Auckland Island to Campbell Island

tony
June 12, 2016
birds / New Zealand / Subantarctic / travel

Albatross weather en route to Campbell Island - wind, swell and spray. — Albatross weather en route to Campbell Island – wind, swell and spray. Southern Royal and probable Campbell Albatross.

Our passage from Auckland Island to Campbell Island gave good conditions for albatross with strong winds and big seas. Waking in the morning we still had a fair way to go so time to spend on deck watching birds. Hiding on the lee side of the ship and braced against the rolling there were plenty of opportunities to track and photograph the passing parade of wheeling birds. Conditions made identification difficult apart from the obvious difference between Greater and Lesser Albatrosses so it has been nice to work through my files making better identifications.

Southern Royal Albatross. Dorsal view showing typical white "elbow" patches. — Southern Royal Albatross. Dorsal view showing typical white “elbow” patches.

White-chinned Petrel. These were impossible to differentiate from Westland Petrels at sea and a definitive identification was only possible with a photo. — White-chinned Petrel. These were impossible to differentiate from Westland Petrels through a lens at sea and a definitive identification was only possible with a photo.

Mike Potts in a happy place! The heaving deck gave me backgrounds varying between sky and the wake of the ship. This frame was caught in midcycle showing the horizon.

The closer we got the more frequent the Campbell Albatross became. Having seen plenty of Black-browed Albatross in the Beagle Channel and Drake Passage their general appearance is very familiar but the difference is that the Campbell has a pale yellow eye with is visible once they get closer and gives them a rather intense stare. Yet another endemic localised to a small island in the roaring winds of the Southern Ocean that few get to see first hand.

Campbell Albatross showing distinctive pale yellow eye

Arriving at Campbell Island was reminiscent of our exploration of Carnley Harbour with a strong westerly ripping down the length of Perseverence Harbour and giving lie to the map impression of a harbour well sheltered from the prevailing westerlies. We nudged in past the New Zealand Sea Lion colony on the northern side of the entrance and dropped 2 anchors off Beeman base before embarking on the first Zodiac for a spray lashed ride in to the shore to explore the Col Lyall boardwalk. This was to be our most southerly stop and the destination I had been most looking forward to. A wild island dominated by two of my favourite things – tussock and Albatrosses.