In Pursuit of Prions (Part 2) Tasman Sea - Sydney to Hobart

Once I'd got my perspectives sorted out I was soon racking up an impressive selection of seabirds most of which were entirely new to me. DSLR cameras come into their own in these circumstances as I was able to fire away at the fast moving specs on the dark ocean, then zoom in and check all the relevant features to come to a conclusive ID. By this method I was able to confirm Gould's Petrel, a rather rare species which breeds on Cabbage Tree Island off New South Wales. Soon I was enjoying my first Albatrosses of the trip. In this case the largest of the Mollymawks White-capped Albatross. This species was split from Shy Albatross in 2008 and separating it from Shy is pretty much impossible at Sea.

Periodically we would steam through large rafts of Short-tailed Shearwaters, also known as Mutton-birds. At the same time we were rarely out of sight of a Grey Faced Petrel as they effortlessly glided past the ship. Most of them showing clear signs of moulting primary feathers.

It was noticeable how you would run into batches of birds. The White-capped Albatrosses had petered out but suddenly I was seeing Campbell Island Albatross. This is another species of albatross to be confirmed as a species in its own right after the recent split from the familiar Black-browed Albatross. Thankfully the adults, at least, are easier to differentiate at sea. Campbell Island Albatross has more extensive black on the underwing and possesses distinctly fearsome looking yellow irises. If Black-browed gives you a serious frown, Campbell Island Albatross appears to want to tear you limb from limb!

Salvin's and Gibson's Wandering Albatross also made it onto the list and at the other end of the scale the dainty White-faced Petrel appeared close to the ship playing hide and seek among the white-caps

Despite my best efforts, my cetacean sightings were limited to two unidentified dolphins leaping just once alongside the ship. A flying fish and a couple of unidentified sharks completed a stormy day on the Tasman Sea.

In Pursuit of Prions (Part 1) - Sydney

We began in Sydney, arriving during an evening thunderstorm and exited out taxi to the strains of Coldplay blasting out Viva la Vida in the stadium close to our Hotel at Rushcutters Bay. Despite the 11 hour time difference I was up at dawn the following morning exploring the adjacent park. The raucous, throat-wrenching calls of The Sulphur-crested Cockatoos were anything but elegant, unlike the dazzling creamy-white plumage of these large and lovely parrots.

Most of the birds in the park were largely indifferent to the presence of humans. Just after 6am the park was crammed with joggers and small knots of people being tortured by personal trainer as Australian Magpies, Australian Ibises, Indian Myna's and Masked Lapwings blithely wandered among them.

Later in the morning we hooked up with one of our emigrant friends and enjoyed a stroll through the botanical gardens, though for me the day proved increasingly frustrating as my Canon 7D had developed a fault on arrival and it was getting progressively worse. There were a few extra bird species to see in the gardens including a nesting colony of Shags, Little Pied and Little Black respectively.

A trip out to Manley the following day allowed us to find a few of the 'bush' birds including Eastern Whip-bird, Lewin's and New Holland Honeyeaters, Spotted Pardalote and variegated Fairy Wren to nam but few. The highlight though was a mammal, not just any mammal, a monotreme in the form of Short-beaked Echidna. It appeared all to briefly in a small open patch at the side of a track and trundled back into cover before I could sort out my camera.

Later that day Jane and her family took us out to Bobbin Head for a barbeque. We were surrounded by inquisitive birds and for most of us the highlight came when Jane had a piece of steak plucked off her fork just as she was about to put it in mouth courtesy of a Kookaburra. Jane was less than pleased! I, to my discredit, laughed hysterically.The hysteria may have been borne out of frustration with my camera which had all but stopped working.

The following day we boarded our cruise ship. On the way I had purchased a replacement 7D for an eye-watering $1,400 dollars. We had a few hours before sailing and so I promptly disembarked and headed for the nearby botanical gardens with my new camera. It was a joy to use and I managed, in just over an hour, to take some pleasing shots of Masked Lapwings and got lucky breaks with Buff-Banded Rail and Powerful Owl.

It was time to set sail in pursuit of magical and almost mythical seabirds.

Return of the Bohemians

Despite being a spectacularly good looking creature it's not always easy to photograph well. It's frenetic feeding style makes it hard to capture the bird in the optimum pose and getting flight shots is equally difficult. Well I've spent a couple of hours over the past few days attempting to get quality shots. None are perfect but I'm getting closer and hopefully they will still be around when I return from my travels in a months time. If you have rowans near you still festooned with berries. Keep a weather eye on them as these marauders with bouffants will be sure to seek them out over the coming weeks.

1 Hour Watch

In less than an hour we had enjoyed a good range of migrants (see the results on Trektellen) but surprisingly I'd managed decent record shots of a variety of birds and at least one decent shot of a kestrel.

Some days there is an advantage to staying in one place and letting the birds come to you.