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On My Own - Australia and New Zealand 2002 Emmalee Tarry |
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Kaikoura Pelagic Trips |
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Soon the great Albatross start circling the boat and they too come in for their share of the chum. Within minutes a large number of Albatrosses are on the water around the boat. You don't even need your binoculars to identify them. On my winter trips I had 8 species of Albatross: Southern Royal, Northern Royal, Wandering Snowy, Wandering Antipodean, Black-browed (Subantarctic), New Zealand White-capped, Salvin's, Buller's.
| In this photo you can see at least 7 Albatrosses. A Wandering Albatross is in the center. As the Albatrosses land near the bait they keep their wings spread for just a minute before folding them next to their body. Notice the bird in foreground. Since one of the main field characteristics of the different species is the underside of the wings you have an opportunity to get a shot of the wing. |  |
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Wandering Albatross face on. More species of Albatrosses and more individuals were seen on the winter trips. During the summer adults are busy with breeding and stick close to the breeding islands. In the summer you will see juveniles and Great Albatross ( Royal and Wandering) individuals who are not breeding this year. The Great Albatross only breed every two years. |
| White-capped Mollymawk. The former Shy Albatross has been split into 3 subspecies of which White-capped is one of the new species. Australian and New Zealand bird books have not adopted the new splits and especially on the Australian pelagics some birders refused to acknowledge them. I don't know why since the splits certainly make pelagic birding in this area more interesting. |  |
Penguins and Petrels
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Northern Giant Petrels showed up on all
trips and in the summer we had a Southern as well. Two Blue
Penguins were seen on one trip in the summer. Winter trips had
Gray-faced Petrels and Common Diving Petrels. Both summer and
winter trips had numerous Fairy Prions. Shearwaters included:
Huttons, Fluttering, Sooty, Flesh-footed, Short-tailed . We had one
Antarctic Fulmar in the winter. Westland Petrels (right) were very common on the winter trip. On the summer trip we had both Westland and White-chinned Petrels. |
I met a young British woman at the YHA and encouraged her to take an Albatross Encounters trip which she did the day after I left Kaikoura. I met up with her again on the north island and she told me that she was on the trip that had a Chin-strap Penguin on these rocks. It was a one-day wonder and only the second record for the mainland. I can stand to mention this only because I had seen this penguin on my Antarctica trip.
Whales and Dolphins
The Albatross Encounters Boat does not have a license to watch whales. Since we were on a special photographic trip we did stop to photograph a large Sperm Whale which presented itself close to the boat. A very exciting pod of about 250 Southern Right Whale Dolphins appeared. This is a very rare dolphin which some of the experts have never seen. It is distinctive because it has no dorsal fin. A pod of Pilot Whales seemed to be feeding with the dolphins. The more usual dolphin in the bay is the Dusky Dolphin.
There is a small plane trip you can take to fly over the whales. This is certainly the best way to appreciate the full size and shape of the Sperm Whale. I didn't take the trip, but did see the footage Dennis has made of the Sperm Whales from the plane.
Daily Albatross Encounters Trips
I made two visits to Kaikoura, on the first during the winter (June) I went out 3 times on the Albatross Encounters. On the second trip in summer (December) I went out twice with Albatross Encounters and also did a Swim With Dolphins. The cost of the Albatross trips is NZ$60, but after the first trip I got a discount NZ$50. See the Kaikoura Bird List for the complete results of my trips.
The daily trips are out to see Albatross only and most non-birders are not impressed by seeing 8 different species. An albatross is an albatross. Since most do not have binoculars or can't really use those they do have, they want big birds close to the boat. The boat sails offshore to a good location, puts out the chum basket and waits for action. A large number of interesting seabirds are attracted to the chum, but don't expect to go off looking for rarities. The good news for birders is that the boat does not have a permit to chase whales or dolphins so you don't have to worry about getting stuck on a whale. Non-birders will be puzzled at your enthusiasm for the Hutton's Shearwater. The captain did stop to give me an opportunity to see this bird, but don't expect too much.
This was not the only time on the trip where traveling solo was a disadvantage. A group of three birders might be able to negotiate a special birding trip especially if you were willing to go early in the morning when most tourists are still asleep.
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