MONTEREY BAY PELAGIC TRIP: SEPTEMBER 3, 2016

IT'S A SMORGASBORD OUT THERE!

PELAGIC RED CRABS, SQUID, ANCHOVIES & KRILL

MONTEREY SEABIRDS & MARINE MAMMALS GALORE!

with

SHEARWATER JOURNEYS

This CALIFORNIA SEA LION escaped the jaws of a GREAT WHITE SHARK.

He is likely to recover from these wounds, but the shark lost out on its meal.

PELAGIC RED CRABS were evident in the harbor. 

This WESTERN GULL is enjoying a meal.

Just off Cannery Row, we encountered some RISSO'S DOLPHINS feeding on SQUID, above.

Our Captain, Tinker, caught some squid for us. Here's one, above. 

Just out side of the harbor (!) at least ten HUMPBACK WHALES were gorging on anchovies.

Hundreds of BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATERS along with 30-40 CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS

were also part of this feeding frenzy.

There is a Black-vented Shearwater in the above image, just above the "s" in the word, shearwater.

Off of Moss Landing, we observed KILLER WHALES in two groups: one group of two adult males, and another group of 4 females and young. 

The killer whales seemed to be looking for something to eat!

Offshore, we encountered a single LAYSAN ALBATROSS.

This appears to be the same individual which has showed up on two of our Half Moon Bay trips.

Laysan Albatross is always a treat and never expected.

Out in the deeper waters of the canyon edges, we ran into loads and loads of KRILL.

Three FIN WHALES were feeding on the krill.

Many BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES followed the boat.

 This NORTHERN/PACIFIC FULMAR looks as though it summered in the area.

 PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS follow the boat in good numbers.

It seems that Pink-footed Shearwaters feed on a different prey item than Sooty Shearwaters. 

Hence, Sootys are found closer to shore, feeding on the anchovies. 

It was an altogether terrific day at sea!

Many thanks to all of the birders who traveled from near and far to join us on this day. The leaders were: NICK LEVENDOSKY, MARY GUSTAFSON, and DEBI SHEARWATER. 

THE COMPLETE SPECIES LIST FOR SHEARWATER JOURNEYS' SEPTEMBER 3, 2016 MONTEREY BAY PELAGIC TRIP FOLLOWS. 

MONTEREY/SANTA CRUZ COUNTIES:

LAYSAN ALBATROSS- 0/1

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 17/28

NORTHERN/PACIFIC FULMAR- 1/0

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 250/120

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 0/2

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 3500/100

BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER- 285/7

BROWN PELICAN- 110/0

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 270/1

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- 2/0

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 14/0

BLACK TURNSTONE- 3/0

SURFBIRD- 1/0

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 16/20

POMARINE JAEGER- 1/2

PARASITIC JAEGER- 1/1

HERRMANN'S GULL- 90/2

CALIFORNIA GULL- 185/70

WESTERN GULL- 300/45

SABINE'S GULL- 1/0

ELEGANT TERN- 90/2

COMMON TERN- 0/4

ARCTIC TERN- 0/1

COMMON MURRE- 1020/190

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 0/1

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 1/2

PEREGRINE FALCON- 1, on the radio tower along Cannery Row, eating its prey

SEA OTTER- 4

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 150

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 1

FIN WHALE- 3

HUMPBACK WHALE- 25

KILLER WHALE- 6

RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 18

OCEAN SUNFISH- 2

UPCOMING TRIPS DEPARTING FROM MONTEREY BAY:

SEPTEMBER 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 15, 23, 24, 25

OCTOBER 1, 8, 16

The SEP 10 ALBACORE TRIP IS SOLD OUT

UPCOMING TRIPS DEPARTING FROM HALF MOON BAY:

SEPTEMBER 16 & 18

OCTOBER 2 & 9

LIVING THE SALT LIFE,

Debi Shearwater

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

Bird images by David Barton, copyright. 

Other images by Debi Shearwater, copyright.

BEAT THE HEAT: SAVOR A SALTY BREEZE!

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER flying up the wake of the vessel.

Howdy, Birders,

Take a break from the sweltering heat and chill out on a pelagic trip! Shearwater Journeys’ first pelagic trips are coming up very soon. We could not be more excited to get out there with you! Over 65,000 birders and marine enthusiasts have participated on thousands of Shearwater Journeys’ trips over the past 40 years. 

Below, please find out full program including our stellar line up of leaders. All of our trips have spaces available.

FARALLON ISLANDS: 

AUGUST 7: Gerry McChesney, Mary Gustafson, John Garrett, Debi Shearwater

AUGUST 14: Gerry McChesney, Will Brooks, John Garrett, Debi Shearwater

Departs from Sausalito at 7:30 am on the beautiful catamaran, Outer Limits. Sail under the Golden Gate Bridge! 100% success rate on finding Tufted Puffins, the target bird for the day. Last year, we also saw the Northern Gannet, Brown and Blue-footed Boobies!

HALF MOON BAY TRIPS:

AUGUST 6: Peter Pyle, Mary Gustafson, Will Brooks, Steve Hampton, Debi Shearwater

AUGUST 13: Peter Pyle, Steve Tucker, Jim Holmes, Debi Shearwater

AUGUST 19: Nick Levendosky, Steve Tucker, Christian Schwarz, Debi Shearwater

SEPTEMBER 4: Mary Gustafson, Steve Hampton, Russ Bradley, Debi Shearwater

SEPTEMBER 16: Steve Tucker, Jim Holmes, Steve Hampton, Abe Borker, Debi Shearwater

SEPTEMBER 18: Jim Holmes, Alex Rinkert, Steve Hampton, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Debi Shearwater

OCTOBER 2: Steve Tucker, Jim Holmes, Steve Hampton, Debi Shearwater

OCTOBER 9: Tim Miller, Nick Levendosky Abe Borker, Tim Miller, Steve Hampton, Debi Shearwater

MONTEREY BAY TRIPS:

JULY 29: Nick Levendosky, Will Brooks, Christian Schwarz, Alex Rinkert, Debi Shearwater

AUGUST 26: Nick Levendosky, Alex Rinkert, Scott Terrill, Debi Shearwater

SEPTEMBER 3: Nick Levendosky, Mary Gustafson, Debi Shearwater

SEPTEMBER 7: Mary Gustafson, Christian Schwarz, Debi Shearwater

SEPTEMBER 8: Scott Terrill, Christian Schwarz, Mary Gustafson, Debi Shearwater (limited spaces available)

SEPTEMBER 9: Mary Gustafson, Debi Shearwater ** This trip spends time in Santa Cruz County.

SEPTEMBER 10: ALBACORE GROUNDS: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Mary Gustafson, Nick Levendosky, Alex Rinkert, Debi Shearwater (4 spaces available)

SEPTEMBER 11: Mary Gustafson, Debi Shearwater

SEPTEMBER 14, Rob Fowler, Debi Shearwater (newly added trip)

SEPTEMBER 15: Nick Levendosky, Jim Holmes, Debi Shearwater (limited spaces available)

SEPTEMBER 23: Nick Levendosky, Christian Schwarz, Debi Shearwater

SEPTEMBER 24: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Abe Borker, Dena Spatz, Alex Rinkert, Tim Miller, Debi Shearwater

SEPTEMBER 25: Abe Borker, Nick Levendosky, Tim Miller, Debi Shearwater

OCTOBER 1: Jim Holmes, Nick Levendosky, Christian Schwarz, Alex Rinkert, Debi Shearwater

OCTOBER 2: Alex Rinkert, Tim Miller, Christian Schwarz, Debi Shearwater

OCTOBER 16: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Nick Levendosky, Alex Rinkert, Debi Shearwater

Monterey trips meet at 7 am at Chris’ Fishing on Fisherman’s Wharf, Monterey and return about 3 pm. The Albacore trip meets at 5:15 am and returns at 5:30 pm at Chris’ Fishing on Fisherman’s Wharf, Monterey. Half Moon Bay trips meet at 7 am at H dock, Johnson Pier at Pillar Point, Half Moon Bay, El Granada and return between 4-6 pm. 

Note that additional leaders may be added to trips. Leaders may change without notice. All leaders are volunteers who absolutely love leading trips— that’s one reason why we have so many leaders on board. We will be tracking county lines and following eBird pelagic protocol for checklists. 

The latest sea surface temperatures are showing lots of cold and very cold water— and, we know what that means— food!! La Nina conditions are favored to develop as early as August - October. 

We’ve been out there in the wild blue through four decades of El Nino’s and La Nina’s— every single year has been different. Let’s see what is in store for this fall season! 

Advance reservations are highly recommended. Contact: debi@shearwaterjourneys.com. 

Living the Salt Life,

Debi Shearwater

HUMPBACK WHALE TAIL-SLPPING off Moss Landing, Monterey Bay.

Images, copyright, Beth Hamel. Please ask for permission to use.

DEBRA SHEARWATER

Shearwater Journeys, Inc.

PO Box 190

Hollister, CA 95024

831.637.8527

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

www.shearwaterjourneys.com

www.shearwaterjourneys.blogspot.com

MONTEREY SEABIRDS ROCK ON: SEPTEMBER 5, 2015

Monterey Bay seabirds and the humpback whales at Moss Landing put on a great show for our September 5, 2015 pelagic trip. Shearwater Journeys' trip headed into Santa Cruz County where many trips do not venture and found some great birds! Highlights included a JAEGER GRAND SLAM: POMARINE, PARASITIC, LONG-TAILED & SOUTH POLAR SKUA; EIGHT SPECIES OF TUBENOSES; COMMON TERNS; SABINE'S GULLS; and 52 HUMPBACK WHALES!

 SUNRISE at the Monterey Bay harbor.

 A female SEA OTTER, eating a clam breakfast.

We know she is a female because her nose is red.

Males bite the females on the nose when mating. 

 A COMMON MURRE preens in the harbor. 

It is quite unusual to see murres in the harbor and standing on jetties. 

There has been a huge die-off of murres, causes unknown, so far.

 ELEGANT TERN, one of the inshore species of birds that we search for. 

A father murre with his chick.

We saw huge nursery schools on the Santa Cruz side of the bay, as is common at this time of year. 

 PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER, above. 

 ELEGANT TERNS are followed by their begging chicks all the way from Southern California where they nested this year. 

 LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHINS put on a show. 

 In total, we saw some 52 HUMPBACK WHALES, but this whale above, kept surfacing in a huge kelp patty. That's kelp hanging off the tail flukes!

 COMMON TERNS have been relatively scarce this season. 

So, it was great to see this one, above. 

They must be migrating further offshore this year. 

 BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS numbers usually drop off during September, 

but we had a good show with 31.

Many seabirds fly right up the wake. 

NORTHERN/PACIFIC FULMAR, above and below. 

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS are great followers at sea.

Give that RED PHALAROPE a surfboard!

 We had some great comparison moments of both RED-NECKED, lower left, and RED PHALAROPES, upper right. 

A single SOUTH POLAR SKUA put on a great show! 

The ultimate bully of the sea, SOUTH POLAR SKUAS have been thin this year. 

 The dainty and beautiful, SABINE'S GULL. 

 SOUTH POLAR SKUA, cruising around our boat.

 POMARINE JAEGER harassing gulls. 

 We had a JAEGER GRAND SLAM: POMARINE, PARASITIC & LONG-TAILED!

 Jaegers will also chase COMMON TERNS. 

 BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS flying effortlessly using dynamic soaring. 

 PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER, showing its pink feet!

 Heading off to Santa Cruz County.

Many thanks to all of the participants who joined us from near and far —birders from Germany, Australia, England who ticked 10-15 life birds — and, from Lois Goldfrank, leader of the Santa Cruz birders who ticked some new county birds and even a life bird, or two. It was a banner day for County Birder! Even though the marine forecast was not the best, we made a good trip out of it by heading straight to Moss Landing where the HUMPBACK WHALE SHOW and STREAMING SOOTY SHEARWATERS, continue. After that, we followed the 50 - 100 fathom line north into Santa Cruz County, hiding in the lee of the Santa Cruz Mountains for protection from the northwest wind. All in all a great day! 

It takes a team to pull off such a great day. Leaders on this day were: TIM MILLER, CLAY KEMPF, NICK LEVENDOSKY, JENNIFER GREEN, MEL PRESTON, ALEX RINKERT, DEBI SHEARAWATER.

THE COMPLETE SPECIES LIST FOR SHEARWATER JOURNEYS' SEPTEMBER 5, 2015 TRIP FOLLOWS: 

MONTEREY/SANTA CRUZ COUNTIES/TOTAL:

COMMON LOON- 1/1/2

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 6/25/31

NORTHERN FULMAR- 18/12/30

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 400/50/450

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 0/2/2

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 850/150/1000

BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER- 35/0/35

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

ASHY STORM-PETREL- 7/19/26- most of the storm-petrels were found in 50-70 fathoms which is unusual. I think these are "scouts."

BROWN PELICAN- 30/4/34

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 1055/9/1064

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 4/0/4

BLACK TURNSTONE- 11/0/11

SURFBIRD- 17/0/17

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 100/70/170

RED PHALAROPE- 7/15/22

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 0/1/1

POMARINE JAEGER- 6/4/10

PARASITIC JAEGER- 5/1/6

LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 0/1/1

HEERMANN'S GULL- 50/0/50

CALIFORNIA GULL- 150/20/170

WESTERN GULL- 200/60/260

SABINE'S GULL- 0/3/3

ELEGANT TERN- 130/0/130

COMMON TERN- 7/4/11

COMMON MURRE- 2500/560/3060- many dad/chick pairs

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 1/0/1

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 9/15/24

GREAT EGRET- 7/0/7

SNOWY EGRET- 1/0/1

SEA OTTER-7

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 255

HARBOR SEAL- 1

HUMPBACK WHALE- 52

LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHIN- 60

RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 6

OCEAN SUNFISH- 5

EGG YOLK JELLIES=+

MOON JELLIES- +

UPCOMING TRIPS FROM MONTEREY:

SEPTEMBER 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 16, 25, 26, 27, 28

OCTOBER 3, 10

UPCOMING TRIPS FROM HALF MOON BAY:

SEPTEMBER 20 (limited spaces open)

OCTOBER 4, 11

GREAT WHITE SHARK SEARCH:

OCTOBER 18 departing from SAUSALITO 

to the 

FARALLON ISLANDS

THEY'RE OUT THERE!!!

LIVING THE SALT LIFE,

Debi Shearwater

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

All images, Copyright, JEFF BLEAM.

Please do not use without permission. 

MONTEREY SEABIRDS: FIRECRACKER DAY: AUGUST 21, 2015

Howdy, Seabirders,

Monterey's seabirds put on a non-stop show on August 21, 2015! Seabirds were in view throughout the day with virtually no lulls. It was a bit exhausting! 

Monterey Bay is usually so productive that it doesn't really matter where I go with the boat. Consequently, for most trips, I don't make an advance plan. However, on this day I had a distinctive plan: head out to where we used to find the storm-petrels after covering the inshore birds and then head to Moss Landing where a humpback whale show is simply over the top! And, this is exactly what we did — the results speak for themselves!

A few of the commercial fishing fleet in the harbor.

A mother SEA OTTER in the harbor, banging a clam, and feeding it to her youngster while a WESTERN GULL hangs out for tidbits of scraps. 

CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS & HEERMANN'S GULL on the Coast Guard Breakwater. 

Scanning the rocky jetty, we found BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS, BLACK TURNSTONES & SURFBIRDS.

A GREAT EGRET fishing from the jetty.

An oceanside view of the MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM along Cannery Row. 

BRANDT'S CORMORANTS (above) are abundant along the inshore areas, while PELAGIC CORMORANTS are found in much smaller numbers. 

One of the strangest and most endearing fishes, the OCEAN SUNFISH (Mola mola). 

WESTERN GULL mouthing off. 

I once saw a Western Gull eat a Red-necked Phalarope alive.

It is easy to see how that big mouth could swallow the whole phalarope.

 Just about a mile and half off Point Pinos, we encountered thousands of streaming SOOTY SHEARWATERS. They seemed to be traveling from Moss Landing and heading southwest. 

SOOTY SHEARWATER, above. 

Along with the shearwaters, FATHER/CHICK PAIRS of COMMON MURRES were just off the point.

A sprinkling of CASSIN'S AUKLETS was a surprise at the same location. 

The first PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS began following in our wake. 

RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, above, and RED PHALAROPES, below, were found throughout the day. 

 PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS breed on islands off the coast of Chile. 

Ten individuals have been fitted with radio tags. 

One was tracked to Monterey Bay!

 Scattered RISSO'S DOLPHIN groups were around, hunting squid. 

 The first of more than 100 BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES showed up at 9:15 a.m., fifteen minutes late by my calculation!

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER and BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS flying side-by-side, above.

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER sitting in our wake. 

They often vocalize, "beep!"

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS, one of three species in the North Pacific. 

LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHINS added to the species list.

Their tiny calves were traveling with mothers. 

They are not normally found in Monterey Bay, preferring the warmer waters south of Point Conception on the California coastline. But, during this warm water, El Nino year, they have been hanging out in Monterey Bay. 

 JERI LANGHAM was on board with a group from Victor Emanuel Nature Tours (VENT).

SEABIRDERS enjoying the sights of the day!

We managed to find scatterings of both ASHY & BLACK STORM-PETRELS.

 

The "stacks" of the power plant at MOSS LANDING.

We made our way over to Moss Landing, traversing the great Monterey Submarine Canyon.

Again, we encountered hundreds of feeding shearwaters, and more than 50 feeding humpback whales. 

SOOTY SHEARWATERS, above.

SOOTY SHEARWATERS with impersonator POMARINE JAEGERS! 

POMARINE JAEGER

Overall, jaeger numbers have been very thin so far, this season. 

A LUNGE-FEEDING HUMPBACK WHALE! 

That's the head of the whale, with the mouth wide open. 

It is gulping water laden with anchovies. 

BREACHING HUMPBACK WHALES were like the final fireworks on the 4th of July!

 HUMPBACK WHALE TAIL FLUKES & a BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER.

These southern shearwaters have just arrived in Monterey Bay! 

A positively splendid day with Monterey's seabirds and marine mammals!

 Many thanks to all of the birders who joined us on this day from NY, LA, WI, MA, TX, MN, England and of course, California. We couldn't do it without you!

To view more images of this trip by Beth Hamel, click here.

The leaders on this trip were: Nick Levendosky, Rick Fournier, Jennifer Green, Christian Schwarz, and Debi Shearwater. Sea surface temperatures ranged from 61-64F, warmest near the weather buoy area.

THE COMPLETE SPECIES LIST FOR SHEARWATER JOURNEYS' AUGUST 21, 2015 TRIP FOLLOWS: MONTEREY/SANTA CRUZ COUNTIES:

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 90/20
NORTHERN FULMAR- 17/5
PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 200/450
BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 6/5
SOOTY SHEARWATER- 5500/770
BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER- 10/0
ASHY STORM-PETREL- 15/10
BLACK STORM-PETREL- 9/2
BROWN PELICAN- +
BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 150/20
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- 1/0
PELAGIC CORMORANT- 4/0
BLACK OYSTERCATCHER- 2/0
BLACK TURNSTONE- 2/0
SURFBIRD- 3/0
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 85/380
RED PHALAROPE- 18/23
POMARINE JAEGER- 4/2
PARASITIC JAEGER- 1/0
PARASITIC/LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 0/1
HEERMANN'S GULL- 30
CALIFORNIA GULL- +
WESTERN GULL- +
SABINE'S GULL- 9/2
ELEGANT TERN- 300/10
COMMON/ARCTIC TERN- 1/0
CASPIAN TERN- 2/0
COMMON MURRE- 500/250
PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 8/1
CASSIN'S AUKLET- 6/10
RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 14/2
TUFTED PUFFIN- 1/0, flyby
SEA OTTER- 7
CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 25-
NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 12

NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL- 2

HARBOR SEAL- 4
HUMPBACK WHALE- 62
LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHIN- 250
RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 15
HARBOR PORPOISE- 7
OCEAN SUNFISH- 8
EGG YOLK JELLY- ++
MOON JELLY- +

UPCOMING TRIPS FROM MONTEREY:

SEPTEMBER 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 16, 25, 26, 27

OCTOBER 3 & 10

UPCOMING TRIPS FROM HALF MOON BAY:

SEPTEMBER 6 & 20; OCTOBER 4, 11

GREAT WHITE SHARK TRIP:

OCTOBER 18, departing from Sausalito to the Farallon Islands

Hope to see you out there!

LIVING THE SALT LIFE, 

Debi Shearwater

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

All images, Copyright, Jeff Bleam & Jeannine Mealey.
Please do not use without permission.