. together, at least 5 ind. in total. Southern Giant Petrel : minimum 2 ind . Antarctic Fulmar : between 5 and 10 ind . Antarctic Petrel : numerous until early afternoon, max 40 ind. together around the ship, numbers dwindled in the evening. More than 150 ind . Pintado (Cape) Petrel : minimum 10-15 ind . Snow Petrel : 15 to 20 ind. during daytime, dwindled in the evening. Kerguelen Petrel : 15 to 20 individuals, the first ones from 16.00. Antarctic Prion : 40 to 50 individuals. Blue Petrel : first at 11.05 then more and more frequent, ca 100 ind . Wilson ’s Storm Petrel : 1 ind .
Mammals:
Crabeater Seal : 3 ind. on ice floes, + 1 sp. Leopard Seal : 1 individual at 16.45 on an ice floe. End of Pack Ice Zone and Open sea zone north to Cape Town , ZA.Day 23, 23 December 2007Coordinates and Counts : Roughly from 58°48’S 020°55’E (09.00) to 57°35’S 020°31’E (18.00). Only 3 counts that day because of the storm. Weather : Stormy with 9-10 Bft, slowing down at the end of the day. Awful conditions….
Birds:
Chinstrap Penguin: 1 ind. in the morning. Light-mantled Sooty Albatross : at least 3 ind . Southern Giant Petrel : at least 1 ind . Antarctic Fulmar : maximum 6 ind. together, total 15 ind . Pintado ( Cape ) Petrel : around 15 individuals. Snowy Petrel : between 15 and 20 ind., get scarce at the end of the day. Kerguelen Petrel: between 15 and 20 ind., already one in the morning. Antarctic Prion : 100+ individuals. Slender-billed Prion : at least 1 ind. in the evening. Blue Petrel : very common, around 100 ind. in three half-hour counts! Including a group of 22 ind. together.
Mammals: Nothing, awful weather conditions. Day 24, 24 December 2007Coordinates and Counts: From 55°20’S 020°00’E ( 06.00’ ) to 53°13’S 019°54’E (18.10). 12 counts from 06.00 to 18.10. Weather : end of storm in the morning with 6-7 Bft, slowing down during the day, but strengthening again in the evening up to 9 Bft.
Birds:
Southern Royal Albatross : 1 adult at 5.30. Black-browed Albatross : 1 adult. Light-mantled Sooty Albatross : 3 individuals together, total at least 5 ind., probably more. Southern Giant Petrel: 1 ind . Giant Petrel sp : 1 ind . Antarctic Fulmar : 1 individual. Pintado ( Cape ) Petrel : ca 10 individuals. White-headed Petrel : First at 09.25, ca 10 individuals. Kerguelen Petrel : ca 50 individuals. Soft-plumaged Petrel : First at 10.00, ca 25 ind . White-chinned Petrel : 2 individuals between 10.00 and 10.30. Antarctic Prion : a few hundreds. Slender-billed Prion : a few ind., probably 5% of total Prions number. Blue Petrel : ca 80 individuals. Black-bellied Storm Petrel : 7 individuals.
Mammals : A large Physalus sp. blow at 08.15. Day 25, 25 December 2007Coordinates and Counts : From 51°30’S 020°00’E ( 05.10’ ) to 49°12’S 019°13’E ( 20.35’ ). 11 counts between 05.10 and 20.35. Weather : storm of 8-9 Bft, slowing down to 6 Bft in the afternoon.
Birds :
Penguin sp. ( Macaroni?): 1 ind . Wandering Albatross : minmum 5 ind., including 4 ind. together. Black-browed Albatross : 2 immatures. Grey-headed Albatross : 3 ind . White-chinned Petrel : 2-3 ind . White-headed Petrel : ca 20 ind . Soft-plumaged Petrel: 150-200 ind . Antarctic Prion : a few hundreds, but dwindling quickly after the Antarctic Convergence. Slender-billed Prion : a few ind . Fairy Prion : up to 40 à 50% of all prions around the Antarctic Convergence. Black-bellied Storm Petrel : 10-15 ind . Diving Petrel sp . (common?): ca 10 individuals, just north of the Convergence.
Mammals: Nothing, big waves and windy conditions. Day 26, 26 December 2007Coordinates and Counts : From 47°25’S 019°48’E (5.10) to 44°05’S 019°28’E (19.35). 15 counts. Weather : Wind 3-4 Bft, cloudy, some sun, good visibility. Note: « Bonanza ridge » is a zone located around 44°30’S 019°20’E, with a great concentration of birds (also some Sei whales were sighted close to this zone).
Birds:
Wandering Albatross : max 7 ind. togheter during counting period, 13 ind. together at Bonanza ridge, probably 25 ind. and eventually 30 individuals for the day. Southern Royal Albatross : 1 immature at 10.00. Indian/Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross : 1 ad at 8.00. Black-browed Albatross : 10 ind. during counting period, 25-30 ind. at Bonanza ridge. Grey-headed Albatross : 3 ind. during counting period, 3-4 ind. at Bonanza ridge. Light-mantled Sooty Albatross: 1 ind. during counting period + 1 sp. Sooty Albatross : 1 imm. during counting period, 5-6 ind. at Bonanza ridge. Southern Giant Petrel : 1 ind. identified + 3-4 sp during counting period. Northern Giant Petrel: 1 ind. during counting period. White-headed Petrel : ca 25-30 ind. during counting period, 50-60 ind. at Bonanza ridge. Soft-plumaged Petrel : ca 250+ ind. during counting period, 250 ind. at Bonanza ridge. White-chinned Petrel : ca 25 ind. during counting period, 15 ind. at Bonanza ridge. Grey Petrel : 5 – 10 ind. during counting period. Great Shearwater : 2 ind. during counting period. Sooty Shearwater : ca 5 ind. during counting period, 350+ ind. (incl. raft of 200 ind.) at Bonanza ridge. Little Shearwater : ca 5 ind. during counting period (first at 14.30), 50+ ind. at Bonanza ridge. Prion sp. (probably desolata) : 1 ind. during counting period, 50+ ind. at Bonanza ridge. Wilson ’s Storm Petrel : 1 ind. at 7.00. Black-bellied Storm Petrel : 10 ind. during counting period, 5+ ind . at Bonanza ridge. White-bellied Storm Petrel: 1 ind. at Bonanza ridge. Long-tailed Skua : 1 ind. at 10.00, 1 ind. at Bonanza ridge.
Mammals :
Sei Whale : 3 individuals at 17.35-17.40 at 44°40’S 019°30’E OK Whales sp.: distant blows of “Physalus” at 18.10 and 19.35, probably also Sei whales. Day 27, 27 December 2007Coordinates and Counts: From 42°10’S 019°10’E (05.20) to 39°15’S 018°55’E (19.30). 15 counts. Weather : Wind 7-8 Bft slowing down to 4 Bft at the end of the day, weather changing, with sunny periods increasing as day passed. Visibility generally very good, but locally very bad due to strong showers.
Birds:
Wandering Albatross : 3 individuals (at 5.20, at 6.00 and at 8.45). Shy Albatross : 2 Salvin’s and 4-5 White-capped. Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross : ca 20 individuals. Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross : at least 1 individual. Black-browed Albatross : 15 individuals, mostly young birds. Sooty Albatross : 7 individuals in the morning, till 10.30. White-headed Petrel : ca 10 individuals (early morning and late afternoon). Soft-plumaged Petrel : ca 750+ ind. (including at least 2 dark), mostly in the morning. Great-winged Petrel : first ind. at 7.00, total 100 individuals. White-chinned Petrel : ca 75 individuals. Cory’s Shearwater : ca 250+ individuals. Flesh-footed Shearwater : 3 individuals. Great Shearwater : 5 individuals. Sooty Shearwater : ca 10 individuals. Little Shearwater : ca 12 individuals, till 11.30. Prion sp .: 2-3 ind. very early morning. Leach’s Storm Petrel : 2 ind. at 17.15. Black-bellied Storm Petrel : 5-10 individuals. White-bellied Storm Petrel : 25-30 individuals. Long-tailed Skua : total 82 individuals, including a group of ca 41 ind .
Mammals:
Dolphins sp. : a pod of ca 50 ind. Very far at 40° S. Day 28, 28 December 2007Coordinates and Counts: From 37°50’S 018°50’E (06.00) to 34°15’S 018°15’E (20.00).10 counts from 06.00 to 15.00. Weather : wind 2-3 Bft, quiet sea, sunny and good visibility.
Birds:
Shy Albatross : 150 individuals, mostly Shy-White Capped, only 5% max. of Salvin’s Albatross type identified, but some immatures are quiet difficult to assign to (sub-) species level. Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross: at least 4 ind . Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross : at least 3 ind . Unidentified Yellow-nosed Albatross : at least 3 ind . Black-browed Albatross : 2 immatures. Great-winged Petrel : ca 200 ind . White-headed Petrel: 1 during morning. Soft-plumaged Petrel : ca 3-4 ind. during morning. White-chinned Petrel : ca 100+ ind., mostly after and at the Trawlers zone. Great Shearwater : 15-20 individuals (10-15 ind. at the Trawlers zone). Cory’s Shearwater : 200+ ind . Sooty Shearwater : 20-30 ind. mostly near Cape of Good Hope . Flesh-footed Shearwater : 1 ind. (probable). Manx Shearwater : 2 ind . Wilson ’s Storm Petrel : 5-6 ind . European Storm Petrel : at least 10 ind . Unidentified Storm Petrel : at least 20 ind., majority European? Leach’s Storm Petrel : 1 ind. at 12.20, 1 ind. at 13.45. Cape Gannet : common after the trawlers. Crowned Cormorant : a few ind . Cape Cormorant : a few ind . Pomarine Skua : 3 ind . Subantarctic Skua : 2 (1 ind. at 11.00, 1 ind. near Cape Town ) Kelp/Dominican Gull : present from the Trawlers zone to Cape Town Sabine’s Gull : min 3000 ind ., probably 5000 ind. near Cape of Good Hope Swift Tern : some ind. in the 20 last miles Sandwich Tern : 2 ind . Arctic Tern : possible at the Trawlers zone Common Tern : 1000+ ind. first 5 miles Grey Phalarope : 1 ind .
Mammals:
Short Finned Pilot Whale & Long Finned Pilot Whale: at least four pods for a total of 80 to 120 ind. (35°10’S 018°26’E). A picture of the first pod showed at least a probable “short-finned”, the three other pods constituted by “long-finned”. Humpback Whale : 3 individuals at 10.15’ ( ca 35°58’S 018°31’E) ; another seen at 13.00’ (at 35°23’S 18°29’E) ; around 15 individuals feeding close to Cape of Good Hope between 18.30 and 19.00. South African Fur Seal : close to South-Africa, first ones in the Trawlers zone.
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