I was once again on board a ZEST for BIRDS pelagic trip as a guide today. The weather forecasts had predicted large swells and they were not wrong! We headed out into a south-westerly swell which was peaking at over 7m in size. Pretty impressive stuff!! Fortunately, there was not too much wind otherwise it would have really been uncomfortable. However, with the bouncing around, it make photography extremely difficult and I didn't get too many worthwhile shots.

Birdwise, the day was a great success with the highlight being 2 Southern Royal Albatross (a juvenile and an older immature) which was a photographic lifer for me. Added to this, we also had a juvenile Grey-headed Albatross, a Northern Royal Albatross and a Little Shearwater which are all classed as rarities. Then there was also the unusually high number of Soft-plumaged Petrels as well as unseasonal Manx Shearwaters, Great-winged Petrel, Pomarine Skua and Arctic Terns while the supporting cast was made up of 2 Southern Right Whales, 2 Bryde's Whales, 5 Humpback Whales and a Blue Shark.