LIVING THE SALT LIFE!

2015: FIRST FIVE PELAGIC TRIPS

Shearwater Journeys has completed its first five seabirding trips of the 2015 season with departures from Monterey, Half Moon Bay and Sausalito to the Farallon Islands.
Hang on — the best is yet to come! We still have on offer another 22 trips, with September being the peak of the fall pelagic season!
Below, I present a brief summary of the trips to date. In all, we recorded some 48 species of birds; 5 species of pinnipeds; sea otter; 9 species of cetaceans and various fish and invertebrates.

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS is common on summer trips, almost never missed.

 JIM & WILL BROOKS continuing the Dads Take Their Chicks to Sea Tradition!
Will joined the Shearwater Journeys' pelagic leader team when he was 16 years old.

A surprising number of NORTHERN/PACIFIC FULMARS were found whenever we birded in the cold water pockets, right off Point Pinos and off Carmel Bay, Monterey. 

SST CHARTS

Sea Surface Temperature charts by Terrafin, show water temperatures which aid us in deciding where to go. The feeding frenzies are closely associated with the cold (blue) areas on these charts. 

Used with permission from Terrafin. Please do not reproduce. 

SOOTY SHEARWATER feeding frenzy right off Seventeen Mile Drive, along with fifty HUMPBACK WHALES!

If you think you need to go far offshore to see wildlife in Monterey Bay — think, again!

These whales and shearwaters were feeding on huge schools of anchovies.

Some folks believe this might be an all-time high year for anchovies. 

Schooling fish are extremely important for marine life.

Our local anchovy stocks crashed in 2008. 

SABINE'S GULLS were found on all trips to date.

A HY TUFTED PUFFIN, rarely seen at sea, (my first-ever) was on a Half Moon Bay trip. 

BLUE WHALES were spotted off Carmel Canyon, Monterey Bay on August 7. 

The largest animal, ever, on Earth, this season might be slim on Blue Whales because there is not a lot of krill around — their preferred food item.

FOUR SPECIES OF STORM-PETRELS: FORK-TAILED, ASHY, BLACK, and WILSON'S put on an amazing show on our August 2 Half Moon Bay pelagic trip. 

We set the all-time high count for WILSON'S STORM-PETREL for the State of California: 106!

Forty years ago, when I first started offering pelagic trips, Wilson's Storm-Petrel was a "write up" bird for the California Rare Birds Records Committee. 

Our count of FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL was 750 on August 2.

There is no reliable place nor time in the State of California for seeing this species.

However, late July through August at Half Moon Bay can be quite good; through September at Bodega Canyon, as well. 

BLACK STORM-PETREL at Half Moon Bay. 

We may yet find some Least Storm-Petrels, a southern California species that sometimes makes it to northern Californian waters during warm water incursions.

This SY SCRIPPS'S MURRELET was a great find by the captain of our boat, Dennis Baxter, Half Moon Bay on August 2. It was incapable of flying, and possibly of diving, in heavy molt.

SY's are rarely seen at sea.

Both SHORT-BEAKED and LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHINS, warm water species, have been seen on most of our trips, along with a good selection of other small cetaceans.  

Another Father/Son pair: BRUCE & BEN DILABIO from Ontario, Canada joined our August 8 trip.

 Both RED (upper right corner) and RED-NECKED PHALAROPES were found.
This group was in a little bubble of cold water off Carmel Canyon.

MOLA MOLA! OCEAN SUNFISH!
In 2014, we saw an unprecedented number of Mola Mola's.
Still plenty of these unusual and delightful fish around.

Just about the strangest combination of seabirds one could imagine:
NORTHERN GANNET & TUFTED PUFFIN
at Sugerloaf, Farallon Islands!
This is the only known gannet in the Pacific Ocean!

LIFE BIRD! 

Well, LIFE SEABIRD!

Some folks saw as many as TWENTY LIFE BIRDS! 

This young fellow was one them.

Folks who made more than one trip thanked me profusely for recommending that they do two trips!

SPECIES OBSERVED ON OUR FIRST FIVE TRIPS:

RED-THROATED LOON
PACIFIC LOON
COMMON LOON
WESTERN GREBE
BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS
NORTHERN/PACIFIC  FULMAR
PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER
BULLERS SHEARWATER
SOOTY SHEARWATER
**WILSON'S STORM-PETREL
FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL
ASHY STORM-PETREL
BLACK STORM-PETREL
**BROWN BOOBY
**BLUE-FOOTED BOOBY
**NORTHERN GANNET
BROWN PELICAN
BRANDT'S CORMORANT
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT
PELAGIC CORMORANT
SURF SCOTER
BLACK OYSTERCATCHER
WANDERING TATTLER
WHIMBREL
BLACK TURNSTONE
RUDDY TURNSTONE
SURFBIRD
WILLET
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
RED PHALAROPE
SOUTH POLAR SKUA
POMARINE JAEGER
PARASITIC JAEGER
HEERMANN'S GULL
CALIFORNIA GULL
WESTERN GULL
GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL
SABINE'S GULL
ELEGANT TERN
CASPIAN TERN
COMMON TERN
ARCTIC TERN
COMMON MURRE
PIGEON GUILLEMOT
SCRIPPS'S MURRELET
CASSIN'S AUKLET
RHINOCEROS AUKLET
TUFTED PUFFIN

SEA OTTER
CALIFORNIA SEA LION
STELLER'S SEA LION
NORTHERN FUR SEAL
NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL
HARBOR SEAL

BLUE WHALE
HUMPBACK WHALE
SHORT-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHIN
LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHIN
BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN
RISSO'S DOLPHIN
PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN
HARBOR PORPOISE
DALL'S PORPOISE

OCEAN SUNFISH
LIZARDFISH
YELLOWTAIL TUNA
BLUE SHARK
THRESHER SHARK
ANCHOVY 
FLAT-BELLIED ROCKFISH

MOON JELLY
EGG YOLK JELLY
TETHYS VAGINA (SOLITARY SALP)
PTEROPODS

LEADERS for the first five trips: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Peter Pyle, Gerry McChesney, Steve Howell, Steve Tucker, Steve Hampton, Brian Sullivan, Jennifer Green, Dave Pavlik, Nick Levendosky, Will Brooks, and Debi Shearwater.

BIRDERS hailed from many states throughout the USA, as well as from England, Australia, France, Canada, Denmark, and Ireland. We thank them, one and all!

WORLD GIRL BIRDERS enjoying a terrific day at sea!

DEBI SHEARWATER, AMY PATTEN, HILLARY WHITE

UPCOMING TRIPS & LEADERS:

AUG 16, SUN. HALF MOON BAY: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Todd McGrath, Steve Tucker, Al De Martini, Will Brooks

AUG 21, FRI. MONTEREY BAY: Nick Levendosky, Jennifer Green, Rick Fournier, Christian Schwarz

SEP 5, SAT. MONTEREY BAY: Clay Kempf, Tim Miller, Jennifer Green, Nick Levendosky, Christian Schwarz

SEP 6, SUN. HALF MOON BAY: Gerry McChesney, Steve Tucker, Jim Holmes, Will Brooks

SEP 8, TUE. MONTEREY BAY: Rick Fournier, Christian Schwarz (good trip for photographers)

SEP 9 WED.  MONTEREY BAY: Tim Miller, Nick Levendosky, Christian Schwarz (good trip for photographers)

SEP 10, THU. MONTEREY BAY: Nick Levendosky, Jennifer Green, Christian Schwarz (good trip for photographers)

SEP 11, FRI. MONTEREY BAY: Mary Gustafson, Jennifer Green, Christian Schwarz (good trip for photographers)

SEP 12, SAT. MONTEREY ALBACORE: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Nick Levendosky, Mary Gustafson, Rick Fournier SOLD OUT

SEP 13, SUN. MONTEREY BAY-DEBI'S BIRTHDAY: Chris Wood, Jessie Barry, Mary Gustafson, Clay Kempf

SEP 15, TUE. HALF MOON BAY: Chris Wood, Jessie Barry, Mary Gustafson, Tim Miller, Marisa Ortega-Welch SOLD OUT

SEP 16, WED. MONTEREY BAY: Chris Wood, Jessie Barry, Tim Miller, Annie Schmidt

SEP 18, FRI. BODEGA CANYON & CORDELL BANK: Peter Pyle, Steve Howell, Abe Borker, Steve Tucker, Nick Levendosky EMAIL DEBI FOR SPACE

SEP 20, SUN. HALF MOON BAY: Gerry McChesney, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Nick Levendosky, Steve Hampton

SEP 25, FRI. MONTEREY BAY: Rick Fournier

SEP 26, SAT. MONTEREY BAY: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill

SEP 27, SUN. MONTEREY BAY: Nick Levendosky

OCT 3, SAT. MONTEREY BAY: Tim Miller, Dena Spatz, Jennifer Green

OCT 4, SUN. HALF MOON BAY: Steve Hampton, Will Brooks, Annie Schmidt, Christian Schwarz

OCT 10, SAT. MONTEREY BAY: Todd McGrath, David Vander Pluym, Lauren Harter, Jennifer Green

OCT 11, SUN. HALF MOON BAY: Jim Holmes, Tim Miller, Will Brooks, David Vander Pluym, Lauren Harter, Todd McGrath, Marissa Ortega-Welch
OCT 18, SUN. FARALLON ISLANDS; GREAT WHITE SHARK SEARCH: Gerry McChesney, Peter Pyle, Steve Tucker, Jim Holmes

Reservations: Advance reservations are usually necessary. The best way to reach me is by email!

Please join me in celebrating

Shearwater Journeys' 

40th year of California Pelagic Trips!

LIVING THE SALT LIFE,

Debi Shearwater

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

All images, Copyright, various Shearwater Journeys' leaders.

Please do not use without permission.