Heading past Cape St Francis, where a large colony of Cape Fur Seals hauls of up breed each year, you will start entering deeper waters. White-chinned Petrel and Sooty Shearwater are normally the first pelagic species seen, followed soon thereafter by Brown (Subantarctic) Skuas. Four albatross species are regular in these waters including the Shy, Black-browed, Atlantic Yellow-nosed and Indian Yellow-nosed Albatrosses. Top prize would be to find a fishing trawler near the continental shelf, roughly 20km from shore, where impressive numbers of the aforementioned species can usually be seen.

Pelagic birding is distinctly seasonal, with a biphasic migration of birds from the north and southern hemispheres. During the winter months, when bird numbers are usually at their peak as southern hemisphere species move north, one has an excellent chance of adding the Northern and Southern Giant Petrels, Antarctic Tern, Antarctic Prion and possibly even the sublime Pintado (Cape) Petrels. Such is the way with pelagic birding that one is never quite sure what will be seen and the list of sought-after rarities is mouth-watering. Previous trips from St Francis Bay in the months of April-September have delivered the likes of Flesh-footed Shearwater, Antarctic Fulmar, and the Wandering, Northern Royal, Southern Royal and Grey-headed Albatrosses.

During the summer months, the regular species are augmented by a number of species which migrate into the Southern Ocean from the northern hemisphere. This includes the Cory’s and Manx Shearwaters, Parasitic Skua, both Pomarine and Long-tailed Jaegers, European Storm-petrel, Sabine’s Gull, Arctic Tern and Grey Phalarope. In the months of April-May and September-October one also has an excellent chance of seeing Great Shearwater, Soft-plumaged Petrel and the Black-bellied Storm-petrel; all of which occur in South African waters on passage migration.

In addition to birds, pelagic trips almost always produce other interesting marine fauna. Cape Fur Seal is guaranteed, while the Southern Right, Humpback and Brude’s Whales are all possible. Indo-Pacific Bottle-nosed, Common and Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins are resident in the bay itself, while Striped, Dusky and Risso’s Dolphins are all likely further out. Previous trips have also delivered Orca (Killer Whale), Mako and Oceanic Blue Sharks, and the bizarre Sunfish.

Key species:

Up to 9 species of Albatross, Northern and Southern Giant Petrels, African Penguin, Cape Gannet, various Shearwaters, Petrels, and Storm-petrels