September 16, 2012 Trip Report
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| Laysan Albatross |
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eBird report by Don Roberson Mike Merlo photos
Monterey Seavalley pelagic (MTY Co.), Monterey, US-CA
Sep 16, 2012 8:10 AM - 1:40 PM
Protocol: Traveling
45.0 mile(s)
Comments: aboard 'Pt Sur Clipper' on Monterey Seabirds trip, with Mike Johns, skipper; Mike Merlo, deck;
leaders Roger Wolfe, Dan Singer, Matthew Dodder, Todd Easterla, Fritz Steurer, Matthew Dodder, Blake Matheson, and this reporter (D. Roberson), Alex Rinkert, chum; with Esta Lee Albright, many others from out-of-state. Cold & foggy early, fog lifting by 9 a.m., sun by noon, but still quite cold. Seas very nice, mixed low chop, Beaufort 2 most of day, with some long swells. Route from harbor to Pt. Pinos (see separate checklist) then WNW to mid-Bay at 17 nmi from Pt. Pinos, then west to 22 nmi W of Pt. Pinos, but then N into SCZ waters (1.5 hours from 12:15-1:45, see sep checklist), and then running back with the swells to Pt. Pinos until 3:15 p.m. (and inshore after that). This checklist offshore MTY only, but placed at the Monterey Seavalley hot spot since we got 22 nmi offshore where the water temp was up to 58.5 and were in warmer offshore waters a good chunk of this trip (where birds fewer, but better, e.g., Skua). Only whale was a distant Blue in MTY, also a Blue Shark. We set out a slick at 17 nmi W of Pt. Pinos that attracted (mostly) jaegers. [Todd Easterla had a Tufted Puffin in flight at long distance, so he should add that here.]
23 species
Laysan Albatross 1 banded bird came to stern on route back toward Pt. Pinos, many photos
Black-footed Albatross 15
Pink-footed Shearwater 300
Buller's Shearwater 95
Sooty Shearwater 1500
Ashy Storm-Petrel 1 missed by many
Brown Pelican 3 over a mile offshore, but dropped out by 5 mi offshore
Red-necked Phalarope 25
Sabine's Gull 1 juv
Heermann's Gull 30
Western Gull 150
California Gull 40 including some impressive juvs (phs)
Common Tern 2
Arctic Tern 3 adults at rather far distances
Elegant Tern 3
South Polar Skua 2 one photo'd extenstively
Pomarine Jaeger 12 many photo'd
Parasitic Jaeger 1 within 3 mi of the Point
Long-tailed Jaeger 1 like adult but without tail, maybe 20 nmi offshore
Common Murre 100
Scripps's Murrelet 4 1-2 nmi off the Point; poor views (mostly flying away) and missed by most; only Todd Easterla saw all 4 (so all but Todd should delete this species or reduce their number)
Cassin's Auklet 15
Rhinoceros Auklet 100
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| South Polar Skua |
Inshore Mty Harbor to Pt. Pinos (MTY Co.), Monterey, US-CA
19 species
Common Loon 1 in flight in p.m., high overhead, heading S
Eared Grebe 1 seen by some
Sooty Shearwater 25
Brandt's Cormorant 150
Pelagic Cormorant 2
Brown Pelican 15
Great Blue Heron 1 in harbor
Great Egret 2
Snowy Egret 1
Black Turnstone 1
Surfbird 2
Red-necked Phalarope 15
Heermann's Gull 40
Western Gull 100
California Gull 30
Elegant Tern 50
Parasitic Jaeger 1
Common Murre 25
Rhinoceros Auklet 65 large numbers inshore, in 'packs' of a dozen or more
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| What the hell was that? |
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Santa Cruz County waters:
13 species (+1 other taxa)
Black-footed Albatross 3
Pink-footed Shearwater 30
Buller's Shearwater 3
Sooty Shearwater 80
Red-necked Phalarope 5
Red Phalarope 1
Common Tern 3
Common/Arctic Tern 2 not seen well enough to be sure of species... well offshore
Elegant Tern 1 well offshore
Pomarine Jaeger 3
Long-tailed Jaeger 1 dark juv seen by many, but not by all (like this reporter)
Common Murre 10
Cassin's Auklet 2
Rhinoceros Auklet 15
Route map for Sept. 16 counter clockwise
