Folks on board Shearwater Journeys' October 18, 2009, departing from Noyo Harbor, Fort Bragg enjoyed a beautiful day, with non-stop seabirding. Most trips from this port head for Noyo Canyon, to the north. However, since the weather and sea conditions were so good, I decided to head south to the Point Arena Buoy, Navarro Canyon and Arena Canyon. In years past, this has been a great hangout for albatrosses. We were not disappointed, as we saw flocks of 50+ BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES, sitting on the water. In all, we tallied 168 Black-foots for the day. Hundreds and hundreds of CASSIN'S AUKLETS were feeding on krill between shore and the 100 fathom line, along with 2 BLUE WHALES and 2 HUMPBACK WHALES. The nearshore seabirding was best, as offshore, we lost the vast majority of the birds. Some very nice schools of PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED and NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHINS were on the shelf, as well. A single FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER was a highlight for many of the folks on board, as well as a county bird. FOS (first of the season) MEW GULL was spotted amongst the many gulls following the boat. Two SABINE'S GULLS were a good find this late in the season. Finally, on the way home, two ANCIENT MURRELETS were spotted. Our captain did a great job of getting the boat positioned so that everyone on board could see these little birds, FOS for me, as well as a Mendocino County bird for me!
Many thanks to the birders on board, from near and far. The leaders on this trip were: Lisa Hug, Todd McGrath, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, and Debi Shearwater.
The full report follows:
PACIFIC LOON- 2
COMMON LOON- 1
WESTERN GREBE- 4
CLARK'S GREBE- + in the harbor
BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 168
NORTHERN FULMAR- 121
PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 48
FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 1
BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 17
SOOTY SHEARWATER- 3
BROWN PELICAN- 14
BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 30
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- 3 in the harbor
PELAGIC CORMORANT- 1
SURF SCOTER- 27
WHITE-WINGED SCOTER- 8
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 200
RED PHALAROPE- 60
SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 1
POMARINE JAEGER- 14
HEERMANN'S GULL- 4
MEW GULL- 1
CALIFORNIA GULL- 50
WESTERN GULL- 280
WESTERN/GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL- 15
SABINE'S GULL- 2
COMMON MURRE- 1060
ANCIENT MURRELET- 2
CASSIN'S AUKLET- 1200
RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 29
CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 50
NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 2
BLUE WHALE- 2
HUMPBACK WHALE- 2
NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHIN- 200
PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 250
OCEAN SUNFISH- 1
BLUE SHARK- 1
Shearwaters forever,
Debi
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