OCT 17 & 18, 2008 PELAGIC TRIP REPORTS

Hello, Seabirders,

Shearwater Journey's pelagic trips on October 17 from BODEGA BAY and October 18 from MONTEREY BAY were the last trips of the fall season. Both trips were excellent, with good sea conditions, and many seabirds and marine mammals. Highlights of the October 17th trip included: flocks of more than a 100 BULLER'S SHEARWATERS, and one Buller's Shearwater standing on wad of bull kelp; 3 FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATERS; a small influx of NORTHERN FULMARS; possibly the last SOUTH POLAR SKUAS of the season; several MEW GULLS; and arriving BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES; a PALM WARBLER about 15 miles offshore in Sonoma County; and several STELLER'S SEA LIONS. County birders enjoyed adding many species to both their Sonoma and Marin County lists. Highlights of the October 18th trip from Monterey Bay included: a CACKLING GOOSE flying over the harbor; flocks of migrating PACIFIC LOONS; 2 or 3 SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATERS; 1 MANX SHEARWATER; 4 BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATERS; a FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER sitting on the water, providing knock out views and photo-ops; arriving BONAPARTE'S GULLS; good numbers of CASSIN'S AUKLETS; and half a dozen KILLER WHALES interacting with CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS and HUMPBACK WHALES. The heavy gale force winds from the northwest cooled the sea surface temperature down to about 55F and was probably part of the influx of fulmars, trickling of kittiwakes, and short-tailed shearwaters. A deep, red tide had formed inside and just outside of the Monterey harbor. Those folks who signed on for both trips accumulated quite a seabird/marine mammal species list!

Our next trips from Monterey with spaces available are NOVEMBER 29 with Clay Kempf, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Jennifer Green, Luke Cole, and Debra Shearwater leading, and JANUARY 17, 2009. Please email Debra Shearwater for a reservation/information.

Many, many thanks to all of the participants who traveled from near and far to join us on our trips this year! We couldn't do it without you! The leaders for October 17th were: Lisa Hug, Jennifer Green, John Sterling, Alan Hopkins, David Vanderpluym, David Wimpfheimer, Steve Howell, and Debra Shearwater. The leaders for the October 18th trip were: Clay Kempf, Linda Terrill, Scott Terrill, David Vander Pluym, And Debra Shearwater. Lauren Harter was chummer on both trips. Many thanks, Lauren!

The complete species list follows:

OCTOBER 17 BODEGA BAY/OCT 18 MONTEREY BAY 2008:

PACIFIC LOON- 3/40

COMMON LOON- 2/2

EARED GREBE- 5/25

WESTERN GREBE- 5/6

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 9/5

NORTHERN FULMAR- 13/12

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 171/220

FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 3/2

BULLER'S SHEARWATER-920/0

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 41/75

SOOTY/SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER- 3/3

SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER- 0/2 or 3

MANX SHEARWATER- 0/1

BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER- 0/4

BROWN PELICAN- 25/125

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 50/325

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 3/0

SURF SCOTER- 2/0

CANADA GOOSE- 0/7

CACKLING GOOSE- 0/1

GREATER SCAUP- 4/0

BRANT- 2/0

NORTHERN PINTAIL- 0/3

BLACK TURNSTONE- 1/4

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 0/34

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 6/0

POMARINE JAEGER- 15/6

POMARINE/PARASITIC- 6/2

PARASITIC JAEGER- 0/1

BONAPARTE'S GULL- 0/8

HEERMANN'S GULL- 81/200

MEW GULL- 4/0

CALIFORNIA GULL- 380/180

HERRING GULL- 10/0

WESTERN GULL- 250/370

GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL- 3/0

WESTERN/GLAUCOUS-WINGED- 10/0

BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE- 2/0

ELEGANT TERN- 0/27

COMMON MURRE- 250/120

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 5/0

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 33/60

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 35/225

*PALM WARBLER- 1/0, about 15 miles offshore in Sonoma County. It flew toward land.

PEREGRINE FALCON- 0/1, on the radio tower along Cannery Row.

SEA OTTER- 0/12

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 2/225

STELLER'S SEA LION- 7/0

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 1/2

NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL- 1/1

HARBOR SEAL- +/5

HUMPBACK WHALE- 5/20

KILLER WHALE- 0/6

NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHIN- 16/0

RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 0/400

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 50/20

DALL'S PORPOISE- 16/6

OCEAN SUNFISH- 0/2

BLUE SHARK- 1/2

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

SHEARWATER JOURNEYS' TRIP REPORTS: OCT 9, 11, & 12, 2008

Howdy, Seabirders,

This report covers Shearwater Journey's pelagic trips on October 9, 11, & 12, 2008. The October 9 trip which was set to depart from Bodega Bay was canceled due to a gale warning by NOAA on October 8th at 12:30 p.m. Everyone was refunded their full fare for this trip. Turns out it was a very wise decision. The October 11th trip departed from Monterey as planned since the forecast for Monterey Bay was much better that day. Being half-moon shaped, the bay is somewhat protected from the prevailing northwesterly winds. Highlights of this trip included one HARLEQUIN DUCK in the harbor, 35 WHITE-FRONTED GEESE (!), and a great show of 5 KILLER WHALES with HUMPBACK WHALES near Moss Landing. The October 12th trip departed from Santa Cruz on the north side of Monterey Bay. Highlights included great views of MARBLED MURRELETS just outside the harbor, 25 SURFBIRDS on the jetty, 1 or 2 FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATERS, and a great show of RISSO'S DOLPHINS.

We would like to thank all of the participants who traveled with us on these trips. The leaders were: October 11: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Gerry McChesney, & Ryan Terrill; October 12: Clay Kempf, Linda Terrill, Scott Terrill, John Sterling, Don Doolittle, Jennifer Green, Jim Danzenbaker, & Debra Shearwater.

Our last two trips of the fall season are scheduled for October 17 from Bodega Bay with leaders John Sterling, Lisa Hug, Jennifer Green, Alan Hopkins, Steve Howell, David Vander Pluym, David Wimpfheimer, & Debra Shearwater, and Lauren Harter, chumming; and for October 18 from Monterey Bay with leaders Clay Kempf, Linda Terrill, Scott Terrill, David Vander Pluym, and chummer, Lauren Harter. Spaces are still available on both trips. Our next scheduled trips from Monterey are November 29 and January 17.

The complete species list follows: 

OCTOBER 11 MONTEREY COUNTY/ OCTOBER 12 SANTA CRUZ COUNTY:

PACIFIC LOON- 5/3

COMMON LOON- 0/2

EARED GREBE- 0/20

WESTERN GREBE- 0/102

CLARK'S GREBE- 0/20

WESTERN/CLARK'S- 0/25

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 6/10

NORTHERN FULMAR- 7/6

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 165/180

FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 1/1or 2

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 38/85

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 105/29

SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER- 2/0

BROWN PELICAN- 225/125

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 250/75

PELAGIC CORMORANT-2/2

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT-0/1

HARLEQUIN DUCK-1/0

SURF SCOTER- 85/20

WHITE-FRONTED GEESE- 35/0

CANADA GOOSE- 0/6

SNOW GOOSE- 0/1

RUDDY TURNSTONE- 0/1

BLACK TURNSTONE- 6/3

SURFBIRD- 0/25

WILLET- 0/3

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 15/8

RED PHALAROPE- 1/ 2

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 0/7

POMARINE JAEGER- 0/3

POMARINE/PARASITIC- 0/2

BONAPARTE'S GULL- 1/5

HEERMANN'S GULL- 155/85

CALIFORNIA GULL- 150/120

HERRING GULL- 0/2

WESTERN GULL- 155/250

GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL- 2/0

WESTERN/GLAUCOUS-WINGED- 10/0

ELEGANT TERN- 6/3

ARCTIC TERN- 1/0

COMMON MURRE- 53/850

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 1/1

MARBLED MURRELET- 0/10

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 45/16

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 60/77

SEA OTTER- 6/27

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 140/+

NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL- 1/1

HARBOR SEAL-3/20

HUMPBACK WHALE- 20/18

KILLER WHALE- 5/0

NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHIN- 0/7

RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 12/18

Shearwaters forever,

Debra Shearwater

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

BODEGA BAY OCT 9 PELAGIC TRIP CANCELED: IMPORTANT NOTICE: GALE WARNING

HELLO, SEABIRDERS

THIS IS AN IMPORTANT NOTICE:

The Shearwater Journey's OCTOBER 9TH PELAGIC TRIP DEPARTING FROM BODEGA BAY TOMORROW, IS CANCELED DUE TO A GALE WARNING. Please contact anyone that you know who might be signed on for this trip, and post on additional lists. 

As much as we would love to show you seabirds, it will not be possible with the weather conditions that are predicted, and will almost certainly materialize. This includes canceling for the WFO, Western Field Ornithologists group on board the boat. We are very sorry to have to make this decision and will be contacting everyone that we can possibly reach at this time. A full refund will be sent to all passengers within 30 days. Thank you for your continued support of the Shearwater Journeys' pelagic trips.

Shearwaters forever,

Debra

The NOAA weather report is as follows: 

POINT ARENA TO PIGEON POINT 20 TO 60 NM OFFSHORE-

824 AM PDT WED OCT 8 2008

GALE WARNING IN EFFECT THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON

TODAY

NW WINDS 20 TO 30 KT BECOMING 25 TO 35 KT BY MID-MORNING.

WIND WAVES 4 TO 7 FT. NW SWELL 8 TO 10 FT AT 10 SECONDS AND S 2

FT AT 15 SECONDS.

TONIGHT

NW WINDS 30 TO 40 KT. COMBINED SEAS 11 TO 15 FT

DOMINANT PERIOD 10 SECONDS.

THU

N WINDS 30 TO 35 KT. COMBINED SEAS 11 TO 16 FT DOMINANT

PERIOD 10 SECONDS.

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

OCTOBER 3, 4, 5, 2008 MONTEREY PELAGIC TRIP REPORT

Howdy, Seabirders,

Three days of seabirding on Monterey Bay with Shearwater Journeys produced quite an array of seabirds. This report covers trips on October 3, 4, and offshore on Oct 5 to the albacore fishing grounds. All trips departed from Fishermans' Wharf in Monterey. Highlights included: 2 PIGEON GUILLEMOTS on October 3 (most guillemots have departed for their wintering area, Queen Charlotte Island), 5 species of shearwaters on October 4, including 325 PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS, 2 FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATERS, 25 BULLER'S SHEARWATERS, and 10 BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATERS with participants having excellent views of all shearwaters, sitting on the water. Another highlight of the October 4th trip was our first rainfall since March 15th! Living in a Mediterranean climate, we rarely see rain at this time of year. Even so, it did not amount to much, or impact the birding at all. Capping off the three days of seabirding on October 5 the highlights included all of the following in SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: 6 XANTUS' MURRELETS  scrippsi, 5 XANTUS MURRELETS hypoleucus that breeds on islands off Baja California, 1800 ASHY STORM-PETRELS, 15 BLACK STORM-PETRELS, and 4 LEAST STORM-PETRELS, 8 SOUTH POLAR SKUAS, 13 POMARINE JAEGERS, 9 PARASITIC JAEGERS, and 3 SABINE'S GULLS. Everyone on board had excellent views of the murrelets, while the Baja murrelets gave their distinctive calls! County birders were having a field day! All of these birds were out at the albacore grounds, some 35 miles off Monterey. Fish were jumping! Lots of bait fish and bonita were around. The sea surface temperature was a balmy 64.7F and the water was the deep aqua blue, clear water that both the albacore and murrelets prefer. Murrelets are one of the target species of the albacore trips. The least storm-petrels were a great bonus! It was a great set of trips!

Where the heck did that massive storm-petrel flock of 10,000 birds on September 14th go?? After searching for them on many trips since that date, even on some very calm seas, with zero luck — I believe the mystery has been solved! It has been reported to me from birders who took a cruise ship from Vancouver to Los Angeles that they ran into the storm-petrels far away from where we last saw them! It would seem that it has been confirmed that the storm-petrel flocks are not within reaching distance of Monterey trips.

We would like to thank all of our participants who took part in these three trips. The leaders were as follows:

October 3= Clay Kempf, Jennifer Green, & Debra Shearwater

October 4= Clay Kempf, Brian Sullivan, Oscar Johnson, Adam Searcy, & Debra Shearwater

October 5= Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, David Vander Pluym, Oscar Johnson, Adam Searcy, Ryan Terrill, & Debra Shearwater.

Spaces are still available on the following trips from Monterey: October 11, 18, November 29, January 17; from Bodega Bay: October 9 & 17. 

The complete species lists follow:

OCT 3/ OCT 4, 2008

PACIFIC LOON- 1/0

COMMON LOON- 0/5

WESTERN GREBE- 3/0

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 11/10

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 150/325

FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 0/2

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 157/285

SOOTY/SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER- 1/1

BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER- 0/10

BROWN PELICAN- 80/150

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 300/55

HARLEQUIN DUCK- 0/1, in the harbor

MARBLED GODWIT- 2/0

BLACK TURNSTONE- 0/5

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 9/33

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 1/3

POMARINE JAEGER- 8/23

POMARINE/PARASITIC- 6/4

PARASITIC JAEGER- 2/14

PARASITIC/LONG-TAILED- 0/1

HEERMANNS' GULL- 350/175

CALIFORNIA GULL- 40/500

WESTERN GULL- 120/500

SABINE'S GULL- 0/1

ELEGANT TERN- 38/45

COMMON MURRE- 420/250

PIGEON GUILLEMOT-2/0

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 21/31

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 270/87

PEREGRINE FALCON- 0/1, on the radio tower on Cannery Row

SEA OTTER- 3/5

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 100/++

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 0/6

HUMPBACK WHALE- 14/24

NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHIN- 0/20

RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 0/15

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 80/85

DALL'S PORPOISE- 12/6

OCEAN SUNFISH- 7/10

BLUE SHARK- 3/0

OCTOBER 5, 2008

MTY/SCZ/COUNTIES

PACIFIC LOON- 0/1

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 4/7

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 75/22

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 17/2

ASHY STORM-PETREL- 0/1800

BLACK STORM-PETREL- 0/15

LEAST STORM-PETREL-0/4

WEIRD STORM-PETREL-1, with a white belly. Presumed to be an Ashy, unless photos prove otherwise.

BROWN PELICAN- 35/2

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 16/1

RED PHALAROPE- 7/0

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 3/8

POMARINE JAEGER- 9/13

POMARINE/PARASITIC- 0/1

PARASITIC JAEGER- 2/9

PARASITIC/LONG-TAILED- 0/1

HEERMANN'S GULL- 275/8

WESTERN GULL- 475/15

SABINE'S GULL- 12/3

COMMON MURRE- 40/0

XANTUS' MURRELET (scrippsi)- 0/6

XANTUS' MURRELET (hypoleucus)- 0/5

XANTUS'/CRAVERI'S MURRELET- 0/3

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 36/3

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 120/4

HUMMINGBIRD SP.- 1/0

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 60

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 10

HUMPBACK WHALE- 12

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 25

OCEAN SUNFISH- 2

BLUE SHARK- 2

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

SBT COUNTY: OUT & ABOUT

Hello, Birders,

I made a fast jet around a couple of SAN BENITO COUNTY hot spots, with nothing much new to report. At VISTA PARK HILL in downtown Hollister, things were pretty dead. When the giant lawnmowers turned on, I left. The new place to check here, though, is the Community Garden just down the hill from the entrance to the park. 

On SANTA ANA VALLEY ROAD, I found a CASSIN'S KINGBIRD. It was sitting on the very top of a telephone pole near a white house with green trim, #1810, with a For Sale sign out front. A corral is just across the street from the house. The kingbird flew to barbed wire fence. Most folks are not aware that Cassin's Kingbirds can be found in small numbers throughout the year. Several WESTERN BLUEBIRDS were also on the wires.

A sub-adult BALD EAGLE was on lower QUIEN SABE ROAD. At PAICINES RESERVOIR, change in shorebirds seemed to be the "biggest" event, with a dozen LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS along the mud flats, and 3 GREATER YELLOWLEGS. Two CLARK'S GREBES, RUDDY DUCKS, CANADA GOOSE, AMERICAN WIDGEON, and the usual birds were around. The ADULT BALD EAGLE was sitting in the single, small oak tree on the levee. 

At the BALD EAGLE NEST, location undisclosed, I was surprised to see an ADULT BALD EAGLE near the nest, while two ADULT GOLDEN EAGLES were perched at the top of oak trees nearby. Perhaps the bald eagle was protecting its nest from being usurped by the golden eagles? Sadly, this nest failed to produce young this year after several years of success, producing two young each season. Let's hope that 2009 is a better year— in more ways than one! 

Eagles 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

SMART TUFTED PUFFIN on the SEPTEMBER 27, 2008 MONTEREY PELAGIC TRIP

Hi, Birders,

I hope that you will enjoy this beautiful image by Eric Preston of the TUFTED PUFFIN that was spotted by Shearwater Journey's leader, Linda Terrill! This is the only Tufted Puffin reported this fall from Monterey Bay pelagic trips. These puffins are presumed to nest at the Farallon Islands, about 22 miles off San Francisco, although a nest has never been found.

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 San Benito County: Sep 29, 2008 with Jon Dunn

Howdy, Birders,

Following the Monterey Bay Birding Festival, on Monday, September 29, Jon Dunn and I went to birding in San Benito County for a few hours with the idea of ticking off some county birds for Jon, and of course, having fun. Seems Jon is getting interested in the county birding that is so popular in California. 

We met at VISTA PARK HILL in downtown Hollister, off Hill Street. It was pretty quiet, but we did manage WESTERN TANAGER (2), ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD (10), NUTTALLS' WOODPECKER (2), WESTERN WOOD-PEEWEE (1), BLACK PHOEBE, SCRUB JAY, OAK TITMOUSE, BUSHTIT, NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (4), YELLOW WARBLER (1), CALIFORNIA TOWHEE, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW (1- FOF), EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE, MOURNING DOVE, and AMERICAN GOLDFINCH.

At the HOLLISTER INDUSTRIAL PONDS we found: EARED GREBE (2- FOF), GADWALL, MALLARD, NORTHERN SHOVELER (300), RUDDY DUCK, BLUE-WINGED TEAL (2), AMERICAN KESTREL, SPOTTED SANDPIPER (1), BLACK-NECKED STILT, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, LEAST SANDPIPER, RED-NECKED PHALAROPE, MARSH WREN (1), CALIFORNIA THRASHER, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, WILSON'S WARBLER, BEWICK'S WREN, and LINCOLN'S SPARROW.

On SANTA ANA VALLEY ROAD, Jon spotted the FOF FERRUGINOUS HAWK. We zipped up SANTA ANITA ROAD to add ACORN WOODPECKER, CALIFORNIA QUAIL and YELLOW-BILLED MAGPIE. But, the real show was on lower QUIEN SABE ROAD where a quartet of eagles was fighting over a rabbit kill!! Two BALD EAGLES, one adult, and one possible HY, had the rabbit, but two GOLDEN EAGLES stole the rabbit from them. The adult golden eagle mantled the prey with incredible intensity. Not one of the other eagles dared to come near!

At PAICINES RESERVOIR, we added: CANADA GOOSE (the greater white-fronted geese had left), GREEN-WINGED TEAL, CANVASBACK (1 female), RING-NECKED DUCK (1 male), BLUE-WINGED TEAL (1), RUDDY DUCK, PIED-BILLED GREBE, CLARK'S GREBE, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, GREAT BLUE HERON, GREAT EGRET, TURKEY VULTURE, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, PECTORAL SANDPIPER (1), HOUSE WREN (1), WESTERN BLUEBIRD, WESTERN TANAGLER (1), SONG SPARROW, BREWER'S BLACKBIRD, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, HOUSE FINCH, and LESSER GOLDFINCH. While we were at the reservoir, two delightful ladies, Shirley Murphy and Caroline Rogers, pulled up. They were also out birding, and we exchanged notes. 

At SOAP LAKE in the northern part of the county, we found: GADWALL, MALLARD, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, SNOWY EGRET (1), NORTHERN HARRIER (1, HY), AMERICAN COOT, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER (1), KILLDEER, AMERICAN AVOCET, BLACK-NECKED STILT, GREATER YELLOWLEGS (21), LESSER YELLOWLEGS (1), LEAST SANDPIPER (50), LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER (23), BURROWING OWL (1), SAY'S PHOEBE, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, WARBLING VIREO (1), VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, MARSH WREN, CHIPPING SPARROW (1), SAVANNAH SPARROW, SONG SPARROW, and VIRGINIA RAIL.

It was a pleasure to spend the day birding my home patch with Jon.

Have fun,

Debi

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

TUFTED PUFFIN STAR: SEPTEMBER 27, 2008 TRIP REPORT

Howdy, Seabirders,

The September 28th Shearwater Journey's pelagic trip from Monterey started out with some dense fog, that lifted by 10 a.m. with great visibility for the remainder of the day. The singular highlight of the day was TUFTED PUFFIN that leader, Linda Terrill spotted sitting on the water. Everyone on board had great views, and the photographers were delighted. This represents the only fall sighting of a tufted puffin for Monterey Bay. (Although, our trip to the Farallon Islands in early August always records them, as they are presumed to breed on the islands). We saw most of the fall migrants, including five species of shearwaters: 180 PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS, 1 or 2 FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATERS, 20 BULLER'S SHEARWATERS, 330 SOOTY SHEARWATERS, and 3 to 5 BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATERS. The large, mixed feeding groups of both whales, dolphins, sea lions, and seabirds continued.

We thank all of the trip participants who traveled from near and far, and the Monterey Bay Birding Festival for its support of this trip. The leaders were: Linda Terrill, Scott Terrill, Jim Danzenbaker, Oscar Johnson, Don Doolittle, Steve Howell, and Debra Shearwater. 

Spaces are still open on all of our October trips, except the October 12th trip from Santa Cruz which is sold out. Spaces are available on the November 29th trip.

The complete species tally follows:

SEPTEMBER 27, 2008 MONTEREY BAY

PACIFIC LOON- 10

COMMON LOON- 2

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 29

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 180

FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 1 or 2

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 20

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 330

BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER- 3 to 5

ASHY STORM-PETREL- 3

BLACK STORM-PETREL- 1

BROWN PELICAN- 100

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 300

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 2

BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER- 5

BLACK TURNSTONE- 8

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 45

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 5

POMARINE JAEGER- 9

POMARINE/PARASITIC- 2

PARASITIC JAEGER- 4

JAEGER SP.- 2

HEERMANN'S GULL- 150

CALIFORNIA GULL- 70

WESTERN GULL- 300

SABINE'S GULL- 3

ELEGANT TERN- 70

COMMON MURRE- 800

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 2, in the harbor

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 15

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 180

TUFTED PUFFIN- 1

SEA OTTER- 3

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 400

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 2

HUMPBACK WHALE- 30

NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHIN- 100

RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 420

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 220

DALL'S PORPOISE- 12

OCEAN SUNFISH- 2

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

PELAGIC WARBLERS: SEPTEMBER 28, 2008 TRIP REPORT

Hello, Seabirders,

The undisputed highlight of Shearwater Journey's September 28th pelagic trip from Monterey was at least four species of WARBLERS! In Santa Cruz County waters, a BLACKPOLL warbler flew around the boat. In Monterey County, a HY PALM WARLBER was gently caught by leader, Oscar Johnson, placed in a warm, dark container, and released near Fisherman's Wharf upon our return. Also in Monterey County, was a female type AMERICAN REDSTART. And, finally, the beauty of the day was a HY female, BAY-BREASTED WARBLER which landed repeatedly on the boat, and was photographed! This warbler was a life bird for many on board. The warbler fall out on board our boat matched the fall outs reported along the coast. Other migrants included a male CINNAMON TEAL, a DUNLIN, and a DOWITCHER. An unusual sighting was a very, very large piece of dead squid! This squid was much larger than the Humboldt Squids that we have seen in recent years. Not surprisingly, 8-12 BAIRD'S BEAKED WHALES were sighted within a few minutes. These large toothed whales probably killed the squid, as it is one of their presumed prey items. We also saw large numbers of BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES (47), feeding on the cast off remains of a fishing vessel, along with many PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS, and a few BULLER'S SHEARWATERS. Only one BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER was observed. Many, many active feeding flocks of gulls, CALIFORNIA SES LIONS, BROWN PELICANS, BRANDT'S CORMORANTS, and shearwaters were feeding with HUMPBACK WHALES. In spite of excellent conditions, we did not find the storm-petrel flocks, even after searching the recent locations, and past year's locations. The sea surface temperature changed from previous weeks, with some cooler temperatures being recorded: 56-59F. Maybe the storm-petrel flocks moved to the Pioneer Canyon. Hard to say.

We thank all of the participants who traveled from near and far, and the Monterey Bay Birding Festival, for being a part of our day. The leaders were: Jon Dunn, Denise Wight, Jennifer Green, Oscar Johnson, Steve Howell, Don Doolittle, and Debra Shearwater. 

October trips are a great time to look for arriving Short-tailed Shearwaters, and unusual/rare shearwaters such as Streaked and Wedge-tailed. Spaces are still available on most of our October trips. The October 12th trip departing from Santa Cruz is SOLD OUT. 

Spaces are available on the following trips departing from MONTEREY: OCTOBER 3, 4, 5, 11, & 18; NOVEMBER 29; and from BODEGA BAY: OCTOBER 9 & 17. Please contact Debra Shearwater (below) for a reservation.

The complete species list follows:

SEPTEMBER 28, 2008 MONTEREY BAY PELAGIC TRIP

PACIFIC LOON- 1

WESTERN GREBE- 1

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 47

NORTHERN FULMAR- 1

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 500

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 8

BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER- 1

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 125

ASHY STORM-PETREL- 40

BROWN PELICAN- 100

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 500

CINNAMON TEAL- 1, male

BLACK TURNSTONE- 7

DUNLIN- 1

DOWITCHER- 1

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 9

POMARINE JAEGER- 7

POMARINE/PARASITIC- 3

PARASITIC JAEGER- 4

HEERMANN'S GULL- 150

CALIFORNIA GULL- 1700

WESTERN GULL- 500

ELEGANT TERN- 100

COMMON MURRE- 700

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 9

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 700

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

PALM WARBLER- 1 HY

BLACKPOLL WARBLER- 1 

AMERICAN REDSTART- 1, female type

BAY-BREASTED WARBLER- 1 HY female

SEA OTTER- 10

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 600

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 3

NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL- 1

HARBOR SEAL- 10

HUMPBACK WHALE- 45

BAIRD'S BEAKED WHALE- 8 to 12

NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHIN- 20

RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 10 to 15

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 110

DALL'S PORPOISE- 19

OCEAN SUNFISH- 1

BLUE SHARK- 1, feeding on the squid carcass

GIANT SQUID CARCASS- 1

MOON JELLIES

EGG YOLK JELLIES

Shearwaters & warblers 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