copyright 2006 Shearwater Journeys

Howdy, Seabirders,
Shearwater Journeys operated two back-to-back trips from Fort Bragg, CA on August 25 & 26th. The contrast in these two trips was remarkable. The cold chill of the morning mist greeted us both days, but these two trips would turn out to be remarkably different—in terms of weather and the number of species and abundance of seabirds. In the end, those participants who opted for both trips, compiled a near complete list of standard seabirds and marine mammals for the season. Unusual were brief sightings of MANX and FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATERS. The sea surface temperature was an even 52F throughout both days.

The Friday trip on August 25th had patchy areas of fog, swells, and difficult seas. We headed offshore and encountered large flocks of shearwaters about 8 miles out of the harbor. Our destination was offshore to the Noyo Canyon and Viscaino Knoll. In sharp contrast to our trip on August 13th, there were precious few seabirds in the canyon or at the knoll. Highlights of this day included exceptional views of BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES at the stern with excellent photo ops, and a great time with the NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHINS and PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHINS.

The next day, August 26th, I decided to try a different route, as the weather forecast was excellent for flat seas. So, for the first time, ever, on any of the one day trips that we have run from Fort Bragg, we headed south to explore new canyons. Immediately, we encountered flocks of shearwaters, and leader, David Vander Pluym called out a FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER! This was followed shortly by a call from Todd McGrath of MANX SHEARWATER! Along the 50 fathom curve, both in the morning and evening, we encountered tremendous seabird life, and marine mammals, including feeding HUMPBACK WHALES and large numbers of RISSO'S DOLPHINS. Thousands and thousands of shearwaters were feeding in the morning, and resting on the water in the evening. This was our first trip of the season that encountered flocks of over 100 BULLER'S SHEARWATERS sitting on the water, along with numbers of PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS, and a few SOOTYS. The amount of wildlife in this area was phenomenal. Virtually all of the cetaceans were found along the continental shelf. The photo ops were excellent. Other highlights included a " full house" in the jaeger department—POMARINE, PARASITIC, LONG-TAILED, and SOUTH POLAR SKUA. Offshore, we visited the Navarro and Arena Canyons—quite possibly the first time birders have ever been to these canyons. SABINE'S GULLS, COMMON and ARCTIC TERNS were found offshore in these canyons. The weather continued to remain excellent throughout the day, with flat seas, and uniformly high overcast skies. (no fog!). It was a wonderful day, in sharp contrast to the previous day, but also a good experience for the folks who signed on for both days!

The leaders on these trips were: August 25th-Lisa Hug, Clay Kempf, Rob Fowler, David Vander Pluym, Debra Shearwater, and August 26th-Clay Kempf, Nikolas Haass, David Vander Pluym, Rob Fowler, and Debra Shearwater.

Our last trip of the fall season from Fort Bragg is September 17th and spaces are available. Our very next trip with spaces available is tomorrow, August 28th from Bodega Bay. Space is available on this trip, as well as September 8, 15, 24, and October 9 and 13. Both Fort Bragg and Bodega Bay trips meet at 6:30 am, and return about 4-5:30 pm. We also have spaces open on our Monterey trips on September 3, 9, 11, 22, 23, 29, and October 1, 6, 8, 14, 22, and 28. Our specialty Albacore trips departing from Monterey which have spaces available are September 10 (limited spaces open),, 30, and October 7 and 15. These Monterey trips run from 5:30 am until 5:30 pm and target Xantus and Craveri's Murrelets, in particular.

The species list for the August 25/26, 2006 Fort Bragg trips follows:

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS-36/32
NORTHERN FULMAR-3/9
PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER-80/2300
FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER-0/1
BULLER'S SHEARWATER-40/570
SOOTY SHEARWATER-470/6500
SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER-0/1
MANX SHEARWATER-0/1
ASHY STORM-PETREL-15/1
BROWN PELICAN-+/+
BRANDT'S CORMORANT-+/450
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT-0/1
PELAGIC CORMORANT-6/12
SURF SCOTER-7/14
COMMON MERGANSER-8/11
WANDERING TATTLER-4/3
BLACK TURNSTONE-5/13
DOWITCHER SP.13/0
LEAST SANDPIPER-0/2
SPOTTED SANDPIPER-2/0
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE-250/60
RED PHALAROPE-30/30
PHALAROPE SP.-0/40
SOUTH POLAR SKUA0/2
POMARINE JAEGER-6/9
POMARINE/PARASITIC JAEGER-2/0
PARASITIC JAEGER-0/1
PARASITIC/LONG-TAILED JAEGER-0/1
LONG-TAILED JAEGER-2/1
HEERMANN'S GULL-15/10
CALIFORNIA GULL- 70/175
WESTERN GULL-200/600
SABINE'S GULL-5/14
COMMON TERN-6/25
COMMON TERN/ARCTIC TERN-2/4
ARCTIC TERN-0/4
COMMON MURRE-75/310
PIGEON GUILLEMOT-106/35
CASSIN'S AUKLET-2/12
RHINOCEROS AUKLET-78/160
GREAT EGRET-0/1 offshore
BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD-0/1
OSPREY-1/6 offshore
WHITE-TAILED KITE-0/1

CALIFORNIA SEA LION-6/12
NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL-0/1
HARBOR SEAL-4/1
MINKE WHALE-0/2
HUMPBACK WHALE-2/15
NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHIN-125/0
RISSO'S DOLPHIN-0/120
PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN-250/18
DALL'S PORPOISE-0/22
OCEAN SUNFISH-0/1


Many thanks to the leaders and all who participated on these trips. Shearwaters forever,
Debi

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