HALF MOON BAY PELAGIC TRIP: AUGUST 19, 2016

ACTION ALL DAY LONG!

This is a trip report for Shearwater Journeys' pelagic trip departing from Half Moon Bay, August 19, 2016, offshore to the Continental Shelf and Pioneer Canyon. Eight species of tubenoses were recorded: BLACK-FOOTED and LAYSAN ALBATROSS, NORTHERN/PACIFIC FULMAR, PINK-FOOTED and SOOTY SHEARWATERS, and WILSON'S, FORK-TAILED and ASHY STORM-PETRELS. Other highlights included; SABINE'S GULL, ARCTIC TERN, CASSIN'S and RHINOCEROS AUKLETS and one beautiful TUFTED PUFFIN. The single NORTHERN GANNET that has been flying back and forth from the Farallones Islands was standing on the cliff near the satellite domes. A single MARBLED MURRELET was spotted while we were watching the gannet.

Marine mammals included; HUMPBACK, FIN and BLUE WHALES. A pod of 8 to 10 KILLER WHALES put on quite a show! Great sea conditions and loads of fun!

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS, very common at this time of year.

LAYSAN ALBATROSS, never "common"in our area.

Always a special treat. 

This may be the same individual we saw on an earlier August HMB trip.

ASHY STORM-PETREL, scattered individuals often seen during fall.

Sometimes large rafts are encountered.

A near-endemic California species thought to be in decline.

The white-romped, WILSON'S STORM-PETREL, a very uncommon storm-petrel in our region.

Formerly, it was a review species by the California Rare Bird Records Committee.

KILLER WHALES, always a surprise in our region!

There is no predictable time, nor place in our region to find these amazing marine mammals.

The pod of 8 to 10 individuals, including a small calf, put on quite a show.

It looks like a jellyfish. Turtles and whales think it is a jellyfish.

It is a MYLAR BALLOONwith the exterior design worn off.

All balloons are very dangerous and life-threatening to marine life. 

Albatrosses are naturally curious birds. 

Black-footed Albatross investigating a mylar balloon. 

Image by the late Rich Stallcup.

PLEASE DO NOT LET BALLOONS GO!

One of our many talented leaders, CHRISTIAN SCHWARZ, retrieves the balloon to prevent damage to wildlife.

Christian is well known for his expertise in MUSHROOMS.

He recently co-authored the book above, MUSHROOMS of the REDWOOD COAST. 

CHRISTIAN SCHWARZ, when he is not on a pelagic trip!

Christian is available for hire for guided birding or mushrooming, in our area. 

Many thanks to all the wonderful and fun folks who joined our Half Moon Bay pelagic trip!

The age spread on this one day was the largest, ever: age 9 to 92!

The Shearwater team of leaders included: CHRISTIAN SCHWARZ, TODD MCGRATH, STEVE TUCKER & DEBI SHEARWATER.

THE COMPLETE SPECIES LIST FOR SHEARWATER JOURNEYS' AUGUST 19, 2016 HALF MOON BAY PELAGIC TRIP FOLLOWS:

SAN MATEO/SAN FRANCISCO COUNTIES:

PACIFIC LOON- 10/0

WESTERN GREBE- 3/0

*LAYSAN ALBATROSS- 0/1

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 3/14

NORTHERN/PACIFIC FULMAR- 0/1

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 98/44

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 1670/6

WILSON'S STORM-PETREL- 1/0

FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL- 4/3

ASHY STORM-PETREL- 23/8

BROWN PELICAN- 116/0

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 11/0

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 4/0

**NORTHERN GANNET- 1/0

SURF SCOTER- 7/0

SURFBIRD- 1/0

SANDERLING- 35/0

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 21/0

RED PHALAROPE- 2/4

PARASITIC JAEGER- 1/0

HERRMANN'S GULL- 290/0

CALIFORNIA GULL- 6/1

WESTERN GULL- 361/19

SABINE'S GULL- 1/6

ELEGANT TERN- 74/0

ARCTIC TERN- 1/0

COMMON MURRE- 368/10

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- in the harbor

MARBLED MURRELET- 1/0

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 9/90

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 2/5

TUFTED PUFFIN- 1/0

HUMPBACK WHALE- 6

BLUE WHALE- 2

FIN WHALE- 1

KILLER WHALE- 8 -10

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 80

HARBOR PORPOISE- 10

OCEAN SUNFISH- 1

UPCOMING TRIPS DEPARTING FROM HALF MOON BAY

SEPTEMBER 4 (SOLD OUT), 16, 18

OCTOBER 2, 9

IT IS NOW THE VERY PEAK OF FALL SEABIRD MIGRATION!

HOPE TO SEE YOU OUT THERE!

LIVING THE SALT LIFE,

Debi Shearwater

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

Images by Christian Schwarz

PELAGIC BIRDING FOR ALL AGES: 9 to 92

AGE DOESN'T MATTER WHEN OCEAN BIRDING

WOMEN LEADING THE WAY

Shearwater Journeys' August 19, 2016 Half Moon Bay pelagic trip hosted two female birders, one aged 9 and one aged 92. This is the biggest age spread we've seen to date on any of our pelagic trips in one day.

Nine year old Elle studies her field guide and Shearwater Journeys' checklist of birds and marine mammals while hundreds of ELEGANT TERNS can be viewed from the window.

 Ninety-two year old Jacqueline searches for BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES.

Jacqueline and her 70 year old daughter, Annie were traveling along the coast all the way from Alaska.

On top of that, they were car-camping! 

Sleeping on a four inch piece of foam in the back of their SUV.

Jacqueline is one tough lady.

This is Elle on the bow with her Auntie, Meghan.

They are videotaping KILLER WHALES with a cell phone!

Elle's mom described this as "one of the best days of summer!"

Auntie Meghan is one tough and talented birder, herself.

As expedition staff on many of the Heritage Expeditions voyages that I make, she is, hand's down. one of the best in the world!

Meghan is a World Girl Birder, too.

Meghan travels to the ends of the earth and will soon be 

 embarking on a new journey. Read about it, here. 

What inspiring girls and women we had on board this day!

Living the Salt Life,

Debi Shearwater

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

To see the entire species list for this pelagic trip, click here. 

41 YEARS OF CALIFORNIA SEABIRDING 

SHEARWATER JOURNEYS

Welcome to Shearwater Journeys, the premier seabirding company in North America which has served generations of birders. From Eureka in northern California to San Diego, Shearwater Journeys has, at one time or another offered offshore pelagic trips along the entire coastline. Indeed, we were the pioneers of such amazing trips to the Davidson Seamount in the 1970’s, now protected as part of the marine sanctuary. Many new seabird records for the State of California and North America have been discovered on our trips — more than any others, adding immensely to the avifauna data base. In recent years, we’ve concentrated our trips along the rich California Current, offering trips departing from Monterey, Half Moon Bay, and Sausalito. This is quite possibly the single most productive ocean area in the entire world. 

Forty years, thousands of trips, and tens of thousands of birders have joined our trips where we have observed hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of seabirds. There is no comparison. We have some 24 trips on offer for the coming fall season. Join the fun and exciting world of seabirds and marine mammals with Shearwater Journeys, the folks who have introduced generations of birders to this unique world. There is only one Shearwater Journeys! 

EXPEDITION VOYAGE: ENCHANTED GALAPAGOS, November 1- 14, 2017 is a charter voyage for only 15 guests. Join Debi as she returns to these fabulous islands. We shall target the endemic birds and wildlife, hiking on all of the key islands. UPDATE: Remarkably, this voyage sold out within 24 hours! I added second voyage, November 15 - 28, 2017 which has also sold out. We are now taking a WAITING LIST. To put your name on the wait list, please email Debi for more information: debi@shearwaterjourneys.com.

2016 CALENDAR OF TRIPS

May 27-Jun. 20 RUSSIA’S RING OF FIRE VOYAGE- SOLD OUT

Jun. 9 -20 RUSSIA’S SEA OF OKHOTSK VOYAGE- SOLD OUT                

Jul. 29, Fri. Monterey Bay: Albatrosses & Early Fall Seabirds $168

Aug. 6, Sat. Half Moon Bay: Albatrosses & Early Fall Seabirds $198

Aug. 7, Sun. Farallon Islands: Tufted Puffins & Breeding Seabirds $189

Aug. 13, Sat. Half Moon Bay: Albatrosses & Early Fall Seabirds $198

Aug. 14, Sun. Farallon Islands: Tufted Puffins & Breeding Seabirds $189

Aug. 19, Fri.   Half Moon Bay: Albatrosses & Fall Seabirds $198

Aug. 26, Fri. Monterey Bay: Albatrosses & Fall Seabirds $168

Sep. 3, Sat. Monterey Bay: Fall Seabird Classic $168

Sep. 4, Sun. Half Moon Bay: Albatrosses, Petrels & Storm-Petrels $198

Sep. 7, Wed. Monterey Seavalley: Fall Seabird Classic $168

Sep. 8, Thu. Monterey Bay: Fall Seabird Classic $168

Sep. 9, Fri. Monterey Seavalley: Fall Seabird Classic $168

Sep. 10, Sat. Albacore Grounds: Offshore Monterey $198

Sep. 11, Sun. Monterey Bay: Fall Seabird Classic $168

Sep. 15, Thu. Monterey Seavalley: Fall Seabird Classic $168

Sep. 16, Fri. Half Moon Bay: Fall Seabird Classic $198

 Sep. 23, Fri. Monterey Bay: Fall Seabird Classic $168

Sep. 24, Sat. Monterey Bay: Fall Seabird Classic $168

Sep. 25, Sun. Monterey Seavalley: Fall Seabird Classic $168

Oct. 1, Sat. Monterey Bay: Fall Seabird Classic $168

Oct. 2, Sun. Half Moon Bay: Fall Seabird Classic $198

Oct. 8, Sat. Monterey Bay: Fall Seabird Classic $168

Oct. 9, Sun. Half Moon Bay: Fall Seabird Classic $198

Oct. 16, Sun. Monterey Bay: Fall Seabird Classic $168

2017

Nov. 1-14 ENCHANTED GALAPAGOS ISLANDS VOYAGE $7990- SOLD OUT- TAKING WAITING LIST
Nov. 15-28: ENCHANTED GALAPAGOS ISLANDS VOYAGE $7990- SOLD OUT- TAKING WAITING LIST

The year 2015 was one of the single most amazing years along the central coast of California. We observed a record 20 species of tubenoses: albatrossses, petrels, shearwaters, and storm-petrels! One of many highlights was a WHITE-CHINNED PETREL on the September 15th Half Moon Bay trip that flew into the wake and sat on the water for 45 minutes! Our August 9th trip to the Farallon Islands not only saw scads of TUFTED PUFFINS, but also NORTHERN GANNET, BROWN BOOBY, and BLUE-FOOTED BOOBY! Our trips to the Farallon Islands have a 100% success rate in finding Tufted Puffins, and always sell out early. Departing from Sausalito on a very stable catamaran, we sail under the iconic Golden Gate Bridge for a unique perspective. Monterey Bay trips this past fall season were over the top with seabirds and lunge-feeding and breaching HUMPBACK WHALES. El Nino sent thousands of BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATERS to Monterey Bay and a handful of LEAST STORM-PETRELS. Every single day is completely different — just ask the folks who did 5 trips in a row from Monterey with us! Our friendly and knowledgable leaders are ready to enchance your day at sea! Join us!

DISCOUNTS: In recognition of our fourth decade of pelagic trips, we offer you a $40 per person, per trip discount on any Monterey trip on this schedule except for the September 10 Albacore trip; and a $20 per person, per trip discount on any Half Moon Bay and Farallon Island trip, if booked prior to JULY 1. Discounts must be deducted from your payment at the time of booking. All discounted trips are NON-REFUNDABLE for any reason. Note that all of our scheduled trips for 2014 and 2015 operated and none were canceled for lack of sign ups, neither were any of those trips weathered out. Many trips sold out well in advance: Farallon Islands, Albacore and many others. Book early!

RESERVATIONS: Payment, in full by check or money order, is required at the time of booking. Please include the name, home address, phone/email of each person in your party as required by the USCG. For payments outside of the USA, please email Debi. Send reservations to: Debi Shearwater, POB 190, Hollister, CA 95024. Email: debi@shearwaterjourneys.com. Please see our web site and blog for more information and updates. Please note: Debi will be out of the office from May 17 through June 24 while leading expedition voyages in the Russian Far East. You are encouraged to send in your reservation(s) during that period. Your reservation will be acknowledged after June 25. Looking forward to birding with you in our 41st year offshore! — Debi Shearwater

SHEARWATER JOURNEYS, INC.

PO BOX 190

HOLLISTER, CA 95024

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

831.637.8527

www.shearwaterjourneys.com

http://shearwaterjourneys.blogspot.com

Brown Booby image by Beth Hamel, copyright, Farallon Islands, August 9, 2015.

Please do not use without permission.

STREAMING SHEARWATERS, SCHOOLING FISH, & COLD WATER TEMPERATURES

Howdy, Birders,

Recently, birders along the Central Coast of California have reported large streams of SOOTY SHEARWATERS swirling and moving along the shore. Birders are wondering why this is happening.  Perhaps this blog post will offer some explanation.

SOOTY SHEARWATER, Monterey Bay, California

Image, copyright, Beth Hamel.

Even though large flocks of Sooty Shearwaters are often seen, their worldwide population has DECLINED 90%! They, along with Short-tailed, Flesh-footed, and Streaked Shearwaters are in steep decline. 

Everyone is talking about EL NINO

and the massive warm water bodies offshore in the Pacific Ocean and off California. Indeed, the Monterey Bay Weather Buoy recorded a record-breaking 69F Sea Surface Temperature at 2 pm PDT on August 12, 2015. 

The Monterey Weather Buoy is the red dot in the Terrafin image, below.

While the report of this record-breaking SST is incredible, it does not tell the whole story.

The ocean, and even so-called, bays such as Monterey Bay, is a dynamic, ever-changing habitat. 

Winds and currents greatly affect the sea surface temperature (SST).

Looking at the August 13th SST chart, above. we can see that the nearshore areas are blue, and some are a very deep blue. This means that there was a lot of very, very cold, 57-56F water NEARSHORE!

Comparing the Terrafin chart above of Monterey Bay for August 15th, we can see how the recent WNW winds impacted the SST from August 13th. 

 Now, let's look a little to the north at the Half Moon Bay, SST chart from August 17th. 

Nearshore cool waters are smaller, while warmer water moved in closer to the 50 and 100 fathom lines. 

Whoaa! What do we have here? Seriously cold water off Point Reyes, and Bodega Bay! 

Sooty Shearwaters are streaming north, keeping up with the movements of the nearshore cool water bands. That's how it looks to me. To be sure, we still have loads of nearshore cool water in Monterey Bay and a few other places along the central coast. And, in two day's time, this will change again. The ocean is very dynamic, and hardly a homogeneous habitat, very unlike walking in a redwood forest  — picture those redwood trees moving around every night and day!

Therefore, FOOD IS NOT EVENLY DISTRIBUTED AT SEA!

Sooty Shearwaters feed on schooling anchovies, below. We are primarily seeing these anchovy schools in COLD WATER! Last fall, a block of anchovies the size of Manhattan remained stationary in Monterey Bay for weeks, being gorged upon by not only Sooty Shearwaters, but some 100 HUMPBACK WHALES and large herds of hundreds of CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS. 

Pretty much the same thing is happening this year, although only about 50 whales are feeding in Monterey Bay.

MASSES of ANCHOVIES in Monterey Bay this week.

Image by Tim Zoliniak, copyright. 

Anchovies, and other species (mackerel and sardines) of "forage fish" are critical food for shearwaters, especially. Audubon California advocates to protect these stocks. The central coast anchovy population crashed in 2008. During the subsequent falls, Sooty Shearwaters were streaming along the coast, looking for schools of anchovies, but not finding them! In 2012, the anchovies returned!

Some folks are saying that 2015 might be a record-breaking year for anchovies in our area.

There is a fishery for anchovies — many are ground up into pellets that are fed to farm/captive-raised salmon. Please think about that the next time you eat salmon in a restaurant — and, ORDER ONLY WILD CAUGHT SALMON!

Two PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS, above.

Image, copyright, Beth Hamel.

Shearwater Journeys' six recent pelagic trips have detected massive numbers of SOOTY SHEARWATERS, primarily near shore, while offshore, PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS flocks are more numerous. This leads me to believe that the Pink-footed Shearwaters's preferred prey item is something that they are finding offshore. IT'S ALL ABOUT FOOD!

BULLER'S SHEARWATER, above.

Image, copyright, Beth Hamel.

Sightings of BULLER'S SHEARWATERS have been very few so far this season. 

I believe the reason for this is that they tend to border the "hard edge" that tuna fishermen refer to where there is a distinct and abrupt change in SST from, say 59F to 61F. We have not been able to detect any "hard edges." Tuna fishermen (albacore) refer to the Buller's Shearwater as one of the "tuna birds," their association is so closely related to albacore. These shearwaters may feed on PACIFIC SAURY which is something that the albacore feed on as well. It's all about FOOD!

 SCRIPPS'S MURRELET, above, Half Moon Bay, California.

Image, copyright, Will Brooks.

SCRIPPS'S, CRAVERI'S and GUADALUPE MURRELETS are also usually associated more often with "hard edges" and a SST of about 50-61F. However, they also like very clear, deep dark blue, almost black water, just like the albacore prefer. Pacific Saury are too big for them, but they may be feeding on the smaller prey that the saury feed upon! 

To date, we have only found one SCRIPPS'S MURRELET, the one above. 

But, that could change overnight, if we reach a "hard edge."

PIGEON GUILLEMOT with FLAT-BELLIED ROCKFISH which it was bringing to its young in the rock nest crevice at the jetty at Half Moon Bay, California. 

Image, copyright, Beth Hamel

A BLUE WHALE blow shoots some 30 feet high. 

Image, copyright, Beth Hamel.

Different species of seabirds are feasting on different marine prey, be it fish, or squid, or isopods. 

We have not seen any krill, and it has been reported to be of very low productivity this year. Krill is the preferred prey item of the tiny CASSIN'S AUKLET and the world's largest animal, BLUE WHALE. We have only seen two BLUE WHALES, both at Monterey Bay on August 7th. These whales were traveling, not feeding. So, they were likely looking for krill. I predict that we will see Blue Whales on our Bodega Bay trip, September 18th. 

 CASSIN'S AUKLET, above.
Image, copyright, Beth Hamel.
The Farallon Islands where Cassin's Auklets breed, has been surrounded by cold water throughout the spring and now into summer. Although Cassin's Auklets, Rhinoceros Auklets, Common Murres, and Tufted Puffins did breed, it was not an off the charts breeding season. Cassin's Auklets did not double brood this year. They know there's an El Nino out there. Food for some of these species is limited.
Seabirds are well adapted to El Nino years.
They've dealt with it for eons.
But, the more recent man-made threats are something new for seabirds.
No other group of birds in the world is more threatened than seabirds.
And, that, my friends, is another blog post altogether!

Watching HUMPBACK WHALES.

Image, copyright, Will Brooks.

People travel many places around the world to observe striking wildlife spectacles —

Yellowstone, Serengeti, Svalbard, Antarctica —

yet one of the most amazing of these places is just offshore our coast!

HOPE TO SEE YOU OUT THERE!

LIVING THE SALT LIFE,

DEBI SHEARWATER

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

TERRAFIN charts, used with permission. 

Please do not reproduce. 

Subscribe to Terrafin for the latest SST's.

FORTY YEARS of CALIFORNIA SEABIRDING

with

SHEARWATER JOURNEYS

Shearwater Journeys will celebrate its 40th year of seabirding this fall! 

And, we'd love to invite you to celebrate with us. 

From Crescent City in far northern California to San Diego — and places in between — Morro Bay, Santa Barbara, Monterey Bay, Half Moon Bay, Sausalito, Bodega Bay and Fort Bragg — Shearwater Journeys has offered more pelagic seabirding trips along the California coast for the past forty years than anyone. In our hey day, more than sixty trips per year departed for offshore destinations such as the Davidson Seamount, Cordell Bank, Bodega Canyon, Noyo Canyon Tanner & Cortez Banks, Arguello Canyon, Rodriguez Dome, and the Farallon Islands.

 Some 60,000+ birders and marine life enthusiasts have participated in thousands of Shearwater Journeys' pelagic trips over these past four decades. Participants, along with more than a hundred leaders over the years, have contributed an immense amount of data, advanced the progression of seabird field guides, fought for National Marine Sanctuaries collecting thousands of signatures, advocated for conservation laws, witnessed the return of the great whales from near decimation, seen the "return" of some seabirds such as Short-tailed Albatross and the decline of others, such as Sooty Shearwater and Ashy Storm-Petrel. 

We've discovered a long, long list "first" North American seabird records and found many rare-for-California seabirds. We've battled gill netting which killed thousands of Sooty Shearwaters and Common Murres, and won. We remember when Laysan Albatrosses did not nest on islands off Mexico! Marine mammals have not been neglected on our trips. We set the wheels in motion to rescue an entangled humpback whale only for the rescuers to be thwarted by the appearance of killer whales! We launched the first-ever in the world, blue whale tagging program with EarthWatch in mid-1980's. Beginning in the late 1970's, we collected the first of hundreds of killer whale images that would be used in ID catalogues. And, we're still at it today. 

And, we've been out there in the blue, at sea, during the biggest El Nino events of our lifetime, 1982-83 and 1998, during La Nina events and everything in between. The 1982-83 El Nino impacted every continent on Earth, and we saw events transpire in Monterey Bay that have never repeated. OH, wait a minute. I hear the red crabs are back, at least in SoCal: 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2015/06/17/red-crabs-swarm-southern-california-linked-to-warm-blob-in-pacific/

There's so much more. Indeed, I could write a book about the changes I've seen. Our roots are deep and vast much like a giant kelp forest moving with the currents. It  has been a long and winding journey — and, we could not have done it without you! I am, personally, grateful and thankful for every one of you, many of whom continue to ride the seas with us, four decades later! THANK YOU!

SHEARWATER JOURNEYS 2015 SCHEDULE OF TRIPS

CELEBRATE WITH US 40 YEARS!

MONTEREY BAY TRIPS:

JULY 31; AUGUST 7, 21; SEPTEMBER 5, 8, 0, 1O, 11, 13, 16, 25, 26, 27; OCTOBER 3, 10.

ALBACORE: OFFSHORE MONTEREY: SEPTEMBER 

HALF MOON BAY TRIPS: 

AUGUST 2, 8, 16; SEPTEMBER 6, 15; OCTOBER 4, 11.

FARALLON ISLANDS:

AUGUST 9: TUFTED PUFFINS

& BREEDING SEABIRDS - limited spaces available

OCTOBER 18: GREAT WHITE SHARKS & SEABIRDS

BODEGA BAY: 

SEPTEMBER 18: CORDELL BANK & BODEGA CANYON

DISCOUNTS: To celebrate our 40th year, we are offering a $40 discount on all Monterey Bay trips, except the Albacore trip, September 12th. We offer a $20 discount on our Half Moon Bay, Bodega Bay and Farallon Islands trips. All discounted trips are non-refundable, unless weathered out (unlikely) and must be postmarked by July 1. Act now!

LEADERS: Three to five friendly leaders, sometimes more, will accompany each trip to assist in searching for and pointing out seabirds. Most of our leaders have worldwide experience with seabirds. Some leaders have been leading for with us four decades! All leaders are volunteers. 

TRIP REPORTS: We track county lines and write eBird checklists for all of our trips. Most of our trips cover more than one county. For past trip reports including images and complete checklists, click here.

August 2nd has proved to be an auspicious date for HAWAIIAN PETREL: August 2, 2014 at Half Moon Bay, this petrel flew right up our wake only a few miles out of the harbor. August 2, 2013 at Monterey Bay, I spotted this petrel without bins, flying alongside our vessel with a load of Sooty Shearwaters only 8 miles off Point Pinos! Most of the Hawaiian Petrels that I've seen in central California have been less than 10 miles offshore, including three in one day out of Fort Bragg. Where will you be on August 2, 2015?

For me, there has never, ever been a dull moment. Never. If you sense a deep and abiding love of seabirds and marine mammals — 

Shearwaters Forever,

Debi Shearwater

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

BONDED BY BIRDING: GLOBAL BIG DAY: MAY 9 2015

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has launched a GLOBAL BIG DAY for MAY 9, 2015, inviting everyone around the world to participate. It is very simple: submit your eBird checklists to eBird for on this day. You can fund raise, or donate funds yourself. Folks who submit 5 checklists will be entered in a contest to win a free pair of Zeiss binoculars. 

WILL YOU HELP?

I shall be counting birds in my home county, SAN BENITO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, hoping for a BIG DAY! 

Along with my team, I already hold the Big Day record of 155 species of birds for April 29, 2911. 

In this drought-ridden year, it will be tough to top 2011. 

I hope you'll do a Big Day, or submit a checklist, even from your own yard on May 9th.

Just imagine how many of us around the globe will be bonded in birding!

BIRDING ON THE FAULTLINES,

Debi

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

NESTING BALD EAGLE PAIR in SAN BENITO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

MY HEART CARTWHEELS

Just about thirty days ago I arrived home from three months in the Southern Hemisphere. First thing I did was head to the BALD EAGLE NEST to check up on "Bob & Bernadette," as I named this pair. B & B were the first pair of Bald Eagles to nest in San Benito County, beginning in 2004. In the dimming evening light, I struggled to "see" the nest. Much had changed since my departure last October. Hillsides were green instead of brown, for one thing! However, I could not find the nest — and, the horror finally struck me — the 11 year old nest had become too heavy and the branches finally gave way! Last year, we estimated that the nest was 18 to 20 feet across and probably 10 feet deep. Each year, I've watched as B & B rebuilt the nest. They begin doing this in late October. So, when I left the country, all was well with the nest fully completed for (hopefully) another successful season.

Bob and Bernadette are considered an "advanced" couple  — tending the same nest for nearly 8 months of the year, every year steadily for 11 years. They lay eggs earlier than most Bald Eagles, even at this latitude. Consequently, the young hatch earlier. I

n all years, save one, they have managed to fledge not one, but two young. To date, they have successfully raised some twenty Bald Eaglets! This, in spite of the persistent drought. One reason for their great success is that they primarily rely on ground squirrels for food. (I confirmed this by watching for many hours). They do not rely on waterfowl, nor fish. 

The nest is on private property and the owners are well aware of it. A handful birders and locals know about the nest and have been extremely guarded about revealing the location. I cannot thank everyone enough for this. Some Bald Eagles are greatly disturbed by people and abandoned their nest. A big part of B & B's success depends on you, too. You know who you are.

For nearly three weeks, I've had a case of "empty nest" syndrome, missing them more than I thought possible. They were such a regular part of my life. I would see a Bald Eagle, and think that is was "Bob" or "Bernadette" — and, I was pretty sure. Like longing for a lost love, I'd drive through their valley home. Once I saw Bob sitting in a large tree, clutching a dead ground squirrel for half an hour. This raised my curiosity. Was he bringing food to Bernadette? There was no doubt in my mind that they would carry on, building a new nest, either this year, or next. However, the decades' long nest was so convenient for watching and such a part of my life. 

Last night I made the drive once again, hoping against hope. I was elated to see BERNADETTE ON A NEW NEST! My heart did cartwheels! The new nest is just about in the same tree, but is only about one fifth the size of the old, crashed nest. There is another nest in the tree. Perhaps, they built it first. From what I could tell, she appeared to be sitting on egg(s). She looked as though her head was tucked in and she was sleeping. I'm crossing my fingers on this and will return to check on things — practically, daily. (Okay, I get obsessed with them). My notes say that they were incubating on 20 February in 2013. So, timing is right. Stay tuned —

Many, many thanks to all who guard this nest! 

Happy Trails,

Debi Shearwater

HOLY MACKEREL: MONTEREY BAY PELAGIC SEABIRD TRIP, SEPTEMBER 5, 2014

Monterey Bay seabirds put on a spectacular show on Shearwater Journeys's September 5, 2014 pelagic trip. Within thirty minutes of departing the dock, we were surrounded by tens of thousands of shearwaters and feeding whales! 

Highlights included: PACIFIC MACKEREL chasing anchovies to the surface of the sea where shearwaters were snatching them up! Important seabirds we observed included: six species of shearwaters: 27,000 SOOTY SHEARWATERS; 250 PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS; 1200 BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATERS; 6 BULLER'S SHEARWATERS and 1 FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER; all three species of jaegers: POMARINE, PARASTIC and LONG-TAILED JAEGER; SOUTH POLAR SKUA; a brilliant and complete selection of rocky shorebirds on the Coast Guard Jetty: 2 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS, 1 WANDERING TATTLER, 7 BLACK TURNSTONES and 6 SURFBIRDS; a springing of COMMON TERNS; nursery schools of vocalizing father/chick pairs of COMMON MURRES,  the last of the PIGEON GUILLEMOTS, a few RHINOCEROS AUKLETS and tiny handful of CASSIN'S AUKLETS. The HUMPBACK WHALES continue to put on quite a show with lunge-feeding at the surface. Two different herds of dolphins included LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHINS and SHORT-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHINS. Top all of this off with some very fine weather and we can all agree it was a completely outstanding day at sea on Monterey Bay!

Within thirty minutes of leaving the harbor, we found ourselves inspecting thousands and thousands of shearwaters sitting in rafts at sea, so stuffed with food that they did not want to fly. Amongst these rafts, I found 2 leucistic Black-vented Shearwaters and one leucistic Sooty Shearwater. ELEGANT TERNS were soaring ultra high in the sky, probably searching for food. Then, we saw shearwaters diving and fish "breezing" across the top of the sea! These anchovies were being pursued from below by the predatory mackerel! Amongst these rafts of shearwaters, leader Rick Fournier spotted a MANX SHEARWATER! Everyone on the boat, including many photographers, was able to get great views of this rarely spotted Pacific shearwater. In fact, it was one of the best views I've had in many years. We continued searching the shearwater flocks and then headed north to Santa Cruz County and the old haunts of storm-petrel flocks. A couple single BLACK STORM-PETRELS made passes at the boat. Jaegers and the SOUTH POLAR SKUA flew by, as well as BULLER'S SHEARWATERS. We stopped and I dumped out some menhaden oil, and leader Jennifer Green spotted a FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER soaring over the slick. A few minutes later, it was spotted sitting in a flock of a dozen or so PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS. 

Our very capable captain, "Tinker," above, catching a MACKEREL for us to see.

Here is a video of PACIFIC MACKEREL at the MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM. 

Seabirds are not evenly distributed at sea. They are found in patches — wherever the food is located!

As everyone has heard me say, "It's all about food!"

We love to honor celebrations at sea on our pelagic trips. 

This beautiful couple, Christine Miller and Chantel Fletcher celebrated their 13th Anniversary together!

Many thanks to all of the folks who joined our trip from near and far, including Finland and England. Many thanks to Wally & Lois Goldfrank and their friends in the Santa Cruz Bird Club! 

The leaders on this trip were: Jennifer Green, Nick Levendosky, Rick Fournier and Debi Shearwater.

THE COMPLETE SPECIES LIST FOR SHEARWATER JOURNEYS'S MONTEREY BAY SEPTEMBER 5, 2014 PELAGIC SEABIRDING TRIP FOLLOWS:

MONTEREY/SANTA CRUZ COUNTIES

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 6/13

NORTHERN FULMAR- 0/1

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 157/159

*FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 0/1

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 2/4

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 26,000/100

*MANX SHEARWATER- 3/0

BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER- 1200/0

BLACK STORM-PETREL- 0/3

BROWN PELICAN- +

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- +

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 2/0

BLACK OYSTERCATCHER- 2/0

WANDERING TATTLER- 1/0

BLACK TURNSTONE- 7/0

SURFBIRD- 6/0

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 29/17

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 0/1

POMARINE JAEGER- 1/2

POMARINE/PARASITIC- 1

PARASITIC JAEAGER- 6/3

LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 0/2

HEERMANN'S GULL- +

CALIFORNIA GULL- +

WESTERN GULL- +

ELEGANT TERN- 120/12

COMMON TERN- 8/6

COMMON MURRE- 225/25

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 2/0

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 4/8

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 4/8

SEA OTTER- 8

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 130

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 1

HARBOR SEAL- 4

HUMPBACK WHALE- 25

SHORT-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHIN- 25

LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHIN- 40, separate herds

OCEAN SUNFISH- 1

WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF 11 DAYS OF TRIPS IN A ROW!

JUMP ON BOARD with SHEARWATER JOURNEYS!

DEBI SHEARWATER

SILVER DAY AT SEA: MONTEREY BAY AUGUST 22, 2014

Shearwater Journeys's Monterey seabirding trip, August 22, 2014 began in the morning with breaching HUMPBACK WHALES, and ended late afternoon with more of the same. We headed south to SOBERANES CANYON and southwest offshore which turned out to be a great decision. There was a light swell and breeze from the south. We encountered greasy, flat, silver seas offshore which made spotting wildlife easy. Highlights included: BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATERS, including one leucistic individual; the first BULLER'S SHEARWATERS for Monterey this fall; close up views of SCRIPPS'S MURRELET; first of fall ARCTIC & COMMON TERNS; spectacular encounters with PARASITIC JAEGERS STEALING FISH FROM SABINE'S GULL; and amazing moments with OCEAN SUNFISH (Mola mola) SUCKING IN BY-THE-WIND-SAILORS! The HUMPBACK WHALE show continues, as do the RISSO'S DOLPHINS.

All images by Beth Hamel.

Please do not use without permission.

BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON fishing at the dock in the morning.

A Category I hurricane off Baja produced a light swell and breeze from the south. So, I decided to head southwest hoping that this would influence seabirds to move in our direction. That seems to have happened, and I'm betting this will continue over the coming days. The sea surface temperatures (SST's) ranged from 61 to a hot 65 F throughout the day!

I spotted a MINKE WHALE right off Point Pinos, but this HUMPBACK WHALE, above, was the first whale that everyone on board observed.

Off Asilomar Beach, we encountered the a large flock of BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATERS. 

We carefully look through these flocks for any "odd" shearwaters.

These are inshore shearwaters, dwelling mostly on the Continental Shelf. 

I spotted this LEUCISTIC BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER, above and below!

We had ample time to study it while it was sitting on the water in the flock, and once it flew. A fast fly-by of such a shearwater can cause a lot of confusion. In the past, I've seen completely white Black-vented Shearwaters. Actually, this individual is in the flock image, above. Can you find it?

Continuing south to Carmel Bay, we had views of the great Crocker Mansion, below.

A flock of migrating DOWITCHERS passed us by as we headed offshore.

Offshore, we encountered a lot of marine life, including this flock of RED PHALAROPES. 

At this time of year, Red Phalaropes are more commonly found offshore, while Red-necked Phalaropes are found inshore. During winter storms, Red Phalaropes can be blown to shore, and "wreck" on beaches.

As reported previously, we continue to encounter high numbers of OCEAN SUNFISH, Mola Mola.

We witnessed a rare sighting: the Ocean Sunfish sucking in BY-THE-WIND SAILORS! Ocean Sunfish eat jellies, but this is the first time I've seen them eating the Sailors!

They sucked them in like a vacuum cleaner!

OCEAN SUNFISH are the heaviest of the bony fishes, weighing up to 5,000 pounds. 

They are covered with parasites and often "invite" gulls to pick on these, as seen below. 

See more about OCEAN SUNFISH with images, at Jackie Sones's blog, here.

A RISSO'S DOLPHIN, below, with an oddly folded dorsal fin caused me to take a second look. This individual was traveling with other Risso's Dolphins. Notice the scars on the body. 

See Jackie Sones's Risso's Dolphin images from this day, here. 

BULLER'S SHEARWATERS put on a good show. 

Notice the greasy, glassy-smooth, silver seas! 

Both COMMON & ARCTIC TERNS passed us in small flocks, offshore. A few LONG-TAILED JAEGERS were chasing the terns. COMMON TERN, below.

In the image below, four PARASITIC JAEGERS chased a SABINE'S GULL!

Much screaming and vocalizing was going on between the jaegers and gull!

One of the PARASITIC JAEGERS closes in on the SABINE'S GULL!

Finally, the SABINE'S GULL DROPS ITS FISH & THE PARASITIC JAEGER SNAPS IT UP MID-AIR!

Click on the image: that's the fish midway between the two birds! 

The word, "jaeger" means "hunter."

PARASITIC JAEGER, above. 

POMARINE JAEGER, above. 

 One SCRIPPS'S MURRELET was found. This individual gave us considerable debate as to the identification. While the posture is more like Craveri's Murrelet, the rounded tail and short, thick bill are good field marks for Scripps's Murrelet. The bird appeared blacker, but I attribute that to the brighter sunlight (most days are quite gray). Also, the white chin and throat point more toward Scripps's Murrelet. Murrelet experts, especially Todd McGrath states that the white chin is not the best field mark and that he has never seen a Craver's Murrelet with a white chin. (He's also looked at specimens at the San Diego Natural History Museum. No Craveri's Murrelets show white chins). We were, all, very happy to have such wonderful views of this tiny alcid from the south.
More Scripp's Murrelet images from this day, here. 

This beautiful day ended with a distant breaching HUMPBACK WHALE! 

We stayed out a little bit longer, owing to such great encounters with marine life!

Truly, a SILVER DAY AT SEA!

Many thanks to all of the folks who joined us, from near and far. 

The leaders on this day were: Scott Terrill, Rick Fournier, Jennifer Green, Debi Shearwater.

THE COMPLETE SPECIES LIST FOR SHEARWATER JOURNEYS'S AUGUST 22, 2014 MONTEREY BAY PELAGIC TRIP FOLLOWS:

ALL SIGHTINGS FOR MONTEREY COUNTY:

BLAC-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 38

NORTHERN FULMAR- 2

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 355

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 9

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 520

BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER- 415

ASHY STORM-PETREL- 2

BROWN PELICAN- 17

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 705

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- 4

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 20

BLACK TURNSTONE- 2

DOWITCHER SP.- 35

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 135

RED PHALAROPE- 18

POMARINE JAEGER- 1

PARASITIC JAEGER- 9

LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 8

HEERMANN'S GULL- 60

CALIFORNIA GULL- 15

WESTERN GULL- 485

SABINE'S GULL- 24

ELEGANT TERN- 110

COMMON TERN- 14

COMMON/ARCTIC TERN- 3

ARCTIC TERN- 5

CASPIAN TERN- 1

COMMON MURRE- 235

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 3

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 3

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 42

SEA OTTER- 4

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 200

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 18

HARBOR SEAL- 12

MINKE WHALE- 1

HUMPBACK WHALE- 34 

SHORT-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHIN- 8

RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 56

DALL'S PORPOISE- 10

OCEAN SUNFISH- 27

BY-THE-WIND-SAILOR- ++

EGG YOLK JELLY- 2

SEA NETTLE- 1

MONTEREY SEABIRDS

with

SHEARWATER JOURNEYS

Our upcoming Monterey Seabird Trips with leaders:

SEP. 5: Rick Fournier, Nick Levendosky, Jennifer Green

SEP. 6: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill

SEP. 9: Tom Johnson, Rick Fournier

SEP. 10: Tom Johnson

SEP. 11: Jennifer Green

SEP. 12: Tim Miller, Dena Spatz

SEP. 13: ALBACORE TRIP: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Jennifer Green

SEP. 14: Clay Kempf

*SEP. 25: Jon Dunn, Nick Levendosky, Jim Danzenbaker

*SEP. 26: Kenn & Kimberly Kaufman, Scott & Linda Terrill

*SEP. 27: Scott & Linda Terrill, Jim Danzenbaker, Jennifer Green

*SEP. 28: Rick Fournier, Marissa Ortega-Welch, Courtenay Ray

OCT. 4: Nick Levendosky, Jennifer Green

OCT. 11: Nick Levendosky, Rich Fournier

* These trips are operated in association with the Monterey Bay Birding Festival. 

Popular leaders, Scott & Linda Terrill will present a seabird workshop, on Thursday, September 25 from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

KENN KAUFMAN will present the keynote talk on Saturday, September 27 at 7 p.m.

Sign up for the pelagic trips with Shearwater Journeys, directly. 

The ALBACORE TRIP, SEP. 13, departs from Monterey at 5:30 a.m. and returns at 5:30 p.m. and goes far offshore in search of rare seabirds!

Compliment your Monterey trip with a HALF MOON BAY pelagic trip (next one: SEP. 7), or jump on board one of our BODEGA BAY (SEP. 1 & 19) trips, especially if you are looking for storm-petrels! 

SILVER DAYS AT SEA FOREVER,

DEBI SHEARWATER

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com