MONTEREY SEABIRDS ROCK ON: SEPTEMBER 5, 2015

Monterey Bay seabirds and the humpback whales at Moss Landing put on a great show for our September 5, 2015 pelagic trip. Shearwater Journeys' trip headed into Santa Cruz County where many trips do not venture and found some great birds! Highlights included a JAEGER GRAND SLAM: POMARINE, PARASITIC, LONG-TAILED & SOUTH POLAR SKUA; EIGHT SPECIES OF TUBENOSES; COMMON TERNS; SABINE'S GULLS; and 52 HUMPBACK WHALES!

 SUNRISE at the Monterey Bay harbor.

 A female SEA OTTER, eating a clam breakfast.

We know she is a female because her nose is red.

Males bite the females on the nose when mating. 

 A COMMON MURRE preens in the harbor. 

It is quite unusual to see murres in the harbor and standing on jetties. 

There has been a huge die-off of murres, causes unknown, so far.

 ELEGANT TERN, one of the inshore species of birds that we search for. 

A father murre with his chick.

We saw huge nursery schools on the Santa Cruz side of the bay, as is common at this time of year. 

 PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER, above. 

 ELEGANT TERNS are followed by their begging chicks all the way from Southern California where they nested this year. 

 LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHINS put on a show. 

 In total, we saw some 52 HUMPBACK WHALES, but this whale above, kept surfacing in a huge kelp patty. That's kelp hanging off the tail flukes!

 COMMON TERNS have been relatively scarce this season. 

So, it was great to see this one, above. 

They must be migrating further offshore this year. 

 BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS numbers usually drop off during September, 

but we had a good show with 31.

Many seabirds fly right up the wake. 

NORTHERN/PACIFIC FULMAR, above and below. 

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS are great followers at sea.

Give that RED PHALAROPE a surfboard!

 We had some great comparison moments of both RED-NECKED, lower left, and RED PHALAROPES, upper right. 

A single SOUTH POLAR SKUA put on a great show! 

The ultimate bully of the sea, SOUTH POLAR SKUAS have been thin this year. 

 The dainty and beautiful, SABINE'S GULL. 

 SOUTH POLAR SKUA, cruising around our boat.

 POMARINE JAEGER harassing gulls. 

 We had a JAEGER GRAND SLAM: POMARINE, PARASITIC & LONG-TAILED!

 Jaegers will also chase COMMON TERNS. 

 BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS flying effortlessly using dynamic soaring. 

 PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER, showing its pink feet!

 Heading off to Santa Cruz County.

Many thanks to all of the participants who joined us from near and far —birders from Germany, Australia, England who ticked 10-15 life birds — and, from Lois Goldfrank, leader of the Santa Cruz birders who ticked some new county birds and even a life bird, or two. It was a banner day for County Birder! Even though the marine forecast was not the best, we made a good trip out of it by heading straight to Moss Landing where the HUMPBACK WHALE SHOW and STREAMING SOOTY SHEARWATERS, continue. After that, we followed the 50 - 100 fathom line north into Santa Cruz County, hiding in the lee of the Santa Cruz Mountains for protection from the northwest wind. All in all a great day! 

It takes a team to pull off such a great day. Leaders on this day were: TIM MILLER, CLAY KEMPF, NICK LEVENDOSKY, JENNIFER GREEN, MEL PRESTON, ALEX RINKERT, DEBI SHEARAWATER.

THE COMPLETE SPECIES LIST FOR SHEARWATER JOURNEYS' SEPTEMBER 5, 2015 TRIP FOLLOWS: 

MONTEREY/SANTA CRUZ COUNTIES/TOTAL:

COMMON LOON- 1/1/2

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 6/25/31

NORTHERN FULMAR- 18/12/30

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 400/50/450

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 0/2/2

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 850/150/1000

BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER- 35/0/35

WILSON'S STORM-PETREL- 0/2/2

ASHY STORM-PETREL- 7/19/26- most of the storm-petrels were found in 50-70 fathoms which is unusual. I think these are "scouts."

BROWN PELICAN- 30/4/34

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 1055/9/1064

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 4/0/4

BLACK TURNSTONE- 11/0/11

SURFBIRD- 17/0/17

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 100/70/170

RED PHALAROPE- 7/15/22

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 0/1/1

POMARINE JAEGER- 6/4/10

PARASITIC JAEGER- 5/1/6

LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 0/1/1

HEERMANN'S GULL- 50/0/50

CALIFORNIA GULL- 150/20/170

WESTERN GULL- 200/60/260

SABINE'S GULL- 0/3/3

ELEGANT TERN- 130/0/130

COMMON TERN- 7/4/11

COMMON MURRE- 2500/560/3060- many dad/chick pairs

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 1/0/1

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 9/15/24

GREAT EGRET- 7/0/7

SNOWY EGRET- 1/0/1

SEA OTTER-7

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 255

HARBOR SEAL- 1

HUMPBACK WHALE- 52

LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHIN- 60

RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 6

OCEAN SUNFISH- 5

EGG YOLK JELLIES=+

MOON JELLIES- +

UPCOMING TRIPS FROM MONTEREY:

SEPTEMBER 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 16, 25, 26, 27, 28

OCTOBER 3, 10

UPCOMING TRIPS FROM HALF MOON BAY:

SEPTEMBER 20 (limited spaces open)

OCTOBER 4, 11

GREAT WHITE SHARK SEARCH:

OCTOBER 18 departing from SAUSALITO 

to the 

FARALLON ISLANDS

THEY'RE OUT THERE!!!

LIVING THE SALT LIFE,

Debi Shearwater

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

All images, Copyright, JEFF BLEAM.

Please do not use without permission. 

ALBACORE GROUNDS: OFFSHORE MONTEREY SEABIRDING

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

with
SHEARWATER JOURNEYS

SOUTH POLAR SKUA,  almost never missed on an Albacore trip. 

Image by Steve Rottenborn, copyright. 

Some years, migratory albacore, a type of tuna, come to the Monterey Bay area. Sometimes, they are within reach of a one day trip, sometimes not. Their presence causes a hot stir among fishermen. September is often the best month to try to catch one of these prized tunas. Whether albacore are present, or not, we still operate the albacore trip. Usually, but not always, we go 20 to 45 miles offshore in search of a warm water break. If we can find a "hard edge" in the temperature break, we will likely find the albacore and the seabirds associated with them! The prized and highly sought after species include: SCRIPP'S,GUADALUPE and CRAVERI'S MURRELETS and LEACH'S and LEAST STORM-PETRELS (not usually found on most Monterey trips). Rarities on this offshore trip have included RED-TAILED and RED-BILLED TROPICBIRDS. One year when albacore were not found off Monterey, I elected to go where I had previously found large concentrations of feeding seabirds. On that day, we set a world record for the second time by finding EIGHT SPECIES OF SHEARWATERS! STREAKED SHEARWATER and BROWN BOOBY were among the highlights of that day. Shearwater Journeys holds the world record, twice over, for the highest count of shearwater species recorded in one day! On almost every albacore trip, we record high counts of POMARINE, PARASITIC and LONG-TAILED JAEGERS. Some trips have recorded more than 100 Long-tailed Jaegers. This is the single best trip where SOUTH POLAR SKUAis practically guaranteed. Photographic opportunities of jaegers can be outstanding. We typically find Black-footed Albatroses. Scattered storm-petrels appear at dawn, but sometimes, we have encountered flocks of hundreds on the water in rafts. Tuna fishermen refer to

BULLER'S SHEARWATERS and ARCTIC TERNS, as "tuna birds" because they are often associated with albacore. Buller's Shearwaters can sometimes be found, sitting in flocks of 50-300, presenting stunning photo-ops as they take off in flight like a ballet. Of course, if we do find albacore, we shall try to catch one or two. You can take your hand at it, too. But, fishing is not the sole purpose of this trip. Albacore trips have proved to be excellent for sighting HUMPBACK, BLUE, FIN (sometimes) and BAIRD'S BEAKED WHALES. 

This trip can easily be combined with another Monterey trip (there are many surrounding this date), or the Half Moon Bay September 15 trip. Past Trip Reports can give one an idea of the species list. This trip sometimes covers three counties: Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Mateo.

DETAILS FOR ALBACORE TRIP:

DEPARTURE: 5:30 a.m. SHARP. Be there about 5:15 a.m. Allow time to park and walk to the boat.

RETURN: 5:30 p.m, exactly.

PARKING: Same as for Monterey trips. 

PRICE ADJUSTMENT: There may be a price adjustment for this trip, if the cost of the boat has changed by $100, or more for this trip. Please be prepared and bring $20 - 25/per person, cash to the dock. Exact amount will speed things up for an on-time departure. 

FOOD & DRINKS: Please bring all food & drinks with you. It will be a long and hopefully, productive day! 

MOTELS & RESERVATIONS: See Monterey trips. This trip typically sells out every year.
ALBACORE TRIP REPORT: SEP 11, 2011 
ALBACORE TRIP REPORT: SEP 12, 2009 WITH COOK'S PETRELS
ALBACORE TRIP REPORT: SEP 13, 2008

JAEGERS FOREVER,

Debi Shearwater

CORDELL BANK & BODEGA CANYON SEABIRD & MARINE MAMMAL TRIPS

LOOKING FOR STORM-PETRELS?

CORDELL BANK & BODEGA CANYON SEABIRDING 2014 PELAGIC TRIPS:

SEPTEMBER 1 & 19, 2014

Massive rafts of storm-petrels have been observed on Shearwater Journeys's offshore trips from Bodega Bay in recent years. Flocks number in the thousands have included: ASHY, BLACK, FORK-TAILED, LEAST AND WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS. On our September 20, 2013 trip, we recorded a record-breaking 17,325 storm-petrels! While on our September 21, 2012 trip a fly-by HAWAIIAN PETREL was spotted while we were watching the storm-petrels!

 

Since 1980 Shearwater Journeys has offered pelagic trips departing from Bodega Bay, north of Point Reyes and San Francisco. This is the longest running birding operation from this port. 

 The areas that we cover on this departure have recorded more MEGA-RARE SEABIRDS than any other port in North America! The list is very long: SHORT-TAILED ALBATROSS, LIGHT-MANTELD ALBATROSS, SHY ALBATROSS (3 different individuals, separate trips);
MURPHY'S, COOK'S, HAWAIIAN, WHITE-CHINNED, PARKINSON'S and GREAT-WINGED PETRELS; GREAT, MANX, STREAKED, CORY'S, WEDGE-TAILED and FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATERS; LEAST STORM-PETREL (rare this far north, but might happen in 2014 due to warmer water); LONG-BILLED MURRELET and CRESTED AUKLET. These are some of the rarest of the rare seabirds in all of North America, and in some instances, the northern Pacific Ocean. (Great-winged Petrel represented the first record for the Northern Hemisphere, as well as North America!)

 ASHY & FORK-TAILED STORM-PETRELS, above. 

 HUMPBACK WHALE, above. This is a rich feeding area for marine mammals. 

LONG-TAILED JAEGER, above and SOUTH POLAR SKUA, below. 

This area can be fabulous for viewing all three species of jaegers. Skua is rarely missed on this trip.

 BLUE WHALE, below, showing its back and dorsal fin.

 The sheer numbers of marine mammals near Bodega Canyon can be astounding, during fall. 

 LONG-TAILED JAEGER, above and SABINE'S GULL, below. 

BROWN BOOBY, below. Seen on our October 25, 2013 trip. 

The NEW SEA ANGLER, our comfortable birding vessel, below. 

NOTE: The September 19 Bodega Bay trip can be combined with the September 21 Half Moon Bay trip for a weekend of seabirding and land birding on September 20. The September 1 trip could be hooked up with the early Monterey Bay trips on September 5 and 6, with land birding in between.

DETAILS FOR BODEGA BAY TRIPS: SEPTEMBER 1 & 19:

DEPARTURE: 7 a.m. SHARP. The boat will not wait for latecomers. Check in with Debi at the dock. RATE: $218

RETURN: About 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., varies. Allow for delays of several hours. 

PARKING: is free in the large, dirt lot. Try to check out the location the day prior, as it can be confusing in the morning darkness. On Highway 1, heading north from Bodega Bay, proceed north of the Tide's Whart, past the Boat House restaurant on your left. Turn left, heading downhill at the large, brown sign for EAST SHORE ROAD. At the stop sign a the bottom of the hill, proceed straight to Port O' Bodega. It will seem as if you are heading out to the water. Park here. 

PRICE ADJUSTMENT: all pricing is based on current rates and may be adjusted at the dockside. If so, this fee will be collected at the dock, between $10-20/person, cash only. 

FOOD & DRINKS: Bring all of your food and drinks, including water. Nothing is available on the boat. No restaurants are open in the morning hours prior to departure. Dress VERY WARMLY. 

MOTELS: in this area can be fully booked and can be quite expensive. Bodega Coast Inn and Suites is only 5 minutes from the dock. You might try asking the manage for the "Shearwater Discount" which they sometimes honor. Bodega Harbor Inn is conveniently located. Be sure to ask about their refund policy. You might find the rate shocking, compared to what you get. The Inn at the Tides is very nice, especially if you have family members traveling with you who will not be doing the boat trip. Their rate includes breakfast, but it is not served early enough for you to partake of it. Cheaper motels can be found along the Highway 101 corridor. However,  be SURE to allow a minimum of one hour to get to the dock from any motel along Highway 101. The roads leading to the dock are winding, two lane and can be foggy in the morning. It is possible to get stuck behind a truck pulling a trailer with a boat on it, going only 30 mph. Birders have missed the boat by not allowing enough time to make this trip! Refunds are not available for "no shows" at the dock! NO eating facilities are open early enough in the morning in Bodega Bay for breakfast. Please plan accordingly.

GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE: Be sure to check toll details regarding crossing the bridge, even if you rent a car, if you are returning to San Francisco after the trip. The toll is only collected on the southbound trip. 

TRIP REPORT: AUG 30, 2013

IMAGES OF AUG 30, 2013 BY STEVE HOWELL

TRIP REPORT: SEP 20, 2013

BIRDERS SPEAK ABOUT THE EPIC SEP 20, 2013 TRIP

TRIP REPORT: OCT 18, 2013

BODEGA BAY IMAGES BY TODD MCGRATH

TRIP REPORT: SEP 21, 2012 WITH HAWAIIAN PETREL

BODEGA BAY IMAGES BY STEVE HOWELL

TRIP REPORT: OCT 26, 2012

TRIP REPORT: AUG 17, 2011

BODEGA BAY IMAGES BY ABE BORKER

EMERGENCY PELAGIC TRIP: OCT 29, 2011

TRIP REPORT: OCT 29, 2011

TRIP REPORT: SEP 15, 2010- COOK'S PETREL

TRIP REPORT: AUG 15, 2009- COOK'S & HAWAIIAN PETRELS

TRIP REPORT: SEP 18, 2009

TRIP REPORT: SEP 20, 2009

Whew! That's a lotta reading!

STORM-PETRELS FOREVER,

Debi Shearwater

TRIP REPORT: OCTOBER 25, 2013 MONTEREY BAY

Howdy, Birders,

This is a trip report for Shearwater Journeys' Monterey Bay seabird trip, October 25, 2013. This was our last trip of the 2013 fall season to view ocean birds of Monterey Bay. And, what a grand finale it was! With stunning views of BULLER'S SHEARWATERS close to shore, a young SOUTH POLAR SKUA sitting not he seas, we ended the day with loads of HUMPBACK WHALES, including one repeatedly breaching! How's that for an ending? All images below by leader, Jennifer Green, copyright. Please do not use without permission. 

 The phenomenal FEEDING FRENZY of HUMPBACK WHALES near the Monterey Submarine Canyon, close to shore, has continued for over five weeks. There seems to be plenty of anchovies around even after nearly 100 whales have been gorging on them for over a month.

 BULLER'S SHEARWATERS moved close to shore, less than a mile off Point Pinos on the Monterey Peninsula. Indeed, they are being observed from shore. It has been a number of years since this has occurred. 

A young SOUTH POLAR SKUA takes flight, showing the broad white wing patches. 

We had a fabulous fall season out of Monterey this year and would like to thank the many birders who came from near and far to join our trips. The leaders on this day were: Jennifer Green, Nick Levendosky, Debi Shearwater and chummers: Marrisa Orgeta-Welch and Holly Poole-Kavana. It was a cold, but beautiful day with very calm seas and a long period swell. Excellent sea conditions. Even though we did make it as far north as Davenport where we have fond storm-petrels in past years, once again, we found none here. No storm-petrel rafts were sound on any Monterey Bay pelagic trips in 2013.  

The complete trip report for MONTEREY/SANTA CRUZ COUNTIES follows.

OCTOBER 25, 2013 SHEARWATER JOURNEYS MONTEREY BAY:

RED-THROATED LOON- 3/1

PACIFIC LOON- 51/4

COMMON LOON- 3/1

WESTERN GREBE- 10/0

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 6/12

NORTHERN FULMAR- 42/26

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 32/33

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 14/32

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 168/324

BROWN PELICAN- +

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 50/5

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- 1/0

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 1/0

SURF SCOTER- 105/36

BLACK TURNSTONE- 3/0

SURFBIRD- 7/0

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 12/13

RED-NECKED/RED PHALAROPE- 6/0

RED PHALAROPE- 0/1

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 0/1

POMARINE JAEGER- 3/3

BONAPARTE'S GULL- 5/1

HEERMANN'S GULL- +

CALIFORNIA GULL- +

WESTERN GULL- +

GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL- 1/1

COMMON MURRE- 75/30

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 4/6

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 58/125

SEA OTTER- 12

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 400

HARBOR SEAL- 1

HUMPBACK WHALE- 39 to 55

OCEAN SUNFISH- 1

Our last pelagic trip of the 2013 fall season is scheduled for NOVEMBER 16th and departs from HALF MOON BAY. A few spaces are still available. Please email me for a reservation: debi@shearwaterjourneys.com. The 2014 schedule will be out soon.

SHEARWATERS FOREVER,

DEBI SHEARWATER

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