IMAGES OF THE DAY by ANNIE SCHMIDT: OCTOBER 20, 2013

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

TRIP REPORT: OCTOBER 20, 2013 FARALLON ISLANDS: SEABIRDS & GREAT WHITE SHARK?

Howdy, Birders,

This is a trip report for Shearwater Journeys' offshore trip departing from Sausalito to the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge, October 20, 2013. The main purpose of this trip was to attempt to see the great white sharks which are often found around the islands at this time of year. However, Nature being Nature, the great white shark failed to make an appearance. We did, however, enjoy a very pleasant day at sea with some nice highlights, including the continuing NORTHERN GANNET at Sugarloaf. BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS, NORTHERN FULMAR, BULLER'S SHEARWATERS (nearshore!), SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER, SOUTH POLAR SKUA, RISSO'S DOLPHINS and HUMPBACK and BLUE WHALES were the highlights. Sailing under the GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE is always a highlight on this trip! We headed beyond the islands to the edge of the Continental Shelf where we encountered most of the seabirds on this day. Breeding season at the islands is long over, with few of the breeders around. Therefore, we did not expect to see any Tufted Puffins. And, we didn't. All images below, courtesy of Mark Rauzon, copyright. Please do not use without permission. Enjoy!

The GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE with the iconic SAN FRANCISCO SKYLINE. 

Leader, PETER PYLE, scanning for great white shark activity. We put in a solid 2.5 hours looking for sharks. There may have been some activity, as one flock of feeding birds quickly assembled, but it was not a kill. Rapidly forming bird flocks are the key give away for a great white kill. It just didn't happen.

This NORTHERN GANNET has been around the Farallon Islands for more than a year. It is the first record for the Pacific. Perhaps, it came through the Northwest Passage? It has not nested, contrary to reports elsewhere. What if it meets up with one of the many boobies that have shown up this year?

The great white shark researchers, above. Waiting. They never saw one, either, on this day. 

The divers and cage that they use to dive in to see the sharks. They never saw a great white on this day, either. Baiting of great white sharks is strictly forbidden. 

 

Farallon National Wildlife Refuge sign. Open for business! Landings, however, are strictly regulated on the islands. Primarily, researchers spend time at the islands. 

A RED-NECKED GREBE, flying at the islands, a rare bird out there. 

Recent northwest frontal systems have brought a good influx of NORTHERN FULMARS, above.

 SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER, above, a declining species. The "old" name, SLENDER-BILLED SHEARWATER, was perhaps, more appropriate. 

 A young, SOUTH POLAR SKUA, sat on the water for a long time, providing excellent views. 

Returning to the harbor, heading under the Golden Gate Bridge, again — this time in sunshine. Folks getting photographs, above. 

 

Leader, ANNIE SCHMIDT, who just completed her Phd. Congratulations, Annie!

Happy Birders, above, with my friend, Marilyn. 

Many thanks of all of the birders who traveled from near and far to join this special trip. Despite missing the great white sharks, we had a beautiful day at sea. The leaders on this trip were: Peter Pyle, Jim Holmes, Annie Schmidt and Debi Shearwater. 

The complete species list for SAN FRANCISCO/MARIN COUNTIES follows.

OCTOBER 20, 2013 SHEARWATER JOURNEYS FARALLON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE:

COMMON LOON- 2/2

RED-NECKED GREBE- 1/0, offshore at the island

WESTERN GREBE- +

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 1/0

NORTHERN FULMAR- 100/10

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 80/0

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 60/0, many just outside of Golden Gate

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 25/0, declining species

SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER- 1/0, declining species

** NORTHERN GANNET- 1/0

BROWN PELICAN- +

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- +

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- +

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 25/0

SURF SCOTER- 100/200

WHITE-WINGED SCOTER- 0/1

NORTHERN SHOVELER- 8/0, offshore

CACKLING GOOSE- 5/0, offshore

BLACK OYSTERCATCHER- 7/0

BLACK TURNSTONE- 2, inside the bay

RED PHALAROPE- 2/0

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 1/0

POMARINE JAEGER- 3/1

PARASITIC JAEGER- 1/0

BONAPARTE'S GULL- 8/0

HEERMANN'S GULL- +

CALIFORNIA GULL- +

HERRING GULL- 2/0

WESTERN GULL- +

GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL- 5/0

ELEGANT TERN- 50/0

FORSTER'S TERN- 1/0

COMMON MURRE- 400/50

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 22/0

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 15/0

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- +

STELLER'S SEA LION- 20

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 200

NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL- 8

HARBOR SEAL- +

BLUE WHALE- 1

HUMPBACK WHALE- 2

RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 12

HARBOR PORPOISE- 40

OCEAN SUNFISH- 1

BLUE SHARK- 1

SPACES ARE STILL AVAILABLE ON OUR LAST TRIPS OF THE FALL SEASON:

OCTOBER 25 MONTEREY BAY 

with 

Nick Levendosky, Clay Kempf, Jennifer Green, Debi Shearwater, Marissa Ortega-Welch, Holly Poole-Kavana

OCTOBER 27 HALF MOON BAY 

with 

Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, John Garrett, Debi Shearwater

NOVEMBER 16 HALF MOON BAY 

with 

Todd McGrath, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Tim Miller, Abe Borker, Debi Shearwater

Shearwaters Forever,

Debi Shearwater

TRIP REPORT: OCTOBER 18, 2013 SEABIRDS OF CORDELL BANK & BODEGA CANYON

Howdy, Birders,

This is a trip report for Shearwater Journeys' ten hour, October 18, 2013 pelagic trip departing from Bodega Bay and heading offshore to the Bodega Canyon and Cordell Bank. The morning began with fog nearshore which pushed out once we were offshore, permitting excellent visibility. We were about 30 miles offshore when I put out a huge slick and chumming effort which attracted at least some 45 BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES and hoards of NORTHERN FULMARS. At least three different LAYSAN ALBATROSSES made passes at the boat as well as two different FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATERS and several SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATERS . Leaving the slick, we continued to the Cordell Bank area where a BROWN BOOBY (Sonoma County) was spotted with a smaller, mixed flock of gulls and shearwaters. We refound it a second time in Marin County. One quite lost CACKLING GOOSE was more than 25 miles offshore. It sat down on the sea, right next to our boat. A couple of HUMPBACK WHALES were making quite a commotion, flailing their tail flukes and pectoral flippers, while groups of PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED and NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHINS were bowriding for over an hour. No storm-petrels were detected even though we traveled through the areas where we have seen them recently. Perhaps, they have retreated south to the Pioneer Canyon. We'll find out when we head offshore there on October 27th from Half Moon Bay. The sea surface temperature had plunged to 52 degrees F. Seas were quite favorable with a long period northwest swell. All in all, we had a wonderful, although somewhat chilly, day offshore. All images, below, by leader Jennifer Green. Please do not use without permission. 

 BROWN BOOBY, above. As described by one non-birder boat captain to me — pointed on all four corners — which this image clearly shows!

 FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER, above. 

 LAYSAN ALBATROSS, above. 

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN, above. Numerically, the most abundant cetacean in the Northern California Bight. 

Many thanks to all of the birders who joined us from near and far. The leaders on this day included: Steve Tucker, Jennifer Green, Lisa Hug, Debi Shearwater and Farley Connelly, chumming. 

The complete species list for SONOMA/MARIN COUNTIES follows.

OCTOBER 18, 2013 SHEARWATER JOURNEYS BODEGA CANYON & CORDELL BANK

RED-THROATED LOON- 2/3

PACIFIC LOON- 20/0

COMMON LOON- +, harbor

RED-NECKED GREBE- 2/0

EARED GREBE- 1/0

WESTERN GREBE- 20, harbor

LAYSAN ALBATROSS- 3/0

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 48/20

NORTHERN FULMAR- 210/40

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 18/40

FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 1/1

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 18/9

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 37/12, very low count, declining species

SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER- 2/0, very low count, declining species

**BROWN BOOBY- 1/1, same individual in both counties

BROWN PELICAN- +

BRAND'TS CORMORANT- +

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- +

PELAGIC CORMORANT- +

SURF SCOTER- 300/0, outside of harbor

WHITE-WINGED SCOTER- 3/0, outside of harbor

*CACKLING GOOSE- 0/1

BLACK TURNSTONE- +

RED PHALAROPE- 2/1

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 4/3

POMARINE JAEGER- 4/0

PARASITIC JAEGER- 1/0

BONAPARTE'S GULL- 1/1

HEERMANN'S GULL- +

MEW GULL- +

CALIFORNIA GULL- +

HERRING GULL- 10

THAYER'S GULL-1/0

WESTERN GULL- +

GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL- 5

WESTERN/GLAUCOUS-WINGED- +

COMMON MURRE- 41/0

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 1/22

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 19/20

PEREGRINE FALCON- 1/0, offshore at least 10 miles

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- +

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 1

HUMPBACK WHALE- 3

NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHIN- 45

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 125

DALL'S PORPOISE- 12

SPACES ARE STLL AVAILABLE THIS SEASON:

OCTOBER 25 MONTEREY BAY

OCTOBER 27 & NOVEMBER 16 HALF MOON BAY

JUMP ON BOARD!

SHEARWATERS FOREVER,

DEBI SHEARWATER

TRIP REPORT & IMAGES OF THE DAY BY STEVE ROTTENBORN: OCTOBER 13, 2013 MONTEREY BAY

Howdy, Birders,

This is a trip report for Shearwater Journeys' October 13, 2013 pelagic trip departing from Monterey Bay. The day began with seabirds — lots of seabirds, right from the get-go. Many shearwaters were close to shore only one mile off Point Pinos! Flocks of migrating PACIFIC LOONS coursed overhead, while SOOTY, PINK-FOOTED and BULLER'S SHEARWATERS put on quite a show at the stern. Highlights included; FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER which showed well, some of the first SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATERS of the fall season, continuing SOUTH POLAR SKUAS, arriving winter gulls: BONAPARTE'S, MEW, HERRING, GLAUCOUS-WINGED and a good show of CASSIN'S and RHINOCEROS AUKLETS. HUMPBACK WHALES continue in the bay, but a STELLER'S SEA LION was a surprise. All images in this report provided by leader extraordinaire, Steve Rottenborn, below. Please do not use without permission. 

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS, below, flying up the wake.

 BULLER'S SHEARWATER, below, continued, now closer to shore.

 It might even be possible to see BULLER'S SHEARWATER from Point Pinos.

 October is the very best month of the year to hope to see FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER, below, although there are records for all months of the year.

 NORTHERN FULMAR, below are still arriving in large numbers due to the recent northerly weather systems, whereas Black-vented Shearwaters seem to have retreated to the south. 

 PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER, below.

 PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER, below. Most will depart for Isla Mocha in the Juan Fernandez Islands to breed soon. 

 SOOTY SHEARWATER, below, a mostly unnoticed, declining species throughout the Pacific. 

 THAYER'S GULL, below.

BONAPARTE'S GULL, below. 

STEVE ROTTENBORN, one of the leaders on this trip.

Many thanks to the birders who traveled from near and far to join our trip, including from France, Canada and Germany! The leaders on this day were: Clay Kempf, Steve Rottenborn, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Rick Fournier, John Garrett and Debi Shearwater. We had yet, another beautiful day at sea, with glassy-smooth waters for most of the day. 

The complete species list for MONTEREY/SANTA CRUZ COUNTIES follows. 

OCTOBER 13, 2013 SHEARWATER JOURNEYS MONTEREY BAY

PACIFIC LOON- 43/5

COMMON LOON- 9/0

EARED GREBE- 2/1

WESTERN GREBE- 3/0

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 15/7

NORTHERN FULMAR- 42/10

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 153/400

FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 1/0

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 31/50

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 410/800, a very low count, declining species

SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER- 4/2, a very low count, declining species

BROWN PELICAN- 143/2

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 320/2

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- 1/0

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 11/0

GREAT EGRET- 4, near the harbor

GREAT BLUE HERON- 1, near the harbor

BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON- 1, near the harbor

SURF SCOTER- 62/0

BLACK TURNSTONE- 4, on Coast Guard jetty

SURFBIRD- 4, on Coast Guard jetty

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 60/0

RED PHALAROPE- 15/25

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 2/2

POMARINE JAEGER- 4/1

PARASITIC JAEGER- 3/0

POMARINE/PARASITIC- 3/0

BONAPARTE'S GULL- 2/1

HEERMANN'S GULL- 70/3

MEW GULL- 1/1

CALIFORNIA GULL- 53/?

HERRING GULL- 5/3

WESTERN GULL- 400/100

GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL- 0/3

ELEGANT TERN- 55/12

COMMON MURRE- 235/400

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 1/0

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 45/25

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 165/250

AMERICAN CROW- 3, in the harbor

BELTED KINGFISHER- 2, in the harbor

SEA OTTER- 8

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 350

STELLER'S SEA LION- 2, offshore

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 1

HARBOR SEAL- +

HUMPBACK WHALE- 8-10

DALL'S PORPOISE- 12

OCEAN SUNFISH- 1

SPACES ARE STILL AVAILABLE THIS SEASON:

OCTOBER 25 MONTEREY BAY

OCTOBER 27 HALF MOON BAY

NOVEMBER 16 HALF MOON BAY

SEE YOU OUT THERE!

SHEARWATERS FOREVER,

DEBI SHEARWATER

TRIP REPORT: SEPTEMBER 27, 2013, MONTEREY BAY

A SEA OF LIFE!

Howdy, Birders,

This is a trip report for Shearwater Journeys' September 27, 2013 pelagic trip departing from Monterey Bay. The day began auspiciously, in the harbor with beautiful morning light falling on the moored boats and two SEA OTTERS, attempting to mate just as we departed the dock! Highlights included 1 FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER, 1 MANX SHEARWATER; 4 TUFTED PUFFINS (not common at Monterey Bay). A major highlight was a tremendous, multi-species feeding aggregation relatively close to shore, composed of 1320 COMMON MURRES, 885 RHINOCEROS AUKLETS, over 500 RISSO'S DOLPHINS, 1000+ CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS with some 32 feeding HUMPBACK WHALES lunging through the herds of sea lions! It was one of the most spectacular multi-species feeding frenzies that I've seen in years. We suspect that not only squid were present, but also anchovies and baby sardines. Loads and loads of food. Perhaps, the most unusual sighting of the day was this device, below, photographed by leader, Rick Fournier.

 I noticed a few birds sitting around something on the surface of the water, including a couple of BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES. On closer approach, we saw this device. Thinking that perhaps it was a lost drone, I asked our captain if he thought we should retrieve it. Then, he pointed out that it had a propeller and was moving. After spending some time at the surface, it went into a dive, much like a submarine! It looked like a drone to me. I'm still researching this one. Stay tuned. It may be an AUTONOMOUS UNDERWATER VEHICLE (AUV). In any case, it was certainly the rarest sighting of the day!

 A MANX SHEARWATER, (Puffinus puffinus) above and below. Images by Rick Fournier, copyright. 

 MANX SHEARWATER, in flight, showing the characteristic white "golf balls" on the flanks.

 MANX SHEARWATER, above and below, images by leader, Tom Johnson, who spotted this rare West Coast shearwater. 

One of four different TUFTED PUFFINS (Fratercula cirrhata) found this day. Image by Rick Fournier, below.

 

Although the above TUFTED PUFFIN is easily told by its' bright orange bill, the hatch year (HY), TUFTED PUFFIN, below is not so easily identified. Image, below, by leader, Dave Pereksta.

A cropped image of the TUFTED PUFFIN shows the very rounded head. A Rhinoceros Auklet would have a much flatter head. 

Many thanks to the birders who traveled from near and far to join our trip. The leaders on this day included: Rick Fournier, Tom Johnson, Dave Pereksta and Debi Shearwater. It was a very beautiful day at sea with nearly constant seabird activity. 

The complete species list for MONTEREY/SANTA CRUZ COUNTIES follows:

SEPTEMBER 27, 2013 SHEARWATER JOURNEYS MONTEREY BAY

PACIFIC LOON- 1/0

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 9/4

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 225/340

*FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 1/0

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 100/90

*MANX SHEARWATER- 0/1

BROWN PELICAN- +/20

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- +/12

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- 1/0

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 3/0

SURF SCOTER- 12/0

NORTHERN SHOVELER- 1/0

BLACK OYSTERCATCHER- 2/0

BLACK TURNSTONE- 7/0

SURFBIRD- 3/0

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 16/220

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 1/0

POMARINE JAEGER- 2/0

PARASITIC JAEGER- 1/0

JAEGER SP. - 3

HEERMANN'S GULL- +

CALIFORNIA GULL- +

WESTERN GULL- +

ELEGANT TERN- 150/0

COMMON MURRE- 240/1080

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 1, juv/0

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 0/1

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 85/800

*TUFTED PUFFIN- 2/2

*SEA OTTER- 12, attempted mating in the harbor

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 1600

HUMPBACK WHALE- 32

RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 500+

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 45

DALL'S PORPOISE- 4

SEA NETTLES- ++

OCEAN SUNFISH- 2

**AUTONOMOUS UNDERWATER VEHICLE- 1, details to follow

SPACES ARE STILL AVAILABLE: 

MONTEREY BAY: OCT 5, 13, 25

HALF MOON BAY: OCT 27 & NOV 16

BODEGA BAY: OCT 18

FARALLON ISLANDS: OCT 20 for GREAT WHITE SHARKS & SEABIRDS

See you out there!

Debi Shearwater