21 March 2017 | Pelagic Encounters

Guide Summary and Photographs

Seabirds on the move are for even the finest photographer, tricky subjects! We were very fortunate to complete another very successful pelagic trip. Whale Whisperer launched out of a very calm Kleinbaai harbour and set off towards the continental shelf in search of the elusive giants of the oceans. Before we even exited the harbour mouth, we already had three species of cormorant ticked on our list. In total, twenty-five species were sighted.

Sooty and cory’s shearwaters were a common sight as we ploughed through the calm seas, on our way towards deeper water. A single manx shearwater was a lifer for one of our guests! The obvious highlight of the tour was by far the sight of hundreds, no thousands of albatrosses soaring through the air; which included four species of mollymawks.

This trip was not all about our feathery friends. We could at the end of the day talk about the Bryde’s whale, a single hammer-head shark, several blue sharks and a massive bait ball which included a thousand common dolphins. Hundreds of Cape Gannets joined in on the action; scrutinising the water’s surface, ready to plunge towards what appears to be amongst others saury  baitfish.

Species List

Shy Albatross
Black-Browed Albatross
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross
Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross
White-chinned Petrel
Cory’s Shearwater
Great Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Manx Shearwater
European Storm Petrel
Wilson’s Storm Petrel
Cape Gannet
Parasitic Jaeger
Pomarine Jaeger
Subantartic Skua
Hartlaubs Gull
Kelp Gull
Sabine’s Gull
Artic Tern
Swift Tern
Common Tern
African Penguin
Cape Cormorant
Crowned Cormorant
White-breasted Cormorant

For more information or bookings contact Hennie Otto.
Email: hennie@sharkwatchsa.com
Phone: +27 (0)83 295 5307