12 Mar 2014

Bounties Close Up

Conditions were marginal for a Zodiac cruise of the Bounty Islands, but a fearless few expeditioners braved the swell and were well rewarded with close up views of the prolific wildlife on these windswept rocks. We watched Bounty Shags gathering kelp for nesting material and saw Fulmar Prions, Salvin's Albatross, Erect-crested Penguins and New Zealand Fur Seals in good numbers.

The day before we had spent some time cruising the coastline of the Antipodes Islands and noted a single King Penguin amongst the Rockhoppers and Erect-crested Penguins. The first thing to strike us was the massive number of landslips, particularly in Ringdove Bay which would have ocurred during the very heavy January rains, so we made our way to Anchorage Bay where we had fleeting views of Antipodes Parakeets. We also made an assessment of Fur Seal numbers and were pleased to note that the population has increased significantly since previous counts.

We are now headed towards the appropriately named Pyramid Rock off the Chatham Islands where birders are hoping to see two of the rarest seabirds in the world - the Chatham Island Petrel and the Magenta Petrel - both of which breed only on the Chatham Islands or the small islands offshore. Two Chatham Island Petrels have already been spotted and the watching continues...