Hauraki Gulf seabirds

[Chris Gaskin]

Hi all,

We are running a couple of pelagic trips next week - 19 and 21 December.

There's been action aplenty lately on recent trips - some amazing spectacles. See one of the pics accompanying this post.

On the 19th Karen, through her role as the South Pacific coordinator for BirdLife International's Marine Programme, will be taking one of the Taiwanese fisheries observers out to see seabirds here in the north. This week they will be heading south for some seabird ID work with Mike Bell and Paul Scofield (working with bycatch specimens) before another pelagic at Kaikoura. Interesting times as nations grapple with the seabird bycatch issue, both inshore, offshore and in international waters. Still a couple of places on this trip (19 Dec).

On the 21st Noah Stryker is on board - twitchers with World Lists may know something of his achievements - 5000 birds in year! Still a couple of places left on this trip too (21 Dec).

Aside from the birdwatching pelagics we've been running monthly surveys as part of the NZ Storm Petrel programme - looking out for banded birds. There have been 200 birds captured to date and we're really keen to get records of those birds. The last (as far as we are aware) were in January 2013.

Attached here is a nice pic of two NZSP (no bands!), photo'd by Jonas Kotlarz recently. Jonas is a volunteer from Germany working at Tawharanui over summer.

Please, if you're out there report sightings of banded birds - either to this forum or one of the NZSP team.

Happy seabird bird-watching

Chris

Chris Gaskin - for the Northern New Zealand Seabird Trust

[Jan]

I'm guessing you mean these 2 pelagics are at Hauraki Gulf, because you also mention Kaikoura pelagics. Can you please clarify where they are?

[Chris Gaskin]

Hauraki Gulf - both.

[Oscar Thomas]

Any idea of the cost, length and departure point of the trips? I was on the boat from AKL to Tiri during the last 2 Fridays and we saw several Arctic skua both times, as well as a couple dozen penguins, many gannets, fluttering shearwaters and white-fronted terns.

[Chris Gaskin]

send an email to kwtl@xtra.co.nz

From next year all the Hauraki Gulf pelagics will be run through the Northern NZ Seabird Trust.

Yep, heaps of bird action out there at the moment - plus sharks, cetaceans, sunfish. Stunning stuff.

[Paul G]

Very grateful that you publicised the availability of these places on your trips, Chris.
I'd have been there like a shot if not busy elsewhere on those dates.
Hope you'll continue to notify us of these opportunities on the forum, as they arise.
Will you be posting a species list for both days? (I look forward to being envious!)
cheers
Paul

[Michael Szabo]

British birder Richard Allison has asked me to post a note about a Hauraki Gulf pelagic trip planned for 12th March leaving Sandspit. He says he is the only person booked on the trip so far so he is keen to let NZ birders know about it. The trip is with Kiwi Wildlife tours so he suggests contacting them for further details.

[Chris Gaskin]

We're keen to run this trip; it will be on a cost share basis - a good time to get out and see what's happening in Gulf. Three persons booked so far.

Worth mentioning that we're also in the process of shifting the running of these trips from Pterodroma Pelagics/Kiwi Wildlife to the Northern NZ Seabird Charitable Trust to support seabird research in northern NZ. Currently rebuilding the nzseabirds.com website which will in future be the website for NNZST.

Cheers

Chris

[Mig]

Any sign of that Grey Noddy that you saw back in December Chris?

[Chris Gaskin]

Seen last trip out in February.

Chris