19 February 2026 Report
OVERVIEW
Overcast with scattered light showers in the morning. 25C. Easterly winds to 12 knots. 1.5m seas. 23.9C sea surface temperatures.
TRIP SUMMARY
It was a trip of fleeting glimpses of terrific species. First cab off the rank was a Streaked Shearwater, seen while motoring out to sea. The bird was seen by a number on board rather frustratingly in front of the vessel. Once at the shelf we had a distant "cookilaria" was spotted. Fortunately a photograph was captured which cemented the identification as a Gould's Petrel. Not too long after another distant bird appeared. A Sooty Tern. It was seen working its way south. After much determined berleying by David on the way back a Streaked Shearwater was enticed to join the throng of seabirds following us. This time everyone on board was able to see it.
BIRD LIST
(Note that the numbers in parentheses represent the approximate maximum number of that species in view at one time)
| Silver Gull | 150 | |
| Sooty Tern | 1 | |
| Greater Crested Tern | 5 | (5) |
| Wilson's Storm Petrel | 4 | |
| Grey-faced Petrel | 5 | (5) |
| Gould's Petrel | 1 | |
| Streaked Shearwater | 2 | |
| Flesh-footed Shearwater | 90 | (70) |
| Wedge-tailed Shearwater | 220 | (60) |
| Short-tailed Shearwater | 4 | (1) |
| Hutton's Shearwater | 3 | (1) |
| Fluttering Shearwater | 2 | (1) |
| Fluttering-type Shearwaters | 2 | |
| Australasian Gannet | 1 |
OTHER
| Oceanic Bottlenose Dolphin | |
| Inshore Bottlenose Dolphin | |
| Common Dolphin | |
| Flyingfish |
Highlights
(Photographs Meysam Makvandi, Kylie-Anne Cramsie and Greg McLachlan).
Meysam Makvandi
Kylie-Anne Cramsie
Greg McLachlan
Greg McLachlan