Shearwater Journeys' first pelagic trip of the season departing from Fisherman's Wharf Monterey, was yesterday. Monterey's seabirds did not disappoint! From beginning to end, we enjoyed non-stop seabirds, as well as marine mammals. This is a trip report for August 5, 2011.
The first "bonus" birds of the day were five SURFBIRDS, along with several of the more usual BLACK TURNSTONES on the Coast Guard Jetty. PIGEON GUILLEMOTS and many father/chick pairs of COMMON MURRES were spotted along Cannery Row. The first of several thousand SOOTY SHEARWATERS were observed before we reached Point Pinos. It was not long before PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS joined the following flocks of gulls. BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES soon entered the fray.
After the first ASHY STORM-PETREL flew by, we stopped only a few miles offshore. Leader, Jennifer Green, poured a small amount of cod liver oil off the stern. Surprisingly, a tailess, FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL flew within feet of the stern. There, it hung around to the delight of both birders and photographers on board!
Note in Abe Borker's image above— those are the feet of the Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel, not the tail, protruding behind the body! This Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel was not only a SANTA CRUZ COUNTY bird for some, but also a life bird for many on board.
PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS put on quite a show, calling and displaying their pale pink legs and feet at the stern. Meanwhile, several SABINE'S GULLS and a beautiful adult LONG-TAILED JAEGER were attracted to the activity. NORTHERN FULMARS provided excellent views of the "tube noses" for close inspection. CASSIN'S AUKLETS were surprisingly abundant. This species has been scarce the past few years, this early in the season.
It was time to head for the harbor, after venturing toward Davenport on the north coast. The ride home was extremely pleasant. Suddenly, Abe Borker and I simultaneously spotted the distinctive tall dorsal of a male KILLER WHALE! Two HUMPBACK WHALES and a single BLUE WHALE were within 50 yards, as well!
This male, ORCA, put on quite a show, swimming belly up and waving his paddle-like pectoral flippers in the air. 
Below, is one of the paddle-like flippers, as the KILLER WHALE swims on his side.
He also breached a number of times. It was as though this ORCA embodied the complete excitement and joy we had experienced throughout the day!
A single SOUTH POLAR SKUA spotted by leader, Adam Searcy, was the bird that ended our awesome day! Usually, skuas simply make a pass at the vessel, but this one hung around, flying directly overhead! Yep, it was a day for seabirds, from beginning to end!
All images in this blog report are copyright by ABE BORKER. Please do not use without permission.Spaces are available on these upcoming trips departing from Monterey:
AUGUST 12, Leaders: Jennifer Green Derek Lovitch, Wes Fritz, Debi Shearwater
AUGUST 26, Leaders: Jennifer Green, Clay Kempf, Wes Frits, Debi Shearwater
SEPTEMBER 8, Leaders: Clay Kempf, Wes Fritz, Debi Shearwater
SEPTEMBER 9, Leaders: Jennifer Green, Wes Fritz, Debi Shearwater
SEPTEMBER 10, SORRY SOLD OUT. Leaders: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Morten Joergensen, Kate Goldberg, Wes Fritz, Debi Shearwater
SEPTEMBER 11, Leaders: Morten Joergensen, Adam Searcy, Wes Fritz, Debi Shearwater
SEPTEMBER 12, Leaders: Morten Joergensen, Clay Kempf, Kate Goldberg, Debi Shearwater
SEPTEMBER 22, Leaders: Jennifer Green, Wes Fritz, Debi Shearwater
SEPTEMBER 23, Leaders: Jennifer Green, Abe Borker, Adam Searcy, Wes Fritz, Debi Shearwater
SEPTEMBER 24, Leaders: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Abe Borker, Adam Searcy, Wes Fritz, Debi Shearwater
SEPTEMBER 25, Leaders: Joe Morlan, Abe Borker, Adam Searcy, Wes Fritz, Debi Shearwater
SEPTEMBER 26, Leaders: Adam Searcy, Wes Fritz, Debi Shearwater
And, all of our October trips have space available. For RESERVATIONS, please contact Debi Shearwater by email: debi@shearwaterjourneys.com. See the Shearwater Journeys' web site for updates.
We would like to thank all of the birders who came from near and far for the AUGUST 5, 2011 Shearwater Journeys' Monterey Bay pelagic trip. Special thanks to the AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY folks, including Vice President, Mike Parr. Shearwater leaders on this day were: Jennifer Green, Abe Borker, Clay Kempf, Adam Searcy, Rick Fournier, Jonathan Felis and Debi Shearwater. The weather was very good. South swell of 4 feet from the hurricane off Baja. No wind, or whitecaps. Uniformly high, overcast skies. Easy riding and near perfect conditions.
The complete species list follows:
5 AUGUST 2011, MONTEREY BAY with SHEARWATER JOURNEYS covering both Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, total species list:
BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 18-24
NORTHERN FULMAR- 18
PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 55
SOOTY SHEARWATER- 2000
FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL- 2, SANTA CRUZ COUNTY
ASHY STORM-PETREL- 13
BROWN PELICAN- 15
BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 220
BLACK TURNSTONE- 7
SURFBIRD- 5
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 650
RED-NECKED/RED PHALAROPE- 100
RED PHALAROPE- 5
SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 1
POMARINE JAEGER- 6
POMARINE/PARASITIC JAEGER- 1
PARASITIC JAEGER- 1
PARASITIC/LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 1
LONG-TAILED JAEGER -1, ADULT
HEERMANN'S GULL- 65
CALIFORNIA GULL- 6
WESTERN GULL- +
WESTERN/GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL- 1
SABINE'S GULL- 16 (2 juveniles)
ELEGANT TERN- 26
CASPIAN TERN- 1
COMMON MURRE- 950-1250
PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 20
XANTUS'S/CRAVERI'S MURRELET- 1
CASSIN'S AUKLET- 450
SEA OTTER- 8
CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 120
NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL- 2
HARBOR SEAL- 2
BLUE WHALE- 1
HUMPBACK WHALE- 8
KILLER WHALE- 1, MALE
DALL'S PORPOISE- 3
OCEAN SUNFISH- 1
EGG YOLK JELLIES
BROWN JELLIES
Hope to see you "out there."
Shearwaters forever,
Debi Shearwater
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