Monterey's seabirds did not disappoint us on our sixth pelagic trip of the fall season! We started the trip with a bang— a stunningly beautiful FRANKLIN'S GULL in alternate plumage, just off Cannery Row. Although the face feathers are molting, the pink breeding blush on the breast is still evident. This bird followed us for several minutes. Other highlights included: LAYSAN ALBATROSS, FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER and four species of STORM-PETRELS.
Again, we found two SURFBIRDS, along with the usual BLACK TURNSTONES along the Coast Guard Breakwater. The PEREGRINE FALCON was, again, perched on the radio tower near the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Many father/chick COMMON MURRE pairs were present. PIGEON GUILLEMOTS were just outside the kelp beds.
Before 9:30 a.m. we had already ticked FORK-TAILED, ASHY and BLACK STORM-PETRELS, SABINE'S GULLS, NORTHERN FULMAR, BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS, RED and RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, CASSIN'S AUKLETS and ELEGANT TERNS. Yet, remarkably, we had not yet espied a PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER. Soon enough, these tubenoses were following our vessel. Wes dropped out his superslick line and the storm-petrels put on quite a show! Great for nice close up views— some of the best views, ever, of Ashy Storm-Petrels.
Before long, a LAYSAN ALBATROSS flew in to check out the commotion! Meanwhile, POMARINE and PARASITIC JAEGERS harassed the gulls.
The SABINE'S GULL show following our boat was pretty spectacular. Amazingly, we saw no whales! The whale watching boats out on the bay also had a very difficult time finding any whales. They seemed to have disappeared. The only cetaceans for the day were two BOTTLENOSE DOLPHINS spotted by Jean Myer's along Cannery Row. Whales come and go, depending on where the food shows up. That's why it is always a good idea to book trips from at least two ports. I'd recommend our Half Moon Bay departures, as we had trouble navigating amongst the 75+ whales each day, last September! Nevertheless, the seabird show was awesome. Many thanks to all of the birders who came from near and far (Belgium) for this trip. Shearwater Leaders on this day were: Jennifer Green, Wes Fritz, Todd McGrath, Abe Borker, John Sorensen and Debi Shearwater. Derek Lovitch, leader for Wings bird tour company, was a guest leader.
The complete species list follows:
12 AUGUST 2011 MONTEREY BAY with SHEARWATER JOURNEYS covering both Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties:
LAYSAN ALBATROSS- 1
BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 30
NORTHERN FULMAR- 225
PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 42
FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 1, seen by only a few. A definite ID, not the dark morph Pink-footed Shearwater. First of fall.
SOOTY SHEARWATER- 5000
WILSON'S STORM-PETREL- 1, seen by only a few
FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL- 4, (2 Monterey, 2 Santa Cruz Counties)
ASHY STORM-PETREL- 70
BLACK STORM-PETREL- 9
BROWN PELICAN- 7, offshore
BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 350
PELAGIC CORMORANT- 4
BLACK TURNSTONE- 9
SURFBIRD- 2
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 700
RED PHALAROPE- 300
RED/RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 100
POMARINE JAEGER- 9
POMARINE/PARASITIC JAEGER- 1
PARASITIC JAEGER- 2
HEERMANN'S GULL- 40
CALIFORNIA GULL- 25
WESTERN GULL- 125
WESTERN/GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL- 2
SABINE'S GULL- 52, 5 juvs, 4 first summer
*FRANKLIN'S GULL- 1
ELEGANT TERN- 13
COMMON TERN- 2
COMMON/ARCTIC TERN- 3
COMMON MURRE- 353
PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 21
CASSIN'S AUKLET- 21
RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 0, unusual
PEREGRINE FALCON- 1, on the radio tower
SEA OTTER- 12
CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 200
HARBOR SEAL- 2
BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN- 2
MOON JELLIES + EGG YOLK JELLIES
All images in this post, copyright, ABE BORKER. Please do not use without permission from the photographer.
See more of Monterey's seabirds, as diversity and species numbers will only increase over the coming days: AUG 26; SEP 8, 9, 11, 12, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26; OCT 1, 8, 16; NOV 27. Or, join us on one a trip from one of the following ports: BODEGA BAY, FORT BRAGG and HALF MOON BAY. To view our complete schedule, click here. For reservations, please email me at: debi@shearwaterjourneys.com.
Shearwaters forever,
Debi Shearwater
No comments:
Post a Comment