Birds and Water Spouts

7/06 The Albatross Enigma

Today was just another day on Straddie. Had the early shift this morning, and counted many whales. Last I checked today the count was up to 120 individuals; so by 5 this evening they may almost break the 150 mark. The peak has now officially begun. I snapped a few photos of Pod W, which passed pretty close to the headland at Norm’s Seat, maybe about 200 meters out. The weather was extremely warm in the morning, so I figured it would be a good day to surf between shifts. Of course the clouds rolled over and it was pretty cold during my surf session at Cylinders. Speaking of Cylinders yesterday while surfing in the evening, a pod of 2 Sousa (humpback dolphins) swam past me about 5 meters away. I could actually make out the coloration and shape of dorsal fin. You know you’re not surfing in California anymore when Sousa are riding waves next to you; a nice change from those old bottlenose dolphins.

I’m almost certain that I saw a new type of albatross today while whale watching atop Mt. Olympus; probably a Sooty Albatross. The light was not the best for distinguishing color, but it looked like the bill was all dark, different from a Giant Petrel which has a bubble gun colored bill. Its flight was also more graceful than a Giant Petrel, and the feet did not stick out past the tail feathers. Sooty Albatross are apparently not common north of New South Wales (the border is just south of my location in Queensland), but they are possible. Looking at the map, we are on the most eastern part of the east coast of Australia, and Straddie juts out into the Pacific; which makes this island a great place for spotting seabirds. I have so far been surprised at the frequency of seabird sightings I’ve seen so far: albatross every day, many flocks of Common Noddy, 2 good days of Prion sightings, and the occasional Giant Petrel. Not too shabby for being stock on land. I hoped I’d have more success during my brief boat ride on the Beluga, but at least I got a good close look of what I have now decided was an Eastern Yellow-nosed Albatross.

7/09 Cyclone Straddie

My last full day on Straddie today was a strange one. I woke up to the sound of howling wind and a bitter cold. Zeus, the two French girls, and I decided to walk down the street to check out the conditions before our morning shift started. As the ocean came into view from behind the gum trees, we saw an ominous dark sky and a white capped sea. Zeus continued walking down towards Mt. Olympus while the two French girls and I hung back to watch the water a little longer. Suddenly we noticed a huge water spout come into view, a tall funnel of water twisting and turning our way (we were told that a cyclone was due to hit the island in the night). It was an amazing sight, but we were definitely feeling a bit exposed on the bluff. I started to yell to Zeus “Duuuuude looook, it’s a water spout!”. The sun hadn’t yet appeared over the horizon, so we couldn’t make out his expression. There was no time to figure it out either, more water spouts began forming, and strong gusts whipped across Bambara St, knocking us off balance. We fled back to base, leaving Zeus to assess the situation for himself.

The weather went from windy to extremely cold in no time. In fact it even started to snow. Luckily I had packed my insulated hiking boots. The weather had improved and we were given the green light to head back up to Mt. Olympus and count the whales (if in fact it had survived the fierce winds and water spouts). After tripping over a tangle of power leads connected to a network of laptops, conveniently placed in front of the exit, I sat on the porch and proceeded to dawn my super comfortable boots. Dave pulled up in a green Toyota.......and then I realized something was wrong. It wasn’t the snow or the funnels of water I found odd, it was the color of his vehicle that seemed out of place. Dave drove a white Toyota.

I have the strangest dreams here; and I think it has something to do with the shift in sleeping schedules. Regardless of why, it was a very entertaining dream, I was even planning on writing about my experience with water spouts in my journal....in my dream. The reality today is that it’s been called off, not for snow or water spouts, but for the usual culprit wind. This is my last full day on the island, so I plan to surf a lot, snatch some final photos of the wildlife, and celebrate at Fish’s tonight with an extremely fun and welcoming group of people. Looking forward to flying home tomorrow and seeing the other side of the Pacific again, and all of you course. I’ve been dying to see Reef; I hope he still likes me. It’s going to hard to leave him behind again.