IMAGES OF THE DAY BY STEVE TUCKER: AUGUST 16, 2015 HALF MOON BAY

Shearwater Journeys' leader, Steve Tucker, shot some beautiful images on our 

August 16, 2015 seabird trip departing from Half Moon Bay. 

Parties of PIGEON GUILLEMOTS inside the harbor.

They nest in the rocky crevices of the jetties.

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES often fly up the wake of the boat.

A MACKEREL FEEDING FRENZY:

CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS, PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS,

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES

all joining in the feast!

We encountered scattered storm-petrels.

ASHY STORM-PETREL, above.

WILSON'S STORM-PETREL, below.

Returning to the harbor.

STREAMING SOOTY SHEARWATERS!

UPCOMING PELAGIC TRIPS:

HALF MOON BAY: SEP 6 (2 openings), SEP 20

HALF MOON BAY: OCT 4 & 11

MONTEREY BAY: SEP 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 25, 26, 27

MONTEREY BAY: OCT 3 & 11

FARALLON ISLANDS GREAT WHITE SHARK: OCT 18

SEE YOU OUT THERE!

LIVING THE SALT LIFE,

Debi Shearwater

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

All images, copyright, Steve Tucker
Please do not use without permission

HALF MOON BAY PELAGIC TRIP: AUGUST 16, 2015 TRIP REPORT

Howdy, Seabirders,

This is a trip report for Shearwater Journeys' pelagic trip departing from Half Moon Bay, August 16, 2015, offshore to the Continental Shelf and Pioneer Canyon. Highlights included: TEN SPECIES OF TUBENOSES: BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS; NORTHERN FULMAR; SOOTY, PINK-FOOTED, FLESH-FOOTED (first of the season), and BULLER'S SHEARWATERS; WILSON'S, FORK-TAILED, ASHY, and BLACK STORM-PETRELS; first of the season LONG-TAILED JAEGER; and TUFTED PUFFIN. It was a very seabird-filled day, from start to finish, with only one lull in the 11 hours we were at sea. A good selection of marine mammals included: HUMPBACK WHALE, RISSO'S and PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHINS, HARBOR PORPOISE, CALIFORNIA and STELLER'S SEA LIONS and HARBOR SEAL. Fish included one, now rarely seen, BLUE SHARK, loads of OCEAN SUNFISH and several LIZARDFISH. Gigantic shoals of ANCHOVIES.

Although there is a lot of warm water out there, we still had plenty of cold water nearshore. As we departed the harbor area, thousands and thousands — some 90,000 by our count — of SOOTY SHEARWATERS were flying as a long train. Along with four very close-to-shore HUMPBACK WHALES, they were feeding on ANCHOVIES. Terrafin chart, above, used with permission. Do not reproduce. 

From the dock, we wend our way along several jetties in the harbor overflowing with birds. 

BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS, above, nest in the harbor, along with PIGEON GUILLEMOTS. 

Image, copyright, Linda Terrill.

SCHOOLING ANCHOVIES- THE STUFF OF LIFE!

There are some who are calling this the biggest ANCHOVY year of all time. Great to see so many schooling fish as the central California population crashed in 2008. Great comeback!

Image, copyright, Tim Zoliniak

 

CALIFORNIA LIZARDFISH are still around, and we caught a few of these warm water fish. 

Image, copyright, Will Brooks.

  A flock of PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS (left) had one FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER (right) amongst them in San Mateo County. Later, we found another Flesh-footed Shearwater for San Francisco County. 

Image, copyright, Will Brooks.

Before we even reached the edge of the Continental Shelf, we encountered the first of a handful of ASHY STORM-PETRELS. Soon, other storm-petrels joined the fray. 

Image, copyright, Will Brooks.

 BLACK STORM-PETREL, above, made some very close passes in our wake.

Image, copyright, Will Brooks.

 WILSON'S STORM-PETREL, above, and FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL also showed well. Image, copyright, Will Brooks.

 ASHY STORM-PETREL and NORTHERN/PACIFIC FULMAR, above. 

Image, copyright, Will Brooks.

Many thanks to all of the birders who joined us! I thank the parents who brought their young birders, and one "birthday girl" who celebrated her birthday in this special way! This young lady did her first pelagic trip 25 years ago. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNIFER TERRILL!

The leaders on this trip were: Todd McGrath, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Steve Tucker, Will Brooks, Al De Martini, and Debi Shearwater. 

THE COMPLETE SPECIES LIST FOR SHEARWATER JOURNEYS' AUGUST 16, 2015 TRIP FOLLOWS and is listed by counties; SAN MATEO/SAN FRANCISCO/TOTAL

WESTERN GREBE- 3/0/3

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 16/60/75

NORTHERN FULMAR- 18/10/28

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 125/600/725

*FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 1/1/2

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 4/1/5

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 99,415/32/99,560

WILSON'S STORM-PETREL- 3/11/14

FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL- 1/3/4

ASHY STORM-PETREL-8/9/17

BLACK STORM-PETREL-1/8/9

BROWN PELICAN- 401/0/401

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 33/1/34

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- 65/0/65

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 9/0/9

SURF SCOTER- 15/0/15

WESTERN SANDPIPER- 23/0/23

SANDERLING- 20/0/20

BLACK OYSTERCATCHER- 2/0/2

WANDERING TATTLER- 1/0/1

BLACK TURNSTONE- 13/1/14

SURFBIRD- 2/0/2

SEMIPALMATED PLOVER- 1/0/1

SPOTTED SANDPIPER- 1/0/1

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 54/6/60

RED PHALAROPE- 4/0/4

POMARINE JAEGER- 3/0/3

LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 1/0/1

HEERMANN'S GULL- 740/0/740

CALIFORNIA GULL- 6/2/8

WESTERN GULL- 140/35/175

GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL- 1/0/1

ELEGANT TERN- 1280/0/1280

CASPIAN TERN- 5/0/5

COMMON MURRE- 175/34/209

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 27/0/27

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 7/4/11

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 11/4/15

TUFTED PUFFIN- 0/1/1

GREAT BLUE HERON- 2/0/2

BELTED KINGFISHER- 2/0/2

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 550

STELLER'S SEA LION- 7

HARBOR SEAL- 8

RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 6

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 20

HARBOR PORPOISE- 9

OCEAN SUNFISH-35

BLUE SHARK- 1

CALIFORNIA LIZARDFISH- 3, caught

ANCHOVY- verylarge schools

Various jellies, especially along breaks

Returning to the harbor, we pass alongside another buoy that offers a nice study of both 

CALIFORNIA and STELLER'S SEA LIONS.

Image, copyright, Linda Terrill. 

 UPCOMING TRIPS FROM HALF MOON BAY:

SEPTEMBER 6 (4 spaces available-email Debi)

SEPTEMBER 15 (2 spaces available-email Debi)

SEPTEMBER 20

OCTOBER 4

OCTOBER 11

Hope to see you out there!

Living the Salt Life,

Debi Shearwater

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

CORDELL BANK & BODEGA CANYON SEABIRD & MARINE MAMMAL TRIPS

LOOKING FOR STORM-PETRELS?

CORDELL BANK & BODEGA CANYON SEABIRDING 2014 PELAGIC TRIPS:

SEPTEMBER 1 & 19, 2014

Massive rafts of storm-petrels have been observed on Shearwater Journeys's offshore trips from Bodega Bay in recent years. Flocks number in the thousands have included: ASHY, BLACK, FORK-TAILED, LEAST AND WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS. On our September 20, 2013 trip, we recorded a record-breaking 17,325 storm-petrels! While on our September 21, 2012 trip a fly-by HAWAIIAN PETREL was spotted while we were watching the storm-petrels!

 

Since 1980 Shearwater Journeys has offered pelagic trips departing from Bodega Bay, north of Point Reyes and San Francisco. This is the longest running birding operation from this port. 

 The areas that we cover on this departure have recorded more MEGA-RARE SEABIRDS than any other port in North America! The list is very long: SHORT-TAILED ALBATROSS, LIGHT-MANTELD ALBATROSS, SHY ALBATROSS (3 different individuals, separate trips);
MURPHY'S, COOK'S, HAWAIIAN, WHITE-CHINNED, PARKINSON'S and GREAT-WINGED PETRELS; GREAT, MANX, STREAKED, CORY'S, WEDGE-TAILED and FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATERS; LEAST STORM-PETREL (rare this far north, but might happen in 2014 due to warmer water); LONG-BILLED MURRELET and CRESTED AUKLET. These are some of the rarest of the rare seabirds in all of North America, and in some instances, the northern Pacific Ocean. (Great-winged Petrel represented the first record for the Northern Hemisphere, as well as North America!)

 ASHY & FORK-TAILED STORM-PETRELS, above. 

 HUMPBACK WHALE, above. This is a rich feeding area for marine mammals. 

LONG-TAILED JAEGER, above and SOUTH POLAR SKUA, below. 

This area can be fabulous for viewing all three species of jaegers. Skua is rarely missed on this trip.

 BLUE WHALE, below, showing its back and dorsal fin.

 The sheer numbers of marine mammals near Bodega Canyon can be astounding, during fall. 

 LONG-TAILED JAEGER, above and SABINE'S GULL, below. 

BROWN BOOBY, below. Seen on our October 25, 2013 trip. 

The NEW SEA ANGLER, our comfortable birding vessel, below. 

NOTE: The September 19 Bodega Bay trip can be combined with the September 21 Half Moon Bay trip for a weekend of seabirding and land birding on September 20. The September 1 trip could be hooked up with the early Monterey Bay trips on September 5 and 6, with land birding in between.

DETAILS FOR BODEGA BAY TRIPS: SEPTEMBER 1 & 19:

DEPARTURE: 7 a.m. SHARP. The boat will not wait for latecomers. Check in with Debi at the dock. RATE: $218

RETURN: About 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., varies. Allow for delays of several hours. 

PARKING: is free in the large, dirt lot. Try to check out the location the day prior, as it can be confusing in the morning darkness. On Highway 1, heading north from Bodega Bay, proceed north of the Tide's Whart, past the Boat House restaurant on your left. Turn left, heading downhill at the large, brown sign for EAST SHORE ROAD. At the stop sign a the bottom of the hill, proceed straight to Port O' Bodega. It will seem as if you are heading out to the water. Park here. 

PRICE ADJUSTMENT: all pricing is based on current rates and may be adjusted at the dockside. If so, this fee will be collected at the dock, between $10-20/person, cash only. 

FOOD & DRINKS: Bring all of your food and drinks, including water. Nothing is available on the boat. No restaurants are open in the morning hours prior to departure. Dress VERY WARMLY. 

MOTELS: in this area can be fully booked and can be quite expensive. Bodega Coast Inn and Suites is only 5 minutes from the dock. You might try asking the manage for the "Shearwater Discount" which they sometimes honor. Bodega Harbor Inn is conveniently located. Be sure to ask about their refund policy. You might find the rate shocking, compared to what you get. The Inn at the Tides is very nice, especially if you have family members traveling with you who will not be doing the boat trip. Their rate includes breakfast, but it is not served early enough for you to partake of it. Cheaper motels can be found along the Highway 101 corridor. However,  be SURE to allow a minimum of one hour to get to the dock from any motel along Highway 101. The roads leading to the dock are winding, two lane and can be foggy in the morning. It is possible to get stuck behind a truck pulling a trailer with a boat on it, going only 30 mph. Birders have missed the boat by not allowing enough time to make this trip! Refunds are not available for "no shows" at the dock! NO eating facilities are open early enough in the morning in Bodega Bay for breakfast. Please plan accordingly.

GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE: Be sure to check toll details regarding crossing the bridge, even if you rent a car, if you are returning to San Francisco after the trip. The toll is only collected on the southbound trip. 

TRIP REPORT: AUG 30, 2013

IMAGES OF AUG 30, 2013 BY STEVE HOWELL

TRIP REPORT: SEP 20, 2013

BIRDERS SPEAK ABOUT THE EPIC SEP 20, 2013 TRIP

TRIP REPORT: OCT 18, 2013

BODEGA BAY IMAGES BY TODD MCGRATH

TRIP REPORT: SEP 21, 2012 WITH HAWAIIAN PETREL

BODEGA BAY IMAGES BY STEVE HOWELL

TRIP REPORT: OCT 26, 2012

TRIP REPORT: AUG 17, 2011

BODEGA BAY IMAGES BY ABE BORKER

EMERGENCY PELAGIC TRIP: OCT 29, 2011

TRIP REPORT: OCT 29, 2011

TRIP REPORT: SEP 15, 2010- COOK'S PETREL

TRIP REPORT: AUG 15, 2009- COOK'S & HAWAIIAN PETRELS

TRIP REPORT: SEP 18, 2009

TRIP REPORT: SEP 20, 2009

Whew! That's a lotta reading!

STORM-PETRELS FOREVER,

Debi Shearwater

WE SAVED THE SCRIPP'S MURRELETS. CAN WE SAVE THE ASHY STORM-PETREL?

SCRIPP'S MURRELETS, father on right, chick on left, as seen on Shearwater Journeys' September 9, 2013 Half Moon Bay pelagic trip. These small alcids breed on Anacapa Island, one of the Channel Islands off southern California. We saved them by eradicating the black rat from this island. 

WE SAVED the SCRIPP'S MURRELET!

For more information see this short video:

CAN WE SAVE THE ASHY STORM-PETREL?

A small flock of ASHY STORM-PETRELS, above. It is thought at approximately 50% of the world's population of Ashy Storm-Petrels breed at the Farallon Islands. This small, swallow-sized seabird is threatened by an imbalance of nature caused by the non-native mice on the Farallon Islands. A program to eradicate the mice has been proposed. Please comment on the EIR no later than September 30, 2013.

YES, WE CAN!

Thank you, and the storm-petrels thank you,

Debi Shearwater

Images, copyright, Steve Tucker. Please do not use without permission.

INVASIVE HOUSE MOUSE ERADICATION PROJECT: FARALLON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, CALIFORNIA

COMMENT NOW! TAKE ACTION, PLEASE!

ASHY STORM-PETREL

Image, copyright, Julio Mulero

Howdy, Birders,

As a birder who has had the privilege of visiting many of the world's breeding seabird colonies at islands everywhere, it has become evident to me that the impact of introduced predators at these breeding colonies can be quite substantial. Tremendous successes and strides have been made by eliminating these predators which include rats, mice, cats, goats, pigs and more. Excellent examples such as Campbell Island have shown how not only seabirds can rebound with the removal of rats, but also native vegetation — in this case, the mega herbs.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife has announced the availability of a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for a proposed project to eradicate non-native, invasive house mice from South Farallon Islands, part of the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge off the coast of California. The comment period ends on September 30, 2013.

Please, comment on this draft at this link. Hit the COMMENT NOW! button near the top of the page!

ASHY STORM-PETRELS FOREVER,

Debi Shearwater

IMAGES OF THE DAY BY STEVE N.G. HOWELL: AUGUST 30, 2013

HOWDY, SEABIRDERS, 

Please enjoy a few of STEVE N.G. HOWELL'S images, below, from the Shearwater Journeys' August 30, 2013 Bodega Bay pelagic trip. 

All images, copyright, Steve Howell. Please do not use without permission.

 One of more than 200 ASHY STORM-PETRELS, in the fog, above.

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS, above. 

 

LONG-TAILED JAEGERS, above, putting on a show while the sun was out, above. 

 BLACK STORM-PETREL, above, breeds south of California.

FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL, above, breeds north of California. 

 BULLER'S SHEARWATER, above. 

 LONG-TAILED JAEGER, above.

 SABINE'S GULLS, above and below.

 SABINE'S GULLS & LONG-TAILED JAEGERS, below.

 WILSON'S STORM-PETREL, below.

BLUE WHALE, the largest animal that has ever lived on Earth, below. 

Happy Trails,

Debi Shearwater

TRIP REPORT: AUGUST 25, 2013 HALF MOON BAY - A SEA OF SPLENDORS

Howdy, Birders,

This is a trip report for Shearwater Journeys amazing August 25, 2013 pelagic trip departing from Half Moon Bay. From start to finish, nearly 12 hours later, this was a day which encompassed the splendor of seabirding. The seas were near glassy, flat calm. Skies were predominantly blue with sunshine most of the day, excellent for photography. Being a very small group made the day more intimate, and also allowed the photographers easy access to their subjects. All images in this report, copyright, Steve Rottenborn. Please do not use without permission. Highlights of this trip included: WARM WATER @ 60-61 degrees F, more below, huge rafts of BULLER'S SHEARWATERS, rafts of hundreds of ASHY STORM-PETRELS, increasing numbers of BLACK STORM-PETRELS, two FORK-TAILED STORM-PETRELS; a jaeger "grand slam" with POMARINE, PARASITIC, LONG-TAILED JAEGERS and SOUTH POLAR SKUA, ARCTIC TERNS, SCRIPP'S MURRELETS, CASSIN'S AUKLETS, RHINOCEROS AUKLETS, TUFTED PUFFINS, and 32 feeding HUMPBACK WHALES. Oops, and a LARGE-BILLED SAVANNAH SPARROW on the jetty — a new "rocky shorebird!"

The inner harbor area was still choked with 1200 ELEGANT TERNS, above, and 1000 BROWN PELICANS, below. However, the feeding flock of sooty shearwaters had departed, most likely following the anchovy runs. A few Brown Pelicans have been spotted with blue leg bands. These should be reported to the INTERNATIONAL BIRD RESCUE. Learn more about their brown pelican rehab, here. 

We had great views of the usual rocky shorebirds, including BLACK OYSTERCATCHER, BLACK TURNSTONE and SURFBIRDS. A LARGE-BILLED SAVANNAH SPARROW, spotted by our captain and identified by leader, Steve Rottenborn, was quite a surprise — and, a Life Bird for many on board!

Departing from the harbor, we immediately began running into many father/chick COMMON MURRE pairs, as below. The "chick" goes out to sea with the father who cares for it for several weeks. Their back and forth vocalizations are so sweet. Eventually, they form these "nursery schools," flocks.

It is common to see SOOTY SHEARWATERS mixed in with the murre flocks. 

It was a little bit surprising to encounter the first BULLER'S SHEARWATERS, below, in amongst these mixcd flocks of murres and sooty shearwaters. 

The seas were so calm that most of the shearwaters and albatrosses were sitting on the water, rather than flying. Flocks of several hundred Buller's shearwaters, sitting on the water, is an absolutely gorgeous site — especially, when they rise in flight, like a ballet.

BULLER'S SHEARWATER, above and below.

A plastic bottle floats among a flock of BULLER'S SHEARWATERS. The big "find" of the day was 60 degree F sea surface temperatures, before we even made it to the 50 fathom line! The "relaxation period" of the seas allowed warmer water from Southern California to flow northward. Indeed, we were to be inside of this huge band of warm water, up to 61 F at times, for many, many miles. This is the stuff of albacore tuna fishing lure. The tuna fishermen were out in droves, but the albacore were not biting. Tuna fishermen call the Buller's shearwaters and Arctic terns, "tuna birds." Indeed, these birds were right with the tuna. We did see Pacific Saury, a type of bait fish, jumping, probably being chased by tuna. 

We saw the first of many HUMPBACK WHALES en route to the Pioneer Canyon. 

Along the edges of the Pioneer Canyon, we found rafts of hundreds of ASHY STORM-PETRELS, above. 

The storm-petrels were attracted to the oil slick at our stern, flying in for some close-up shots. Amongst the hundreds of ASHY STORM-PETRELS, above, were quite a few BLACK STORM-PETRELS, and two FORK-TAILED STORM-PETRLS. 

A beautiful SABINE'S GULL, above and below,  was amongst one flock of shearwaters. 

Steve spotted a SOUTH POLAR SKUA, sitting in one flock. Everyone was able to get a great view.

SOUTH POLAR SKUA, below, takes flight showing the big wing patches.

TUFTED PUFFINS, below, gave a good show.

Again, we encountered as huge feeding lot of HUMPBACK WHALES, with as many as 20 in view at the same time. Below, is an image of four of those whales. 

Many thanks to the superb co-leaders, Steve Rottenborn, below.

And, Tim Miller, below.

The Humpbacks are waiting for you! 

Thank you, one and all for joining this amazing day at sea!
It was a lot of fun!

The complete species list for SAN MATEO/SAN FRANCISCO COUNTIES follows:

AUGUST 25, 2013 SHEARWATER JOURNEYS' HALF MOON BAY

PACIFIC LOON- 1/0

CLARK'S GREBE- 1/0

WESTERN/CLARK'S GREBE- 5/0

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 5/2

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 7/10

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 500/80

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 450/150

FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL- 0/2

ASHY STORM-PETREL- 7/1000

BLACK STORM-PETREL- 0/20

BROWN PELICAN- 1000/0

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 2/0

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- 300/0

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 2/0

BLACK OYSTERCATCHER- 1/0

BLACK TURNSTONE- 13/0

SURFBIRD- 8/0

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 25/8

RED PHALAROPE- 40/30

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 0/1

POMARINE JAEGER- 2/1

PARASITIC JAEGER- 5/0

LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 0/1

JAEGER SP.- 1/1

HEERMANN'S GULL- 20/0

CALIFORNIA GULL- 15/10

WESTERN GULL- 160/40

SABINE'S GULL- 0/2

ELEGANT TERN- 1200/0

ARCTIC TERN- 2/9

COMMON MURRE- 500/2

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 3/0

*SCRIPP'S MURRELET- 3/0

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 16/3

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 60/7

TUFTED PUFFIN- 4/0

*LARGE-BILLED SAVANNAH SPARROW- 1/0

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 1

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 2

HARBOR SEAL- 1

HUMPBACK WHALE- 32

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 12

HARBOR PORPOISE- 8

BLUE SHARK- 1

SHEARWATERS FOREVER,

Debi Shearwater