Hi folks, Phil Crutchley, Antony Shadbolt and I went up to Kaikoura yesterday to try some sea-watching from the end of the peninsula reefs. We went to South Bay and walked out to the south-easterno-most point. 28oC, no wind and mirror-calm seas when we started, but on the horizon a line of low cloud, marking an approaching southerly front was evident. We set up scopes at the end of the reef and could see the wind-whipped line of waves getting nearer and nearer as the front approached. All the way along its edge we could see scores of albatross, giant petrels, smaller petrels, shearwaters, terns, gannets, etc. Then, bang! the wind and waves hit, and we had sea birds right in close! magic
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(front approaching)
seabird species list;
Huttons Shearwater
Bullers Shearwater
Fluttering Shearwater (several)
Sooty Shearwaerwater
Westland/W-chinned Petrel
Grey-faced Petrel
Northern Royal Albatross
Southern Royal Alb
Salvins Alb
White-capped Alb
Northern Giant Petrel
Pomarine Skua (1)
Arctic Skua
Aust Gannet
around the rocks we only found 3 Turnstone and no Tattlers, but many Banded Dotts and 3 Reef Heron
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