TRIP REPORT: 18 OCTOBER 2009 FORT BRAGG

Howdy, Seabirders,

Folks on board Shearwater Journeys' October 18, 2009, departing from Noyo Harbor, Fort Bragg enjoyed a beautiful day, with non-stop seabirding. Most trips from this port head for Noyo Canyon, to the north. However, since the weather and sea conditions were so good, I decided to head south to the Point Arena Buoy, Navarro Canyon and Arena Canyon. In years past, this has been a great hangout for albatrosses. We were not disappointed, as we saw flocks of 50+ BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES, sitting on the water. In all, we tallied 168 Black-foots for the day. Hundreds and hundreds of CASSIN'S AUKLETS were feeding on krill between shore and the 100 fathom line, along with 2 BLUE WHALES and 2 HUMPBACK WHALES. The nearshore seabirding was best, as offshore, we lost the vast majority of the birds. Some very nice schools of PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED and NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHINS were on the shelf, as well. A single FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER was a highlight for many of the folks on board, as well as a county bird. FOS (first of the season) MEW GULL was spotted amongst the many gulls following the boat. Two SABINE'S GULLS were a good find this late in the season. Finally, on the way home, two ANCIENT MURRELETS were spotted. Our captain did a great job of getting the boat positioned so that everyone on board could see these little birds, FOS for me, as well as a Mendocino County bird for me!

Many thanks to the birders on board, from near and far. The leaders on this trip were: Lisa Hug, Todd McGrath, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, and Debi Shearwater.

The full report follows:

PACIFIC LOON- 2

COMMON LOON- 1

WESTERN GREBE- 4

CLARK'S GREBE- + in the harbor

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 168

NORTHERN FULMAR- 121

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 48

FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 1

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 17

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 3

BROWN PELICAN- 14

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 30

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- 3 in the harbor

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 1

SURF SCOTER- 27

WHITE-WINGED SCOTER- 8

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 200

RED PHALAROPE- 60

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 1

POMARINE JAEGER- 14

HEERMANN'S GULL- 4

MEW GULL- 1

CALIFORNIA GULL- 50

WESTERN GULL- 280

WESTERN/GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL- 15

SABINE'S GULL- 2

COMMON MURRE- 1060

ANCIENT MURRELET- 2

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 1200

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 29

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 50

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 2

BLUE WHALE- 2

HUMPBACK WHALE- 2

NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHIN- 200

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 250

OCEAN SUNFISH- 1

BLUE SHARK- 1

Shearwaters forever,

Debi

TRIP REPORT: SEP 20, 2009: BODEGA BAY

Howdy, Seabirders,

This is a trip report for Shearwater Journeys' pelagic trip departing from Bodega Bay on September 20, 2009. A huge sea surface temperature break, ranging from the low 50s to 61 F beyond the 1500 fathom curve, was found. We reached 61F offshore at 1300 fathoms, our target spot, where we put out a large chum slick. The LONG-TAILED JAEGER show continued, but the much hoped for Pterodromas did not show up. We returned to our mini-slick at the north end of Cordell Bank, but the much hoped for Short-tailed (Steller's) Albatross did not show up. For a significant portion of the day, fog hampered our visibility. Like a veil, the fog lifted as we neared the 100 fathom line. It was here that we found five BLUE WHALES lunge feeding at the surface on krill. It was a spectacular, sublime ending to the day, watching the blues feeding in the brilliant sunshine. Little butterball CASSIN'S AUKLETS were so stuffed with krill that they could not lift off the water to fly away!


Image by Mark Rauzon, copyright, 2009.


Many thanks to all of our passengers who traveled to join our trip. The leaders on board were: Peter Pyle, Lisa Hug, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Oscar Johnson, Wes Fritz, Todd McGrath, and Debi Shearwater. Thanks to Wes Friz for his magical chumming and to Oscar Johnson for tallying the county lists for Marin and Sonoma Counties.



The complete species list follows.

20 SEPTEMBER 2009 BODEGA BAY SHEARWATER JOURNEYS' PELAGIC TRIP:
Sonama/Marin/Total

RED-THROATED LOON- 2/0/2
PACIFIC LOON- 2/0/2
COMMON LOON- 5/0/5
WESTERN GREBE- 10/0/10
BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 15/11/26
NORTHERN FULMAR- 9/6/15
PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 16/18/34
BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 0/3/3
SOOTY SHEARWATER- 17/17/34
WILSON'S STORM-PETREL- 0/1/1
FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL- 0/1/1
ASHY STORM-PETREL- 2/17/19
BROWN PELICAN- 6/0/6
BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 35/0/35
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- 3/0/3
PELAGIC CORMORANT- 15/0/15
SURF SCOTER- 2/0/2
BLACK TURNSTONE- 0/1 (offshore)/1
RED KNOT- 5/0/5
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 50/3/53
RED PHALAROPE- 250/6/256
SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 0/5/5
POMARINE JAEGER- 2/7/9
PARASITIC JAEGER- 0/2/2
LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 0/31/31
JAEGER SP. -0/2/2
CALIFORNIA GULL- 25/55/80
WESTERN GULL- 125/20/145
SABINE'S GULL- 0/11/11
COMMON TERN- 1/0/1
ARCTIC TERN- 0/6/6
COMMON MURRE- 300/4/304
PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 8/0/8
CASSIN'S AUKLET- 800/0/800
RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 11/18/29
CALIFORNIA SEA LION- +
STELLER'S SEA LION- 1
FUR SEAL SP.- 1
HARBOR SEAL- +
MINKE WHALE- 1
BLUE WHALE- 5
HUMPBACK WHALE- 1
DALL'S PORPOISE- 2
OCEAN SUNFISH- 2
BLUE SHARK- 2
SALMON SHARK- 12

Shearwaters forever,
Debi

TRIP REPORT: 18 SEPTEMBER 2009 BODEGA BAY

Howdy, Seabirders,

Shearwater Journeys' pelagic trip departing from Bodega Bay could be best described as, "Just another day in paradise." Highlights included: BLUE WHALES, a single TUFTED PUFFIN, over 50 BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES, high counts of RED and RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, CASSIN'S AUKLETS, and a SALMON SHARK. The incredible, non-stop JAEGER show continued, with 85 LONG-TAILED JAEGERS, 29 POMARINE JAEGERS, and 4 PARASITIC JAEGERS tallied. This is the first trip of the fall season that we have missed South Polar Skua. Best part of the day was the weather, in total contrast to the marine forecast. A PEREGRINE FALCON flew over the dock at the end of the day.

The "New Sea Angler," the vessel that we regularly use was fully repaired. We departed the harbor about 7 am, and returned at 6:30 pm. The extensive mudflats were covered with shorebirds, White Pelicans, and other species. We made it well beyond the 1000 fathom line, to at least 1300 fathoms. Birdlife was much more abundant than the September 16th trip. This just goes to show you how readily the marine life changes in response to migration and food supplies. It is all the more reason why birders should book as many trips as possible during their visit. Just as migration on land changes daily, so it does at sea.

Many thanks to our wonderful participants. Leaders for this trip were: Lisa Hug, Oscar Johnson, Abe Borker, Wes Fritz, Todd McGrath, and Debi Shearwater.

We spent a some time in both Sonoma and Marin Counties. The complete species list follows;

18 SEPTEMBER 2009 BODEGA BAY

TOTAL/ SONOMA/MARIN

RED-THROATED LOON- 1/1/0

PACIFIC LOON- 5/5/0

WESTERN GREBE- 13/13/0

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 54/40/14

NORTHERN FULMAR- 11/4/7

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 79/21/58

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 2/2/0

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 59/47/12

WILSON'S STORM-PETREL- 1/1/0

FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL- 7/7/0

ASHY STORM-PETREL- 22/18/4

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 125/125/0

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 4/4/0

SURF SCOTER- 5/5/0

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 350/350/0

RED PHALAROPE- 800/800/0

POMARINE JAEGER- 29/15/14

PARASITIC JAEGER- 4/2/2

LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 85/49/36

JAEGER SP.- 2/2/0

HEERMANN'S GULL- 25/2/23

CALIFORNIA GULL- 50/30/20

WESTERN GULL- 60/45/15

SABINE'S GULL- 18/16/2

COMMON TERN- 1/1/0

ARCTIC TERN- 17/17/0

COMMON MURRE- 1250/1245/5

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 8/8/0

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 700/690/10

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 30/15/15

TUFTED PUFFIN- 1/1/0

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- +

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 1

HARBOR SEAL- +

BLUE WHALE- 3

HUMPBACK WHALE- 10

OCEAN SUNFISH- 1

SALMON SHARK- 1

PEREGRINE FALCON- 1, in the harbor