BREAKING OFFSHORE NEWS!

Howdy, Seabirders,

Just when you thought it couldn't get any better— Peter Pyle sent me a report from yesterday's survey. He spotted a DARK-RUMPED PETREL over the Davidson Seamount. Peter and Abe were beginning to pack up the flying bridge after studying 1000s of COOK'S PETRELS. Suddenly, Peter noticed a large, dark-backed Pterodroma petrel. He studied it, got Abe on the bird. Both shot their cameras, but alas, the "winged racer" got away. So, they are unable to say if it was a Hawaiian Petrel or a Galapagos Petrel. So, now we know that Dark-rumped Petrels are out there, too!

Other highlights of this day, July 25, 2010, as reported by Peter Pyle, included: 725 COOK'S PETRELS, 425 Leach's Storm-Petrels, 10 Long-tailed Jaegers, 15 Arctic Terns, 10 Xantus' Murrelets, 2 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, probable Baird's Beaked Whales, 80 Fin Whales and a variety of dolphins. A Baird's Sandpiper landed on the ship at the end of the day, above the center of the Davidson Seamount!

Peter and Abe are now headed into shore. They were about 15 n miles off Half Moon Bay when I last heard from them. You can catch up with them on Shearwater Journeys' trips this fall. Peter will be co-leading the July 31st trip departing from Half Moon Bay.

PLEASE NOTE: The July 31 Half Moon Bay trip is SOLD OUT. For all participants reading this email, please be at least on time, and preferably early to the boat. 7 am at the latest. We would like to get off on time, or earlier, in order to get offshore.

If you are looking for either Cook's Petrels, or Dark-rumped Petrels, I would highly recommend the following trips: Aug 11 from Bodega Bay (only a few spaces left) and August 13 & 15 from Fort Bragg. Spaces are available. Details on Shearwater Journeys' web site. The Blue Whale show in Monterey sounds absolutely sensational! August 6th from Monterey, we still have spaces available, and of course, we'll be seabirding, too! Monterey Bay is loaded with krill!!

If you are not a seabirder, and have made it this far in this email— please rejoice in hearing some good news about the ocean for a change!! Isn't it nice?

Pterodroma fever,

Debi Shearwater

3000+ COOK'S PETRELS!

Howdy, Seabirders,

Stop the presses! Astounding offshore reports from Peter Pyle and Abe Borker who have been surveying seabirds at the Davidson Seamount have included counts of over 3000 COOK'S PETRELS! On 23 July, they reported hourly totals: "50, 65, 85, 500, 450, 1000, 450, 250, 50, 15, 15, 25, 60. The weather was very calm. Flocks of 100-300 sitting birds observed. Photos of up to 90 individuals." Other species recorded on this date included: Arctic Tern (29), Xantus' Murrelet (12 scrippsii and 1 hypoleuca), Leach's Storm-Petrel (1,745), a variety of shorebirds and 2 Cuvier's Beaked Whales. On 24 July, Peter reported 1,395 COOK'S PETRELS with "hourly counts of 40, 250, 350, 175, 100, 200, 20, 5, 100, 100. Fewer flocks of sitting birds, but more flying birds in broad fronts, heading generally NNE. Some flying high, 10-20 m above the water and flapping like gulls." They tallied 666 Leach's Storm-Petrels, 6 South Polar Skuas and 2 Xantus' Murrelets (scrippsii), to name a few of the species.

Cook's Petrels heading NNE— this means, if weather conditions are kind, we have a great shot at finding some of the thousands on the JULY 31 HALF MOON BAY trip! A few spaces are still open on this trip. If you would like to join us, please contact Debi Shearwater as soon as possible by email.

Below, I list Shearwater Journeys' upcoming pelagic trips and the leaders. Trips denoted * have a good chance of finding COOK'S PETRELS. Trips denoted ** have an excellent chance of finding HAWAIIAN PETREL.

*Jul 31: Half Moon Bay Offshore with Peter Pyle, Wes Fritz, Gerry McChesney, Matt Brady, Debi Shearwater

Aug 6: Monterey Bay with Brian Sullivan, Steve Howell, Robin Welch, Clay Kempf, Debi Shearwater

Aug 8: Farallon Island with Steve Howell, Alan Hopkins, Debi Shearwater- SOLD OUT

*Aug 11: Bodega Canyon & Cordell Bank with Peter Pyle, Wes Fritz, Steve Howell, Oscar Johnson, Matt Brady, Debi Shearwater

**Aug 13: Fort Bragg: Hawaiian Petrel Search with Abe Borker, Wes Fritz, Jennifer Green, Todd McGrath, Oscar Johnson, Matt Brady, Debi Shearwater

**Aug 15: Fort Bragg: Hawaiian Petrel Search with Todd McGrath, Peter Pyle, Wes Fritz, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Tristan McKee, Matt Brady, Abe Borker, Debi Shearwater

Aug 27: Monterey Bay with Jennifer Green, Robin Welch, Wes Fritz, Ted Chandik, John Hiles

Sep 9: Monterey Seavalley with Wes Fritz, Ted Chandik, Marcel Holyoak, Debi Shearwater

Sep 10: Monterey Bay with Wes Fritz, Jennifer Green, Robin Welch, Adam Searcy, John Hiles, Debi Shearwater

*Sep 11: Albacore Grounds: Offshore Monterey with Wes Fritz, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Tristan McKee, Rod Norden, Debi Shearwater

Sep 12: Monterey Bay with Wes Fritz, Jennifer Green, Clay Kempf, Adam Searcy, Vaughan Ashby (Guest Leader), Debi Shearwater

*Sep 13: Half Moon Bay Offshore with Wes Fritz, Tristan McKee, Alan Hopkins, Debi Shearwater

*Sep 15: Bodega Canyon & Cordell Bank with Peter Pyle, Steve Howell, Wes Fritz, Lisa Hug, Debi Shearwater

*Sep 17: Half Moon Bay Offshore with Wes Fritz, Marcel Holyoak, Jennifer Green, Debi Shearwater

*Sep 18: Half Moon Bay Offshore with Wes Fritz, Steve Rottenborn, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Debi Shearwater

Sep 23: Monterey Bay with Wes Fritz, Terry Hunefeld, Jim Danzenbaker, Debi Shearwater

Sep 24: Monterey Storm-Petrel Study Tour with Wes Fritz, Jennifer Green, Terry Hunefeld, Jim Danzenbaker, Debi Shearwater

Sep 25: Monterey Seavalley with Wes Fritz, Abe Borker, Terry Hunefeld, Mark Rauzon (Guest Leader), Michael Parr (Guest Leader), Debi Shearwater

Sep 26: Monterey Bay with Wes Fritz, Terry Hunefeld, Jennifer Green, Debi Shearwater

Sep 27: Half Moon Bay Offshore with Wes Fritz, Terry Hunefeld, Debi Shearwater

Oct 2: Half Moon Bay Offshore with Todd McGrath, Wes Fritz, Lisa Hug, Peter Pyle, Debi Shearwater

Oct 3: Monterey Storm-Petrel Study Tour with Wes Fritz, Todd McGrath, Jennifer Green, Denise Wight, Clay Kempf, Debi Shearwater

Oct 9: Monterey Seavalley with Todd McGrath, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Clay Kempf, Debi Shearwater

Oct 11: Half Moon Bay Offshore with Todd McGrath, Wes Fritz, Peter Pyle, Debi Shearwater

Oct 17: Monterey Bay with Jennifer Green, Wes Fritz, Todd McGrath, Denise Wight, Clay Kempf, Rod Norden

We have a full slate of exciting pelagic trips ahead! Who knows which trips will turn up the rare seabirds? I hope that you can join us!

Shearwaters forever,

Debi Shearwater

Planning Your Pelagic Trips

Howdy, Seabirders,

The fall seabird season is about to begin!

I thought that I would offer some advise in planning your trips. Many trips are laid out in such a fashion to be able to combine them with other trips, thereby maximizing your seabird species list. Also, trips are planned to incorporate some days of land birding along the California coast. If you are traveling some distance to do the pelagic trips, it is best to try to do at least two trips. Your biggest costs are getting here, and staying here. You will be looking for not only the resident seabirds, but migrants. Like any of your favorite migration spots, the bird mix changes daily. It can also be greatly influenced by the weather. So, one poor weather day could great diminish one's chances of seeing a better variety of seabirds. Although it is very rare for Monterey Bay trips to be weathered out, during the fall season, it is not uncommon for Bodega Bay or Half Moon Bay trips to be weathered out. Monterey Bay's half-moon shape offers it some protection from the prevailing northwesterly winds. No such protection is available for trips that depart from Bodega Bay or Half Moon Bay. So, it is always best to back these trips up with a second trip, at a minimum. Booking trips that depart from several different ports is also a good idea. Seabirds tend to distribute themselves along the central coast. Monterey will always remain our "standard" pelagic trip, though. Keep following this blog to find out why!

Please note, as has been the case in the past ten years, our August 8 trip to the Farallon Islands is SOLD OUT. The following trips from Half Moon Bay have been canceled: Aug 1; Sep 19 and Oct 10.

The following are stand alone trips with spaces available:

July 31: **Half Moon Bay

Aug 6: Monterey Bay

Oct 17: Monterey Bay

**Indicates trips that have a high chance of finding COOK'S PETRELS. The August 13 & 15 pelagic trips from Fort Bragg offer the best chance in North America for finding HAWAIIAN PETREL. Second best chance for Hawaiian Petrel is the August 11 pelagic trip from Bodega Bay. See upcoming blog posts for more information about these species.

Below are some suggested itineraries.

BODEGA BAY TO FORT BRAGG TRIP

Aug 10: Overnight Bodega Bay, shore birding in the harbor

Aug 11: **Bodega Canyon & Cordell Bank pelagic trip, night in Bodega Bay

Aug 12: Birding Highway 1 from Bodega Bay to Fort Bragg- excellent birding (see future post), overnight in Fort Bragg

Aug 13: **Fort Bragg pelagic: Hawaiian Petrel & Offshore- the single best place in North America to see this Hawaiian Petrel, overnight Fort Bragg

Aug 14: Birding around the Fort Bragg & Mendocino area- excellent birding for Mountain Quail, Dusky Grouse, Pygmy Owl, Gray Jay (see future post), overnight in Fort Bragg

Aug 15: **Fort Bragg pelagic: Hawaiian Petrel & Offshore, overnight in Fort Bragg

Aug 16: Birding en route to return to SFO.

MONTEREY BAY, HALF MOON BAY, BODEGA BAY & RETURN TO HALF MOON BAY

The set of trips below comprise the period that I believe is the TOP TEN DAYS OF SEABIRDING ALONG THE CENTRAL COAST OF CALIFORNIA.

Sep 8: arrive Monterey, overnight Monterey

Sep 9: Monterey Seavalley pelagic trip, overnight Monterey

Sep 10: Monterey Bay pelagic trip, overnight Monterey

Sep 11: **Albacore Grounds: Offshore Monterey, overnight Monterey

Sep 12: Monterey Bay pelagic trip, overnight Half Moon Bay

Sep 13: **Half Moon Bay pelagic trip, overnight Half Moon Bay

Sep 14: Birding along Route 1, could include Point Reyes, en route to Bodega Bay, overnight Bodega Bay

Sep 15: Bodega Canyon & Cordell Bank, overnight Bodega Bay

Sep 16: Birding Point Reyes, overnight Half Moon Bay

Sep 17: Half Moon Bay pelagic trip, overnight Half Moon Bay

Sep 18: Half Moon Bay pelagic trip.

Sep 19: Depart for home, SFO.

MONTEREY BAY BIRD FESTIVAL PERIOD: SEP 23- 27

The Monterey Bay Birding Festival, headquartered in Watsonville, will be held during this period. Please see their web site for more information and registration:

http://www.montereybaybirding.org/

Shearwater Journeys is the official pelagic trip operator for the festival. Trips are scheduled for:

Sep 23: Monterey Bay, overnight in Monterey or Watsonville, if attending the festival

Sep 24: Storm-Petrel Study Tour on Monterey Bay, overnight as above

Sep 25: Monterey Seavalley, overnight as above

Sep 26: Monterey Bay, overnight in Monterey, or Half Moon Bay

Sep 27: Half Moon Bay: Offshore

MONTEREY/HALF MOON BAY

Oct 1: arrive, birding Half Moon Bay, overnight Half Moon Bay

Oct 2: Half Moon Bay pelagic trip, overnight Monterey

Oct 3: Monterey Bay: Storm-Petrel Study Tour, overnight Monterey

Oct 4: birding the Monterey area, flights home

MONTEREY/HALF MOON BAY

Oct 8: arrive and birding Monterey area, overnight Monterey

Oct 9: Monterey Seavalley pelagic trip, overnight Monterey

Oct 10: birding Monterey, Moss Landing, Highway 1 to Half Moon Bay

Oct 11: Half Moon Bay pelagic trip

Oct 12: return flights

SOME MOTEL SUGGESTIONS: Please note that I do not receive any commissions from motel suggestions. These are presented for your convenience.

THE INN AT THE TIDES

In Bodega Bay, I have made arrangements for an excellent discount for birders. The Shearwater Journeys' rate is $109 per night + tax. This is a great place to stay. You must ask for the SJ discount, specifically, when booking. Phone: 800-541-7788.

MONTEREY MOTELS

There are many, many motels to choose from on the Monterey Peninsula, from Motel 6 in Marina, on up. Most motels on Munras Avenue are close enough to Fisherman's Wharf that driving time is only a few minutes. For excellent birding right out the front door of your room, there is nothing like staying in Pacific Grove. The many Monterey pines and cypress trees are great for seeing chestnut-backed chickadees, pygmy nuthatches and acorn woodpeckers.

HALF MOON BAY MOTELS

Places that have been recommended to me are:

Holiday Inn Express

Comfort Inn

Days Inn

FORT BRAGG MOTEL

Super 8 Motel

Phone: 800-206-9833

Have fun planning your trip!

Shearwaters forever,

Debi Shearwater

THE MIGHTY MURRELET!

27 April: At Sea, Miyake-Jima, Izu Islands, Japan. At 4:45 am, we received a
wake-up call to get out on deck to search for the Japanese Murrelet. Unable
to rely on finding this treasured species tomorrow, Rodney Russ had brought
our ship, overnight to this island in order to attempt to find the
murrelets. John Graham and I one of the first on the monkey bridge, heard a
Japanese Murrelet calling, "chi, chi, chi." In the dim, barely light hour
from 5 am until 6 am, we recorded some 70 of the mighty murrelets! Most of
them were making a dawn flight from their breeding stacks to the east. Once
again, our key spotter, John, located one on the water right next to the
ship! But, I missed this bird! Drats! Moving inside to the bridge, I finally
saw two different pairs, on the water, quite close to the ship! This was a
major goal of the voyage for me, as the Japanese Murrelet completed my
record of having seen all of the world's species of alcids! Flocks of
several hundred Tristram's Storm-Petrels were lifting off the water.
Streaked and Short-tailed Shearwaters were all around. Again, we also found
all three species of albatrosses! And, off the bow, just now some Ancient
Murrelets and Rhinoceros Auklets were spotted. This afternoon we docked at
Yokohama harbor. The weather and seas will not permit us to make a landing
on Mikyake-Jima tomorrow. So, we shall be based in Yokohama until our
departure on the morning of 29 April. Some of us went ashore, after clearing
immigration late this afternoon. We only managed to find a few bird species
in the light rain, and enjoyed some good coffee at a cafe. Email services
end at dinner tonight. So, for now, I shall sign off, although, I shall be
continuing for 3 more days of birding in Japan with my 3 companions from the
USA, as well as my friend, Eriko Kobayashi. We shall be heading to Mt. Fuji!
Debi Shearwater, in the Izu Islands, Japan, Western Pacific Odyssey

A STELLER DAY AT SEA!

26 April: At Sea, east of Torishima. Nearly everyone on board was up at the
crack of dawn to search for albatrosses. Chumming was in progress and hopes
were high. We were within sight of Torishima, the southernmost of the Izu
Islands, where the bulk of the world's Short-tailed, or Steller's
Albatrosses nest. This albatross was once a common species on both the
Asiatic and American coasts. Several million pairs once bred on Torishima,
but as a result of over-hunting by the Japanese feather collectors in the
late 19th and 20th centuries, it declined dramatically. By 1934 it was
presumed extinct. Miraculously, in December 1950, eight to ten birds were
re-discovered on Torishima. The seas had calmed considerably overnight, but
virtually no seabirds, not even shearwaters, were chumming to our wake. A
distant Steller's Albatross was sighted, a tiny, mere speck of white. Again,
John Graham spotted a speck, sitting on the water at our 2 o'clock position.
It was a sleeping "golden gooney," as we refer to the adult Steller's! The
ship circled around and everyone on board had close views while cameras
clicked away. Whew! Throughout the day, the seas continued to calm until
they were a glassy, smooth. At the end of the day, we had tallied more
variety of wildlife than on any previous day of our voyage— a single
Northern Fulmar (first record for the voyage); flocks of Short-tailed
Shearwaters, especially in the evening; a single Band-rumped Storm-Petrel
immediately off the bow (also a first for the voyage); Red Phalaropes; many
whales throughout the day, including one Sei Whale and possibly a small
group of Hubb's Beaked Whales; small groups of Risso's Dolphins, as well as
bow-riding Striped Dolphins; flying fish and flying squid; and half a dozen
distant sea turtles! It was a spectacular day at sea, brimming with activity
and life!
Debi Shearwater, in the Izu Islands, Japan, Western Pacific Odyssey

NORTH PACIFIC ALBATROSSES: THREE IN ONE DAY!

25 April: At Sea, east of the Ogasawara Islands, including Chichi. What a
difference a night can make! We awoke to much cooler temperatures, both sea
and air. Winds were buffeting us and frothing whitecaps covered the seas
while occasional rain showers sent us inside to the bridge. Many seabirds
were about, including good numbers of pale morph Wedge-tailed Shearwaters
and Bonin Petrels. Most of us were hoping to see Tristram's Storm-Petrels.
Finally, several flocks of storm-petrels were spotted, ahead of the ship.
Amongst the Matsudaira's, we saw quite a few Tristram's Storm-Petrels! The
vast majority of the seabirds do not approach the ship, remaining quite a
distance away from ideal viewing conditions. This sometimes makes
identification quite challenging. In fact, many species of both seabirds and
marine mammals are best left unidentified! Case in point— yesterday's call
of Bannerman's Shearwaters may not, indeed have been Bannerman's at all. The
jury is still out, but they may well have been Tropical Shearwaters, based
on photographs. In addition, distant breaching whales which were identified
as Humpback Whales, were correctly identified, using photographs, as Sperm
Whales! Such is ocean life— "identification by camera"! The first
Black-footed Albatrosses of the voyage appeared in the late afternoon.
Shortly, afterward, John Graham of South Africa spotted a Short-tailed
Albatross! Along with Trevor Hardaker, John operates, Zest For Birds a
company that takes folks offshore to the rich feeding grounds of seabirds
off South Africa. John has been one of the best
spotters on our entire voyage! One of our staff began some chumming which
attracted hundreds of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and a few Streaked
Shearwaters. Soon many Black-footed Albatrosses were also following in the
wake. The surprise was two Laysan Albatrosses which followed our wake for
quite some time. Laysans have not been recorded on every voyage. So, cheers
went up for that one! Although only a few on board saw the Short-tailed
Albatross, any day in the north Pacific with three albatross species is a
day to cheer!
Debi Shearwater, east of Ogasawara Islands, Western Pacific Odyssey