MONTEREY SEABIRDS with SHEARWATER JOURNEYS

Buller's Shearwater, Puffinus bulleri, is a common seabird found on most fall pelagic trips. 

Image, courtesy Todd McGrath, copyright.

Monterey's seabirds are well known the world over, in no small thanks to Shearwater Journeys which pioneered pelagic trips here beginning 1976. For more years that any other individual person or business, Shearwater Journeys has been the single leading seabird company offering the most annual departures for novice and expert seabirders alike. Large numbers of seabirds, sometimes in the thousands, or tens of thousands, feed on the nutrient-rich waters of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary each fall. This sanctuary is contiguous with the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries, forming one of the largest protected areas in the United States. The main feature at Monterey is the huge submarine canyon which bisects the bay. This canyon is as deep as the Grand Canyon and plays a part in the huge upwelling which brings the cold, nutrient-rich waters to the surface, feeding everything from BLUE WHALES to ASHY STORM-PETRELS. It is one of a very few such rich and diverse areas in the world. Some marine ecologists consider Monterey Bay to be the single richest area in the world. In addition, Monterey Bay is half-moon shaped, lending protection from the prevailing northwest winds. This means that we generally have very good to excellent marine weather conditions, especially during fall migration. What could be better — lots of food and great conditions! Of course, we see far more than birds. Marine mammals also take advantage of this huge concentration of food. From California Sea Lions lazing on the Coast Guard jetty to Sea Otters along the kelp beds, to hundreds of Pacific White-sided Dolphins or dozens of Humpback Whales, there is always something happening on Monterey Bay! 

Here, we present our 2013 schedule of trips departing from Monterey. No other organization offers more trips, nor has the depth of knowledge or decades of experience as Shearwater Journeys does. These trips can easily be combined with trips departing from Half Moon Bay, Sausalito (to the Farallones Islands), or Bodega Bay for a well rounded pelagic experience. It is always best to book more than one trip, from different ports, if possible. Debi Shearwater will be on board every trip. By being out there on so many trips that cover such a large area of the Central Coast, Debi can get a good picture of how and where the seabirds are distributed— something that changes, year to year. Below, we present 15 pelagic trips departing from Monterey Bay. One additional trip not listed below, is the ALBACORE GROUNDS; OFFSHORE MONTEREY trip on SEPTEMBER 7, SATURDAY (see next blog post). You can also view the complete 2013 schedule on our web site. Or, view it in calendar format, here. You can find past trip reports here.

MONTEREY BAY & MONTEREY SEAVALLEY2013

AUG. 2, FRI.

AUG. 9, FRI.

AUG. 16, FRI.

AUG. 23, FRI.

SEP. 6, FRI.

SEP. 10, TUE.

SEP. 11, WED.

SEP. 12, THU. MONTEREY BAY BIRDING FESTIVAL

SEP. 13, FRI. MONTEREY BAY BIRDING FESTIVAL

SEP.14, SAT. MONTEREY BAY BIRDING FESTIVAL

SEP. 15, SUN. MONTEREY BAY BIRDING FESTIVAL

SEP. 27, FRI.

OCT. 5, SAT.

OCT. 13, SUN.

OCT. 25, FRI.

Shearwater Journeys is proud to be the ongoing pelagic trip operator for the Monterey Bay Birding Festival. Register now for the festival! Sign up for pelagic trips directly with Shearwater Journeys. 

DETAILS FOR MONTEREY BAY TRIPS:

DEPARTURE: 7:00 a.m. Fishermans' Wharf Monterey. Stop at Chris' Fishing Shop in the right hand side as you walk down the wharf. They will direct you to the boat.

RETURN: 3:00 p.m. Allow for delays.

PARKING: Parking can be confusing in this area, as there are two different wharves. Park in the big lot near Fisherman's Wharf. Follow the signs. Take a ticket from the machine upon entering the lot. Stop at Chris' Fishing and let them know you are on the Shearwater Journeys' trip. They will give you a parking coupon which will reduce the cost of parking significantly. Allow at least 10 minutes to park and walk to the shop, more time if you do not know where you are going. Try to check it out the day prior. 

PRICE ADJUSTMENT: All rates quoted at the 2012 rate. Price adjustment may be necessary at the dockside, from $5-15 per person, payable only in cash. Do not send ahead with your payment. 

FOOD & DRINKS: None available on the boat. Please bring all food & drinks in a small day pack.

MOTELS: There are thousands of motels in the Monterey area. However, they can be fully booked, if an "event" is happening— which is often. Booking motel rooms ahead of arrival almost always results in lower rates, as opposed to walking in the front door without a plan. Motels in the sleepy town of Pacific Grove are located in an especially nice area, with easy public access to birding Ocean View Blvd. for rocky shorebirds. For the Monterey area, any motel along Munras Avenue should be fine. 

RESERVATIONS: Please follow instructions on the web site for booking a reservation. Debi will be working in Norway until July 11th, but will send return confirmation letters immediately once she returns. In the case of any sold out trips, reservations will be confirmed based on the postmark date. 

From the land of midnight sun,

Debi Shearwater

TRIP REPORT: MONTEREY BAY BIRDING FESTIVAL PELAGIC TRIPS

MONTEREY BAY BIRDING FESTIVAL PELAGIC TRIPS

SEPTEMBER 14, 15, 16 2012

Howdy, Seabirders,

This is a trip report for Shearwater Journeys' September 14, 15, 16, 2012. These trips were offered in conjunction with the Monterey Bay Birding Festival which is headquartered in Watsonville, CA. Highlights were many, including Greg Miller of "The Big Year" fame, as a guest leader on Sunday's trip! Bird highlights included: LAYSAN and BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES very close to the boat, both flying and sitting on the water; SOOTY, PINK-FOOTED, FLESH-FOOTED and BULLER'S SHEARWATERS; ASHY STORM-PETREL; POMARINE, PARASITIC and LONG-TAILED JAEGERS; SOUTH POLAR SKUA, SURFBIRD, SABINE'S GULL; SCRIPP'S MURRELET; CASSIN'S and RHINOCEROS AUKLETS; and TUFTED PUFFINS. Marine mammal highlights included: SEA OTTER, CALIFORNIA SEA LION, NORTHERN FUR SEAL, RISSO'S DOLPHIN, DALL'S PORPOISE. In particular, the September 16th trip had fabulous views of mixed species flocks of shearwaters and many jaegers, along with South Polar Skuas overhead. The Laysan Albatross flew right into the stern. It was a beautiful day!

We thank the many birders who joined us from near and far and the Monterey Bay Birding Festival organizers, especially Clay Kempf and Dave Brockman. Birders joined us from Canada, England, Finland, Sweden, Spain, Belgium and eighteen different states.

The leaders were as follows:
September 14: JENNIFER GREEN, CHRISTIAN SCHWARZ, DEBI SHEARWATER
September 15: TODD MCGRATH, DAVE PEREKSTA, ABE BORKER, TIM MILLER, DEBI SHEARWATER
September 16: TODD MCGRATH, DAVE PEREKSTA, SCOTT TERRILL, LINDA TERRILL, DEBI SHEARWATER and special guest leader, GREG MILLER

The complete species list follows and it shows how doing more than one trip can really add to one's life list. Many birders reported 10-16 life birds!

SEP 14/15/16 2012

PACIFIC LOON- 4/0/0
COMMON LOON- 1/0/0
EARED GREBE- 1/0/0
LAYSAN ALBATROSS- 0/0/1
BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 18/17/23
PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 116/64/96
FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 0/0/1, beautiful views of the bird sitting on the water
BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 5/3/35
SOOTY SHEARWATER- 243/180/260
ASHY STORM-PETREL- 3/1/0
BROWN PELICAN- +/+/+
BRANDT'S CORMORANT- +/+/+
PELAGIC CORMORANT- 4/4/1
SURF SCOTER- 0/0/4
BLACK TURNSTONE- 7/4/6
SURFBIRD- 6/2/4
SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 0/O/4
POMARINE JAEGER- 15/11/14
PARASITIC JAEGER- 2/8/3
LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 0/1/5
HEERMANN'S GULL- +/+/+
WESTERN GULL- +/+/+
SABINE'S GULL- 3/0/0
ELEGANT TERN- 80/47/16
COMMON TERN- 3/7/1
COMMON MURRE- 262/112/104/
SCRIPP'S MURRELET- 0/0/1
CASSIN'S AUKLET- 0/8/0
RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 251/80/145
TUFTED PUFFIN- 1/1/0
SEA OTTER- +/+/+
CALIFORNIA SEA LION- +/+/+
NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 0/0/2
RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 0/16/0
DALL'S PORPOISE- 0/12/0
OCEAN SUNFISH- +/+/9

BELOW IS AN UPDATE FOR SHEARWATER JOURNEYS' FALL TRIPS:

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 BODEGA CANYON & CORDELL BANK with Peter Pyle, Steve Howell, Todd McGrath, Lisa Hug and Debi Shearwater leading.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 HALF MOON BAY STORM-PETRELS & FALL SEABIRDS with Todd McGrath, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill and Debi Shearwater leading. Great for photographers!

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 HALF MOON BAY STORM-PETRELS & FALL SEABIRDS with Todd McGrath and Debi Shearwater leading. Great for photographers!

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7 HALF MOON BAY STORM-PETRELS & FALL SEABIRDS with Debi Shearwater & TBA

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26 BODEGA CANYON with Lisa Hug & Debi Shearwater

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28 HALF MOON BAY LATE FALL SEABIRDS & EARLY WINTER SEABIRDS with Todd McGrath & Debi Shearwater

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20 HALF MOON BAY: This trip may turn into a search for Mottled Petrel, with Todd McGrath & Debi Shearwater.

The following trips are SOLD OUT:
SEP 27 BODEGA CANYON & CORDELL BANK
SEP 27 BODEGA BAY PHOTOGRAPHER'S TRIP
SEP 30 FARALLON ISLANDS: POST BREEDING & GREAT WHITE SHARK
OCT 1 HALF MOON BAY STORM-PETRELS & FALL SEABIRDS

Our next trips departing from MONTEREY with spaces available are:
FRI, SEP 28 with Jennifer Green, Rick Fournier, Christian Schwarz, Ben Thompson
SAT, OCT 6 with Clay Kempf, Jennifer Green, Jim Holmes, John Garrett, Debi Shearwater
SUN, OCT 14 with Clay Kempf, Rick Fournier, John Garrett, Debi Shearwater

SHEARWATERS FOREVER,

Debi Shearwater

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

MEET GREG MILLER ON A SHEARWATER JOURNEYS PELAGIC TRIP

Hello, Birders,

Meet Greg Miller, a central character in the popular book, The Big Year, by Mark Obmascik, on board Shearwater Journeys' Monterey pelagic trips, September 13 and 16. Based on a true story, the book depicts three guys who chase birds all over North America in an attempt to score "the Big Year." Amazingly, Twentieth Century Fox made a movie by the same name which showed last year. Greg was hired to be the bird advisor for the movie which was directed by David Frankel and starred Jack Black, Owen Wilson and Steve Martin. Angelica Houston played the sea-going, Debi Shearwater. Greg was on the set for three weeks and had a chance to meet many of the actors and crew. Lately, I've seen the movie as an in flight movie when flying from the West Coast to the East Coast and on HBO in a motel room. Greg has an incredible sense of humor and is one of birding's finest. Meet Greg on board and he can tell you much, much more. Or, meet Greg on land—

Meet Greg at the Monterey Bay Birding Festival in Watsonville where he will be the keynote speaker, September 15. This festival has many field trips with excellent leaders, workshops and more. Don't miss out. Shearwater Journeys is proud to be the official provider of pelagic trips for the festival. About 70% of the festival attendees partake of at least one pelagic trip. For more information and registration, see this link:

http://www.montereybaybirding.org/index.html

To learn more about Greg Miller, see:

http://www.gregmillerbirding.com/about/

Of course, Greg would be delighted to autograph your copy of The Big Year. So, be sure to bring it along!

Best in birding,

Debi

IMAGES of the DAY by ABE BORKER: OCTOBER 2, 2011 HALF MOON BAY

Dear Birders,

Photographic opportunities on Shearwater Journeys' October 2, 2011 Half Moon Bay departure was extremely high. I hope you will enjoy Abe Borker's images below. Abe was the Grand Prize winner of the photography contest at the Monterey Bay Birding Festival. All images copyright, Abe Borker. Please do not use without permission. Enjoy!

Common Murre on glassy seas in the morning light.

Over 2000 Common Murres were close to shore, feeding on squid.

Sooty Shearwater

Buller's Shearwater, possibly the most beautiful of the shearwaters.

Northern Fur Seal with long, blonde whiskers, long digits.

Northern Fur Seal in the "jug handle" position.

Common Tern

One of two Flesh-footed Shearwaters.

Common Tern on a kelp patty.

California Sea Lions near the weather buoy.

Steller's Sea Lion with the California Sea Lions.

California Sea Lions.

One of two Tufted Puffins this day. This bird still retaining some of the face feathers.

Join us on one of our three remaining fall trips!

Debi Shearwater

AKA "Annie Auklet" played by Angelica Huston in the movie, "The Big Year" opening at a theater near you on October 14th.

THE BIG YEAR: MONTEREY BAY BIRDING FESTIVAL

Hello, Birders,

At 7 p.m. I will be presenting a program, titled, The Big Year: How Did We Get Here?" at the Monterey Bay Birding Festival. If you are in the area, please join me.

For more information about Angelica Huston who will play the part of me, in this 20th Century Fox movie, please click here. The movie is scheduled to be released on October 14th. I hope that you will enjoy it!

Auklets forever,

Annie Auklet

Pelagic trips: Brief Highlights

Hello, Birders,

Some brief highlights from our recent trips:

SEPTEMBER 10TH: Shearwater Journeys' albacore trip went to Sur Canyon where we found 60.1 F sea surface temperatures! Highlights were 7 SOUTH POLAR SKUAS and all three species of jaegers, including 35 LONG-TAILED JAEGERS.

SEPTEMBER 11TH: A particularly beautiful day which was great for photography. Overnight, thousands of shearwaters and other seabirds moved into the inner reaches of Monterey Bay, including flocks of feeding SOOTY SHEARWATERS just outside of the harbor and many PARASITIC JAEGERS. Highlights included a MANX SHEARWATER sighted by Brian Sullivan, sitting on the water with a flock of Sooty Shearwaters, including one partial albino Sooty. It was well photographed and seen by all on board. Other highlights included 1 SOUTH POLAR SKUA and all three species of jaegers; 1 WILSON'S STORM-PETREL, 2 FORK-TAILED STORM-PETRELS and 1225 ASHY STORM-PETRELS, including one partial albino.

Spaces are available on tomorrow's trip departing from Monterey! Spaces are also available on Wednesday's trip departing from Bodega Bay and on Monday, September 19th, departing from Half Moon Bay. The September 16, 17 and 18 Half Moon Bay trips are SOLD OUT.

Spaces are available on all of the pelagic trips for the Monterey Bay Birding Festival, September 22, 23, 24, 25, 26. For reservations, please email me.

Shearwaters forever,

Debi Shearwater

AKA Annie Auklet, in the movie, "The Big Year", opening October 14th.

MONTEREY BAY BIRDING FESTIVAL: SEP 22 - 26, 2011

To Birders Everywhere,

I would like to invite you to the 7th Annual Monterey Bay Birding Festival headquartered at the Watsonville Civic Center. This year's festival theme is "The Evolution of Birding— From Field Guides to High Tech." Birding has come a long way from the days of John J. Audubon to the iPod equipped modern, field guide and camera toting birder.

Our featured keynote speaker is Joe Morlan, known to many birders for his years of teaching bird identification. Joe was the winner of the American Birding Associations's Ludlow Griscom Award in 2010. He will speak on Saturday, September 24th. Joe will also co-lead the pelagic trip on Sunday, September 25th.

Stephen Shunk will speak on Thursday, September 22, "The Names, Namers and Naming of North American Birds." Stephen is a naturalist who hails from Oregon who will demystify the naming of North American birds.

Debi Shearwater will speak on Friday, September 23, "The Big Year: How Did We Get Here?" The concept of the Big Year has an interesting history. And, just in case you didn't know it— the 20th Century Fox movie, "The Big Year," inspired by the book of the same name by Mark Obamcik, will be released on October 14, 2011. Angelica Huston is playing the part of Debi in this movie!

All evening programs take place at the Watsonville Civic Center. Of course, these programs are only a small part of the festival. Many field trips are planned. Year after year, birders rave about our field trip leaders. They are simply the best! Some of these field trips are sold out. Sorry, but you know the "early bird gets the worm." Vendors will exhibit at the Civic. Workshops will be presented, and more.

The host motel is the Best Western Rose Garden Inn. Other motels are available, as well. There is nearby camping, and a terrific selection of restaurants.

And, the birds? Well, this festival has it all!! Everything from BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS to CALIFORNIA CONDOR, from WRENTIT to BUSHTIT, from SNOWY PLOVER to WANDERING TATTLER, from YELLOW-BILLED MAGPIE to TRICOLORED BLACKBIRD, from ASHY STORM-PETREL to RHINOCEROS AUKLET, from LARK SPARROW to LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCH, from GOLDEN EAGLE to PRAIRIE FALCON, from ROADRUNNER to PYGMY NUTHATCH!

Please accept my personal invitation to join me at this fabulous festival,

Debi Shearwater

MONTEREY BAY BIRDING FESTIVAL & SHEARWATER JOURNEYS

Howdy, Birders,

Did you know that registration is now open for the 7th Annual Monterey Bay Birding Festival? This fabulous festival offers an outstanding array of field trips, workshops, speakers and just plain fun with awesome folks. This festival has ALL of the birds of the central coast— and, then some— mammals, as well. Reasonably priced, with al la carte selections make this the best value birding event around. This post will concentrate on the pelagic trips offered by Shearwater Journeys, Inc. for the festival.

Shearwater Journeys is the sole provider of pelagic trips for the Monterey Bay Festival. And, why not? Debi Shearwater has offered pelagic trips departing from Monterey's Fisherman's Wharf since 1976 — some 36 years running. Over 60,000 people, from professors to housewives, Nobel Prize winners to truck drivers, have participated in the Shearwater trips. Welcome to our ocean world.

For a quick glance at the seabird and marine mammal species observed on our four 2010 festival pelagic trips, click here.

Monterey Bay is a unique place that makes observing seabirds and marine mammals a pleasure when compared with other places in the USA, and world. For one thing, the bay is half-moon shaped, offering protection from the prevailing northwest winds. This makes for easier boat rides since it is the wind that causes swells. A huge submarine canyon, comparable in size to the Grand Canyon, bisects the bay. Indeed, the Monterey Submarine Canyon was one of the major reasons why this area was declared a National Marine Sanctuary. The presence of this canyon so close to shore means that deep water loving seabirds and marine mammals can be found within minutes of departure from the dock! Seabirds at the doorstep, as it were!

The following information may help you plan your visit regarding the pelagic trips. At the end of this blog is a species list of the wildlife encountered on last year's festival trips. Please look it over.

A few basics: Trips are offered on the following dates:

THUR, SEP 22- Leaders: Jennifer Green, Wes Fritz & Debi Shearwater

FRI, SEP 23- Leaders: Abe Borker, Jennifer Green, Adam Searcy, Wes Fritz & Debi Shearwater

SAT, SEP 24- Leaders: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Abe Borker, Adam Searcy, Wes Fritz & Debi Shearwater

SUN, SEP 25- Leaders: Joe Morlan, Abe Borker, Adam Searcy, Wes Fritz & Debi Shearwater

MON, SEP 26- Leaders: Wes Fritz, Adam Searcy & Debi Shearwater (this trip is not listed on the festival web site)

All trips meet at 7 am, promptly at Chris' Fishing Shop on Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey. All trips are on the vessel, Checkmate, with skipper Tinker. All trips return about 3 pm. The boat is a US Coast Guard licensed, certified and inspected vessel. It has a bathroom, or "head" as they are known on ships. Bring lunch, drinks and dress warmly. Park in the large parking lot near Fisherman's Wharf. Let the folks in Chris' Fishing Shop know that you are participating in the Shearwater Journey's trip, to receive your parking validation coupon. This will save you money when exit the parking lot at the end of the trip.

A number of leaders will accompany each trip, as listed above. Additional leaders may be added to some trips. Beginners and advanced seabirders are welcome. Our leaders are anxious to share the marine world with you and will not only spot the birds and marine mammals, but help you see them and identify them, too! All leaders are equipped with radios to communicate with each other and with the skipper. A public announcement system will be used to call out birds, as well. An introductory talk, once everyone is on board, by Debi will explain how the trip operates. Chumming for seabirds is part of the trip. This helps to attract birds closer to the vessel, and it may pull in a curious bird. Although we will be traveling for much of the time, there will also be times when the vessel is stopped for close up views, or for photographers to obtain some images— for instance, such as this BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS, below.

Birding begins the very minute we depart from the dock— there is no waiting! PIGEON GUILLEMOTS, in flight, below, nest on the pilings under the dock. This is one of several inshore species that we shall search for. Others include ELEGANT TERN and HEERMANN'S GULL.

Just about 30 minutes after departing the dock, off Point Pinos, with land well in sight, we might encounter our first shearwaters of the day. Above, a PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER glides effortlessly over the sea. Up to eight species of shearwaters are possible on these trips. Because the deep Monterey Submarine Canyon is located so close to shore, we rarely need to venture far out to sea. In fact, one often sees far fewer seabirds offshore. This submarine canyon, along with the prevailing currents and winds, causes a reaction known as upwelling. Upwelling brings the deep, cold nutrient-rich waters to the surface, feeding the entire food chain from zooplankton to grazing blue whales. This is where the seabirds concentrate— near these rich feeding grounds.
Surprises and "bonus" birds occur at sea, too! This TUFTED PUFFIN was one such bird. Tufted Puffins are not common on Monterey Bay, even though their nearest nesting area, the Farallon Islands is not that far away.

By offering four days of pelagic trips in a row, we are able to determine the best birding areas to search for seabirds and marine mammals. Sometimes, feeding concentrations of thousands of shearwaters remain in the same area over several days. It is as important to know where to search for seabirds as it is to know where not go search! Negative data can help chart a more productive route. Regardless, our seabirding experience is second to none!

Jump on board with Shearwater Journeys,

Debi Shearwater

TRIP REPORT: SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 HALF MOON BAY

Howdy, Seabirders,

Well, it looks as if our pelagic trips departing from Half Moon Bay are going to be breaking new ground— going where no seabirders have ever gone before! This trip covered both San Mateo and San Francisco Counties. Several County Birders were on board, closely watching for new ticks on their county lists. It was another awesome day, with excellent seas and visibility, after the morning fog cleared. Seabird highlights were many— LAYSAN ALBATROSS, FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER, SIX SPECIES OF STORM-PETRELS: BLACK, ASHY, WILSON'S, LEACH'S, LEAST AND FORK-TAILED; ALL THREE JAEGERS; SOUTH POLAR SKUA, XANTUS' MURRELET (hypoleuca race) and TUFTED PUFFIN.

The Laysan Albatross was #600 for one lucky fellow. The Flesh-footed Shearwater was #701 for Bob Ake who is doing a Big Year for 2010.

The HUMPBACK WHALE show at the end of the day was beyond spectacular! About a dozen humpbacks were lunge-feeding on krill at the surface, under our boat, and all around us! Meanwhile, squid (loligo), were also feeding on the krill and squirting at the surface as they propelled themselves! Many phalaropes were also feeding on the krill. Our captain, Dennis Baxter, reached in to pull a few of the krill on board. A few folks even tasted it. The humpback whales devoured it!! We also were treated to whale feces— a life event for some.

Many thanks to all of the birders who traveled from near and far to join our trip. The leaders on this day were: Jennifer Green, Wes Fritz, Marcel Holyoak and Debi Shearwater.

The complete species list for September 17, 2010 Half Moon Bay follows:

San Mateo County/San Francisco County/Total

EARED GREBE- 10/0/10

WESTERN GREBE- 40/0/40

CLARK'S GREBE- 2/0/2

WESTERN/CLARK'S GREBE- 50/0/10

LAYSAN ALBATROSS- 0/1/1

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 6/6/12

NORTHERN FULMAR- 55/300/355

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 18/52/60

FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 0/1/1

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 0/12/12

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 75/75/150

WILSON'S STORM-PETREL- 0/7/7

FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL- 0/5/5

LEACH'S STORM-PETREL- 0/2/2

BLACK STORM-PETREL- 0/49/49

ASHY STORM-PETREL- 0/4000/4000

LEAST STORM-PETREL- 0/6/6

BROWN PELICAN- 400, on the breakwater

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 20/0/20

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- 300/0/300

SURF SCOTER- 1/0/1

BLACK OYSTERCATCHER- 6/0/6

WANDERING TATTLER- 1/0/1

BLACK TURNSTONE- 3/0/3

WILLET- 2/0/2

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 315/145/460

RED-NECKED/RED PHALAROPE-2500

RED PHALAROPE- 195/50/245

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 0/1/1

POMARINE JAEGER- 2/7/9

PARASITIC JAEGER- 0/1/1

PARASITIC/LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 0/4/4

LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 0/22/22

HEERMANN'S GULL- +

CALIFORNIA GULL- +

WESTERN GULL- +

SABINE'S GULL- 1/7/8

ELEGANT TERN- 300/0/300

COMMON TERN- 2/0/2

COMMON MURRE- 360/7/367

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 1/0/1

XANTUS' MURRELET- 0/2/2

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 8/4/12

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 20/11/31

TUFTED PUFFIN- 0/1/1

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 360

NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL- 1

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 2

HUMPBACK WHALE- 33

BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN- 2

HARBOR PORPOISE- 3

DALL'S PORPOISE- 5

KRILL +++++++++

MARKET SQUID +++

BLACK SEA NETTLES +++++++

Spaces are available on September 27 and October 2 and 11 departing from Half Moon Bay. Spaces are available on September 24, 26; October 3, 9 and 17 departing from Monterey Bay.

Please look for me at the Monterey Bay Birding Festival, either at my booth, or more likely, on the pelagic trips!

Happy trails to all,

Debi Shearwater