This is a report of Shearwater Journeys' pelagic trip departing from Fishermans' Wharf, Monterey on August 7, 2009. Once again beautiful sea conditions and warm weather prevailed throughout the day. We headed offshore, about 18 n miles from Point Pinos to the old storm-petrel flock stomping grounds. We crossed into Santa Cruz County for a short portion of the day, with the remainder of the day spent in Monterey County. Highlights of the day included a grand slam on all three species of jaegers: a high-flying TUFTED PUFFIN which circled the boat repeatedly; LONG-TAILED, PARASITIC, and POMARINE, as well as SOUTH POLAR SKUAS, BULLER'S SHEARWATERS, BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES, SABINE'S GULLS, and the other usual characters.
The day began and ended with HUMPBACK WHALES. Early in the morning, we radioed the whale watching vessels to let them know about some Humpback Whales just south of Point Pinos. Somehow they missed the whales. A few hours later, we were held hostage by one of the incredible "friendly" Humpback Whales. These whales swim right up to the vessel (motor on, and waiting on idle), repeatedly blowing only a few feet from us, while we try to guess which side of the boat it will appear. As this whale circled us, we could hear the whale watch boats asking where the whales were— well, one was under our boat!
Many thanks to all of our passengers some who traveled long distances from across the USA, as well as France, Belguim, Ecuador, and England. The leaders on this trip were: Jennifer Green, Todd McGrath, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Sophie Webb, Matt Brady, John Hiles and Debra Shearwater.
The complete species list for August 7, 2009 Shearwater Journeys' Monterey Bay trip follows:
Monterey County/Santa Cruz County
BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 60/12
NORTHERN FULMAR- 11/6
PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 47/9
BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 2/0
SOOTY SHEARWATER- 51/9
ASHY STORM-PETREL- 0/1
BROWN PELICAN- 12/0
BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 150/0
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- 1/0
PELAGIC CORMORANT- 3/0
SURF SCOTER- 1/0
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER- 2/0
BLACK TURNSTONE- 5/0
SANDERLING- 2/0
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 118/74
RED PHALAROPE- 19/1
SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 2/1
POMARINE JAEGER- 2/1
PARASITIC JAEGER- 6/1
LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 1/0
JAEGER SP.- 4/1
HEERMANN'S GULL- 75/24
WESTERN GULL- 70/15
WESTERN/GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL- 2/0
SABINE'S GULL- 30/12
ELEGANT TERN- 80/0
COMMON/ARCTIC TERN- 1/0
COMMON MURRE- 70/2
PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 13/0
XANTUS' MURRELET- 0/1(hypoleucus)
CASSIN'S AUKLET- 4/4
RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 20/16
TUFTED PUFFIN- 0/1
SEA OTTER- +
CALIFORNIA SEA LION- +
NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 1
NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL- 1
HARBOR SEAL -1
HUMPBACK WHALE- 38, including a "friendly"
RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 32
PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 4
DALL'S PORPOISE- 6
OCEAN SUNFISH- 1
Shearwaters forever,
Debi
Debra Shearwater
Shearwater Journeys, Inc.
PO Box 190
Hollister, CA 95024
831.637.8527
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