Start the year with Seabirds: January 17

Hello, Seabirders,

Kick start your year with seabirds by joining Shearwater Journeys on our JANUARY 17TH pelagic trip, departing from Fishermans' Wharf in Monterey at 7 am, and returning about 3 pm. Last year's January trip included Black-footed Albatross, Northern Fulmar, Pink-footed and Short-tailed Shearwaters, nine species of gulls, including Black-legged Kittiwakes, Common Murres, Pigeon Guillemot, Ancient Murrelets, Rhinoceros Auklets, and inshore birds: Red-throated, Pacific, and Common Loons, four species of grebes, Long-tailed and Harlequin Ducks in the harbor and Surfbirds on the jetty. Marine mammals included Gray Whales and Pacific White-sided Dolphins. 

Please contact Debra, see below, for a reservation.

Reports from Monterey Bay indicate that it is quite "birdy" right now. This would be a great trip for photographers!

Shearwaters forever,

Debra

Debra Shearwater

Shearwater Journeys, Inc.

PO Box 190

Hollister, CA 95024

831.637.8527

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

www.shearwaterjourneys.com

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

Shearwater Journeys' Exclusive Charter

SPARKLING NEW YEAR: 2009!

Birders,

I would like to take this moment to wish you all the best in the coming year. May it be filled with many special birds and wildlife moments, endearing friends, and good health throughout your days! This image by Don Doolittle from our recent Panama trip, best portrays my wishes for you—

Thank you for reading this blog!

Debra

Debra Shearwater

Shearwater Journeys, Inc.

PO Box 190

Hollister, CA 95024

831.637.8527

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

www.shearwaterjourneys.com

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

Shearwater Journeys' Exclusive Charter

STELLER'S ALBATROSS: DECEMBER 29, 2008

Happy New Year, Seabirders!

It is my pleasure to relay an exciting report of an immature STELLER'S ALBATROSS (Short-tailed Albatross). It was reported to me by Vince Orsini who saw it on December 29, 2008 just north of the Cordell Banks in 1100 feet of water at 38 07.21 and 123 28.74. Vince reported that the albatross flew within 100 feet of his boat, Miss Anita, at least a dozen times. Vince, his partner, Ed, and four passengers were on board. One of the passengers may have obtained defining photographic images that should be forthcoming. 

Many of Shearwater Journeys' participants will remember Vince well, as he first began trips with us as a deckhand in Monterey in 1985. Even in the 1980's Vince was an avid seabirder, who pointed out many lifers. He later joined us for many years on our trips departing from Bodega Bay where he was on board the one and only pelagic trip that traveled from Bodega Bay to Fort Bragg and back— discovering North America's first record of an adult White-capped Albatross! (Shy Albatross). 

What a way to end the year!

Albatrosses forever,

Debra

Debra Shearwater

Shearwater Journeys, Inc.

PO Box 190

Hollister, CA 95024

831.637.8527

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

www.shearwaterjourneys.com

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

Shearwater Journeys' Exclusive Charter

BIRDING PANAMA: CERRO AZUL & CERRO JEFE

Good morning, Birders,

I'm sitting on the balcony of La Estancia B & B on Ancon Hill in Panama City, watching the BLUEGRAY TANAGERS and VARIABLE SEEDEATERS come and go from the feeders, while ORANGE-CHINNED PARAKEETS call across the canopy. I've been told that the monkeys will show up any minute. It's hot, but more than that, it's humid! 

My travel companion, Don Doolittle, and I left San Francisco at midnight on December 2, arriving in Panama City about noon the next day, rented a 4 x 4, and began the search for what remains of Tocumen Wetlands. Major development is happening around the marsh, and the directions for finding it made it pretty sketchy for actually getting there. Later, we found out that we were, in fact, at the marsh. Since the roads became impassable with mud, even for a 4 x 4, we decided to head to the mountains. Best bird at the marsh was RED-BREASTED BLACKBIRD.

In the mountains of eastern Panama, we headquartered ourselves at the Hostal Casa de Campo Country Inn, (www.panamacasadecampo.com) where the very delightful proprietor, Ana Maria, made us feel quite at home. What a treat, falling asleep to the calling TROPICAL SCREECH OWL each night, and waking up to the incessant calls of a HOUSE WREN feeding its youngsters in the nest under the eaves of our balcony. It is very worthwhile to spend the nights in the mountains, rather than down in the city. 

For the next four days, we headed off in different directions, and hiked different trails each day. The first day, we birded the "petite Darien, " as the region of Bayano is known. This was a very dripping wet, pouring rain, soaking us to the skin, day! It was well worth it, as the best bird of the day was a group of about 7 RUFOUS-WINGED ANT-WRENS at Monkey River! A female RUFOUS-CRESTED COQUETTE was just out of this world! I can't even image a male!

During the following days, we hiked some steep trails that were so mud-slicked, we could have been ice-skating! Trails hiked included: Vistamares, Calle Maipo, Rio Mono, Cerro Jefe. We also visited the feeders at Birder's View (www.birdersview.com) many times. This was an extremely busy area for birds, not only at the feeders, but also coming to the vegetation near the home. Don managed to capture images of many of the birds since we had clear, unobstructed views, with beautiful sunlight on the tanagers and euphonias while they feasted on the berries of various plants. Specialties here, and on the trails included: VIOLET-CAPPED HUMMINGBIRD, YELLOW-EARED TOUCANET, STRIPE-CHEEKED WOODPECKER, BLACK-CHEEKED WOODPECKER, BLACK-and-YELLOW TANAGER, OLIVE TANAGER, WHITE-SHOULDERED TANAGER, CRIMSON-BACKED TANAGER, EMERALD TANAGER, SPECKLED TANAGER, BAY-HEADED TANAGER, GOLDEN-HOODED TANAGER, GREEN HONEYCREEPER, LONG-TAILED WOODCREEPER, PLAIN XENOPS, PIED PUFFBIRD, WHITE-NECKED JACOBIN, VIOLET-HEADED HUMMINBIRD, GREEN THORNTAIL, GARDEN EMERALD, RUFOUS-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD, BRONZE-TAILED PLUMELETEER, VIOLACEOUS TROGON, BLACK-TAILED TROGON, RUFOUS MOTMOT, and BROAD-BILLED MOTMOT. 

These mountains are a weekend home to many Panamanians who escape the heat of the city for the cooler and breezy climate just an hour from the city. It is also the home for ex-pats from the USA, England, Canada, and Germany. As we made our way from one part of the mountains to another, we would sometimes encounter a few birds in the developed area, but most of the "good" birding is within the national park, which borders the housing area. On our last day, we stopped to look at a hawk, and I noticed a driveway with bird feeders, many bird feeders! Feeling quite bold, we marched up to the front door to meet the owners, Bill & Claudia Ahrens, from the USA. They invited us to enjoy their feeders which we certainly did! Everything seems to eat bananas like crazy and Bill keeps a whole crate-full at the ready. We saw our lifer, BLACK-CHEEKED WOODPECKER here. Thank you, Bill & Claudia!

Finally, we made one more stop at Birder's View, a large house owned by the president of the Panama Audubon Society (www.panamaaudubon.org). The lovely owner told us about a trail with flowering helaconias just below the house. So, we hiked down a good trail to the "helaconia" forest—nearly 100 flowering plants— and saw several WHITE-TIPPED SICKEBILLS! These large, brown hummingbirds, with incredibly recurved bills, literally grasp on to the flowers like a bat, and hang there, feeding! What a treat!

In just a few minutes, we will be flying to Cana with ANCON Expeditions!

Tanagers forever,

Debra Shearwater

NOV 29, 2008: A GREAT DAY FOR SHEARWATERS

Hello, Seabirders,

Shearwater Journeys' last trip of the year took place on November 29th, departing from Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey. It was a great day for shearwaters, with a constant flow of shearwaters in view throughout the entire day, except for a brief period when we went over a shallow shelf that was loaded with CASSIN'S AUKLETS and quite a few ANCIENT MURRELETS. In all, we tallied seven species of shearwaters! (The one day world record is eight species, which Shearwater Journeys holds from two different trips). Topping the list, was a GREATER SHEARWATER spotted and identified by leader Scott Terrill, simultaneously by leader Linda Terrill. The Great Shearwater was not that close to the boat, but most everyone on board managed to see it. I was in the cabin, along with leaders John Sterling and Clay Kempf. I ran out to the stern, and had brief, but great views of the shearwater as it flew away from us. It was a state and county bird for county listing czar, John Sterling. Amazingly, Brian Sullivan managed to get off some good shots with his awesome camera! This is the fifth or sixth Great Shearwater that I have seen in California. I believe that it is the first one that I've seen in November. Another surprise was a single BULLER'S SHEARWATER, somewhat late (latest date that I have seen one is December 1). A distant FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER, single SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER, plenty of PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS and many BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATERS were also found. Other early winter specialties, ANCIENT MURRELETS and BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES made a nice showing, along with BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES. Very few NORTHERN FULMARS were recorded. And, as is often the case, few cetaceans, save a handful of PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHINS near the end of the day, bow-riding. No phalaropes were found. 

The morning started out auspiciously for me, waking to a dream of a running mountain lion, followed by a real earthquake, and then "pink sky in the morning" on my drive to Monterey. So, it was one of those days where I just "had a feeling." We went south from Point Pinos to the Big Sur Lighthouse, staying mostly 3-4 miles offshore the entire day. I haven't been that far south in a long time. The coastline was just magnificent. There was a northeast wind in the morning of about 10 knots, which laid down completely in the afternoon. Heading south was a great idea, as it turned out.

This trip completes our 2008 year of pelagic trips in California. We would like to thank all of the birders who came from near and far to see the splendors of our special marine life off the California central coast. We hope to see you in the coming year. The leaders on the November 29 trip were: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Clay Kempf, John Sterling, Jennifer Green, Brian Sullivan, and Debra Shearwater.

Start off the New Year with our January 17th pelagic trip from Monterey. Please note, Debra Shearwater will only be available by email during the month of December. 

The complete species list for NOVEMBER 29, 2008 follows:

RED-THROATED LO0N-1

PACIFIC LOON- 225

COMMON LOON- 10

EARED GREBE- 15

WESTERN GREBE- 15

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 21

NORTHERN FULMAR- 5

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 125

FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 1

**GREATER SHEARWATER- 1

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 1

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 27

SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER- 1

BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER- 1250

BROWN PELICAN- +

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- +

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 3

SURF SCOTER- 140

RED-BREASTED MERGANSER- 3

BRANT- 9

BLACK TURNSTONE- 1

POMARINE JAEGER- 9

BONAPARTE'S GULL- 1

HEERMANN'S GULL- 200

MEW GULL- 4

CALIFORNIA GULL- 150

HERRING GULL- 4

THAYER'S GULL- 2

WESTERN GULL- 200

GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL- 15

WESTERN/GLAUCOUS-WINGED- 3

BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE- 26

COMMON MURRE- 20

ANCIENT MURRELET- 33

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 320

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 145

PEREGRINE FALCON- 1, on the radio tower on Cannery Row

SEA OTTER- 8

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 50

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 30

BLUE SHARK- 1

Wishing you a joyful holiday season,

Debra

Debra Shearwater

Shearwater Journeys, Inc.

PO Box 190

Hollister, CA 95024

831.637.8527

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

www.shearwaterjourneys.com

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

Shearwater Journeys' Exclusive Charter

ANTARCTICA, SOUTH GEORGIA, FALKLAND ISLANDS, & WEDDELL SEA

Hello, Adventurers,

I would like to invite you to join Shearwater Journeys, Inc. on a unique, chartered voyage on the Professor Multanovskiy to Antarctica, South Georgia, The Falkland Islands, and into the Weddell Sea to search for Emperor Penguins, January 5-24, 2010. What's unique about it? 

For one thing, a brilliant assemblage of six Shearwater Journeys' leaders will be on board: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, John Sterling, Clay Kempf, Don Doolittle, and Debra Shearwater. Together we have over 100 years of ocean experience. We know seabirds and marine life! We've been involved in ocean trips for three decades. Each leader will be presenting lectures on such intriguing subjects as cutting edge knowledge of Adelie Penguins and climate change, Flora of the Falklands, Ice, history, geology, marine mammals —as well as fun things, such as Antarctic Jeopardy! (Who ever heard of that?)

Our small group size of 48 means that we offer one of the highest passenger/leader ratio of any voyage to the region— 6 SJ leaders, plus 2 Expedition staff, bringing you a richer experience.

Our itinerary focuses completely on wildlife, the stars of the voyage! We aim to make as many landings as possible for as long as possible, to give you an in-depth experience. 

Our voyage is scheduled at the absolute peak time of the year for wildlife activity— the height of the austral summer when penguins are with chicks.

Traveling with like-minded passengers allows for a more cohesive group.

Observe up to TEN SPECIES OF PENGUINS! We will be venturing into the Weddell Sea, near Snow Hill Island to make a dedicated search for EMPEROR PENGUINS. We will be searching for the single ERECT-CRESTED PENGUIN in the Falkland Islands, as well. By including the Chile pre-trip, add HUMBOLDT PENGUIN and possibly PERUVIAN DIVING PETREL to complete your diving petrel world list!

The voyage begins and ends in Ushuaia, Argentina which makes for a better air fare rate, eliminating the need for an "open jaw" ticket.

Our voyage is one of the best values for travel to the Antarctic region because no commission-earning travel agents are involved. Debra Shearwater, herself, communicates with each and every person. 

After thirtyfive years of ocean experience, and seventeen years of worldwide expedition experience, I have organized one of the best voyages to this region, ever. At this time, we have only 4.5 cabins available: 1 superior ($19895), and three Double Private ($16995), and one sharing female in a Double Private ($16995). If you are a single female, you will not need to find a cabin mate, as one is already available. Rates quoted are per person. Also at this time, we can offer a $1000 per cabin discount, or $500 per person, if booked by January 30, 2009. The night of January 5 at the Hotel Albatros in Ushuaia is included in the expedition fee. Detailed information can be found on the Shearwater Journeys' home page: www.shearwaterjourneys.com. To book your cabin, or for more information, please contact Debra Shearwater by email during the month of December. (I will be in Panama — there's more than seabirds in the world— and will have intermittent email). 

This is going to be a great trip, nothing ordinary about it! Our expedition leader has just returned from Antarctica, where he recently found 20 Emperor Penguins near Snow Hill Island! We are going to rock, big time on this voyage! Be there! 

Here's what Hadoram Shirihai has to say about this voyage: 

"I checked Debra Shearwater's Antarctic Voyage plan and found it to be the most attractive program to these remote wild areas on the planet. Since I have spent some time with Debra at sea, I am confident that she is the best qualified to lead such expedition to the Antarctic waters. What makes Debra different is that she is simply among the best seabird and marine-mammal observers in the world, eager to observe and to learn more about sea-life. She is an excellent organizer, too. Surely, Debra Shearwater's Antarctic Voyage is the best that one could dream about... Highly recommended!"

—Hadoram Shirihai, author of the definitive A Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife: The Birds and Marine Mammals of the Antarctic Continent and the Southern Ocean , A & C Black and Princeton University Press).

Penguins & Albatrosses forever,

Debra

Debra Shearwater

Shearwater Journeys, Inc.

PO Box 190

Hollister, CA 95024

831.637.8527

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

www.shearwaterjourneys.com

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

Shearwater Journeys' Exclusive Charter