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

THE MIXING ZONE: HALF MOON BAY PELAGIC TRIP REPORT

AUGUST 13, 2016

Shearwater Journeys' August 13, 2016 pelagic trip departing from Pillar Point, Half Moon Bay was simply put— over the top — with very exciting seabirds, whales and dolphins. Highlights included: the NORTHERN GANNET at Pillar Point; a BROWN BOOBY on a rusting barrel offshore; a GRAND SLAM: POMARINE, PARASITIC, LONG-TAILED JAEGERS & SOUTH POLAR SKUA; SABINE'S GULLS; ARCTIC TERNS; and SCRIPPS'S & CRAVERI'S MURRELETS; ASHY, WILSON'S and FORK-TAILED STORM-PETRELS. Cetacean highlights included: 11 BLUE WHALES, 4 FIN WHALES, 120 HUMPBACK WHALES; 350 PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHINS and 4 NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHINS.

The sea surface temperature chart showed a messy area of mixing temperatures near the weather buoy. Indeed, we tracked temperatures throughout the day as they rose from 54 F to 59.45 F. The "mixing zone" turned out to be loaded with feeding seabirds and marine mammals. 

Chart used by permission of Terrafin, a service that I subscribe to.

SCRIPPS'S MURRELET, above, was one of two that we observed. 

Two CRAVERI'S MURRELETS popped off the water almost immediately as they were called out. They did what so many murrelets do: fly over the edge of the Earth! 

At least a few lucky and fast birders saw and photographed them. 

The dusky wing-linings are a definitive ID characteristic.

An adult BROWN BOOBY was sitting on a rusty barrel well offshore.

Brown Boobies have not been as common this season as last year.

Some high flying folks were on board. 

OLAF DANIELSON who is doing a BIG YEAR, above with L.

CHRISTIAN HAGENLOCHER, who is also doing a BIG YEAR, above with good friend, Casey.

This was the first trip of the season to hit a GRAND SLAM:

POMARINE, PARASITIC (above), & LONG-TAILED JAEGERS

& 

SOUTH POLAR SKUA

A POMARINE (right) and PARASITIC JAEGER (left).

A great group of fun, young birders on board!

Many thanks to all of the fun participants who joined us from near and far for this almost 12 hour pelagic trip. This was an excellent day at sea for both seabirds and marine mammals. 

It takes a team to make such a day. Leaders on this trip included: PETER PYLE, STEVE TUCKER, JIM HOLMES, WILL BROOKS, and DEBI SHEARWATER. This trip was submitted to eBird following pelagic eBird protocol. 

THE COMPLETE SPECIES LIST FOR SHEARWATER JOURNEYS'

AUGUST 13, 2016 HALF MOON BAY PELAGIC TRIP FOLLOWS:

SAN MATEO/SAN FRANCISCO COUNTIES:

COMMON LOON- 4/0

WESTERN GREBE- 2/0

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 20/40

NORTHERN/PACIFIC FULMAR- 0/5

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 75/150

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 2,000/250

WILSON'S STORM-PETREL- 1/0

ASHY STORM-PETREL- 10/20

FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL- 1/1

BROWN BOOBY- 0/1

NORTHERN GANNET- 1/0

BROWN PELICAN- 30/0

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 15/0

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- 2/0

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 2/0

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 80/30

RED PHALAROPE- 10/2

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 0/1

POLMARINE JAEGER- 0/1

PARASITIC JAEGER- 1/1

LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 0/3

HERRMANN'S GULL- 10/0

CALIFORNIA GULL- 10/8

WESTERN GULL- 200/25

SABINE'S GULL- 0/12

COMMON TERN- 0/1

ARCTIC TERN- 0/3

COMMON MURRE- 400/40

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 7/0

SCRIPPS'S MURRELET- 2/0

CRAVERI'S MURRELET- 1/2

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 450/450

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 7/2

BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD- 0/1, offshore

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 35

STELLER'S SEA LION- 2

NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL- 3

MINKE WHALE- 1

BLUE WHALE- 11

FIN WHALE- 4

HUMPBACK WHALE- 120

NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHIN- 4

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 350

HARBOR PORPOISE- 20

UNIDENTIFIED CETACEAN-1 (thought to be a large dolphin, best left unidentified)

OCEAN SUNFISH- 4

UPCOMING TRIPS DEPARTING FROM HALF MOON BAY

AUGUST 19

SEPTEMBER 4, 16, 18

OCTOBER 2, 9

UPCOMING TRIPS DEPARTING FROM MONTEREY BAY

AUGUST 26

SEPTEMBER 3, 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 15, 23, 24, 25

OCTOBER 1, 8, 16

GREAT TIME TO HEAD OFFSHORE!

LIVING THE SALT LIFE,

Debi Shearwater

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

Seabird images by Nathan Goldberg

BEAT THE HEAT: SAVOR A SALTY BREEZE!

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER flying up the wake of the vessel.

Howdy, Birders,

Take a break from the sweltering heat and chill out on a pelagic trip! Shearwater Journeys’ first pelagic trips are coming up very soon. We could not be more excited to get out there with you! Over 65,000 birders and marine enthusiasts have participated on thousands of Shearwater Journeys’ trips over the past 40 years. 

Below, please find out full program including our stellar line up of leaders. All of our trips have spaces available.

FARALLON ISLANDS: 

AUGUST 7: Gerry McChesney, Mary Gustafson, John Garrett, Debi Shearwater

AUGUST 14: Gerry McChesney, Will Brooks, John Garrett, Debi Shearwater

Departs from Sausalito at 7:30 am on the beautiful catamaran, Outer Limits. Sail under the Golden Gate Bridge! 100% success rate on finding Tufted Puffins, the target bird for the day. Last year, we also saw the Northern Gannet, Brown and Blue-footed Boobies!

HALF MOON BAY TRIPS:

AUGUST 6: Peter Pyle, Mary Gustafson, Will Brooks, Steve Hampton, Debi Shearwater

AUGUST 13: Peter Pyle, Steve Tucker, Jim Holmes, Debi Shearwater

AUGUST 19: Nick Levendosky, Steve Tucker, Christian Schwarz, Debi Shearwater

SEPTEMBER 4: Mary Gustafson, Steve Hampton, Russ Bradley, Debi Shearwater

SEPTEMBER 16: Steve Tucker, Jim Holmes, Steve Hampton, Abe Borker, Debi Shearwater

SEPTEMBER 18: Jim Holmes, Alex Rinkert, Steve Hampton, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Debi Shearwater

OCTOBER 2: Steve Tucker, Jim Holmes, Steve Hampton, Debi Shearwater

OCTOBER 9: Tim Miller, Nick Levendosky Abe Borker, Tim Miller, Steve Hampton, Debi Shearwater

MONTEREY BAY TRIPS:

JULY 29: Nick Levendosky, Will Brooks, Christian Schwarz, Alex Rinkert, Debi Shearwater

AUGUST 26: Nick Levendosky, Alex Rinkert, Scott Terrill, Debi Shearwater

SEPTEMBER 3: Nick Levendosky, Mary Gustafson, Debi Shearwater

SEPTEMBER 7: Mary Gustafson, Christian Schwarz, Debi Shearwater

SEPTEMBER 8: Scott Terrill, Christian Schwarz, Mary Gustafson, Debi Shearwater (limited spaces available)

SEPTEMBER 9: Mary Gustafson, Debi Shearwater ** This trip spends time in Santa Cruz County.

SEPTEMBER 10: ALBACORE GROUNDS: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Mary Gustafson, Nick Levendosky, Alex Rinkert, Debi Shearwater (4 spaces available)

SEPTEMBER 11: Mary Gustafson, Debi Shearwater

SEPTEMBER 14, Rob Fowler, Debi Shearwater (newly added trip)

SEPTEMBER 15: Nick Levendosky, Jim Holmes, Debi Shearwater (limited spaces available)

SEPTEMBER 23: Nick Levendosky, Christian Schwarz, Debi Shearwater

SEPTEMBER 24: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Abe Borker, Dena Spatz, Alex Rinkert, Tim Miller, Debi Shearwater

SEPTEMBER 25: Abe Borker, Nick Levendosky, Tim Miller, Debi Shearwater

OCTOBER 1: Jim Holmes, Nick Levendosky, Christian Schwarz, Alex Rinkert, Debi Shearwater

OCTOBER 2: Alex Rinkert, Tim Miller, Christian Schwarz, Debi Shearwater

OCTOBER 16: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Nick Levendosky, Alex Rinkert, Debi Shearwater

Monterey trips meet at 7 am at Chris’ Fishing on Fisherman’s Wharf, Monterey and return about 3 pm. The Albacore trip meets at 5:15 am and returns at 5:30 pm at Chris’ Fishing on Fisherman’s Wharf, Monterey. Half Moon Bay trips meet at 7 am at H dock, Johnson Pier at Pillar Point, Half Moon Bay, El Granada and return between 4-6 pm. 

Note that additional leaders may be added to trips. Leaders may change without notice. All leaders are volunteers who absolutely love leading trips— that’s one reason why we have so many leaders on board. We will be tracking county lines and following eBird pelagic protocol for checklists. 

The latest sea surface temperatures are showing lots of cold and very cold water— and, we know what that means— food!! La Nina conditions are favored to develop as early as August - October. 

We’ve been out there in the wild blue through four decades of El Nino’s and La Nina’s— every single year has been different. Let’s see what is in store for this fall season! 

Advance reservations are highly recommended. Contact: debi@shearwaterjourneys.com. 

Living the Salt Life,

Debi Shearwater

HUMPBACK WHALE TAIL-SLPPING off Moss Landing, Monterey Bay.

Images, copyright, Beth Hamel. Please ask for permission to use.

DEBRA SHEARWATER

Shearwater Journeys, Inc.

PO Box 190

Hollister, CA 95024

831.637.8527

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

www.shearwaterjourneys.com

www.shearwaterjourneys.blogspot.com

IMAGES OF THE DAY BY STEVE TUCKER: AUGUST 16, 2015 HALF MOON BAY

Shearwater Journeys' leader, Steve Tucker, shot some beautiful images on our 

August 16, 2015 seabird trip departing from Half Moon Bay. 

Parties of PIGEON GUILLEMOTS inside the harbor.

They nest in the rocky crevices of the jetties.

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES often fly up the wake of the boat.

A MACKEREL FEEDING FRENZY:

CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS, PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS,

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES

all joining in the feast!

We encountered scattered storm-petrels.

ASHY STORM-PETREL, above.

WILSON'S STORM-PETREL, below.

Returning to the harbor.

STREAMING SOOTY SHEARWATERS!

UPCOMING PELAGIC TRIPS:

HALF MOON BAY: SEP 6 (2 openings), SEP 20

HALF MOON BAY: OCT 4 & 11

MONTEREY BAY: SEP 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 25, 26, 27

MONTEREY BAY: OCT 3 & 11

FARALLON ISLANDS GREAT WHITE SHARK: OCT 18

SEE YOU OUT THERE!

LIVING THE SALT LIFE,

Debi Shearwater

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

All images, copyright, Steve Tucker
Please do not use without permission

IMAGES OF THE DAY BY SCOTT & LINDA TERRILL: AUGUST 16, 2015 HALF MOON BAY

Please enjoy these seabird images by popular leaders, Scott & Linda Terrill from Shearwater Journeys' 

August 16, 2015 Half Moon Bay pelagic trip. 

Over 1200 ELEGANT TERNS lined the jetties!

We see all three species of cormorants right in the harbor.

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, above. 

Offshore, we encountered a massive herd of CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS chasing MACKEREL.

Hundreds of PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS, above, were gorging opportunistically on the catch. 

Nature's own chumming machine, the California Sea Lion herd, cranked out some fish for the BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS, above. 

Four STELLER'S SEA LIONS were lazing on this buoy.

STREAMING SOOTY SHEARWATERS and a halibut fishing vessel built in 1908.

Jennifer & Jay celebrate her birthday on Shearwater Journeys' pelagic trip.

She made her first trip with us 30 years ago!

Hope to see you out there!

Two spaces have opened up on our next HALF MOON BAY TRIP:

SEPTEMBER 6.

CONTACT DEBI: debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

Living the Salt Live,

Debi Shearwater

All images, Copyright, Scott & Linda Terrill

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.

HALF MOON BAY PELAGIC TRIP: AUGUST 16, 2015 TRIP REPORT

Howdy, Seabirders,

This is a trip report for Shearwater Journeys' pelagic trip departing from Half Moon Bay, August 16, 2015, offshore to the Continental Shelf and Pioneer Canyon. Highlights included: TEN SPECIES OF TUBENOSES: BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS; NORTHERN FULMAR; SOOTY, PINK-FOOTED, FLESH-FOOTED (first of the season), and BULLER'S SHEARWATERS; WILSON'S, FORK-TAILED, ASHY, and BLACK STORM-PETRELS; first of the season LONG-TAILED JAEGER; and TUFTED PUFFIN. It was a very seabird-filled day, from start to finish, with only one lull in the 11 hours we were at sea. A good selection of marine mammals included: HUMPBACK WHALE, RISSO'S and PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHINS, HARBOR PORPOISE, CALIFORNIA and STELLER'S SEA LIONS and HARBOR SEAL. Fish included one, now rarely seen, BLUE SHARK, loads of OCEAN SUNFISH and several LIZARDFISH. Gigantic shoals of ANCHOVIES.

Although there is a lot of warm water out there, we still had plenty of cold water nearshore. As we departed the harbor area, thousands and thousands — some 90,000 by our count — of SOOTY SHEARWATERS were flying as a long train. Along with four very close-to-shore HUMPBACK WHALES, they were feeding on ANCHOVIES. Terrafin chart, above, used with permission. Do not reproduce. 

From the dock, we wend our way along several jetties in the harbor overflowing with birds. 

BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS, above, nest in the harbor, along with PIGEON GUILLEMOTS. 

Image, copyright, Linda Terrill.

SCHOOLING ANCHOVIES- THE STUFF OF LIFE!

There are some who are calling this the biggest ANCHOVY year of all time. Great to see so many schooling fish as the central California population crashed in 2008. Great comeback!

Image, copyright, Tim Zoliniak

 

CALIFORNIA LIZARDFISH are still around, and we caught a few of these warm water fish. 

Image, copyright, Will Brooks.

  A flock of PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS (left) had one FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER (right) amongst them in San Mateo County. Later, we found another Flesh-footed Shearwater for San Francisco County. 

Image, copyright, Will Brooks.

Before we even reached the edge of the Continental Shelf, we encountered the first of a handful of ASHY STORM-PETRELS. Soon, other storm-petrels joined the fray. 

Image, copyright, Will Brooks.

 BLACK STORM-PETREL, above, made some very close passes in our wake.

Image, copyright, Will Brooks.

 WILSON'S STORM-PETREL, above, and FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL also showed well. Image, copyright, Will Brooks.

 ASHY STORM-PETREL and NORTHERN/PACIFIC FULMAR, above. 

Image, copyright, Will Brooks.

Many thanks to all of the birders who joined us! I thank the parents who brought their young birders, and one "birthday girl" who celebrated her birthday in this special way! This young lady did her first pelagic trip 25 years ago. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNIFER TERRILL!

The leaders on this trip were: Todd McGrath, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Steve Tucker, Will Brooks, Al De Martini, and Debi Shearwater. 

THE COMPLETE SPECIES LIST FOR SHEARWATER JOURNEYS' AUGUST 16, 2015 TRIP FOLLOWS and is listed by counties; SAN MATEO/SAN FRANCISCO/TOTAL

WESTERN GREBE- 3/0/3

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 16/60/75

NORTHERN FULMAR- 18/10/28

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 125/600/725

*FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 1/1/2

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 4/1/5

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 99,415/32/99,560

WILSON'S STORM-PETREL- 3/11/14

FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL- 1/3/4

ASHY STORM-PETREL-8/9/17

BLACK STORM-PETREL-1/8/9

BROWN PELICAN- 401/0/401

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 33/1/34

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- 65/0/65

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 9/0/9

SURF SCOTER- 15/0/15

WESTERN SANDPIPER- 23/0/23

SANDERLING- 20/0/20

BLACK OYSTERCATCHER- 2/0/2

WANDERING TATTLER- 1/0/1

BLACK TURNSTONE- 13/1/14

SURFBIRD- 2/0/2

SEMIPALMATED PLOVER- 1/0/1

SPOTTED SANDPIPER- 1/0/1

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 54/6/60

RED PHALAROPE- 4/0/4

POMARINE JAEGER- 3/0/3

LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 1/0/1

HEERMANN'S GULL- 740/0/740

CALIFORNIA GULL- 6/2/8

WESTERN GULL- 140/35/175

GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL- 1/0/1

ELEGANT TERN- 1280/0/1280

CASPIAN TERN- 5/0/5

COMMON MURRE- 175/34/209

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 27/0/27

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 7/4/11

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 11/4/15

TUFTED PUFFIN- 0/1/1

GREAT BLUE HERON- 2/0/2

BELTED KINGFISHER- 2/0/2

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 550

STELLER'S SEA LION- 7

HARBOR SEAL- 8

RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 6

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 20

HARBOR PORPOISE- 9

OCEAN SUNFISH-35

BLUE SHARK- 1

CALIFORNIA LIZARDFISH- 3, caught

ANCHOVY- verylarge schools

Various jellies, especially along breaks

Returning to the harbor, we pass alongside another buoy that offers a nice study of both 

CALIFORNIA and STELLER'S SEA LIONS.

Image, copyright, Linda Terrill. 

 UPCOMING TRIPS FROM HALF MOON BAY:

SEPTEMBER 6 (4 spaces available-email Debi)

SEPTEMBER 15 (2 spaces available-email Debi)

SEPTEMBER 20

OCTOBER 4

OCTOBER 11

Hope to see you out there!

Living the Salt Life,

Debi Shearwater

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com