MONTEREY BAY PELAGIC TRIP: AUGUST 25, 2017

 EXILERATING DAY AT SEA

MONTEREY BAY NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY

This is a trip report for Shearwater Journeys' August 25, 2017 Monterey Bay pelagic trip. Monterey seabirds did not disappoint! The highlight was a stunning HAWAIIAN PETREL which made repeated passes in the wake of our boat. Everyone on board saw this petrel, and many obtained photographs. We headed offshore to "Tinker's spot," then north to an area where we have found storm-petrels in past years, and then home. The Hawaiian Petrel was spotted about 1:30 p.m. as we were on our return leg. Two BLUE WHALES capped off the end of the day!

A SOUTHERN SEA OTTER dining on breakfast as we depart the harbor.

PIGEON GUILLEMOTS nest under the wharf. This individual might be feeding a sculpin to its young. 

Just off Point Pinots, we encounter our first RHINOCEROS AUKLET. 

David & Tammy McQuade from Florida joined us again this year!

See their images of the Hawaiian Petrel. 

BULLER'S SHEARWATERS arrived on the front line of warm water a few days ago.

Yve Morrell ticked the Hawaiian Petrel for a Life Bird.

She is doing a North America Big Year.

COMMON TERN flying over the stern.

Jim Holmes, Jr. and Jim Holmes, Sr. have been doing trips with Shearwater Journeys since 1988.

Jim Holmes Jr. is a leader on SJ trips.

An adult male POMARINE JAEGER flying over the stern.

We had a grand slam on all three species of jaegers. 

Happy smiles by Debi Shearwater and Yve Morrell.

Jennie Miller and Sahas Bavre in the background, both ornithologists.

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS were steady in our wake. 

The MEEP call of PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER!

Surely one of the world's most beautiful gulls, SABINE'S GULL.

Buddies for Life, Clay Kempf and Rick Fournier, both leaders for Shearwater Journeys.

A CASSIN'S AUKLET flying away. 

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES were a real crowd pleaser. 

Star Seabird of the day, HAWAIIAN PETREL. 

Star Leader of the day, Alex Rinkert who spotted the Hawaiian Petrel.

 We capped off the day with two mighty BLUE WHALES, the largest animal that has ever lived on Earth, bigger than any dinosaurs!

Many thanks to all of the wonderful and fun folks who joined us on the fabulous Monterey Bay pelagic trip! Birders hailed from Spain, Denmark, Canada, England, India and seven states in the USA.

The Shearwater team of leaders included: Alex Rinkert, Jim Holmes, Clay Kempf, Rick Fournier, and Debi Shearwater.

THE COMPLETE SPECIES LIST FOR SHEARWATER JOURNEYS AUGUST 25, 2017 MONTEREY BAY PELAGIC TRIP FOLLOWS:

MONTEREY/SANTA CRUZ COUNTIES:

PACIFIC LOON- 1/0

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 29/10

NORTHERN FULMAR- 2/2

**HAWAIIAN PETREL- 1/0

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 26/55

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 17/4

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 779/990

ASHY STORM-PETREL- 1/0

BROWN PELICAN- 47/0

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 316/0

BLACK TURNSTONE- 4/0

WILLET- 1/0

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 17/13

RED PHALAROPE- 3/1

POMARINE JAEGER- 8/3

PARASITIC JAEGER- 1/0

LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 0/1

HEERMANN'S GULL- 12/0

CALIFORNIA GULL- 15/25

WESTERN GULL-205/10

SABINE'S GULL- 4/2

ELEGANT TERN- 41/0

COMMON TERN- 1/1

COMMON MURRE- 505/60

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 7/0

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 5/4

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 39/29

SEA OTTER- 4

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 120

HARBOR SEAL- 2

BLUE WHALE- 4

HUMPBACK WHALE- 13

HARBOR PORPOISE- 4

OCEAN SUNFISH- 1

SEA NETTLE- +

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO?

JOIN US ON OUR LABOR DAY WEEKEND TRIPS:

SEP 1 MONTEREY BAY

SEP 2 & 3 HALF MOON BAY

RESERVATIONS: EMAIL DEBI: debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

WE ARE COMING INTO THE PEAK OF FALL SEABIRD MIGRATION!

LIVING THE SALT LIFE & SEABIRDING FOR SCIENCE,

Debi Shearwater

Images by Beth Hamel & Debi Shearwater, copyright

IMAGES OF THE DAY by BETH HAMEL: AUGUST 26, 2016 MONTEREY BAY

From frolicking SEA OTTERS just outside the harbor—

to BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES just off Point Pinos within the first hour of the day 

watching BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES folding their wings upon landing behind the vessel

to the blow of a mighty BLUE WHALE, the largest animal that has ever lived on Earth

 to tiny CASSIN'S AUKLETS which feed on krill just like the blue whale

to the very curious looking OCEAN SUNFISH, Mola Mola

and PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS shearing the ocean surface with their wings

 and nearly 50 HUMPBACK WHALES

flocks of SABINE'S GULLS lifting off the sea

and the juvenile LONG-TAILED JAEGERS which chase them

 juvenile LONG-TAILED JAEGER right over our heads

male POMARINE JAEGERS that chase all of them

cruising in attack mode

 RISSO'S DOLPHINS nearshore

 feeding on the abundant squid

 to the just-arrived from southern California, BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATERS

it was simply an amazing day of nonstop marine action with all players present— Monterey seabirds, marine mammals and interesting fish! What's next?

COMMENTS FROM ONE PARTICIPANT:

Just wanted to say thank you for a fantastic pelagic trip this past Friday! What an amazing journey, with whales, dolphins and porpoises as an added bonus. The sight of a blue whale in the wild is something I will always treasure. You and the crew are a class act, constantly working hard to get on the birds and answer questions. I had read your praises in the writings of Big Year bloggers like Dorian Anderson and Olaf Danielson, and they were spot on in their compliments. In the days leading up to the trip, I had hoped for a couple of Black-footed Albatross. Like others, I was floored when they surrounded the boat!

Yes, you are the best in the business, and I will happily recommend Shearwater Journeys to fellow birders. Keep up the great work, and thanks again.

C. B. — Redondo Beach, California

THANK YOU, ONE AND ALL! 

To read the full trip report for August 26, 2016, click here. 

I HOPE YOU ENJOY THESE IMAGES BY BETH HAMEL

All images, copyright, Beth Hamel

Check the SHEARWATER JOURNEYS' SCHEDULE for lots of upcoming trips during September!

Living the Salt Life,

Debi Shearwater

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

WHY YOU SHOULD DO A PELAGIC TRIP IN SEPTEMBER 2015 !

From Monterey Bay to Half Moon Bay to Bodega Bay — the shear numbers of seabirds and marine mammals is UNPRECEDENTED! 

Not simply the streaming SOOTY SHEARWATERS, but many other species as well. 

The diversity amongst seabirds in this area this season has been astounding. 

During the past forty years, I have seen a lot of stuff — but, never anything like this! 

And, we've only just begun.

SEPTEMBER is the single best month of the entire year to see seabirds based on my forty years of experience. Get thee on a boat, post haste!

September offers the greatest diversity of seabirds & marine mammals.

There is no better month of the entire year!

September generally has the best marine weather.

Shearwater Journeys has some 14 trips on offer during September!

Like a gigantic mixing bowl of warm water, swirling cold water currents, bubbles, and eddies are making this year very special. Seabirds seldom found along the Central California Coast, are turning up. These GUADALUPE MURRELETS, above, are one of the most prized of all murrelet species. We may not see this species in our area again for another decade!

Get out there! 

Image, courtesy and copyright, Steve Howell. 

LAYSAN ALBATROSS, above,  is not easily found — there is no reliable time of year for this species. 

However, recent trips have recorded a number of these gorgeous albatrosses, especially off Bodega Bay. 

All Laysan images, courtesy and copyright, Steve Howell. 

The year 2014 saw a huge influx of BROWN BOOBIES, such as this one on the Half Moon Bay weather buoy. Their displacement continues this season. 

STORM-PETRELS which were virtually absent last fall, have been showing up in good numbers on some trips. 

Image, courtesy and copyright, Debi Shearwater.

The image below is a mixed species flock as seen on our August 2, 2015 Half Moon Bay trip. 

BODEGA BAY has been the main stomping grounds for the vast majority of storm-petrels.

We once recorded a record breaking flock of 12,350 mixed species flock! 

True to my prediction and post, STREAMING SHEARWATERS, SCHOOLING FISH & COLD WATER, rafts of thousands of storm-petrels were found near Cordell Bank within days of that post. 

Image, courtesy and copyright, Will Brooks. 

 Within those flocks, one or two WEDGE-RUMPED STORM-PETRELS were found, August 21-23, 2015!

This species has not been found in our area since the early 1980's!

There are fewer than a dozen records for the ABA area of this species!

You may recall that Point Blue banded two individual WEDGE-RUMPED STORM-PETRELS at the Farallon Islands this past spring!

Sure enough — they are out there — somewhere — a needle in a haystack, but you could get lucky!

Image, courtesy and copyright, Dave Pereksta. 

Thousands SOOTY SHEARWATERS are following the cold water streams. 

Image, above, at Bodega Bay. 

Image courtesy and copyright, Steve Howell. 

HAWAIIAN PETREL, above, was seen on one Bodega Bay trip during August this season.

There are September records, and one of these rare petrel may well be spotted again. 

We have recorded HAWAIIAN PETRELS at Monterey, Half Moon, and Bodega on previous trips. 

Image, courtesy and copyright, Scott Terrill. 

In addition to the seabirds, marine mammals have been very present and exciting. 

BLUE WHALE, above, is not as abundant as the HUMPBACK WHALES this season, but they are around. 

Image, courtesy and copyright, Dave Pereksta. 

BAIRD'S BEAKED WHALE, spyhopping, above. This large and rarely seen toothed whale was spotted on our Monterey Albacore trip last year, and again, this year at Bodega Bay. 

Image, courtesy & copyright, Steve Howell.  

Somewhere, "out there," is likely a mega-rare seabird, a WEDGE-TAILED SHEARWATER, above, and/or a

RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD, below. 

These warm water species are very possible. 

We did find a Red-billed Tropicbird on our September 21, 2014 Half Moon Bay trip.

 Both images, courtesy and copyright, Dave Pereksta.
Tropical whales may show up, for instance, last year we saw a DWARF/PYGMY SPERM WHALE.

COOK'S PETREL, below.

Image, courtesy and copyright, Scott Terrill. 

Early fall, 2009, record numbers of COOK'S PETRELS were found on Shearwater Journeys' trips from Monterey. 

I strongly encouraged everyone to get on a trip — saying what we were seeing was unprecedented —

COOK'S PETRELS within reach of a one day pelagic from Monterey —

Many birders heeded that advise and had splendid views of Cook's Petrels.

Some birders, decided to "wait for next year."

Well, next year came and went, and the next, and the next, and the next. 

So, here we are — some six years later — and it has not happened, again. 

Birders lamented: I should have followed your advise.

Oh, well. 

MORAL OF THE STORY:

WHEN EVENTS ARE UNPRECEDENTED — GET OUT THERE!

My good friend, Todd McGrath, has a ball cap with this embroidered on the back:

NO WHINERS!

There is no excuse for not getting on a September pelagic trip! 

Next year: LA NINA is already being forecast!

Finally, the BBC & PBS were so certain that Monterey Bay would produce marine life that they filmed, live: BIG BLUE LIVE. Part 2 is tonight, and Part 3 tomorrow night. 

UPCOMING TRIPS & LEADERS:

SEP 5, SAT: MONTEREY with Nick Levendosky, Jennifer Green, Clay Kempf, Mel Preston, Tim Miller, Alex Rinkert
SEP 6, SUN: HALF MOON BAY with Gerry McChesney, Jim Holmes, Will Brooks, Steve Tucker. SOLD OUT.
SEP 8, TUE: MONTEREY BAY with Rick Fournier, Christian Schwarz
SEP 9, WED: MONTEREY BAY with Tim Miller, Nick Levendosky, Christian Schwarz, Mel Preston
SEP 10, THU: MONTEREY BAY with Nick Levendosky, Christian Schwarz, Jennifer Green
SEP 11, FRI: MONTEREY BAY with Mary Gustafson, Jennifer Green, Christian Schwarz
SEP 12, SAT: MONTEREY ALBACORE with Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Nick Levendosky, Mary Gustafson, Rick Fournier. SOLD OUT. Wait list, email Debi.
SEP 13, SUN: MONTEREY BAY with Mary Gustafson, Chris Wood, Jessie Barry, Clay Kempf. Debi's Birthday Trip!
SEP 15, TUE: HALF MOON BAY with Mary Gustafson, Chris Wood, Jessie Barry, Tim Miller, Marisa Ortega-Welch SOLD OUT
SEP 16, WED: MONTEREY BAY with Tim Miller, Chris Wood, Jessie Barry, Annie Schmidt
SEP 18, FRI: BODEGA BAY with Nick Levendosky, Peter Pyle, Abe Borker, Steve Tucker, Steve Howell. SOLD OUT. Wait list, email Debi.
SEP 20, SUN: HALF MOON BAY with Gerry McChesney, Nick Levendosky, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Steve Hampton
SEP 25, FRI: MONTEREY BAY with Rick Fournier, TBA.
SEP 26, SAT: MONTEREY BAY with Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, TBA.
SEP 27, SUN: MONTEREY BAY with Nick Levendosky, Alex Rinkert.
OCT 3, SAT: MONTEREY BAY with Tim Miller, Dena Spatz, Jennifer Green
OCT 4, SUN: HALF MOON BAY with Steve Hampton, Will Brooks, Annie Schmidt, Christian Schwarz
OCT 10, SAT: MONTEREY BAY with Todd McGrath, David Vander Pluym, Lauren Harter, Jennifer Green
OCT 11, SUN: HALF MOON BAY with Todd McGrath, Jim Holmes, Tim Miller, Will Brooks, David Vander Pluym, Lauren Harter, Marissa Ortega-Welch
OCT 18, SUN: FARALLON ISLANDS GREAT WHITE SHARK & SEABIRDS with Peter Pyle, Gerry McChesney, Jim Holmes, Steve Tucker

Do whatever you can to get on a boat trip this month — call in sick, take a personal holiday — but, get out there! And, October — well, the Southern Hemisphere seabirds have departed for the next breeding season. That thins the shearwaters out quite a bit, making is so much easier to spot mega-rarities. October mega-rare seabirds are one story for the book — but, that's another blog post!

LIVING THE SALT LIFE,

DEBI SHEARWATER

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

ABOUT: The ALBACORE OFFSHORE MONTEREY TRIP

A HOLISTIC APPROACH to SEABIRDING

ALBACORE GROUNDS: OFFSHORE MONTEREY

with 

SHEARWATER JOURNEYS

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

After the record shattering El Nino of 1982-83, Shearwater Journeys began offering offshore pelagic trips departing from Monterey to the albacore fishing grounds because fisherman had reported incredible numbers of many of specialty seabirds and marine mammals that were often associated with albacore. 

From the get-go, these trips had a holistic approach. "Holistic" has been defined as: "characterized by the comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole."More than any other pelagic trip, this trip focused on the "whole picture" — the whole ecosystem — from the tiny krill to the Pacific saury and the massive blue whales that fed on the krill, to the albacore that fed on the saury, to the surface-feeding Buller's shearwaters, to the plunge-diving Arctic terns that fed from above, to the swarms of jaegers above them — when all these parts come together in one vast ocean scene, it is simply spectacular! This is a trip not to be missed, especially this year with another, massive El Nino in progress. 

Above, Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies 1982 El Nino

Albacore (Thunnus alalunga), is al large, migratory tuna that visits the central coast of California some years, mostly during fall. This fish is built for speed with long pectoral fins. Albacore populations have shifted northward with changing oceanographic conditions. The bulk of the catch now comes from Oregon and Washington.

Above, our Captain, Tinker, and I with an ALBACORE that I caught on one of our many trips. 

Fishermen have been harvesting this fish for over 100 years. It is most often caught by trolling or pole-and-line. Sometimes, we use live bait if available, usually live anchovies. Watching the albacore chase and catch the bait is amazing! Whether trolling or using a fishing pole, once a fish is hooked, the fisherman yells, "FISH ON!" The boat will stop and the captain will assist the fisherman in bringing the fish on board where it will be stored under the seat. This is called, "having one in the box."

PACIFIC SAURY, above, is a pelagic schooling fish found in the North Pacific. Often, whole schools burst out of the ocean, indicating that an albacore is chasing them from below! Sometimes, the albacore itself will launch itself out of the water! In fishermen's terms, this is called sighting a "JUMPER."

A columnar whale blow shooting some 30 feet high is a sure sign of a BLUE WHALE! 

The largest animal that has ever lived on Earth, BLUE WHALES are observed on about 90% of our albacore trips. The tiny dorsal fin, steely-blue and freckled skin are the field marks of the very sought after blue whale. 

Flocks of SABINE'S GULLS sitting on the water are common on albacore trips. 

Pomarine, and sometimes, parasitic jaeger chase Sabine's gulls until they drop their food.

Sometimes, flocks of ARCTIC TERNS sit on the sea, too. 

Tuna fishermen call the Arctic tern, "tuna birds," indicating that albacore may be nearby.

More often, Arctic terns in are the sky, being pursued by LONG-TAILED JAEGERS.

The jaeger show can be incredible, with long-taileds topping 100 individuals. As many as 30 can be around the vessel at one time. 

We have a near 100% record of finding SOUTH POLAR SKUA on this trip!

The murrelets, tiny alcids of the sea, are the most prized birds on this trip. 

Generally, flat-calm seas are necessary to be able to spot this alcid, the size of one's hand at a distance. 

SCRIPPS'S MURRELETS, above and below. 

GUADALUPE MURRELET, below, is the rarest of the three species none of which have been found along the central coast of California recently — until the warm water showed up in 2014. So, 2015 looks very promising.

There's always a chance for a rarity on a 12 hour trip. 

Twice on albacore trips, we have found RED-TAILED TROPICBIRDS. 

Almost all records for this species have been more than 100, and closer to 200 miles offshore. 

The rarely observed BAIRD'S BEAKED WHALE is often seen on our albacore trips. 

Note the bulbous head and protruding "beaks" on these large toothed whales, below. 

Listen to their sound, here. 

Typically, we do go much further offshore on an albacore trip than the standard Monterey trip. But, there are times when offshore reports from the fishermen might indicate that going offshore is like heading into a giant dead zone. Once such year this happened, and I elected to go north to the many canyons located off Davenport. 

That was a historic day: OCTOBER 14, 2006. 

At the crack of dawn, leader David Vander Plyum spotted a STREAKED SHEARWATER! 

This mega-rare shearwater is usually found in nearshore waters off Japan! 

A GREAT SHEARWATER, above, was soon spotted as well! This shearwater occurs in the Atlantic Ocean!

By day's end, we had once again SET A WORLD RECORD for the HIGH COUNT OF SHEARWATERS SEEN IN ONE DAY!

*EIGHT SPECIES OF SHEARWATERS*

Shearwater Journeys also set a world record of eight species of shearwaters on October 1, 1994. 

And, it was a different set of eight shearwaters on each trip!

In 2009, record numbers of COOK'S PETRELS showed up near a canyon south of Monterey. Incredibly, we found them on many trips that stayed out beyond the regular hours. 

HAWAIIAN PETREL, below, is still a good contender for any offshore trip, although nearly all of the Hawaiian petrels I've seen have been within 10 miles of shore, sometimes much closer. 

During an El Nino, it is possible for just about anything to show up.

WEDGE-TAILED SHEARWATER, above, has been seen from shore in Southern California this year. WEDGE-RUMPED STORM-PETREL (2 mist netted at the Farallon Islands this year), BULWER'S PETREL (found on a late July Shearwater Journeys' trip after El Nino), and maybe even WAVED ALBATROSS (2 sight records by good observers, neither confirmed)  could show up this year — who knows?

A surprise BROWN BOOBY fly by our September 13, 2014 albacore trip. 

The massive body of a BLUE WHALE, above, showing the splash guards and blowholes. 

Rarely seen, blue whale tail flukes.

Our typical Monterey seabird trips depart at 7 a.m. and return at 3 p.m. 

The albacore trip departs at 5:30 a.m. and returns at 5:30 p.m. 

If you could only do one Monterey seabird trip, do this one!

THERE IS ONLY ONE ALBACORE TRIP:

SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

LEADERS: SCOTT TERRILL, LINDA TERRILL, MARY GUSTAFSON, NICK LEVENDOSKY, RICK FOURNIER, DEBI SHEARWATER

DON'T MISS OUT!

DEBI SHEARWATER

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

Special thanks to the photographers: Dave Pereksta, Todd McGrath, Beth Hamel, Bryan Hix, Scott Terrill, and Dave Pavlik. Please do not use images without permission.