INTRODUCTION
The Coral Sea is located beyond the Great Barrier Reef, to the north east of the Capricorn Channel (see map).  Although there are occasional research visits to document seabirds nesting, these are mostly in winter when most birds breed but sea conditions are generally very poor. The islands and their surrounding waters remain remote, inaccessible and poorly known. This expedition was planned in the calmest annual weather period and aimed to record pelagic wildlife in between the islands, though opportunity was taken to incidentally observe and record wildlife on islands as these were visited for nightly anchorage. This website presents initial results by way of distribution maps, observations and photographs. The most significant findings include a small breeding population of Fairy Terns, the first breeding record of this species in northern Australia, most likely being the New Caledonian subspecies Sterna nereis exsul (see images). Also discovered were very high densities of Tahiti Petrel in the Capricorn Channel as well as Bulwer's Petrel, which have only previously been recorded as a single beach-washed specimen in Queensland. Regular sightings of pairs of adult; and juvenile White-tailed Tropicbirds may also indicate an unknown local breeding population on the islands of the outer Great Barrier Reef or the inner Coral Sea. Overall densities of birds in pelagic areas of the Coral Sea Island Territory were high, especially in the vicinity of breeding colonies. The distribution of seabird biomass per hour of observation (here) shows the highest concentrations in the Coral Sea near Diamond Islet and Magdelaine Cay. Another area of high biomass was just outside the reef on the 12th December where we coincided with a large flock of birds including Tahiti and Bulwer's Petrels. Otherwise, bird densities inside the Great Barrier Reef and across the Capricorn Channel were observed to be relatively low. 

 
Observers: Simon Mustoe, David Donnelly, Nathan Waugh, Matt Edmunds, Paul Walbridge, Frank O'Connor, Andrew McCutcheon, Chris Seers, Ian Montgomery, Bill Moorhead, Kathleen Wilson, Chris Morris, Chris Brandis, Mike Carter, Jean Froelich, Grant Penrhyn, Jason Edwards. Crew: Chris, Dan, Adam and Luke.  
INDEX

ROUTE MAPS

DAY 1 - 11 December 2006

Departed Mackay 13:00, headed towards Scawfell Island.

DAY2 - 12 December 2006

Departed Scawfell Island 13:00, headed towards East Diamond Islet.

DAY3 - 13 December 2006

Arrived East Diamond Islet 09:00. Spent day on island.

DAY4 - 14 December 2006

Departed East Diamond Islet 05:00 headed towards Magdelaine Cay. Arrived Magdelaine Cay 13:30

DAY5 - 15 December 2006

Departed Magdelaine Cay 08:30, headed towards Willis Island. Arrived Willis Island 13:00.

DAY6 - 16 December 2006

Departed Willis Island 19:30 pending a wind warning for Great Barrier Reef offshore waters on the 19th. Headed towards Flinders Reef. 

DAY7 - 17 December 2006

Departed Flinders Reef at dawn. Crossed Capricorn Channel and made anchor late afternoon inside the outer Great Barrier Reef at Dingo Reef. 

DAY8 - 18 December 2006

Departed Dingo Reef at dawn. Wind speed increased significantly in the morning and we headed to shelter at the Whitsundays.

 

Website produced by Simon Mustoe, AES Applied Ecology Solutions Pty. Ltd. 

ROUTE MAPS
Route map showing daylight observation effort (pink lines) and transit at night (dashed line)  Relief map of the Coral Sea
CHECKLIST  a = Scawfell Island (Outer Great Barrier Reef); b = East Diamond Islet; c = Magdelaine Cay (NW islet); d = (South) Willis Island; e = South Flinders Reef (Horseshoe Lagoon); pr =  pair. Green columns represent land-based counts or numbers of birds seen within reefs. 
  11a 11 12 13 13b 14 14c 15 15d 16 16e 17 18
SEABIRDS                          
Tahiti Petrel (map)     10             50
Bulwer's Petrel (map) 10     14
Wedge-tailed Shearwater (map) 54 23 300+ 76 20 500 162 2 21 1
Short-tailed Shearwater (map) 1    
Wilson's Storm Petrel (map)     2
Fregatta-type Storm Petrel 1    
Masked Booby (map) 10 ~100pr 2 1    
Brown Booby (map) 44 6 ~300pr 9 20 35 250pr 3 1 18
Red-footed Booby (map) 44 ~1000pr 67 2 15 250pr 67   2
Australasian Gannet (map) 1    
Great Frigatebird (map) 1 ~30 1pr 1  
Lesser Frigatebird (map) 3 10 ~2500 12 4 1 2  
Arctic Jaeger (map) 1    
Red-tailed Tropicbird 3pr   1
White-tailed Tropicbird (map) 7   3   5 1
Crested Tern (map) 1 24 8 24 6   2 2
Common Tern (map) 11 3     50
Roseate Tern (map)     12
Black-naped Tern (map) 3 30 20 6   4
Sooty Tern (map) 40 8 200 25 4 46 500pr 16   62 3
Bridled Tern (map) 3    
Little Tern (map) 1     1
Fairy Tern 3    
Common Noddy (map) 3 15 600 80 4 65 200 102 1 53 2
Black Noddy (map) 7 42 500pr 27 18 500pr  
Silver Gull 1    
MARINE MAMMALS                          
Indo-pacific H Dolphin    3               1
Short-finned Pilot Whale 20    
Bryde's Whale           2 1
Bottlenose Dolphin           3 2
Spinner Dolphin           8
MARINE REPTILES                          
Stoke's Sea Snake   1              
Elegant Sea Snake     1
Olive-headed Sea Snake           2
Green Turtle 24 8   1
Hawksbill Turtle         1
Loggerhead Turtle 1    
Flatback Turtle 1    
OTHER BIRDS                          
Noisy Friarbird *                
Brahminy Kite *                
Torresian Crow *                
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo *                
Pied Currawong *                
Pied Oystercatchers 2                
Eastern Reef Egret *                
Orange-footed Scrubfowl *                
Leaden Flycatcher *                
Collared Sparrowhawk *                
Silvereye *                
Spangled Drongo *                
Yellow-bellied Sunbird *                
Striated Heron (Mackay) *                
Beach Stone Curlew 2    
Tattler sp. 6    
Buff-banded Rail 30 100  
Whimbrel 1    
Wandering Tattler 1 2 1  
Ruddy Turnstone 13 16  
Red-necked Stint 4    
Pacific Golden Plover 35 24  
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper 1  
Sacred Kingfisher 1  
Eastern Reef Egret     1    
SHARKS AND RAYS                          
Tawny Nurse Shark 10 8    
Black-tipped Reef Shark   2      
Grey Reef Shark 3 1 2
Whaler shark sp. (juv) 1 juv.    
Hammerhead Shark sp.       1  
Blue-spotted StingRay   1 1 1  
Kuhl's Stingray         1
Thorny Ray   1      
Spotted Eagle Ray           1
Devil Ray           2
  000 000