MAY 10, 2009: MONTEREY BAY PUTS ON A SHOW!

Howdy, Seabirders,

Shearwater Journeys' May 10th pelagic trip departing from Monterey Bay was nothing short of spectacular! Highlights included BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS (116), PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER (170), SOOTY SHEARWATER (545), BRANT (214), BLACK TURNSTONE (18), RED-NECKED PHALAROPE (1200), FRANKLIN'S GULL (1), SABINE'S GULL (1), ARCTIC TERN (3), COMMON MURRE (85), PIGEON GUILLEMOT (12), RHINOCEROS AUKLET (9), and five HUMPBACK WHALES who were vertically lunge-feeding on big fat sardines along with over 150 PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHINS, and clouds of shearwaters, gulls, and albatrosses! It was an amazing day, with good sea conditions, as well. It was chilly in the fog, though— I even commented that I was colder than any day I spent in Antarctica!

On offer in August, we have trips departing from five different ports which offer the seabirder a great opportunity to observe the best variety of seabirds along the central coast of California. The Tufted Puffin trip has a 100% success rate at finding puffins. On our Fort Bragg trip, last year, we found three Hawaiian Petrels! This is the single best port in North America for searching for this hoped-for rarity. Past August trips from Bodega Bay have found Great-winged and Hawaiian Petrels, and Shy Albatross. Monterey is no slouch, with a late July record of North America's first photographed Bulwer's Petrel, and August records on Short-tailed Albatross. Its always fun to see what shows up!

Our summer schedule follows:

JUL 31, Monterey Bay: Summer Seabirds & Albatrosses

AUG 2, Farallon Islands: Tufted Puffins, departing from Emeryville

AUG 7, Monterey Bay: Summer Seabirds & Albatrosses

AUG 12, Bodega Canyon & Cordell Bank

AUG 14, Fort Bragg: Offshore for Megararities

AUG 16, Fort Bragg: Offshore for Megararities

AUG 21, Monterey Bay: Fall Seabird Classic & Albatrosses

AUG 28, Monterey Seavalley: Fall Seabird Classic & Albatrosses

AUG 31, Fall Seabird Classic & Albatrosses departing from Santa Cruz

We thank the folks who traveled with us on May 10th. The leaders were: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Debra Shearwater. Chumming and spotting were: Oscar Johnson and Adam Searcy.

The complete species list for MAY 10, 2009 MONTEREY BAY follows:

RED-THROATED LOON-1

PACIFIC LOON- 50

COMMON LOON- 7

WESTERN GREBE- 1

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 116

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 170

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 545

BROWN PELICAN- 27

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 265 (only a handful of nests on the Coast Guard Breakwater!)

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 1

BRANT- 214

BLACK TURNSTONE- 18

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 1200

*FRANKLIN'S GULL- 1

BONAPARTE'S GULL- 47

HEERMANN'S GULL- 7

CALIFORNIA GULL- 28

HERRING GULL- 9

THAYER'S GULL- 1

WESTERN GULL- 950

GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL- 3

WESTERN/GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL- 3

GLAUCOUS-WINGED/HERRING GULL- 1

SABINE'S GULL-1

COMMON TERN- 2

ARCTIC TERN- 3

FORSTER'S TERN- 2

CASPIAN TERN- 2

COMMON MURRE- 85

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 12

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 9

SEA OTTER- +

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- + (more than normal at this time of year)

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 1

HARBOR SEAL- +

HUMPBACK WHALE- 5

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 150

SARDINES- GALORE! Let's hear for the sardine comeback!

Sardines 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

Only 3 cabins available! Act now!

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

MONTEREY BAY: SEP 22, 2008: LATE REPORT

Howdy, Seabirders,

This is a late report for the Shearwater Journey's pelagic trip September 22, 2008 from Monterey Bay. On rare occasions, a marine mammal sighting will eclipse any seabird sighting. This was the case on September 22. 

The singular most exciting event was watching six KILLER WHALES, repeatedly tossing a COMMON DOLPHIN sky high some 30-50 feet in the air as they chased, and hunted it! On some of our previous trips, we had seen a mother/calf pair of common dolphins hanging around Cannery Row. They had been reported there for weeks. It is unusual in that common dolphins are usually very gregarious, traveling in herds of hundreds, if not thousands off southern California. Recently, we saw this pair off Point Joe, and away from the nearshore protection (?) of Cannery Row. I do not know if these dolphins were the specific individuals that the killer whales killed on this day. But, it was quite spectacular to see the little dolphin flying through the air, as well as the killer whales also flying sky high! In the end, the killer whales did kill the dolphin, although this was difficult to see. They continued to hang around Monterey Bay for many weeks, mostly near Moss Landing. The common dolphins have not been seen since this day.

I've seen Orcas hunt and kill many creatures— blue sharks, sea lions, rhinoceros auklets, and elephant seals. (For a look at an image that I shot of an orca tossing a young elephant seal in the air on a Shearwater Journey's trip to the Farallon Islands, see Hadoram Shirihai's A Field Guide to the Marine Mammals of the World, page 74). In fact, it was on a Shearwater Journey's May Monterey Bay trip in the 1980's when the very first hunting by killer whales of a young gray and its mother, was ever photographed. At my insistence, a hydrophone was dropped overboard to record the first sounds of killer whales in Monterey Bay! (These sounds can be heard on the DVD, Through the Seasons: An Introduction to the Seabirds and Marine Mammals of Monterey Bay). After nearly three hours of stalking the young, male gray whale, the killer whales finally drowned it. This later became popularized by National Geographic after they videotaped subsequent kills on Monterey Bay.

Killer whales have long been a subject of interest for me. So much so that, beginning in 1978, I collected images from the the photographers who ventured forth on Shearwater Journey's trips from Monterey, Bodega Bay and other ports off central California. Beginning in 1984, I encouraged the Monterey party boat skippers to collect images of killer whales, too. Shearwater Journeys donated hundreds of boat trips that  provided a platform of opportunity for graduate students to obtain marine mammal sightings and photograph killer whales. Through these efforts, we were able to obtain images from more than forty people, spanning 19 years to be included in a photo catalogue of killer whales of California and western Mexico which was published in September 1997 by the U.S. Department of Comerce, NOAA. Thus, the many birders who participated in our trips contributed vastly to our current knowledge of killer whales. 

You can see video footage shot by Manny Vara and hear the sounds of the participants on the September 22 trip at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WufTyNMZNgw. 

Well, of course we did see birds, too! The complete species list follows. Many thanks to the folks who joined us on this very exciting trip. The leaders were: David Vander Pluym, David Wimpfheimer, Luke Cole, Don Doolittle, Oscar Johnson, and Debra Shearwater. Lauren Harter graciously chummed.

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008 MONTEREY BAY:

PACIFIC LOON- 4

LOON sp.- 1

WESTERN GREBE- 1

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 5

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 225

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 28

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 280

SOOTY/SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER- 2

WILSON'S STORM-PETREL- 4

ASHY STORM-PETREL- 300

BLACK STORM-PETREL- 15

BROWN PELICAN- 70

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 700

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 3

SURF SCOTER- 14

BLACK TURNSTONE- 8

SURFBIRD- 1

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 48

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 2

POMARINE JAEGER- 21

PARASITIC JAEGER- 5

JAEGER sp.- 1

HEERMANN'S GULL- 60

CALIFORNIA GULL- 30

WESTERN GULL- 100

ELEGANT TERN- 100

COMMON TERN- 1

COMMON/ARCTIC TERN- 1

FORSTER'S TERN- 1

COMMON MURRE- 110

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 1

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 80

SEA OTTER- 6

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- +

HARBOR SEAL- +

HUMPBACK WHALE- 10

KILLER WHALE- 6

COMMON DOLHIN- 1 or 2

RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 17

OCEAN SUNFISH- 3

BLUE SHARK- 1

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

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

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

Two Day Crossing the Drake

March 13, 2008

Greetings from Professor Molchanov in the Weddell Sea, en route to the South Orkney Islands!

By all standards of measure, we had a very easy two day crossing of the Drake Passage! One great adventure on our nearly 3,500 mile voyage. Our first landing was at Brown Bluff, a continental landing for those wanting to “tick” their 7th, and whitest continent in the world. Departing Zodiacs soon encountered a severe turn in the weather, with strong westerly winds forcing us to abort this landing. Some lucky folks did get their feet on the continent, though. Icebergs and bergy bits were drifting all around, but everyone returned very safely to the ship, in the hands of our very capable Expedition Staff and Russian crew. The morning and the evening ended with the most lovely of albatrosses, the dreamy Light-mantled Sooty.

Next we pushed into the Weddell Sea in search of Emperor Penguins without luck. Several delicate Snow Petrels drifted along spectacular tabular ice. Some Chinstrap Penguins were on ice floes. Due to the strong winds, the ice blocked our landing on Snow Hill Island. Nevertheless, all of the passengers gathered on the bridge with our Russian sailors to enjoy the ice, before we turned around.

This morning, we made a fantastic landing on Paulet Island, surely one of the favorites of Antarcitca. The beach was covered in Antarctic Fur Seals, two Chinstrap Penguins, and small parties of Adelie Penguins, with Brown Skuas patroling overhead, and occassional Southern Giant Petrels. It was a lovely morning, even though it was -5C we all stayed for the entire three hours. Reluctantly, we returned to our ship — surounded now by icebergs of all sizes and shape, penguins and fur seals on the beach, and the snow dusted scree slopes of Paulet — we embraced the full Antarctic scene in all its glory!

Hope all is well. We check in again in a few days.

All the best,
Debra

Three journeys in September

October 3, 2007

HELLO, SEABIRDERS,

This is a compilation report for the September 28 and 29 pelagic trips from Monterey Bay and September 30 from Bodega Bay. By comparing the bird lists for the three trips, it is easy to see how the species have spread themselves out over this very large and diverse geographical area. Krill blooms in Bodega Bay for instance, attract the feeding Cassin’s Auklets and Blue Whales, while no krill exists in Monterey thus far this season. Storm-petrel flocks seemed to have moved out of the Bodega area, while numbers have doubled in the Monterey region. Northern Fulmars have made big movements into the Bodega area. When planning a trip from across the country or the world, it is very wise to schedule trips from several harbors along the north central coast of California. Birders who went on all three of these trips tallied a significant species list.

Complete trip reports & photos are available:
Monterey Bay 28 Sept
Monterey Bay 29 Sept
Cordell Bank 30 Sept

The compiled list for SEP 28/29/30 follows:
RED-THROATED LOON-0/1/1
PACIFIC LOON-1/0/2
COMMON LOON-2/1/3
EARED GREBE-0/1/0
WESTERN GREBE-0/20/2
CLARK’S GREBE-0/2/0
WESTERN/CLARK’S GREBE-0/20/0
LAYSAN ALBATROSS-0/0/3
BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS-6/6/60
NORTHERN FULMAR-21/12/275
PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER-72/153/30
FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER-0/0/1
BULLER’S SHEARWATER-23/113/69
SOOTY SHEARWATER-20/35/37
WILSON’S STORM-PETREL-1/0/0
ASHY STORM-PETREL-1000/3/0
BLACK STORM-PETREL-1250/2/0
LEAST STORM-PETREL-6/0/0
BROWN PELICAN-34/85/20
BRANDT’S CORMORANT-150/1060/1000
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT-7/7/0
PELAGIC CORMORANT-1/7/8
HARLEQUIN DUCK-1/0/0
SURF SCOTER-7/1/27
NORTHERN PINTAIL-130/0/0
NORTHERN SHOVERLER-12/0/0
BLACK OYSTERCATCHER-0/0/1
WANDERING TATTLER-0/0/1
BLACK TURNSTONE-8/0/10
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE-35/20/3
RED PHALAROPE-1/0/20
SOUTH POLAR SKUA-14/10/9
POMARINE JAEGER-25/23/21
PARASITIC JAEGER-2/2/1
HEERMANN’S GULL-87/41/140
BONAPARTE’S GULL-0/0/2
CALIFORNIA GULL-100/350/150
HERRING GULL-1/0/0
WESTERN GULL-200/400/200
SABINE’S GULL-3/8/1
ELEGANT TERN-27/66/0
COMMON TERN-1/0/0
COMMON MURRE-12/100/40
PIGEON GUILLEMOT-2/3/4
MARBLED MURRELET-0/9/0
CASSIN’S AUKLET-0/0/1000+
RHINOCEROS AUKLET-22/20/9
TUFTED PUFFIN-0/0/1

SEA OTTER-12/12/0
CALIFORNIA SEA LION-150/250/100
STELLER’S SEA LION-0/0/1
NORTHERN FUR SEAL-1/0/1
NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL-1/0/2
HARBOR SEAL-14/0/+
MINKE WHALE-1/0/0
BLUE WHALE-0/0/9
HUMBPACK WHALE-2/5/12
NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHIN-0/150/400
PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN-14/200/650
DALL’S PORPOISE-0/0/12

OCEAN SUNFISH-4/0/1
BLUE SHARK-3/0/1
SALMON SHARK-0/0/1

Shearwaters forever,
Debra Shearwater