On Friday, I flew from Melbourne to Sydney and took the train to Kiama where I stayed overnight. Altogether, the trip cost around $2,000. This is becoming an expensive bird.
For me, the White-necked Petrel really is a bogey bird. People use this term loosely. I often hear birders referring to a bird they happen to have dipped on once or twice as a 'bogey bird.' I reckon a bogey bird is a bird that all your friends have seen, but you have not, despite trying very hard several times. And, in my book, travelling interstate on nineteen occasions to see a White-necked Petrel and failing every time certainly qualifies.
Apart from the lack of White-necked Petrels, our day at sea last Saturday was pretty good. It was sunny, but not too hot and we had a boatful of happy people. We saw hundreds of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and almost as many Grey-faced Petrels. A magnificent Mottled Petrel caused much celebration and was a lifer for many people on board. I was happy for them of course, but their success seemed to underline my failure.
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| Mottled Petrel by Brook Whylie |
The Mottled Petrel was undoubtedly the Bird of the Day. We had fleeting views of both Wilson's and White-faced Storm Petrels and a couple of Sooty Terns. We saw one or two Pomarine Skuas and had great views of a couple of Long-tailed Jaegers. There were a few Flesh-footed Shearwaters and just a couple of Short-tailed. Some people saw Sooty Shearwaters but I did not. Nor did I see any Hutton's or Fluttering Shearwaters. I had hoped for a Streaked Shearwater, but it was not to be. We did see a Gould's Petrel, and I was pleased it was not a lifer, because the view was not satisfactory.
We saw one Shy Albatross, one Australasian Gannet, a Greater Crested Tern and some Silver Gulls, giving me a total birdlist for the day of 13 species.
It was a very nice Mottled Petrel, to be sure. But it was not worth $2,000. And it was not worth travelling all that way.
Now I look forward to doing it all again in February!
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