copyright 2005 Shearwater Journeys

HI there, Seabirders,

I've just returned home from a fantastic marine extravaganza at Bodega Canyon & the Cordell Banks! Shearwater Journey's trip ventured out to this rich area at 7 am, returning at 5 pm. The highlights included: 5 species of shearwaters, including the first SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATERS of the season, and thousands of PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS feeding on baby sardines with spectacular lunge-feeding HUMPBACK WHALES! The show was quite unbelievable, and a sight that was repeated throughout the day.

Shearwaters swarming in on multiples of humpbacks, their mouths gaping, exposing baleen and distended throat pleats, gulping balls of sardines. As many as half a dozen humpbacks, breaking the surface, with mouths open, shearwaters and gulls and white-sided dolphins and Northern right whale dolphins in a frenzy, eating the sardines not consumed by the gaping whales! In total, we recorded an amazing 62 humpback whales and 4200 pink-footed shearwaters. It was hard to know what to focus on, as so much was happening all at once. The whales would dive, and we would look at shearwaters. A FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER flew past the bow, another past the stern, giving all great views. A SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER was eating sardines that had fallen out of the clasping mouths of the whales! Photographers were poised, and ready for the whales to surface any minute, and when they did, what a sight! Look for photos soon. The photographers are reviewing their images as I write this.

The conditions were perfect; uniformly high overcast skies. The weather forecast had called for a windy day, but it never happened. Instead, the seas and wind declined throughout the day, making for a most pleasant journey. It was a non-stop show all day, continuous with all three species of jaegers, lots of SOUTH POLAR SKUAS, and at least some species of dolphin in view throughout the entire trip!

The leaders on this trip were: Steve Howell, Peter Pyle, Lisa Hug, Don Doolittle, and Debra Shearwater. Special guest was Hadoram Shirihai. Our next trips from Bodega Bay are: Sep 16 and Oct 10 & 14. The Sep 25 trip is SOLD OUT. Our next trips from Fort Bragg are Sep 18 and Oct 16. Note that these trips combine very well with each other. Our next trips from Monterey are: Sep 23, 24, 30; Oct 1, 2 (limited spaces available), 7, 8, 9 (albacore-offshore), 11, & 21.

The species list for Friday, September 9, 2005 Bodega Canyon & Cordell Bank follows:

RED-THROATED LOON-1
PACIFIC LOON-1
COMMON LOON-in the harbor
EARED GREBE-3
BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS-25
NORTHERN FULMAR-3
PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER-4200
FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER-4
BULLER'S SHEARWATER-75
SOOTY SHEARWATER-2200
SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER-2
ASHY STORM-PETREL-15
BROWN PELICAN-5 offshore, + in harbor
BRANDT'S CORMORANT-10 offshore, + in harbor
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT-+ in harbor
PELAGIC CORMORANT-1
NORTHERN PINTAIL-46 OFFSHORE
LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER-1 OFFSHORE
BLACK OYSTERCATCHER-4 on the jetty
BLACK TURNSTONE-2 offshore
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE-50
RED PHALAROPE-2
SOUTH POLAR SKUA-20
POMARINE JAEGER-10
POMARINE/PARASITIC-1
PARASITIC JAEGER-8
LONG-TAILED JAEGER-6
HEERMANN'S GULL-12
CALIFORNIA GULL-200
WESTERN GULL-400
SABINE'S GULL-60
COMMON TERN-7
COMMON MURRE-300
PIGEON GUILLEMOT-15
CASSIN'S AUKLET-5
RHINOCEROS AUKLET-200
TUFTED PUFFIN-1
LINCOLN'S SPARROW-1
SAVANNAH SPARROW-2
CALIFORNIA SEA LION-+
STELLER'S SEA LION-6
NORTHERN FUR SEAL-1
NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL-1
HARBOR SEAL-+
HUMPBACK WHALE-62
NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHIN-150
RISSO'S DOLPHIN-9
PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN-400+
HARBOR PORPOISE-2
DALL'S PORPOISE-22
OCEAN SUNFISH-5
BLUE SHARK-5


Hope to see you out there!
Shearwaters and humpbacks forever,
Debi