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. 

STREAMING SHEARWATERS, SCHOOLING FISH, & COLD WATER TEMPERATURES

Howdy, Birders,

Recently, birders along the Central Coast of California have reported large streams of SOOTY SHEARWATERS swirling and moving along the shore. Birders are wondering why this is happening.  Perhaps this blog post will offer some explanation.

SOOTY SHEARWATER, Monterey Bay, California

Image, copyright, Beth Hamel.

Even though large flocks of Sooty Shearwaters are often seen, their worldwide population has DECLINED 90%! They, along with Short-tailed, Flesh-footed, and Streaked Shearwaters are in steep decline. 

Everyone is talking about EL NINO

and the massive warm water bodies offshore in the Pacific Ocean and off California. Indeed, the Monterey Bay Weather Buoy recorded a record-breaking 69F Sea Surface Temperature at 2 pm PDT on August 12, 2015. 

The Monterey Weather Buoy is the red dot in the Terrafin image, below.

While the report of this record-breaking SST is incredible, it does not tell the whole story.

The ocean, and even so-called, bays such as Monterey Bay, is a dynamic, ever-changing habitat. 

Winds and currents greatly affect the sea surface temperature (SST).

Looking at the August 13th SST chart, above. we can see that the nearshore areas are blue, and some are a very deep blue. This means that there was a lot of very, very cold, 57-56F water NEARSHORE!

Comparing the Terrafin chart above of Monterey Bay for August 15th, we can see how the recent WNW winds impacted the SST from August 13th. 

 Now, let's look a little to the north at the Half Moon Bay, SST chart from August 17th. 

Nearshore cool waters are smaller, while warmer water moved in closer to the 50 and 100 fathom lines. 

Whoaa! What do we have here? Seriously cold water off Point Reyes, and Bodega Bay! 

Sooty Shearwaters are streaming north, keeping up with the movements of the nearshore cool water bands. That's how it looks to me. To be sure, we still have loads of nearshore cool water in Monterey Bay and a few other places along the central coast. And, in two day's time, this will change again. The ocean is very dynamic, and hardly a homogeneous habitat, very unlike walking in a redwood forest  — picture those redwood trees moving around every night and day!

Therefore, FOOD IS NOT EVENLY DISTRIBUTED AT SEA!

Sooty Shearwaters feed on schooling anchovies, below. We are primarily seeing these anchovy schools in COLD WATER! Last fall, a block of anchovies the size of Manhattan remained stationary in Monterey Bay for weeks, being gorged upon by not only Sooty Shearwaters, but some 100 HUMPBACK WHALES and large herds of hundreds of CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS. 

Pretty much the same thing is happening this year, although only about 50 whales are feeding in Monterey Bay.

MASSES of ANCHOVIES in Monterey Bay this week.

Image by Tim Zoliniak, copyright. 

Anchovies, and other species (mackerel and sardines) of "forage fish" are critical food for shearwaters, especially. Audubon California advocates to protect these stocks. The central coast anchovy population crashed in 2008. During the subsequent falls, Sooty Shearwaters were streaming along the coast, looking for schools of anchovies, but not finding them! In 2012, the anchovies returned!

Some folks are saying that 2015 might be a record-breaking year for anchovies in our area.

There is a fishery for anchovies — many are ground up into pellets that are fed to farm/captive-raised salmon. Please think about that the next time you eat salmon in a restaurant — and, ORDER ONLY WILD CAUGHT SALMON!

Two PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS, above.

Image, copyright, Beth Hamel.

Shearwater Journeys' six recent pelagic trips have detected massive numbers of SOOTY SHEARWATERS, primarily near shore, while offshore, PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS flocks are more numerous. This leads me to believe that the Pink-footed Shearwaters's preferred prey item is something that they are finding offshore. IT'S ALL ABOUT FOOD!

BULLER'S SHEARWATER, above.

Image, copyright, Beth Hamel.

Sightings of BULLER'S SHEARWATERS have been very few so far this season. 

I believe the reason for this is that they tend to border the "hard edge" that tuna fishermen refer to where there is a distinct and abrupt change in SST from, say 59F to 61F. We have not been able to detect any "hard edges." Tuna fishermen (albacore) refer to the Buller's Shearwater as one of the "tuna birds," their association is so closely related to albacore. These shearwaters may feed on PACIFIC SAURY which is something that the albacore feed on as well. It's all about FOOD!

 SCRIPPS'S MURRELET, above, Half Moon Bay, California.

Image, copyright, Will Brooks.

SCRIPPS'S, CRAVERI'S and GUADALUPE MURRELETS are also usually associated more often with "hard edges" and a SST of about 50-61F. However, they also like very clear, deep dark blue, almost black water, just like the albacore prefer. Pacific Saury are too big for them, but they may be feeding on the smaller prey that the saury feed upon! 

To date, we have only found one SCRIPPS'S MURRELET, the one above. 

But, that could change overnight, if we reach a "hard edge."

PIGEON GUILLEMOT with FLAT-BELLIED ROCKFISH which it was bringing to its young in the rock nest crevice at the jetty at Half Moon Bay, California. 

Image, copyright, Beth Hamel

A BLUE WHALE blow shoots some 30 feet high. 

Image, copyright, Beth Hamel.

Different species of seabirds are feasting on different marine prey, be it fish, or squid, or isopods. 

We have not seen any krill, and it has been reported to be of very low productivity this year. Krill is the preferred prey item of the tiny CASSIN'S AUKLET and the world's largest animal, BLUE WHALE. We have only seen two BLUE WHALES, both at Monterey Bay on August 7th. These whales were traveling, not feeding. So, they were likely looking for krill. I predict that we will see Blue Whales on our Bodega Bay trip, September 18th. 

 CASSIN'S AUKLET, above.
Image, copyright, Beth Hamel.
The Farallon Islands where Cassin's Auklets breed, has been surrounded by cold water throughout the spring and now into summer. Although Cassin's Auklets, Rhinoceros Auklets, Common Murres, and Tufted Puffins did breed, it was not an off the charts breeding season. Cassin's Auklets did not double brood this year. They know there's an El Nino out there. Food for some of these species is limited.
Seabirds are well adapted to El Nino years.
They've dealt with it for eons.
But, the more recent man-made threats are something new for seabirds.
No other group of birds in the world is more threatened than seabirds.
And, that, my friends, is another blog post altogether!

Watching HUMPBACK WHALES.

Image, copyright, Will Brooks.

People travel many places around the world to observe striking wildlife spectacles —

Yellowstone, Serengeti, Svalbard, Antarctica —

yet one of the most amazing of these places is just offshore our coast!

HOPE TO SEE YOU OUT THERE!

LIVING THE SALT LIFE,

DEBI SHEARWATER

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

TERRAFIN charts, used with permission. 

Please do not reproduce. 

Subscribe to Terrafin for the latest SST's.

HALF MOON BAY PELAGIC TRIP JUMPING WITH MARINE LIFE! AUGUST 16, 2014

Shearwater Journeys's twelve hour August 16 pelagic seabirding trip from Half Moon Bay was filled with non-stop marine life action, from the smallest animals such as PTEROPODS to the a top predator, a SALMON SHARK. Seabirding was superb with highlights of BULLER'S and BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATERS; WILSON'S, ASHY and BLACK STORM-PETRELS; SOUTH POLAR SKUAS; one SABINE'S GULL; SCRIPPS'S MURRELETS and TUFTED PUFFINS! The appearance of three species of somewhat "tropical"marine mammals was very extraordinary: a school of LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHINS and a DWARF/PYGMY SPERM WHALE and a presumed offshore BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN. The pinniped list was extensive: CALIFORNIA and STELLER'S SEA LIONS; NORTHERN FUR SEALS; NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL, and HARBOR SEAL. Todd McGrath was intent on keeping a jelly list which included: EGG YOLK JELLY, MOON JELLY, SEA NETTLE, LION'S MANE JELLY, PURPLE-STRIPED JELLY and BY-THE-WIND-SAILORS. There was something to look at all day long, for twelve solid hours! 

We spent most of the day along the 100 Fathom Line, or edge of the Continental Shelf. It was very interesting that the storm-petrels were found along this contour because I haven't seen them in such shallow water for a great many decades. Usually, I have found them along the 500-800 fathom contour.  Sea Surface Temperatures (SST's) ranged from 61 to 63 F. 

PTEROPOD, above. From the 50 Fathom line to 100 Fathoms, the ocean was filled with plankton, including pteropods, salps and many jellies. Only a week ago, this was not the case. A pteropod is a gastropod or snail with a reduced or, no shell. They are also known as "sea butterflies."

SALPS in Debi's hand.

Image by Ann Nightingale

Salps form long, stringy colonies. They are barrel shaped planktonic tunicates. They move by contracting and pumping water through their gelatinous bodies. The jet propulsion of the slap is one of the most efficient in the animal kingdom. They have a complicated life cycle. We saw the part of the cycle that is called a blastozooid. They feed on phytoplankton — and, there seemed to be a lot of that around!

 A solitary HUMPBACK WHALE was just outside of the harbor. 

Image by Scott Terrill

Humpback Whales are commonly found during fall along our coast. However, the sighting of a DWARF/PYGMY SPERM WHALE is most unusual! In nearly forty years of trips off the California coast, I have only seen this animal once before. Only two of us on board saw it, myself and Scott Terrill. There are two species: Pygmy Sperm Whale and Dwarf Sperm Whale, both in the genus Kogia. I had five views of this unique animal at the surface, but could not be certain which species it was. We were on the Continental Shelf which is the presumed habitat of Pygmy Sperm Whale, but what I saw looked more like Dwarf Sperm Whale. I've seen both species on long ocean voyages in the Atlantic and Pacific, but this species was not on my radar! Very little is known about either species. And, of course, it will come as no surprise to anyone that this animal feeds on SQUID! I've been saying all weekend: "IT'S ALL ABOUT FOOD!" Something to look for on future trips this session!

SOOTY SHEARWATER

Image by Scott Terrill

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS

Image by Scott Terrill

 A happy birder!

Checking off the Life Birds~

 Francis Toldi has been doing pelagic trips with Shearwater Journeys since 1979!

 Colin Marchant has been doing trips with Shearwater Journeys since 1988!

Marcel Holyoak with his camera & Richard Hall, above.

A school of LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHINS, below. 

Image by Linda Terrill

Closer views of LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHINS.

Images by Scott Terrill

This species was another surprise, along with a "presumed" offshore BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN. (I would have preferred a closer view of that single dolphin, though). Long-beaked Common Dolphins are the prototypical dolphin in shape and proportions. The beak is long compared to the Short-beaked Common Dolphin, with Long-beaks having more sharp, pointed conical teeth. They have a bold, hourglass pattern on their flanks and are very gregarious. Long-beaked Dolphins are associated more with warmer and shallower water than the Short-beaked Dolphins. They almost always ride the bow, putting on a good show!

LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHIN, below. 

Image by Jim Holmes

OCEAN SUNFISH, Mola mola, below, have been numerous.

It has been a great fall for viewing the darling Ocean Sunfish, reported to be the heaviest bony fish in the world. Indeed, some that we have seen have topped 400 pounds, while the smaller ones we call "silver dollars." They feed primarily on jellyfish. Our Monterey captain saw them eating BY-THE-WIND-SAILORS earlier this summer! In turn, the sunfish is predated by sea lions, killer whales and sharks.

Image by Scott Terrill

One of four NORTHERN FUR SEALS that we encountered, most in the "jug handle" position. 

Note the long ears and digits on the flippers.

Image by Scott Terrill

RED-NECKED PHALAROPES are more abundant than the RED PHALAROPES, right now.

Image by Scott Terrill

RISSO'S DOLPHINS which we are finding on almost every trip these days, both Monterey and Half Moon Bay, owing to the presence abundant squid which they feed on. 

Image by Scott Terrill.

RISSO'S DOLPHIN, head-slapping. The rounded head is a field mark.

A SOUTH POLAR SKUA which our captain deftly brought the boat along side while it was sitting on the water, giving everyone great views!

Image by Scott Terrill

A HY HEERMAN'S GULL, below, apparently a rarity this fall.

Image by Jim Holmes

A surprise at the end of the day — a ten foot SALMON SHARK!

An apex predator in the Pacific Ocean, the Salmon Shark feeds on salmon, squid, sablefish and herring. Lots of squid have been around, as previously reported, and fishermen are still catching salmon just outside of Pillar Point Harbor, Half Moon Bay. 

The fin shape and gray colored body with black spots are field marks for this amazing shark.

SALMON SHARK dorsal fin, showing black spots.

Image by Jim Holmes

SALMON SHARK

The shark swam around our vessel for a good five minutes. 

Salmon Sharks have been followed by tagging and revealed some amazing results.

Images by Scott & Linda Terrill

Local birders, Jeff & Jeannine. He shot 1000 images!

 Happy Birders on the way home after a fun-filled day!

Our darling bow-riding mascot, an HY BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD!

DID WE EVER HAVE SOME FUN! YOU BETCHA!

We thank all of the fabulous birders who came from near and far to join our pelagic trip.

The leaders were: Todd McGrath, Jim Holmes, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Debi Shearwater.

THE COMPLETE TRIP REPORT FOR SHEARWATER JOURNEYS'S AUGUST 16, 2014 HALF MOON BAY PELAGIC TRIP FOLLOWS:

SAN MATEO/SAN FRANCISCO COUNTIES

RED-THROATED LOON- 1/0

PACIFIC LOON- 2/0

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 105/14

NORTHERN FULMAR- 2/0

PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 830/65

BULLER'S SHEARWATER- 13/0

SOOTY SHEARWATER- 220/12

BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER- 42/0

WILSON'S STORM-PETREL- 1/15

ASHY STORM-PETREL- 0/13

BLACK STORM-PETREL- 5/450

BROWN PELICAN- 345/0

BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 185/0

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- 135/0

PELAGIC CORMORANT- 4/0

BLACK OYSTERCATCHER- 4/0

WANDERING TATTLER- 3/0

BLACK TURNSTONE- 7/0

SURFBIRD- 2/0

WILLET- 1/0

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 135/15

RED PHALAROPE- 8/0

SOUTH POLAR SKUA- 1/1

PARASITIC JAEGER- 2/0

HEERMANN'S GULL- 108/0, one juvenile, photographed

CALIFORNIA GULL- 60/0

WESTERN GULL- 335/50

SABINE'S GULL- 0/1

ELEGANT TERN- 52/0

COMMON MURRE- 1570/0

PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 12/0, four migrating north

SCRIPPS'S MURRELET- 1/1

CASSIN'S AUKLET- 1/1

RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 6/0

*TUFTED PUFFIN- 1/1

BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD- 4, one "flock" of three

CALIFORNIA SEA LION- +

STELLER'S SEA LION- 2

NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 4

NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL- 1

HARBOR SEAL- 10

HUMPBACK WHALE- 5, one just outside of the harbor

**DWARF/PYGMY SPERM WHALE- 1

**LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHIN- 250

**BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN- 1, presumed, offshore: odd for a single animal

DALL'S PORPOISE- 4

HARBOR PORPOISE- 22

**SALMON SHARK- 1, about ten feet in length

OCEAN SUNFISH- 35

BY-THE-WIND-SAILORS- fewer

EGG YOLK JELLY- 3

SEA NETTLE- 6

MOON JELLY- ++, many very small individuals

PURPLE-STRIPED JELLY- 1

UPCOMING HALF MOON BAY TRIPS & LEADERS

AUG. 23: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Steve Tucker, Will Brooks

SEP. 7: Steve Hampton, Steve Tucker, Will Brooks

SEP. 8: Tim Miller, Al DeMartini

SEP. 15: Steve Hampton, Nick Levendosky

SEP. 21: Steve Rottenborn, Steve Hampton, Marissa Ortega-Welch, Will Brooks

SEP. 24: Jon Dunn, Peter Pyle, Jim Holmes, Steve Hampton, Jim Danzenbaker, Jennifer Green

OCT. 5: Steve Tucker, Steve Hampton, Abe Borker, Dena Spatz, Courtenay Ray

OCT. 12: Steve Tucker, Steve Hampton, Courtenay Ray

UPCOMING BODEGA BAY TRIPS & LEADERS: 

SEP. 1: Steve Howell, Lisa Hug, Tim Miller, Al DeMartini

SEP. 19: Steve Howell, Peter Pyle, Lisa Hug, Steve Tucker, Jennifer Green

Debi Shearwater will be co-leading on all trips

SQUID FOREVER,

DEBI SHEARWATER

debi@shearwaterjoureys.com