MAY 10, 2009: MONTEREY BAY PUTS ON A SHOW!

Howdy, Seabirders,

Shearwater Journeys' May 10th pelagic trip departing from Monterey Bay was nothing short of spectacular! Highlights included BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS (116), PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER (170), SOOTY SHEARWATER (545), BRANT (214), BLACK TURNSTONE (18), RED-NECKED PHALAROPE (1200), FRANKLIN'S GULL (1), SABINE'S GULL (1), ARCTIC TERN (3), COMMON MURRE (85), PIGEON GUILLEMOT (12), RHINOCEROS AUKLET (9), and five HUMPBACK WHALES who were vertically lunge-feeding on big fat sardines along with over 150 PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHINS, and clouds of shearwaters, gulls, and albatrosses! It was an amazing day, with good sea conditions, as well. It was chilly in the fog, though— I even commented that I was colder than any day I spent in Antarctica!

On offer in August, we have trips departing from five different ports which offer the seabirder a great opportunity to observe the best variety of seabirds along the central coast of California. The Tufted Puffin trip has a 100% success rate at finding puffins. On our Fort Bragg trip, last year, we found three Hawaiian Petrels! This is the single best port in North America for searching for this hoped-for rarity. Past August trips from Bodega Bay have found Great-winged and Hawaiian Petrels, and Shy Albatross. Monterey is no slouch, with a late July record of North America's first photographed Bulwer's Petrel, and August records on Short-tailed Albatross. Its always fun to see what shows up!

Our summer schedule follows:

JUL 31, Monterey Bay: Summer Seabirds & Albatrosses

AUG 2, Farallon Islands: Tufted Puffins, departing from Emeryville

AUG 7, Monterey Bay: Summer Seabirds & Albatrosses

AUG 12, Bodega Canyon & Cordell Bank

AUG 14, Fort Bragg: Offshore for Megararities

AUG 16, Fort Bragg: Offshore for Megararities

AUG 21, Monterey Bay: Fall Seabird Classic & Albatrosses

AUG 28, Monterey Seavalley: Fall Seabird Classic & Albatrosses

AUG 31, Fall Seabird Classic & Albatrosses departing from Santa Cruz

We thank the folks who traveled with us on May 10th. The leaders were: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Debra Shearwater. Chumming and spotting were: Oscar Johnson and Adam Searcy.

The complete species list for MAY 10, 2009 MONTEREY BAY follows:

RED-THROATED LOON-1

PACIFIC LOON- 50

COMMON LOON- 7

WESTERN GREBE- 1

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 116

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 170

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 545

BROWN PELICAN- 27

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 265 (only a handful of nests on the Coast Guard Breakwater!)

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 1

BRANT- 214

BLACK TURNSTONE- 18

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 1200

*FRANKLIN'S GULL- 1

BONAPARTE'S GULL- 47

HEERMANN'S GULL- 7

CALIFORNIA GULL- 28

HERRING GULL- 9

THAYER'S GULL- 1

WESTERN GULL- 950

GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL- 3

WESTERN/GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL- 3

GLAUCOUS-WINGED/HERRING GULL- 1

SABINE'S GULL-1

COMMON TERN- 2

ARCTIC TERN- 3

FORSTER'S TERN- 2

CASPIAN TERN- 2

COMMON MURRE- 85

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 12

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 9

SEA OTTER- +

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- + (more than normal at this time of year)

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 1

HARBOR SEAL- +

HUMPBACK WHALE- 5

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 150

SARDINES- GALORE! Let's hear for the sardine comeback!

Sardines forever,

Debra

Debra Shearwater

Shearwater Journeys, Inc.

PO Box 190

Hollister, CA 95024

831.637.8527

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

www.shearwaterjourneys.com

**Antarctica, South Georgia, & The Falkland Islands, January 5-24, 2010*

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STAFF: SHEARWATER CABIN 518

NEWS FROM THE SOUTH ATLANTIC

Following is a brief recap of our recent days in the South Atlantic--

April 9: En route to Gough Island, the seabirding must be one of the
most spectacular in all of the world! Thousands and thousands of GREATER
SHEARWATERS and BROAD-BILLED PRIONS followed our vessel, along with
SPECTACLED PETRELS, SOOTY ALBATROSSES, ATLANTIC YELLOW-NOSED
ALBATROSSES, and WHITE-BELLIED STORM-PETRELS. It was a glorious day!

April 8: We arrived at Gough Island about noon in wonderful sunshine. We
made a great Zodiac cruise of about two and a half hours, as no landings
are permitted on Gough. We saw several thousand NORTHERN ROCKHOPPER
PENGUINS, finishing their end of season molts on the rocky shoreline.
Thousands and thousands of SUBANTARCTIC FUR SEALS, many of them pups,
were thrashing about in the surf. Without too much trouble at all we
spotted the GOUGH BUNTING and then, the GOUGH MOORHENS, with chicks.
Incredibly, one of our staff spotted a SOOTY ALBATROSS NEST on a cliff
with a downy youngster! Altogether, this was an excellent outing.

April 9: We arrived at Tristan da Cunha Island about 11 am. Customs and
immigration officials boarded our ship for clearance, in case that we
had the opportunity to land with local guides for hikes. This was not to
be. Extremely strong winds prevented us from being able to get to shore
with the Zodiacs. In fact, the winds reached 43.4 meters/second, or 85
knots, or 157km/hour, or 97mph!! Once again, those hurricane force winds
crept up on us. The ship tacked back and forth in the lee, keeping us as
comfortable as possible.

April 10: Our ship relocated to Inaccessible Island. The winds had died
down, but the swell had increased. Hence, we could not land on Tristan,
again. However, at Inaccessible Island, we were able to make a glorious
one hour Zodiac cruise! Beautiful waterfalls cascaded down the steep
slopes of the island. And, TRISTAN THRUSES, as well as INACCESSIBLE
BUNTINGS were flitting about. This was just delightful for the birders,
who were able to add at least two much sought after species to their
lists. Several HAMMERHEAD SHARKS appeared, scouting around our vessel.

April 11: Back at Tristan da Cunha again, we had high hopes of a landing
and hikes. But, this was not to be. Seas and swell were far too high,
and the harbor was officially closed by the harbormaster. So, we set off
for Cape Town, South Africa. The weather forecast did not look good at
all. Once again, the dreaded "triangles" were on the weather map. We
feared the worse with this low pressure system.

April 12: Easter Sunday: Wake up call by "Dobra Ootra" as I am now
called! The Easter Bunny delivered some giant sized chocolate eggs! The
captain is deftly avoiding the "triangles" and our ride is not at all
bad. Today, there was not much wildlife around-- only a very few birds
and no cetaceans of any sort.

We are still several days from our final destination in Cape Town. Our
on board lectures continue, along with many quizzes, and a Final Exam is
in preparation.

From,
Debra Shearwater in the South Atlantic
3734S/0327W

(No replies, please)

STAFF: SHEARWATER CABIN 518

April 5, 6, & 7, 2009: CROSSING THE SOUTH ATLANTIC

Well, the good weather forecast did not hold up, and we encountered some
pretty stiff seas in a low pressure system, April 4- until early April 6
with large swells and a Beaufort 7-10. The night of April 5th was the
most difficult for sleeping, if not almost impossible.

However, the seas improved somewhat yesterday, and we awoke this morning
to very nice conditions, indeed. The BROAD-WINGED PRIONS are numbering
in the thousands, following round and round the ship, while we are in
awe of eye to eye contact with the greatest of the albatrosses:
wanderers at eye level from the bridge! Many of the birders have been
shooting photographs all day for the past two days. No wonder-- the
tubenose list for the past two days numbers 27!! Eight species of
albatrosses: SNOWY, TRISTAN, SOOTY, LIGHT-MANTELED SOOTY, ATLANTIC
YELLOW-NOSED, BLACK-BROWED, GRAY-HEADED, and "SHY". Petrels have
included: NORTHERN GIANT, SOUTHERN GIANT, KERGUELEN, GREAT-WINGED,
ATLANTIC, SOFT-PLUMAGED, GRAY, WHITE-CHINNED, and SPECTACLED. Prions
have included: BROAD-BILLED, ANTARCTIC, SLENDER-BILLED, and SALVIN'S
(presumed). Shearwaters have included: SOOTY, GREATER, and LITTLE. While
storm-petrels have included: WHITE-BELLIED, WILSON'S, and GRAY-BACKED.

This afternoon, Roger, one of the partcipants of the Bird Holidays group
noticed a bird that was hiding in one of the Zodiac boats on the stern
deck. It turned out to be a SOUTH GEORGIAN DIVING PETREL. I picked it
up, while Roger and Luke Cole shot photographs of its blue legs with a
black stripe down the back of the leg, and its blue feet, black on the
bottom! The little bird, which fit quite easily in the palm of my hand,
flew off-- and, we are hoping for the best for it.

If all goes well, tomorrow we will do a Zodiac cruise at Gough Island,
where we should be in the early morning. (Landing on Gough Island is not
permitted due to the abundance of seabirds). Cross fingers that we get a
chance to see the Northern Rockhopper Penguin, Gough Moorhen, and Gough
Bunting.

Debra Shearwater
4149S/1312W
(No replies, please)

STAFF: SHEARWATER CABIN 518

NEWS FROM THE SOUTH ATLANTIC 5109S/3009W

Greetings, Adventurers,
It is hard to believe that so much can happen in a day-- and the days
just slip by so quickly. But, I will try to give an update on where we
have been and what we have seen.

March 28-March 30: We departed Antarctic Sound, headed for the South
Orkney Islands, intending to land at the Argentine station, Orcadas.
Unfortunately, the weather was not in our favor. We encountered gale
force winds, making landing conditions impossible. So, carried on at
sea, heading for the grandest of the sub-Antarctic wildlife islands,
South Georgia. So, we bid farewell to the huge tabular ice, although
plenty of icebergs and bergy bits were still around. Sea days were
filled with birding & searching for cetaceans. One morning began with 3
Southern Right Whales & the day ended with Hourglass Dolphins bowriding
for prolonged periods of time! One morning, we encountered 15 Orcas!

March 31-April 3: The jagged, snow-dusted peaks of South Georgia had all
of us on the bridge as we entered Cooper Bay. A Zodiac cruise was
undertaken, where we saw many Macaroni Penguins & the world's most
southerly passerine, South Georgia Pipit, feeding on the drifting kelp
along with newly fledged Wilson's Storm-Petrels! Imagine that! In the
afternoon, we landed at the stunning Gold Harbor, filled with many
thousands of King Penguins & their chicks in various life stages. Over
the next several days, we made landings at Salisbury Plain (another
large King rookery), Fortuna Bay, Grytiviken (where we held an Antarctic
Barbecue), and finally, at Prion Island in the Bay of Isles on the
afternoon of April 2. On one landing, we were able to find a young
Light-mantled Sooty Albatross in the nest! Prion Island is a special
landing site with special limitations due to the nesting Wandering
Albatrosses. Walking on the new boardwalk to the top, we were greeted by
at least a dozen albatrosses on their nests! In due time, we were able
to witness the most extensive display of gamming that I have seen since
2001 on Albatross Island (now closed to tourism). It was quite
spectacular to see and hear their displays with as many as six
individual birds getting into the act at once! What a view the
albatrosses have from this lofty height! Looking down at the nearshore,
one of our party spotted a slow moving Southern Right Whale. Now, we had
completed six out of our six scheduled landings at South Georgia-- a
record for me! In the evening our EL announced that the forecast for our
five day journey to Gough Island was so excellent, that we would make a
seventh landing on South Georgia at Stromness Harbor. This early morning
landing was quite beautiful, hiking the hillsides to waterfalls, -- and
finally, sunshine glistening on the ragged peaks. Many of us thought of
Sir Ernest Shackleton, and his heroic walk over these peaks, into the
whaling station at Stromness. In all, we saw all of the South Georgian
endemics.

April 4: We are now headed full speed toward Gough Island, still some 4
days away. Conditions are unbelievably excellent, with horizon to
horizon visibility and calm seas! A Gray Petrel just flew by, and I just
saw half a dozen Hourglass Dolphins. The ship is running at 13 knots due
to the very strong current. All is well, and we many on board are taking
advantage of our lecture program.

At sea,
Debra

STAFF: SHEARWATER CABIN 518

ANTARCTIC CONTINENTAL LANDINGS!

MARCH 27 on board Professor Multinovskiy- We spent a lovely day,
cruising Antarctic Sound in sunshine, with icebergs, bergy bits, brash
ice, and the huge tabular ice all around. Huge numbers of Leopard Seals
were lying on the ice floes, while small packs of Gentoo Penguins
porpoised amongst the floes, and occasional Antarctic Minke Whale fins
broke the surface. Feeding Humpback Whales were still about. A single
ANTARCTIC PETREL was spotted sitting near an iceberg with a group of 3
Cape Petrels! And, I spotted the first SNOW PETREL of the trip in the
ice. We made a continental landing at the Argentinc station, Esperanza.
Guides gave us a tour of the area, including the Nordenskoljd hut. Tea
and some "retail therapy" were provided! On the nearby beach, two
Weddell's Seals were "singing"-- first time I have ever heard/seen this!
A wounded Crabeater Seal was lying nearby. Afterwards, we relocated the
ship to Brown Bluff for another continental landing. What a change 7
days has made--- as the entire area was now covered in snow, with long,
frozen icicles hanging from the cliffs. We Zodiac cruised the en route
to our landing site, in order to have closer views of the Leopard Seals.
And, indeed, we enjoyed some close ups-- including the interior of the
mouth of one! Many Gentoo Penguins & Antarctic Fur Seals were on the
beach. One single Adelie Penguin was still present. Darkness was
falling when the last Zodiac returned.

MARCH 28- Today, we are making our way to the South Orkney Islands,
where we hope to land tomorrow. More Snow Petrels, and Light-mantled
Sooty Albatrosses were spotted. Quite a few FIN WHALES, and one group of
SOUTHERN BOTTLENOSE WHALES were spotted. Cruising has been very easy,
with little swell or winds. Fog has set in this afternoon.

DEBRA SHEARWATER

Staff: Shearwater Cabin 518

CROSSING THE DRAKE: MARCH 24 & 25, 2009

Professor Multinovskiy departed Ushuaia, Argentina about 6 pm,March 24,
sailing for the Weddell Sea. For the past two days, our crossing has
been one of the most blissful crossings that I have ever had of the
Drake Passage! Weather and viewing conditions have been superb, with
horizon to horizon visibility, and not a whitecap in sight!
Unimaginable, considering our last crossing. The lesson here is to let
one's imagination run wild, as anything is possible in this region. We
are the very last ship this season to visit the Antarcitc region.

Wildlife highlights have included: Southern Royal, Wandering (Snowy &
Antipodean), Black-browed, Gray Headed, & Light-mantled Sooty
Albatrosses; both giant petrels, Kerguelen Petrels in good numbers; one
White-headed Petrel, King, Chinstrap, & Macaroni Penguins swimming in
the water (not usual in the Drake!), and many of the usual bird species.
Marine mammals have included: Long-finned Pilot Whales, large numbers of
Hourglass Dolphins; Fin, Humpback, and Sei Whales. We are really off to
a great start!

This morning, we are now cruising the stunningly beautiful Bransfield
Strait, with snow on the mountains, and gorgeous tabular ice all around
us-- and calmness that is amazing!

All the best,
Debra Shearwater
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