Howdy, Birders,
Please enjoy the truly beautiful images below by leader, Annie Schmidt from Shearwater Journeys' October 20, 2013 pelagic trip to the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge. We had hoped to see a great white shark, but none were seen. The very next day, two attacks were seen at the islands. Now, days have again passed with no recent attacks. That's nature!
Golden Gate Bridge, above and below.
We had some views of Risso's Dolphins, below, showing their round, bulbous heads and scratched, gray bodies.
Risso's Dolphins have tall dorsal fins, below. They are sometimes mistaken for Killer Whales.
Risso's Dolphins eat squid, which has been plentiful this fall.
Glaucous-winged Gull, above and below. Wintering gulls are arriving.
Pink-footed Shearwater, showing characteristic field marks: pink-based bill, white belly and white wing-linings.
Short-tailed Shearwater, below. This shearwater begins to show up along the central California coast in October. It can be a difficult to separate from Sooty Shearwaters, but a good view helps.
Pink-footed Shearwater, soaring in flight, below.
Small flocks of Buller's Shearwaters, below, were found just outside of the Golden Gate Bridge. It is unusual to find them so close to shore. However, the same phenomenon is happening in other places along the central coast.
A young South Polar Skua gave us great views, sitting on the sea.
South Polar Skua begins to take flight, showing white wing patches, below.
We ended the day with sunshine, sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge!
See you out there!
Shearwaters Forever,
Debi Shearwater
No comments:
Post a Comment