IMAGES from the AUGUST 21 MONTEREY PELAGIC TRIP

Hello, Seabirders,

Below is a photographic journey of some of the Monterey seabirds from our August 21, 2009 pelagic trip by Don Doolittle.




The morning began with many BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES, following in our wake. Image by Don Doolittle © 2009









BULLER'S SHEARWATERS were closer to shore than on previous trips, providing the many new seabirders on board with excellent views, and photographic opportunities. Image by Don Doolittle © 2009












PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS followed in our wake, as they often do. Image by Don Doolittle © 2009












Above us, POMARINE JAEGERS hovered. Image by Don Doolittle © 2009
















Looking up in the densely overcast skies at the hoards of jaegers, we spotted a TOWNSEND'S WARBLER. Image by Don Doolittle © 2009










Rafts of SABINE'S GULLS, along with the first of fall immature, were found. Image by Don Doolittle © 2009












Prize and surprise of the day, one of 35 COOK'S PETRELS found not far offshore. Image by Don Doolittle © 2009














And, finally, just off Point Pinos, at the end of the day, a very sweet XANTUS' MURRELET gave "lifer" views for all on board! Image by Don Doolittle © 2009











Oh, how those little murrelets can hide behind the little wavelets! Image by Don Doolittle © 2009











Happy trails to you,

Debi

Upcoming Shearwater Journeys' Pelagic Trips: Availability

Howdy, Seabirders,

Given that we found 35 COOK'S PETRELS on the August 21 Monterey Bay Fall Seabird Classic trip, there remains a possibility that we might find them, again on our "standard" Monterey trips. Currently, we have openings on the following trips, all departing from Monterey: August 28 & 31; September 9, 11, 12 (albacore), 24, 25, 26, & 27; October 3, 4, 10 (albacore), 11, 25; November 28. All trips run from 7 am until 3 pm, except for the albacore trips which run from 5:30 am to 5:30 pm. 

Trips from Bodega Bay with spaces available include: September 5, 16, 18, & 20; October 16. The September 5th trip is a Dedicated Cook's/Hawaiian Petrel chase trip, meaning that we will focus on finding those two species, and any other rare seabirds, totally for that day. All trips departing from Bodega Bay meet at 6:30 am and return 4-6 pm. 

We have one trip remaining that departs from Fort Bragg on October 18th. The August and September trips have been canceled due to mechanical problems with the boat. 

It is helpful to bear in mind that this could very well be a one-time event regarding the Cook's Petrels. These petrels are usually found more than 100 miles offshore. That they are so close to shore this year, is very, very unusual. In 35 years of offering pelagic trips from California, I have never witnessed an event such as this— Cook's Petrels within reach of a "standard" one day pelagic trip! It may not happen again. I would not count on this for next year. From radio tagging efforts, we now know that Hawaiian Petrels are part of our regular offshore species. Even so, we have already had fantastic sightings of this species this season. 

Hoping to see you "out there", 

Debi

Monterey Bay: NEARSHORE COOK'S PETRELS

Howdy, Seabirders,

This is a report of Shearwater Journeys' Monterey Bay Fall Seabird Classic trip, August 21, 2009. This trip runs from 7 am until 3 pm. Surprisingly, 35 COOK'S PETRELS were found, not far from Point Pinos. Other highlights included: BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES; NORTHERN FULMAR; BULLER'S SHEARWATERS; ASHY STORM-PETRELS; POMARINE, PARASITIC & LONG-TAILED JAEGERS; SOUTH POLAR SKUA; SABINE'S GULLS; XANTUS' MURRELETS; and 1 TOWNSEND'S WARBLER. 

During the morning orientation, I asked how many folks on board were making their first trip on Monterey Bay. Nearly everyone on board was a "first timer." At the dock, I mentioned that earlier trips had found quite a few Cook's Petrels, but that we did not anticipate seeing any on this trip due to the fact that the petrels had been further offshore than what we would be able to make on this day. No one seemed to be concerned about this, as Cook's Petrels were not their target species, but rather the more common species were what they were searching for. As the ocean Gods would have it, we ended the day by finding 35 COOK'S PETRELS, some of them quite close to the boat! Totally unexpected and very surprising, we were all just thrilled. Oh, well, every time I announce that we are not going to see "xyz," we end up finding it! The significant aspect of this trip is that we found the Cook's Petrels much nearer to shore than on the previous trips. This means that these little pterodroma gems might be within reach of upcoming "classic" trips with Shearwater Journeys. See below for available dates. 

It was a marvelous day, with seabirds, non-stop. SABINE'S GULL numbers increased over recent trips, as did the ASHY STORM-PETREL numbers. It seemed to take forever to pick up the jaegers, but eventually, all three species were hovering over the vessel. A dozen HUMPBACK WHALES were found, along with a herd of 250 super-fantastic NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHINS who rode the bow of our vessel for over an hour. The skies were uniformly high overcast, making for the most favorable of conditions. Seas were very calm with eight knots of wind from the northwest. A TOWNSEND'S WARBLER was lost in the overcast skies. Finally, at the end of the day, two XANTUS' MURRELETS were spotted just off Point Pinos. One individual sat on the water, obliging with "life bird" views for all of the very, very happy participants on board! 

We would like to thank all of the participants who traveled from CA, VA, FL, NY, Il, TX, NY, AZ, MN, WA, and England, as well as The Netherlands. The leaders on this trip were: Don Doolittle, Wes Fritz, John Hiles, Jennifer Green and Debra Shearwater. We covered two counties: Monterey and Santa Cruz.

Below is the complete species list for the AUGUST 21, 2009 SHEARWATER JOURNEYS' MONTEREY BAY TRIP:

MONTEREY COUNTY/SANTA CRUZ COUNTY:

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 11/23

NORTHERN FULMAR- 8/4

COOK'S PETREL- 35/0

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 21/15

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 21/36

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 3500/50

ASHY STORM-PETREL- 3/100

BROWN PELICAN- +/0

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- +/0

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 2/0

BLACK TURNSTONE- 2/0

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 45/17

RED PHALAROPE- 2/0

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 2/2

POMARINE JAEGER- 15/6

POMARINE/PARASITIC JAEGER- 3/0

PARASITIC JAEGER- 2/1

PARASITIC/LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 1/0

LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 34/10

HEERMANN'S GULL- +/+

CALIFORNIA GULL- +/+

WESTERN GULL- +/+

SABINE'S GULL- 92/52

ELEGANT TERN- 27/0

COMMON MURRE- 285/30

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 18/0

XANTUS' MURRELET- 2/0 (scrippsi)

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 23/7

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 32/50

TOWNSEND'S WARBLER- 1/0

SEA OTTER- +

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- +

HARBOR SEAL- +

HUMPBACK WHALE-12

NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPIN- 250

RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 4

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLHIN- 20

DALL'S PORPOISE- 8

Pterodromas forever,

Debi

Debra Shearwater

Shearwater Journeys, Inc.

PO Box 190

Hollister, CA 95024

831.637.8527

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

www.shearwaterjourneys.com

www.shearwaterjourneys.blogspot.com

**Antarctica, South Georgia, & The Falkland Islands, January 5-24, 2010* 

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San Benito County: August 20th Birding

Howdy, Birders,

Some fall birding highlights in San Benito County on Thursday, August 20th included:

PAICINES RESERVOIR: 

Bald Eagle- 1 male, adult, sitting in the oak grove on the west side of the reservoir

Semipalmated Plover- 3

California gull- 1

WILLOW FLYCATCHER- 1, in the single willow tree in the reservoir (no water surrounding the tree)- first of the fall in the county

Cassin's Kingbird - 1

Western Kingbird- 2, both species were hawking insects at the edge of the reservoir

TRES PINOS town:

At some hummingbird feeders:

COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRD- 1

Black-chinned Hummingbird- 10

Allen's/Rufous Hummingbird-1

Anna's Hummingbird- 50

QUIEN SABE ROAD:

Golden Eagle- 1 adult

PRAIRIE FALCON- 1, eating prey as it sat on the telephone pole

SAN FELIPE LAKE:

Burrowing Owl- 14

Canada Goose- 600-800, high counts

MARBLED GODWIT- 2

PECTORAL SANDPIPER- 3

Least Sandpiper- 200

Western Sandpiper- 20

"peep" sp.- 130

American Avocet- 38

MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER- 1

HOLLISTER INDUSTRIAL PONDS:

Spotted Sandpiper- 1

Northern Shoveler- 50

HOLLISTER SEWER PONDS:

Wilson's Phalarope- 9

Sharp-shinned Hawk- 1

The Hollister Sewer ponds are now open to birders, usually from 7:30 am until 4:30 pm. It is necessary to check in at the office prior to driving around the ponds. The is precious little shorebird habitat at both the sewer ponds and the industrial ponds. However, shorebird habitat is the best that I have ever seen at San Felipe Lake, locally known as Soap Lake. Shorebird habitat is also very good at Paicines Reservoir. These are the two best places in the county to look for shorebirds at this time.

Good birding,

Debi

BANDED: Black-footed Albatross

Hello, Seabirders,

Black-footed Albatross, the most common albatross in the northeast Pacific, breeds on the northeast Hawaiian island group— especially on Midway and French Frigate Shoals. This is the most commonly encountered albatross on pelagic trips off the central and northern coast of California. Black-footed Albatrosses make a two week round-trip commute from their Hawaiian breeding islands to the coast of California to feed their young in the nest.

On Shearwater Journeys' August 12, 2009 pelagic trip from Bodega Bay, seabirder Phil Swanson of Nebraska, photographed a BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS with leg bands. The yellow leg band number on this individual was labeled as: C787.

Leader Peter Pyle contacted U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service researchers in Hawaii. It was determined that this individual male was banded at Tern Island and recorded on a nest on 9 December 2008 and 17 January 2009.

If you would like to learn more about the movements of Black-footed Albatrosses and their conservation, please see the Oikonos web site.

Albatrosses forever,

Debi

Cook's/Hawaiian Petrel Trips & Canceled Fort Bragg Trip

Howdy, Seabirders,

This post contains news of upcoming pelagic trips departing from Bodega Bay, north of Point Reyes, as well as an announcement that the Shearwater Journeys' pelagic trip scheduled to depart from Fort Bragg on September 18th cancellation.

FORT BRAGG: The breakdown of the boat, Trek II, forced the cancellation of our sold out August 14 & 16th trips. The boat is not even hauled out for repairs at this stage. The owner/operator has let me know that he doubts that the boat will be fixed by the time of our next trip, scheduled for September 18th. Therefore, the SEPTEMBER 18TH FORT BRAGG TRIP IS CANCELED. We deeply regret this action, but decided that it would be better to cancel now, rather than later, when it would be more difficult for participants to change motel reservations, etc. You will receive a full refund, in due course, or you may apply credit from this trip to another trip in 2009. Please contact Debra Shearwater by email to do this. The October 18 Fort Bragg trip will operate. Please see below, as we will continue to offer a trip on September 18th, departing from Bodega Bay.

BODEGA BAY: We are offering a replacement trip on September 18th, departing from Bodega Bay. In addition, we are offering a dedicated COOK'S/HAWAIIAN PETREL CHASE TRIP on SEPTEMBER 5TH, departing from Bodega Bay. The line up for trips departing from Bodega Bay now includes:

Saturday, September 5: dedicated chase trip for Cook's/Hawaiian Petrels, as well as any other rarities

Wednesday, September 16: Bodega Canyon & Cordell Bank

Friday, September 18: Bodega Canyon & Cordell Bank

Sunday, September 20: Bodega Canyon & Cordell Bank

For September 5th, the dedicated chase trip, please note that a "chase" trip is not suitable for small children or pets. A chase trip means that we are heading straight for the area where we think we are most likely to find the petrels, and/or other rare seabirds. It means that we probably won't be stopping for humpback whales, or necessarily any whales, or any ordinary seabirds. We are on a mission, as it were, to find our target species. In my experience, remaining focused on the mission brings greater success in accomplishing that mission! Scheduled leaders thus far, on this trip include: Todd McGrath, Linda Terrill, Scott Terrill, Steve Howell, Jon Dunn and Debra Shearwater. No discounts can be applied to this this trip.

For the September 16, 18, & 20 Bodega trips: spaces are still open on all of these trips. Is it worth it to do more than one trip? You betcha! For one thing, the species mix changes every single day. It is migration! For another thing, woe be to those who sign on for only one trip, having traveled a long distance, only to have the trip weathered out. Yes, it can happen, although September is usually our best month for the best ocean/seas. I hope that you won't kick yourself when the next rare seabird shows up on the trip that you didn't do!

The Bodega Canyon and Cordell Bank area, along with the "football" northwest of the canyon remain one of the most incredibly productive areas, anywhere off North America for mega-rare seabirds. Let's look at the list: Laysan Albatross, Short-tailed Albatross, Wandering Albatross, White-capped Albatross, Chatham Albatross, Salvin's Albatross, Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, Parkinson's Petrel, Great-winged Petrel, Streaked Shearwater, Cory's Shearwater, Greater Shearwater, Manx Shearwater and Wedge-tailed Shearwater.

At this time leaders for the September 16th trip include: Lisa Hug, Peter Pyle, Steve Howell, John Sterling, Don Doolittle and Debra Shearwater. Leaders will be announced for the September 18th trip. Leaders for the September 20th trip include: Steve Rottenborn, Lisa Hug, Todd McGrath, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill and Debra Shearwater.

TRIP DETAILS: All trips are a GO. All trips meet at 6:30 am at Port O' Bodega in Bodega Bay. We will return about 4-6 pm. Bring lunch, dress warmly, including waterproof outer layers. Wear close-toed shoes. No Tevas. Parking is free in the big lot near the vessel, New Sea Angler. The boat is very comfortable, with plenty of deck space and seating.

RESERVATIONS: are essential, as trips may sell out. Please contact me, by email (best). When emailing me, please include your cell phone number, and let me know that you have put a check in the mail, asap. (No credit cards) Reservations will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. There are no discounts for the September 5th trip. Motels in Bodega Bay are quite expensive for the weekend of September 5th, Labor Day Weekend. And, most are requiring a 2 or 3 night stay. I recommend staying at Motel 6, either in Santa Rosa or Petaluma. Motel 6 gives a discount for AARP members.

http://www.motel6.com//

The drive from Santa Rosa is straightforward, although you should allow at least 45 minutes to 1 hour to get to Bodega Bay from Highway 101. Currently, no eating facilities are open in Bodega Bay for breakfast.

Please see our trip report for details of the August 12th Bodega Bay trip.

In addition, a trip from Bodega Bay on August 16th found both Cook's and Hawaiian Petrels. There has never, ever been a time like this along the California coastline to see these two species. It may not happen again, in our lifetime.

See you out there,

Debi

Debra Shearwater

Shearwater Journeys, Inc.

PO Box 190

Hollister, CA 95024

831.637.8527

http://www.blogger.com/debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

http://www.blogger.com/www.shearwaterjourneys.com

http://www.blogger.com/

**Antarctica, South Georgia, & The Falkland Islands, January 5-24, 2010*

Shearwater Journeys' Exclusive Charter

Waiting list available