Graeme and Charles recently went out on a short pelagic trip from Hermanus. A total of ten birders made up the party that chartered a boat operated by Majestic Cruises. Their website has a page dedicated to birding.
The party was made up of a mix of pelagic novices and some more knowledgeable pelagic birders. It was eye-opening to see the experienced birds pick out birds at distance among the expanse of blue sky and water.
We were fortunate to have great weather for the outing with enough wind to get the birds on the move. Although there was not a large diversity of birds, we were privileged to see the birds close up.
For the novice pelagic birders lifers included White-chinned Petrels, European Storm Petrels, Sabine’s Gull, Sooty and Cory’s Shearwaters, and Parasitic Jaeger. Others sightings included Greater-crested and Common Terns, Kelp Gulls and Cape Gannets.
One of the more experienced birders on the trip was Steve James. His blog post on the trip is well worth reading, and has plenty of great images.
A special word of thanks must go to Pieter Verster for organising the trip. It was a truly enjoyable experience.
