SILVER DAY AT SEA: MONTEREY BAY AUGUST 22, 2014

Shearwater Journeys's Monterey seabirding trip, August 22, 2014 began in the morning with breaching HUMPBACK WHALES, and ended late afternoon with more of the same. We headed south to SOBERANES CANYON and southwest offshore which turned out to be a great decision. There was a light swell and breeze from the south. We encountered greasy, flat, silver seas offshore which made spotting wildlife easy. Highlights included: BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATERS, including one leucistic individual; the first BULLER'S SHEARWATERS for Monterey this fall; close up views of SCRIPPS'S MURRELET; first of fall ARCTIC & COMMON TERNS; spectacular encounters with PARASITIC JAEGERS STEALING FISH FROM SABINE'S GULL; and amazing moments with OCEAN SUNFISH (Mola mola) SUCKING IN BY-THE-WIND-SAILORS! The HUMPBACK WHALE show continues, as do the RISSO'S DOLPHINS.

All images by Beth Hamel.

Please do not use without permission.

BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON fishing at the dock in the morning.

A Category I hurricane off Baja produced a light swell and breeze from the south. So, I decided to head southwest hoping that this would influence seabirds to move in our direction. That seems to have happened, and I'm betting this will continue over the coming days. The sea surface temperatures (SST's) ranged from 61 to a hot 65 F throughout the day!

I spotted a MINKE WHALE right off Point Pinos, but this HUMPBACK WHALE, above, was the first whale that everyone on board observed.

Off Asilomar Beach, we encountered the a large flock of BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATERS. 

We carefully look through these flocks for any "odd" shearwaters.

These are inshore shearwaters, dwelling mostly on the Continental Shelf. 

I spotted this LEUCISTIC BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER, above and below!

We had ample time to study it while it was sitting on the water in the flock, and once it flew. A fast fly-by of such a shearwater can cause a lot of confusion. In the past, I've seen completely white Black-vented Shearwaters. Actually, this individual is in the flock image, above. Can you find it?

Continuing south to Carmel Bay, we had views of the great Crocker Mansion, below.

A flock of migrating DOWITCHERS passed us by as we headed offshore.

Offshore, we encountered a lot of marine life, including this flock of RED PHALAROPES. 

At this time of year, Red Phalaropes are more commonly found offshore, while Red-necked Phalaropes are found inshore. During winter storms, Red Phalaropes can be blown to shore, and "wreck" on beaches.

As reported previously, we continue to encounter high numbers of OCEAN SUNFISH, Mola Mola.

We witnessed a rare sighting: the Ocean Sunfish sucking in BY-THE-WIND SAILORS! Ocean Sunfish eat jellies, but this is the first time I've seen them eating the Sailors!

They sucked them in like a vacuum cleaner!

OCEAN SUNFISH are the heaviest of the bony fishes, weighing up to 5,000 pounds. 

They are covered with parasites and often "invite" gulls to pick on these, as seen below. 

See more about OCEAN SUNFISH with images, at Jackie Sones's blog, here.

A RISSO'S DOLPHIN, below, with an oddly folded dorsal fin caused me to take a second look. This individual was traveling with other Risso's Dolphins. Notice the scars on the body. 

See Jackie Sones's Risso's Dolphin images from this day, here. 

BULLER'S SHEARWATERS put on a good show. 

Notice the greasy, glassy-smooth, silver seas! 

Both COMMON & ARCTIC TERNS passed us in small flocks, offshore. A few LONG-TAILED JAEGERS were chasing the terns. COMMON TERN, below.

In the image below, four PARASITIC JAEGERS chased a SABINE'S GULL!

Much screaming and vocalizing was going on between the jaegers and gull!

One of the PARASITIC JAEGERS closes in on the SABINE'S GULL!

Finally, the SABINE'S GULL DROPS ITS FISH & THE PARASITIC JAEGER SNAPS IT UP MID-AIR!

Click on the image: that's the fish midway between the two birds! 

The word, "jaeger" means "hunter."

PARASITIC JAEGER, above. 

POMARINE JAEGER, above. 

 One SCRIPPS'S MURRELET was found. This individual gave us considerable debate as to the identification. While the posture is more like Craveri's Murrelet, the rounded tail and short, thick bill are good field marks for Scripps's Murrelet. The bird appeared blacker, but I attribute that to the brighter sunlight (most days are quite gray). Also, the white chin and throat point more toward Scripps's Murrelet. Murrelet experts, especially Todd McGrath states that the white chin is not the best field mark and that he has never seen a Craver's Murrelet with a white chin. (He's also looked at specimens at the San Diego Natural History Museum. No Craveri's Murrelets show white chins). We were, all, very happy to have such wonderful views of this tiny alcid from the south.
More Scripp's Murrelet images from this day, here. 

This beautiful day ended with a distant breaching HUMPBACK WHALE! 

We stayed out a little bit longer, owing to such great encounters with marine life!

Truly, a SILVER DAY AT SEA!

Many thanks to all of the folks who joined us, from near and far. 

The leaders on this day were: Scott Terrill, Rick Fournier, Jennifer Green, Debi Shearwater.

THE COMPLETE SPECIES LIST FOR SHEARWATER JOURNEYS'S AUGUST 22, 2014 MONTEREY BAY PELAGIC TRIP FOLLOWS:

ALL SIGHTINGS FOR MONTEREY COUNTY:

BLAC-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 38

NORTHERN FULMAR- 2

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 355

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 9

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 520

BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER- 415

ASHY STORM-PETREL- 2

BROWN PELICAN- 17

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 705

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- 4

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 20

BLACK TURNSTONE- 2

DOWITCHER SP.- 35

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 135

RED PHALAROPE- 18

POMARINE JAEGER- 1

PARASITIC JAEGER- 9

LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 8

HEERMANN'S GULL- 60

CALIFORNIA GULL- 15

WESTERN GULL- 485

SABINE'S GULL- 24

ELEGANT TERN- 110

COMMON TERN- 14

COMMON/ARCTIC TERN- 3

ARCTIC TERN- 5

CASPIAN TERN- 1

COMMON MURRE- 235

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 3

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 3

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 42

SEA OTTER- 4

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 200

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 18

HARBOR SEAL- 12

MINKE WHALE- 1

HUMPBACK WHALE- 34 

SHORT-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHIN- 8

RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 56

DALL'S PORPOISE- 10

OCEAN SUNFISH- 27

BY-THE-WIND-SAILOR- ++

EGG YOLK JELLY- 2

SEA NETTLE- 1

MONTEREY SEABIRDS

with

SHEARWATER JOURNEYS

Our upcoming Monterey Seabird Trips with leaders:

SEP. 5: Rick Fournier, Nick Levendosky, Jennifer Green

SEP. 6: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill

SEP. 9: Tom Johnson, Rick Fournier

SEP. 10: Tom Johnson

SEP. 11: Jennifer Green

SEP. 12: Tim Miller, Dena Spatz

SEP. 13: ALBACORE TRIP: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Jennifer Green

SEP. 14: Clay Kempf

*SEP. 25: Jon Dunn, Nick Levendosky, Jim Danzenbaker

*SEP. 26: Kenn & Kimberly Kaufman, Scott & Linda Terrill

*SEP. 27: Scott & Linda Terrill, Jim Danzenbaker, Jennifer Green

*SEP. 28: Rick Fournier, Marissa Ortega-Welch, Courtenay Ray

OCT. 4: Nick Levendosky, Jennifer Green

OCT. 11: Nick Levendosky, Rich Fournier

* These trips are operated in association with the Monterey Bay Birding Festival. 

Popular leaders, Scott & Linda Terrill will present a seabird workshop, on Thursday, September 25 from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

KENN KAUFMAN will present the keynote talk on Saturday, September 27 at 7 p.m.

Sign up for the pelagic trips with Shearwater Journeys, directly. 

The ALBACORE TRIP, SEP. 13, departs from Monterey at 5:30 a.m. and returns at 5:30 p.m. and goes far offshore in search of rare seabirds!

Compliment your Monterey trip with a HALF MOON BAY pelagic trip (next one: SEP. 7), or jump on board one of our BODEGA BAY (SEP. 1 & 19) trips, especially if you are looking for storm-petrels! 

SILVER DAYS AT SEA FOREVER,

DEBI SHEARWATER

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

TRIP REPORT: HALF MOON BAY, AUGUST 17, 2014

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS, the common albatross at this time of year.

This is a trip report for Shearwater Journeys's pelagic seabirding trip from Half Moon Bay, August 17, 2014. Compared to the August 16th trip, the seas had picked up a fair amount — not horrible, but just enough to make finding and viewing seabirds more difficult. Hence, you'll notice fewer numbers of seabirds on this list compared to August 16th. This is why we always recommend doing more than one trip. Just as birding on land can be effected by weather, so can the same thing happen at sea. Best to not put all of one's eggs in one basket, relying on only one day at sea. In fact, most of the folks on board had already done our Monterey trip on August 15, or the August 16 Half Moon Bay trip. Everyone agreed that it was a pleasant day at sea, nonetheless. We spent most of our time near the 100 fathom line. Nonetheless, as Steve Rottenborn's images show, we saw a good selection of marine life!

SOOTY SHEARWATER, a trans-equatorial migrant.

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS, calling! They make high pitched whistles.

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER, about to take off, showing white wing linings and white breast, two-toned bill. 

RISSO'S DOLPHINS are being found on nearly every trip.

WILSON'S STORM-PETREL often comes into the chum slicks whereas Black and Ashy Storm-petrels do so less often. 

STELLER'S SEA LION, a Federally Endangered Species, often hangs around the weather buoy.

Many thanks to all the wonderful birders who joined Shearwater Journeys on this day at sea. The leaders were: Steve Rottenborn, Steve Tucker, Jim Danzenbaker, Debi Shearwater.

THE COMPLETE SPECIES LIST FOR SHEARWATER JOURNEYS'S AUGUST 17, 2014 HALF MOON BAY PELAGIC TRIP FOLLOWS:

TOTALS ONLY:
RED-THROATED LOON- 5
BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 53
NORTHERN FULMAR- 4
PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 352
SOOTY SHEARWATER- 240
BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER- 8
WILSON'S STORM-PETREL- 6
ASHY STORM-PETREL- 2
BLACK STORM-PETREL- 23
BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 35-
PELAGIC CORMORANT- 5
BLACK OYSTERCATCHER- 4
WHIMBREL- 4
BLACK TURNSTONE- 10
SURFBIRD- 2
DOWITCHER SP.- 10
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 148
SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 2
PARASITIC JAEGER- 1
HEERMANN'S GULL- 1 juvenile
WESTERN GULL- +
GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL- 1
COMMON TERN- 2
COMMON/ARCTIC TERN- 2
COMMON MURRE- 1952
PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 4
RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 24
BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD- flock of 3!
CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 20
STELLER'S SEA LION- 2
NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL- 1
HUMPBACK WHALE- 2
RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 12
PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 6
HARBOR PORPOISE- 24
OCEAN SUNFISH- 40

Color banded BROWN PELICAN, one of many on the jetties. 

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS often follow in the wake of our vessel, allowing great photography opportunities. 

The pelagic BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD!

SHEARWATERS FOREVER,

DEBI SHEARWATER

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

HALF MOON BAY PELAGIC TRIP JUMPING WITH MARINE LIFE! AUGUST 16, 2014

Shearwater Journeys's twelve hour August 16 pelagic seabirding trip from Half Moon Bay was filled with non-stop marine life action, from the smallest animals such as PTEROPODS to the a top predator, a SALMON SHARK. Seabirding was superb with highlights of BULLER'S and BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATERS; WILSON'S, ASHY and BLACK STORM-PETRELS; SOUTH POLAR SKUAS; one SABINE'S GULL; SCRIPPS'S MURRELETS and TUFTED PUFFINS! The appearance of three species of somewhat "tropical"marine mammals was very extraordinary: a school of LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHINS and a DWARF/PYGMY SPERM WHALE and a presumed offshore BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN. The pinniped list was extensive: CALIFORNIA and STELLER'S SEA LIONS; NORTHERN FUR SEALS; NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL, and HARBOR SEAL. Todd McGrath was intent on keeping a jelly list which included: EGG YOLK JELLY, MOON JELLY, SEA NETTLE, LION'S MANE JELLY, PURPLE-STRIPED JELLY and BY-THE-WIND-SAILORS. There was something to look at all day long, for twelve solid hours! 

We spent most of the day along the 100 Fathom Line, or edge of the Continental Shelf. It was very interesting that the storm-petrels were found along this contour because I haven't seen them in such shallow water for a great many decades. Usually, I have found them along the 500-800 fathom contour.  Sea Surface Temperatures (SST's) ranged from 61 to 63 F. 

PTEROPOD, above. From the 50 Fathom line to 100 Fathoms, the ocean was filled with plankton, including pteropods, salps and many jellies. Only a week ago, this was not the case. A pteropod is a gastropod or snail with a reduced or, no shell. They are also known as "sea butterflies."

SALPS in Debi's hand.

Image by Ann Nightingale

Salps form long, stringy colonies. They are barrel shaped planktonic tunicates. They move by contracting and pumping water through their gelatinous bodies. The jet propulsion of the slap is one of the most efficient in the animal kingdom. They have a complicated life cycle. We saw the part of the cycle that is called a blastozooid. They feed on phytoplankton — and, there seemed to be a lot of that around!

 A solitary HUMPBACK WHALE was just outside of the harbor. 

Image by Scott Terrill

Humpback Whales are commonly found during fall along our coast. However, the sighting of a DWARF/PYGMY SPERM WHALE is most unusual! In nearly forty years of trips off the California coast, I have only seen this animal once before. Only two of us on board saw it, myself and Scott Terrill. There are two species: Pygmy Sperm Whale and Dwarf Sperm Whale, both in the genus Kogia. I had five views of this unique animal at the surface, but could not be certain which species it was. We were on the Continental Shelf which is the presumed habitat of Pygmy Sperm Whale, but what I saw looked more like Dwarf Sperm Whale. I've seen both species on long ocean voyages in the Atlantic and Pacific, but this species was not on my radar! Very little is known about either species. And, of course, it will come as no surprise to anyone that this animal feeds on SQUID! I've been saying all weekend: "IT'S ALL ABOUT FOOD!" Something to look for on future trips this session!

SOOTY SHEARWATER

Image by Scott Terrill

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS

Image by Scott Terrill

 A happy birder!

Checking off the Life Birds~

 Francis Toldi has been doing pelagic trips with Shearwater Journeys since 1979!

 Colin Marchant has been doing trips with Shearwater Journeys since 1988!

Marcel Holyoak with his camera & Richard Hall, above.

A school of LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHINS, below. 

Image by Linda Terrill

Closer views of LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHINS.

Images by Scott Terrill

This species was another surprise, along with a "presumed" offshore BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN. (I would have preferred a closer view of that single dolphin, though). Long-beaked Common Dolphins are the prototypical dolphin in shape and proportions. The beak is long compared to the Short-beaked Common Dolphin, with Long-beaks having more sharp, pointed conical teeth. They have a bold, hourglass pattern on their flanks and are very gregarious. Long-beaked Dolphins are associated more with warmer and shallower water than the Short-beaked Dolphins. They almost always ride the bow, putting on a good show!

LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHIN, below. 

Image by Jim Holmes

OCEAN SUNFISH, Mola mola, below, have been numerous.

It has been a great fall for viewing the darling Ocean Sunfish, reported to be the heaviest bony fish in the world. Indeed, some that we have seen have topped 400 pounds, while the smaller ones we call "silver dollars." They feed primarily on jellyfish. Our Monterey captain saw them eating BY-THE-WIND-SAILORS earlier this summer! In turn, the sunfish is predated by sea lions, killer whales and sharks.

Image by Scott Terrill

One of four NORTHERN FUR SEALS that we encountered, most in the "jug handle" position. 

Note the long ears and digits on the flippers.

Image by Scott Terrill

RED-NECKED PHALAROPES are more abundant than the RED PHALAROPES, right now.

Image by Scott Terrill

RISSO'S DOLPHINS which we are finding on almost every trip these days, both Monterey and Half Moon Bay, owing to the presence abundant squid which they feed on. 

Image by Scott Terrill.

RISSO'S DOLPHIN, head-slapping. The rounded head is a field mark.

A SOUTH POLAR SKUA which our captain deftly brought the boat along side while it was sitting on the water, giving everyone great views!

Image by Scott Terrill

A HY HEERMAN'S GULL, below, apparently a rarity this fall.

Image by Jim Holmes

A surprise at the end of the day — a ten foot SALMON SHARK!

An apex predator in the Pacific Ocean, the Salmon Shark feeds on salmon, squid, sablefish and herring. Lots of squid have been around, as previously reported, and fishermen are still catching salmon just outside of Pillar Point Harbor, Half Moon Bay. 

The fin shape and gray colored body with black spots are field marks for this amazing shark.

SALMON SHARK dorsal fin, showing black spots.

Image by Jim Holmes

SALMON SHARK

The shark swam around our vessel for a good five minutes. 

Salmon Sharks have been followed by tagging and revealed some amazing results.

Images by Scott & Linda Terrill

Local birders, Jeff & Jeannine. He shot 1000 images!

 Happy Birders on the way home after a fun-filled day!

Our darling bow-riding mascot, an HY BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD!

DID WE EVER HAVE SOME FUN! YOU BETCHA!

We thank all of the fabulous birders who came from near and far to join our pelagic trip.

The leaders were: Todd McGrath, Jim Holmes, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Debi Shearwater.

THE COMPLETE TRIP REPORT FOR SHEARWATER JOURNEYS'S AUGUST 16, 2014 HALF MOON BAY PELAGIC TRIP FOLLOWS:

SAN MATEO/SAN FRANCISCO COUNTIES

RED-THROATED LOON- 1/0

PACIFIC LOON- 2/0

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 105/14

NORTHERN FULMAR- 2/0

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 830/65

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 13/0

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 220/12

BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER- 42/0

WILSON'S STORM-PETREL- 1/15

ASHY STORM-PETREL- 0/13

BLACK STORM-PETREL- 5/450

BROWN PELICAN- 345/0

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 185/0

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- 135/0

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 4/0

BLACK OYSTERCATCHER- 4/0

WANDERING TATTLER- 3/0

BLACK TURNSTONE- 7/0

SURFBIRD- 2/0

WILLET- 1/0

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 135/15

RED PHALAROPE- 8/0

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 1/1

PARASITIC JAEGER- 2/0

HEERMANN'S GULL- 108/0, one juvenile, photographed

CALIFORNIA GULL- 60/0

WESTERN GULL- 335/50

SABINE'S GULL- 0/1

ELEGANT TERN- 52/0

COMMON MURRE- 1570/0

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 12/0, four migrating north

SCRIPPS'S MURRELET- 1/1

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 1/1

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 6/0

*TUFTED PUFFIN- 1/1

BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD- 4, one "flock" of three

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- +

STELLER'S SEA LION- 2

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 4

NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL- 1

HARBOR SEAL- 10

HUMPBACK WHALE- 5, one just outside of the harbor

**DWARF/PYGMY SPERM WHALE- 1

**LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHIN- 250

**BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN- 1, presumed, offshore: odd for a single animal

DALL'S PORPOISE- 4

HARBOR PORPOISE- 22

**SALMON SHARK- 1, about ten feet in length

OCEAN SUNFISH- 35

BY-THE-WIND-SAILORS- fewer

EGG YOLK JELLY- 3

SEA NETTLE- 6

MOON JELLY- ++, many very small individuals

PURPLE-STRIPED JELLY- 1

UPCOMING HALF MOON BAY TRIPS & LEADERS

AUG. 23: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Steve Tucker, Will Brooks

SEP. 7: Steve Hampton, Steve Tucker, Will Brooks

SEP. 8: Tim Miller, Al DeMartini

SEP. 15: Steve Hampton, Nick Levendosky

SEP. 21: Steve Rottenborn, Steve Hampton, Marissa Ortega-Welch, Will Brooks

SEP. 24: Jon Dunn, Peter Pyle, Jim Holmes, Steve Hampton, Jim Danzenbaker, Jennifer Green

OCT. 5: Steve Tucker, Steve Hampton, Abe Borker, Dena Spatz, Courtenay Ray

OCT. 12: Steve Tucker, Steve Hampton, Courtenay Ray

UPCOMING BODEGA BAY TRIPS & LEADERS: 

SEP. 1: Steve Howell, Lisa Hug, Tim Miller, Al DeMartini

SEP. 19: Steve Howell, Peter Pyle, Lisa Hug, Steve Tucker, Jennifer Green

Debi Shearwater will be co-leading on all trips

SQUID FOREVER,

DEBI SHEARWATER

debi@shearwaterjoureys.com