MONTEREY SEABIRDS with SHEARWATER JOURNEYS

MONTEREY HAS IT ALL

ESPECIALLY IN THE FALL

Monterey's seabirds are well known, the world over, in no small thanks to Shearwater Journeys which pioneered pelagic seabirding trips here beginning in 1976. For more years than any other individual person or business, Shearwater Journeys has been the single leading seabird company offering the most annual departures for novice and expert seabirders. 

More than 60,000 birders and lovers of marine life from all over the world have participated on Shearwater Journeys's trips.

 Your birding trip begins right in the harbor where we may see PIGEON GUILLEMOT, BRANDT'S and PELAGIC CORMORANTS. Along the Coast Guard Jetty, we look for BLACK TURNSTONE, SURFBIRD, WANDERING TATTLER, and perhaps, the first RED-NECKED PHALAROPES in the kelp beds. Let's not forget the CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS piled up on the jetty, or the squeals of a young SEA OTTER!

Large numbers of seabirds, sometimes in the thousands, as these SOOTY SHEARWATERS, below, or even tens of thousands, feed on the nutrient-rich waters of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary each fall. 

 

This sanctuary is contiguous with the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, forming the largest protected areas in the United States. The main feature at Monterey is the huge submarine canyon which bisects the bay. This canyon is as deep as the Grand Canyon and plays a part in the huger upwelling which brings the cold, nutrient-rich waters to the surface, feeding everything from BLUE WHALES to CASSIN'S AUKLETS. It is one of very few such rich and diverse marine ecosystems in the world. 

Monterey Bay is a terrific starting point for beginner sea birders. The bay is half-moon shaped lending protection from the prevailing northwest winds. This means that we generally have very good to excellent marine weather conditions, especially during fall migration. Veteran sea birders know that Monterey Bay can turn up a MEGA-RARE seabird any day. Just ask SANDY KOMITO for whom the HAWAIIAN PETREL, above, was a LIFE BIRD 

 In addition to seabirds, marine mammals can be quite spectacular in Monterey Bay. A huge variety of whales, including, HUMPBACK, BLUE, GRAY, MINKE, FIN (rarely), BAIRD'S BEAKED WHALES, ORCAS/KILLER WHALES (above), and dolphins: RISSO'S, PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED, NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE and BOTTLENOSE, as well as HARBOR and DALL'S PORPOISES, are often seen on our Monterey Bay trips. We often spot the whales for the whale watching boats!

With loads of food, sometimes tons of food, good weather, a great diversity of seabirds and marine mammals, Monterey Bay is often the #1 destination for birders seeking to tick up a life list. 

FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER, above, is found most easily from late September through November. 

SCRIPPS'S MURRELET, above, can show up anytime throughout the fall season. 

We present, below, the 2014 Shearwater Journeys's fall schedule of pelagic trips departing from Monterey. No other organization offers more dedicated seabird trips, nor has the depth of knowledge or decades of experience as Shearwater Journeys. These trips can easily be combined with trips departing from HALF MOON BAY or BODEGA BAY, for a well rounded pelagic experience. It is always best to book more than one trip, from different ports, if possible. Debi Shearwater will be on every trips. By being out there on so many trips that cover such a large area of the Central Coast, Debi can develop a good picture of how and where the seabirds are distributed — something that changes every year, and even within the season. The ALBACORE, September 13th trip which departs from Monterey is a specialty trip. Please note that on all of the trips, we shall not be out of the sight of land, unless it is fogged in. Below, we present 17 trips. You can also view the complete 2013 schedule on our web site. Or, view it in calendar format, here. You can find many past trip reports, here. Generally, Monterey Bay trips head north, while Monterey Seavalley trips head south. However, we always go where we think we'll find the best diversity of seabirds! 

MONTEREY BAY & MONTEREY SEAVALLEY 2014

AUG. 1, FRI.

AUG. 8, FRI.

AUG. 15, FRI.

AUG. 22, FRI.

SEP. 5, FRI.

SEP. 9, TUE.

SEP. 10, WED.

SEP. 11, THU.

SEP. 12, FRI.

SEP. 13, SAT.- ALBACORE: OFFSHORE

SEP. 14, SUN.

SEP. 25, THU.

SEP. 26, FRI.

SEP. 27, SAT.

SEP. 28, SUN.

OCT. 4, SAT.

OCT. 11, SAT. 

DETAILS FOR MONTEREY BAY TRIPS:

DEPARTURE: 7 a.m. Fisherman's Wharf Monterey. Stop at Chris' Fishing Shop on the right hand side as you walk down the wharf. They will direct you to the boat. (Albacore trip departs at 5:30 a.m.)

RETURN: 3:00 p.m. Allow for delays.

PARKING: Parking can be confusing in this area, as there are two different wharves. Park in the big lot near Fisherman's Wharf. Follow the signs. Take a ticket from the machine upon entering the lot. Stop at Chris' Fishing and let them know you are on the Shearwater Journeys's trip. They will give you a parking coupon which will reduce the cost of parking significantly. Allow at least 10 minutes to park and walk to the shop, more time if you do not know where you are going. Try to check it out the day prior. 

PRICE ADJUSTMENT: Should the pricing increase, an adjustment may be necessary at the dockside, from $5-15 per person, payable in cash only. Do not send payment ahead with your registration. This will only occur if the rate increases. 

FOOD & DRINKS: Please bring all food & drinks, including water in a small day pack. None is available on the boat. 

MOTELS: There are thousands of motels in the Monterey area. However, they can be fully booked, if an "event" is happening — which is often. Booking motel rooms ahead of arrival almost always results in lower rates, as opposed to walking in the door without a booking. Motels in the sleepy town of Pacific Grove are especially nice, with easy public assess to birding Ocean View Blvd. for rocky shorebirds. A bit closer to the wharf (but still requiring a vehicle), any motel on Munras Aveneu is fine. 

RESERVATIONS: Please follow the instructions on the web site for booking. You will receive a return confirmation by mail. 

RATE: $164/person: $199/person for the Albacore trip. 

JUMP ON BOARD!

SHEARWATERS FOREVER, 

Debi Shearwater

Images in this blog post, copyright:

Brian Sullivan, Dave Pereksta, Debi Shearwater

TRIP REPORT: MARCH 21, 2014 MONTEREY BAY RARE SEABIRDS, HUMPBACKS & ORCAS, OH MY!

Howdy, Seabirders, 

A day of Monterey seabirding with Shearwater Journeys on March 21 was nothing short of spectacular! Highlights included: BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS; NORTHERN FULMAR; PINK-FOOTED, SOOTY, SHORT-TAILED and MANX (rare) SHEARWATERS; ASHY STORM-PETREL (rare at this time of year); ANCIENT MURRELET; RHINOCEROS and CASSIN'S AUKLET; SABINE'S GULL (very rare at this time of year; possibly a first for Northern California in March); GRAY & HUMPBACK WHALES; KILER WHALES (ORCA); RISSO'S, PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED and NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHINS! Whew! This was a shorter day than our normal 7.5 hour trip, but it packed a walloping array of marine life, both "expected" species and unexpected! 

All images, below, by Beth Hamel, copyright. Please do not use without permission. 

See more of Beth's lovely images, here. 

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER

One of about five KILLER WHALES, or ORCAS, above and below. 

MANX SHEARWATER, a rare seabird on the West Coast. 

Many thanks to all of the birders and marine life enthusiasts who joined us from near and far. The leaders on this day were: Brian Sullivan, Tim Miller, Abe Borker, Rick Fournier, Clay Kempf and Debi Shearwater. The complete species list follows. 

MARCH 21, 2014 SHEARWATER JOURNEYS'S MONTEREY BAY TRIP:

SURF SCOTER - 142

RED-THROATED LOON - 1

PACIFIC LOON - 295

COMMON LOON - 7

HORNED GREBE - 4

EARED GREBE - 20

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS - 13

NORTHERN FULMAR - 46

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER - 38

SOOTY SHEARWATER - 59, a declining species

SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER - 1, a declining species

*MANX SHEARWATER - 1, rare on the West Coast

ASHY STORM-PETREL - 2, unusual at this time of year

BRANDT'S CORMORANT - 279

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT - 1

PELAGIC CORMORANT - 6

BLACK OYSTERCATCHER - 2

BLACK TURNSTONE - 1

SURFBIRD - 1

RED PHALAROPE - 1719, good count for spring migration

COMMON MURRE - 75

PIGEON GUILLEMOT - 13

ANCIENT MURRELET - 3, a winter-spring specialty

CASSIN'S AUKLET - 7

RHINOCEROS AUKLET - 9

SABINE'S GULL - 1, extremely unusual this time of year

BONAPARTE'S GULL - 58

HEERMANN'S GULL - 6

MEW GULL (AMERICAN) - 1

WESTERN GULL - 165

CALIFORNIA GULL - 5

HERRING GULL (AMERICAN) - 3

GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL - 5

WESTERN X GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL (HYBRID) - 2

ROCK PIGEON - 26, habor

HUMMINGBIRD SP. - 1, offshore; not uncommon as they migrate across the bay

BELTED KINGFISHER - 1, harbor

BARN SWALLOW - 1, harbor

EUROPEAN STARLING - 1, harbor

HOUSE FINCH - 2, harbor

CALIFORNIA SEA LION - x

SOUTHERN SEA OTTER - x

GRAY WHALE - x

HUMPBACK WHALE - x

KILLER WHALE (ORCA) - x

RISSO'S DOLPHIN - x

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN - x

NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHIN - x

SPACES AVAILABLE ON UPCOMING TRIPS:

HALF MOON BAY: JULY 20, 26; AUG. 2, 16, 17, 23; SEP. 7, 8, 15, 21, 24; OCT. 5, 12

MONTEREY BAY: AUG. 1, 8, 15, 22; SEP. 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 25, 26, 27, 28; OCT. 4, 11

BODEGA BAY: SEP. 1, 19

FARALLON ISLANDS; AUG. 3 (only 2 spaces available, email Debi, ASAP)

JUMP ON BOARD! 

SHEARWATERS FOREVER, 

DEBI SHEARWATER

IMAGES OF THE DAY by Bruce Hallett: September 30, 2012

Howdy, Birders,

Shearwater Journeys's pelagic trip to the Farallones Islands on September 30, 2012 was quite spectacular. Nearly all of the wildlife seemed to jump out at us within one hour. Our usual route is to head straight away to the islands. However, as most folks wanted to see some of the offshore seabirds, and as the NORTHERN GANNET was most visible in the afternoons, I decided to head offshore first, and then proceed to the islands. Departing from Sausalito under bright, sunny skies, we had stunning views of the GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE. Traveling eight miles beyond the North Islands, we reached the edge of the shelf, where Bruce Hallett snapped this image of a BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS, below. The action came fast and furiously, as we encountered many shearwaters feeding with some PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHINS. Amongst the shearwaters, was one MANX. A previously reported Wedge-tailed Shearwater has been "recalled" due to too brief a view in harsh lighting. Suddenly, a large dorsal fin emerged near the vessel and I rapidly called out for our captain to put the boat broadside to the disappearing male KILLER WHALE. Just as suddenly, someone yelled that a fin was right beside our boat. Again, I called for the captain STOP! Another adult KILLER WHALE, along with a female appeared alongside our vessel. Images of this male killer whale, and other images below, are by Bruce Hallett. I also include his comments. All images, copyright, Bruce Hallett. Please do not use without permission.

 BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS, trying to get airborne.

 Team captain calling in coordinates for an air strike.

 Ever vigilant.

 Raise your hand, if it is your first pelagic trip.

 Let's see Pyle, "You received a C- on your paper on ocean dynamics, so see me later."

 Speaks for itself. Pride of the fleet.

 Longest and fastest pig tail in the West.

 Returning home, under "the bridge."

 Golden Gate Bridge.

 Male KILLER WHALE dorsal fin.

Male KILLER WHALE — all powerful.

What Bruce had to say about the day:

"Thank you for the two pelagic trips that  I went on during the WFO conference-Bodega and the Farallones.  I thought they were well done and obviously you had a great deal to do with that.  Good trip report on line also."

Shearwaters forever,

Debi Shearwater

IMAGES of the DAY by ABE BORKER: OCTOBER 8, 2011 MONTEREY BAY

Howdy, Birders,

I hope you will enjoy Shearwater Journeys' leader, Abe Borker's images of the October 8, 2011 Monterey Bay trip. All images copyright, Abe Borker. Please do not use without permission. Read the full Trip Report for this day.

Yes, the KILLER WHALES stole the show at the end of the day!

Look at all of the seabirds going for the scraps from the kill!

It was incredible how the BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES followed the KILLER WHALES.

Always a magnificent sight— LAYSAN ALBATROSS, above.

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS, above.

SOUTH POLAR SKUA puts on a show!

LAYSAN ALBATROSS, up close.

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER, above.

And, just where do you think all of your garbage goes? Avoid plastic!

Arguably the most beautiful shearwater, BULLER'S SHEARWATER.

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER, above.

A SOUTHERN SEA OTTER calls to its' mother!

HEERMANN'S GULL

HOPE TO SEE YOU OUT THERE! FALL SEASON IS NEARLY OVER. JUMP ON BOARD!

Debi Shearwater

TRIP REPORT: OCTOBER 8, 2011 MONTEREY BAY

Howdy, Birders,

Good sea conditions and lots of seabirds greeted the participants of Shearwater Journeys' October 8, 2011 pelagic trip at Monterey Bay. Highlights of this day included: one extremely co-operative LAYSAN ALBATROSS, one distant FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER, 45 BULLER'S SHEARWATERS (more than on recent trips), 4 SOUTH POLAR SKUAS, showing well for the photographers, the first of fall BONAPARTE'S GULL, and at least five KILLER WHALES FEEDING ON A KILL— the frosting on the cake at the end of the day. Birding was great, immediately upon leaving the harbor, with two PIGEON GUILLEMOTS near the Coast Guard jetty. The RISSO'S DOLPHINS were still present, but most of the seabirds feeding on squid had dispersed. Things change! We headed south along the 110 fathom line because we kept encountering flocks of feeding shearwaters. However, after several miles, I decided to head offshore, hoping for a skua. Sure enough, as soon as we stopped to look at and photograph the BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES near the boat, the first of several SOUTH POLAR SKUAS circled overhead! We were already having a great day when the call came over the radio that some KILLER WHALES were feeding on an animal they had killed only 6 miles away. So, the frosting on the cake was watching these killer whales at the end of the day! More posts will be forthcoming about this. Stay tuned!

Typical of feeding KILLER WHALES, many seabirds will feed on the scraps that reach the surface. In my image, below, you can see a BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS and a PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER, following the two killer whales.

After watching and photographing these Killer Whales for a solid hour, we had to head back to the harbor. They also appeared to be finished feeding, as they formed a "chorus line" and headed away from us.

See Abe Borker's images of this trip. Many thanks to all of the great folks who joined us on this trip. The leaders on this trip were: Todd McGrath, Abe Borker, Wes Fritz, Ben Thompson, John Sorensen and Debi Shearwater.

The complete species list for OCTOBER 8, 2011 MONTEREY BAY follows:

All birds in Monterey County.

PACIFIC LOON- 5

COMMON LOON- 1

LAYSAN ALBATROSS- 1

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 20

NORTHERN FULMAR- 30

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 110

FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 1

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 45

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 110

ASHY STORM-PETREL- 5

BROWN PELICAN- 6

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 4

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 2

SURF SCOTER- 17

BLACK TURNSTONE- 12

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 75

RED PHALAROPE- 15

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 4

POMARINE JAEGER- 7

PARASITIC JAEGER- 5

BONAPARTE'S GULL- 1

HEERMANN'S GULL- +

CALIFORNIA GULL- +

WESTERN GULL- +

COMMON TERN- 12

COMMON MURRE- 400

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 2

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 200

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 60

SEA OTTER- 2, mother with pup

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 250

HARBOR SEAL- 1

KILLER WHALE- 5 or 6 (2 males, 1 young)

RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 30

OCEAN SUNFISH- 3

Join us on our OCTOBER 14th trip departing from BODEGA BAY and our OCTOBER 15th trip departing from HALF MOON BAY. Please reserve no later than 8 am on October 13th by calling Debi at: 831-637-8527; debi@shearwaterjourneys.com.

Shearwaters and Auklets forever,

Debi Shearwater

AKA: "Annie Auklet" as played by Angelica Huston in the movie, "The Big Year" opening on October 14th at a theater near you!

TRIP REPORT: OCTOBER 1, 2011 MONTEREY BAY

Howdy, Birders,

Whooaa! We had a fabulous day of seabirds and marine mammals on Shearwater Journeys' Saturday, October 1, 2011 pelagic trip. Highlights of the day included: beautiful sea conditions with outstanding views of BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS, NORTHERN FULMAR, FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER, PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER, BULLER'S SHEARWATER, SOOTY SHEARWATER, SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER, ASHY STORM-PETREL, SOUTH POLAR SKUA, SABINE'S GULL, 27 BAIRD'S BEAKED WHALES, HUMPBACK WHALE, RISSO'S DOLPHINS, PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHINS, DALL'S PORPOISE and one adult male, KILLER WHALE.

As has been the case for the last several weeks, SOOTY SHEARWATERS and COMMON MURRES were feeding on a very large aggregation of market squid, Loligo loligo, just outside of the harbor. Below, is the image of squid on the boat's fishfinder.
As on previous trips, a number of RISSO'S DOLPHINS were also feeding on the squid. Above is the tall, scarred fin of a Risso's Dolphin, kayakers who seem to be fishing and Hopkins Marine Station at China Point in the background. Hopkins Marine Station, part of Stanford University, is the oldest marine station on the west coast. The image below, shows a breaching Risso's Dolphin. These large, up to 13 feet in length, dolphins, have round, bulbous heads, tall dorsal fins (often mistaken for killer whales at a distance), and much scarring on the body. They only have teeth in the lower jaw, and feed almost exclusively on squid.

A juvenile Sabine's Gull, above, put on quite a show for the photographers!

We headed north to the canyons off Davenport to look for some ASHY STORM-PETRELS. We did find some scattered storm-petrels, but no large concentrations of flocks. We spotted some confusing whale blows— many of them! After sorting it out and getting closer to the whales, I determined that there was one HUMPBACK WHALE and two pods of BAIRD'S BEAKED WHALES, in very close proximity to each other. The humpback whale began tail-lobbing which it carried on for quite some time. The Baird's Beaked Whales sounded. However, we were able to follow them for several dives. These large, up to 40 feet, toothed whales probably feed on squid. These whales are rarely seen and very little is known about them. The images below show the typical "army" brown coloration of the scarred body and triangular-shaped dorsal fins.

The above image shows the low, bushy blow characteristic of Baird's Beaked Whales.

South Polar Skuas made passes at the stern, where leader Jennifer Green was offering chopped up sardines to them and other diners. A group of Pacific White-sided Dolphins cruised the bow, and later, Dall's Porpoises did the same. This was turning out to be a great day for cetaceans! Then, I spotted a tall, black dorsal fin — an adult male, KILLER WHALE! We were on our return to the harbor, but watched this fellow for several dives, while trying to obtain photo-ID images for the Killer Whale ID Catalogue. Although we did not see any other Killer Whales in the area, I was certain that others of his pod were not far away. Before heading to the harbor, we alerted the whale watching fleet. One of the boats found this male, and following him for several miles, he brought them to his pod of 7-8 others.

In addition to all of the special seabirds and marine mammals, we also had some special guests on board this day. Above, is CAPTAIN SPURGEON STOWE with his friend, owner/operator of the "Miss Hatteras." Born at Hatteras, North Carolina, many birders have traveled with Captain Stowe on his vessel, including both Jennifer and I. Spurgeon had never before seen a Killer Whale until this day! And, he was happy with the Black-footed Albatrosses! Captain Stowe described the trip as, "a world class operation."

A personal highlight of the day for me was the meeting the two fine young men, below. The taller fellow, Robert Walsh, is a Ph.D. candidate at UC Davis, Avian Conservation and Ecology Lab. Bobby is with his younger cousin, Ben Thompson, smiling because he saw 18 new Life Birds.

Debi & Ben, above.

Many thanks to all the fun folks on board who came from near and far for this trip. The leaders on this day were Jennifer Green and Debi Shearwater.

The complete species list, MONTEREY/SANTA CRUZ/TOTAL, for OCTOBER 1, 2011 follows:

PACIFIC LOON- 4/0/4

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 3/28/31

NORTHERN FULMAR- 6/5/11

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 140/30/170

FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 1/0/1

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 6/3/9

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 70/50/120

SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER- 0/1/1

ASHY STORM-PETREL- 0/46/46

BROWN PELICAN- +

GREEN-WINGED TEAL- 1

CANADA GEESE- 16

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 50/5/55

RED PHALAROPE- 3/15/18

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 0/4/4

POMARINE JAEGER- 4/4/8

POMARINE/PARASITIC - 1

HEERMANN'S GULL- +

CALIFORNIA GULL- 20

WESTERN GULL- +

SABINE'S GULL- 0/3/3

ELEGANT TERN- 12/0/12

COMMON MURRE- 125/50/175

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 27/0/27

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 70/20/90

SEA OTTER- 4

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 400

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 2

HUMPBACK WHALE- 1

BAIRD'S BEAKED WHALE- 27

KILLER WHALE- 1, adult male

RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 120

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 30

DALL'S PORPOISE- 8

OCEAN SUNFISH- 3

BLUE SHARK- 1

MANY CHRYSOARA JELLIES + other jellies

A warm water plume had pushed north along the coast. This could lead to mixing of the various sea surface temperatures. The Shearwater Journeys' trip at Half Moon Bay on October 2 confirmed this! It could be a very, very interesting time to get offshore.

Spaces are available on the following trips:

OCTOBER 8 departing from Monterey

OCTOBER 14 departing from Bodega Bay

OCTOBER 15 departing from Half Moon Bay

Shearwaters forever,

Debi Shearwater

AKA: "Annie Auklet" as played by Angelica Huston in the movie, "The Big Year" opening October 14th at a theater near you!

TRIP REPORT: AUGUST 26, 2011: MONTEREY BAY

Abe Borker's image of a GREAT-WINGED PETREL, copyright.

Hello, Birders,

This is a trip report for Shearwater Journeys' pelagic trip departing from Fisherman's Wharf, Monterey, August 26, 2011. The singular highlight of a fine day of Monterey seabirding was a GREAT-WINGED PETREL (Pterodroma macroptera gouldi), spotted simultaneously by Abe Borker and Jeri Langham. This represents the fourth record for North America and the northern hemisphere of Great-winged Petrel. This is the second record for Santa Cruz County. Three of the four records are from Monterey Bay and one record, the first-ever, 1996, is from Bodega Bay. Three of the four records have been recorded on Shearwater Journeys' trips. All of these three individuals were observed by Debi Shearwater. It seems unlikely, to me, that this represents only one individual bird. Many seabird authorities split the Great-winged Petrel subspecies. All of the North American subspecies are of the gouldi subspecies which nests on many islands and stacks around North Island, New Zealand. The total population of this subspecies/species is estimated to at 200,000 to 300,000 breeding pairs. Chicks are said to be harvested by New Zealand Maoris, who call it "oi. This petrel nests in burrows. It is said that Little Penguins or one of the shearwater species may move into the burrows, after the petrel is finished nesting. Abe Borker spent time on their breeding islands and is very familiar with the species. Debi Shearwater has seen both subspecies, by the thousands, in her world ocean travels.

Other highlights of the day included BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS, BULLER'S SHEARWATERS, ASHY and FORK-TAILED STORM-PETRELS, SABINE'S GULLS, ARCTIC TERNS, a fly-by TUFTED PUFFIN, three KILLER WHALES pursuing a California Sea Lion and celebrating a "great" birthday with two ladies on board— Pirjo Karvonen and Jackie Bain. What a day! At one point, one of the killer whales surfaced with the sea lion in its' mouth, vigorously shaking it! Additional images can be found on the previous blog posts: Breaking News and August 26, 2011, Images of the Day.

After viewing the inshore marine life, including the PEREGRINE FALCON on the radio tower, we headed offshore toward the northwest of Monterey Bay. Compared with recent pelagic trips from other ports, i.e. Fort Bragg and Bodega Bay, it seemed to me that fewer tubenoses were around on Monterey Bay. This may have been a favorable factor, as it meant that each, individual seabird stood out all the more prominently. About half of the birders on board were making their first, ever pelagic trip! Several longtime, local birders were on board, just out of a nice day at sea. These included Lois Goldfrank, Rick Fournier, Earl LeBow and Bob Ramer. (Bob and Debi organized the some of the very first pelagic trips for the Santa Cruz Bird Club in 1976!) Consequently, leaders were working hard at calling out every single individual bird! No "target" species were on the drawing board. No rare seabirds were sought. Just a fine day at sea. And, so it was!

At 10:38 a.m., I was on the bow, and heard Abe calling quite loudly, "Look at this bird! Look at this bird!" Just at that moment, a large-bodied, dark petrel flew up from the stern. I locked on to it once it hit the 10 o'clock position, and yelled, "GREAT-WINGED PETREL!" while Clay was still stuttering, "It's that bird, that bird!" Frantically, I motioned to photographers on the stern to get to the bow, ducked in the cabin to get the skipper on the bird, recorded lat/long/time/SST, and continued trying to make sure that everyone on board was "on the bird." We managed to follow the petrel for six minutes before we could no longer keep up with it. So, we stopped the boat and Wes Fritz laid out a mega-slick, Jennifer Green tore up pieces of sardines and photographers had a hey-day shooting images of the species coming in on the slick. After a 45 minute "no-show" on the petrel's part, we got underway again. Whew! It was a very, very exciting hour. Time to relax.

Knowing that one lady was celebrating a special birthday, I lit a candle on a slice of carrot cake and we all sang, "Happy Birthday." Later, I discovered that another lady on board, from Finland, was also celebrating her birthday. Riding "downhill" on the way home, everyone was chatting and relaxing, when Abe yelled, "KILLER WHALES!" Just about as soon as the words were out of his mouth, the killer whales were nowhere in sight. In the end, they were not the easiest killer whales to see or track. It appeared that they were chasing a California Sea Lion (or, maybe two). The sea lion tried hiding under our vessel at one point. And, at one point one of the killer whales surfaced with the sea lion in its' mouth, shaking its' head! The sea lion swam off. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to stick around for the final, inevitable kill. This appeared to be a group of three killer whales: one small calf, one female, and one, either young male, or female. What an ending to a completely fabulous day on Monterey Bay.

Many thanks to all of the birders who came from near and far (Finland) for this day at sea. We hope to see you, again, on the bounding main. The leaders were: Abe Borker, Jennifer Green, Clay Kempf, Wes Fritz, Dena Spatz and Debi Shearwater. Special thanks to Jeri Langham of Victor Emanuel Nature Tours.

The complete species list follows:

26 AUGUST 2011, MONTEREY BAY with SHEARWATER JOURNEYS covering both Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties:

Monterey/Santa Cruz/Total number:

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 11/17/28

NORTHERN FULMAR- 17/12/29

**GREAT-WINGED PETREL- 0/1/1

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 18/9/27

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 2/2/4

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 240/35/275

FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL- 0/2/2

ASHY STORM-PETREL- 16/1045/1061

BROWN PELICAN- 18/3/21

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 200/3/203

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 2/0/2

BLACK OYSTERCATCHER- 2/0/2

BLACK TURNSTONE- 6/0/6

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 90/55/145

RED-NECKED/RED PHALAROPE- 100

RED PHALAROPE- 27/25/52

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 1/0/1

POMARINE JAEGER- 5/3/8

PARASITIC JAEGER- 1/2/3

PARASITIC/LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 1

HEERMANN'S GULL- 200

CALIFORNIA GULL- 43

WESTERN GULL- 185

SABINE'S GULL- 12/14/26

ELEGANT TERN- 6/0/6

COMMON TERN- 9/1/10

ARCTIC TERN- 3/3/6

COMMON/ARCTIC TERN- 14

COMMON MURRE- 123/30/153

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 21/0/21

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 13/0/13

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 24/12/36

TUFTED PUFFIN- 0/1/1

PEREGRINE FALCON- 1/0/1, on the radio tower along Cannery Row.

SEA OTTER- 14

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 300

HARBOR SEAL- 2

HUMPBACK WHALE- 1

KILLER WHALE- 3

RISSO'S DOLPHIN- 4

DALL'S PORPOISE- 2

OCEAN SUNFISH- 1, gigantic-sized

EGG YOLK JELLIES- many

Petrels forever,

Debi Shearwater

AKA: Annie Auklet, in the 20th Century Fox movie, "The Big Year" coming to a theater near you, 14 October 2011!

Shearwater Journeys