Monday, July 28, 2008

MONTEREY PELAGIC TRIP: JULY 25, 2008

Hello, Seabirders,

It's here— fall seabird migration has begun!! The first fall migrant SABINE'S GULLS showed up on our July 25, 2008 pelagic trip from Monterey Bay. It was a day full of seabirds, from the moment we departed the dock, finding the LONG-TAILED DUCK,  until we returned to the harbor in the late afternoon, finding the HARLEQUIN DUCK— with thousands of shearwaters throughout the day. Highlights included: 62 BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES (one with a numbered leg band of a bird banded in Hawaii), 44 PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS, and 15-20,000 SOOTY SHEARWATERS. The nesting BRANDT'S CORMORANTS in the harbor both on the Coast Guard jetty and the commercial fishing boat, had nearly full-grown youngsters. A sprinkling of RED-NECKED PHALAROPES were returning from their northern breeding grounds. Only 2 CASSIN'S AUKLETS, and no Rhinoceros Auklets were found. The oddity of the day was an oiled ANCIENT MURRELET off of Otter Point. This chocolate covered bird stumped us until we got much better views, and could confirm its identity with the use of digital photographs. ELEGANT TERNS were in view throughout the day, while 1 POMARINE JAEGER made a show at the day's end. Many COMMON MURRES, father/chick pairs were calling back and forth to each other. The chicks are notably smaller than the adults, making them an identification challenge for the beginner seabirders who often mistake these chicks for murrelets. In the gull department: a single juvenile RING-BILLED GULL was in the harbor and 2 Western-Glaucous-winged Gulls were offshore. SEA OTTERS put on a fantastic show, feeding on crabs in the harbor with their pups. HUMPBACK WHALES, NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHINS and PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHINS made our day very interesting.

This was just the tip of the fall season, which should progress as the weeks more along. There is a LOT of food in Monterey Bay. And, reports of great swarms of krill at Cordell Bank have been reported. So, it looks it is going to be a great season for seabirding. Our next trip, is this Friday from Bodega Bay, August 1. If you are interested in this trip, please contact me by email noon on July 31st for a reservation. Spaces are available on the August 12th trip from Bodega Bay as well. Our August 10th trip to the Farallon Islands is sold out. The line up of trips is as follows:

BODEGA BAY:
AUG 1, Leaders: Lisa Hug, Jennifer Green, Alan Hopkins, Steve Howell, Matt Brady, Ryan Terrill, Don Doolittle, Debra Shearwater
AUG 12, Leaders: Lisa Hug, John Sterling, Alan Hopkins, Gerry McChesney, Steve Howell, Debra Shearwater
OCT 9, Leaders: John Sterling, Steve Howell, Lisa Hug, Debra Shearwater
OCT 17, Leaders: Lisa Hug, Jennifer Green, John Sterling, Debra Shearwater


FORT BRAGG:
AUG 8, Leaders: Lisa Hug, Clay Kempf, Debra Shearwater
AUG 10, Leaders: Lisa Hug, Linda Terrill, Scott Terrill, Clay Kempf, Debra Shearwater


MONTEREY BAY:
AUG 15, Leaders: Jennifer Green, Linda Terrill, Clay Kempf
AUG 22, Leaders: Clay Kempf, John Sterling, Jennifer Green, Brian Sullivan, Debra Shearwater
AUG 29, Leaders: Clay Kempf, Linda Terrill, Jennifer Green
SEP 7, Leaders: Clay Kempf, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Jennifer Green, Debra Shearwater (almost sold out)
SEP 12, Leaders: Clay Kempf, Brian Sullivan, Debra Shearwater
SEP 13, Leaders: Linda Terrill, Scott Terrill, John Sterling, Brian Sullivan, Debra Shearwater, ALBACORE trip.
SEP 14, Leaders: Linda Terrill, Scott Terrill, John Sterling, Clay Kempf, Debra Shearwater
SEP 15, Leaders: Clay Kempf, Debra Shearwater
SEP 22, Leaders: David Vander Pluym, David Wimpfheimer, Debra Shearwater
SEP 25, Leaders: Jim Danzenbaker, Steve Howell, Debra Shearwater
SEP 26, Leaders: David Suddjian, Steve Gerow, Jennifer Green, Steve Howell, Debra Shearwater. This trip departs from SANTA CRUZ, a great location for folks coming from the Bay Area.
SEP 27, Leaders: Linda Terrill, Scott Terrill, Steve Howell, Debra Shearwater
SEP 28, Leaders: Jennifer Green, Steve Howell, Debra Shearwater
OCT 3, Leaders: Clay Kempf, Jennifer Green, Debra Shearwater
OCT 4, Leaders: Clay Kempf, Debra Shearwater
OCT 5, Leaders: Linda Terrill, Scott Terrill, Debra Shearwater
OCT 9, Leaders: John Sterling, Lisa Hug, Steve Howell, Debra Shearwater
OCT 12, Leaders: Clay Kempf, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, John Sterling, Jennifer Green, Debra Shearwater. This trip departs from SANTA CRUZ. 
OCT 17, Leaders: John Sterling, Lisa Hug, Jennifer Green, Debra Shearwater
OCT 18, Leaders: Linda Terrill, Scott Terrill, Clay Kempf, Debra Shearwater
NOV 29, Leaders: Clay Kempf, Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Jennifer Green, Debra Shearwater

We thank all of the participants of the July 25th trip. The leaders for this day were: Jennifer Green, John Hiles, John Sterling, Brian Sullivan, Steve Howell, and Debra Shearwater. The full species list follows:

JULY 25, 2008 MONTEREY BAY
COMMON LOON- 2
BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 62
PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 44
SOOTY SHEARWATER- 15-20,000
BROWN PELICAN- 200
BRANDT'S CORMORANT- 1000
PELAGIC CORMORANT- 4
LONG-TAILED DUCK- 1
HARLEQUIN DUCK- 1
LONG-BILLED CURLEW- 2
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 68
POMARINE JAEGER- 1
HEERMANN'S GULL- 250
RING-BILLED GULL- 1 juv.
WESTERN GULL- 200
WESTERN/GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL- 2
SABINE'S GULL- 7
ELEGANT TERN- 200
CASPIAN TERN- 3
COMMON MURRE- 500+
PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 27
ANCIENT MURRELET- 1, oiled bird, off of Otter Point, near the kelp beds
CASSIN'S AUKLET- 2
SEA OTTER- 22
CALIFORNIA SEA LION- 200
HARBOR SEAL- 16
HUMPBACK WHALE- 8
NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHIN- 20
 PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN- 45
OCEAN SUNFISH- 1


Shearwaters forever,
Debra

Debra Shearwater
Shearwater Journeys, Inc.
PO Box 190
Hollister, CA 95024
831.637.8527
www.shearwaterjourneys.com

*Antarctica, South Georgia, & The Falkland Islands, January 5-24, 2010* 
Shearwater Journeys' Exclusive Charter

posted by Debra Shearwater at 7:21 PM Links to this post

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Central CA Seabirding

Hello, Seabirders, CA County Birders, Whale Watchers, and Ocean Lovers,

Shearwater Journey's pelagic season is about to jump into full swing with our late summer and early fall boat trips from Monterey, Santa Cruz, Sausalito, Bodega Bay, and Fort Bragg. There is something for everyone on these trips, with lots of great birding on land in between boat trip days. Our trips from Monterey's Fishermans' Wharf have been running since 1976! This year, we return with trips from Santa Cruz on the north side of Monterey Bay. In past years, these trips were extremely productive. Santa Cruz is a bit easier to reach for folks coming from Silicon Valley, San Francisco and the Bay Area. 

MONTEREY PELAGIC TRIPS with spaces available:
JULY 25
AUGUST 15, 22, 29
SEPTEMBER 7 (limited number of spaces), 12, 14, 15, 22, 25, 27, 28

ALBACORE TRIPS FROM MONTEREY: (5:30 am - 5:30 pm)
SEPTEMBER 13
OCTOBER 5

FROM SANTA CRUZ (city on the north side of Monterey Bay):
SEPTEMBER 26
OCTOBER 12

BODEGA BAY TO THE BODEGA CANYON & CORDELL BANK:
AUGUST 1, 12
SEPTEMBER 19
OCTOBER 9, 17

FORT BRAGG:
AUGUST 8, 10

SAUSALITO TO THE FARALLON ISLANDS:
AUGUST 10 SOLD OUT (sorry)

Note that some really nice land/sea birding combinations are possible — August 8 Fort Bragg pelagic, August 9 birding on land in the area, August 10 Fort Bragg pelagic, August 11 birding Highway 1 south to Bodega Bay, August 12 Bodega Bay pelagic trip. This land/sea combination is excellent for both the out of state birders, who can benefit from the locals, but also for those CA county birders who are looking to add new species to their county lists. With many birders out in the field, something unusual is bound to be discovered! One year, in Fort Bragg, it was a Yellow Wagtail, another it was Bar-tailed Godwit! Excellent birding in both the Fort Bragg area and Bodega Bay make this a very attractive outing. Last year, we found whales on every single Shearwater Journeys' trip! I expect the same this year, however, I think we have an excellent chance for Blue Whales this year. Krill is abundant. Northern alcids — Horned Puffins and Ancient Murrelets have been observed recently, as well as the southern nesting Xantus's Murrelets. Its about time that we nailed down a Least Auklet! The offshore report from researchers is that 100+ Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels and Xantus's Murrelets were out at the Cordell Bank recently! 

For reservations, please contact Debra Shearwater at the information below. Please note that it will only be possible to contact Debra by email during the August 7 through August 11 period. Hope to see you out there!!

Shearwaters forever,
Debra

Debra Shearwater
Shearwater Journeys, Inc.
PO Box 190
Hollister, CA 95024
831.637.8527
www.shearwaterjourneys.com

*Antarctica, South Georgia, & The Falkland Islands, January 5-24, 2010* 
Shearwater Journeys' Exclusive Charter

posted by Debra Shearwater at 5:43 PM Links to this post

CA CONDORS: BUNDLE OF JOY!

Hello, Folks,

I wanted to pass on the latest update on the status of the CALIFORNIA CONDORS! Keeping my fingers crossed for that third chick. 

Funds are needed to rebuild pens that were destroyed in the fires. If you have any spare change whatsoever, please donate.

Here's the report: 

WILD CONDOR CHICKS - UPDATE...

Last week, we reported to you that both of our field pens for the condors at the Condor Sanctuary were destroyed by the fire but we were unsure about the chicks in wild nests.

Well...two of the three condor chicks in Big Sur definitely survived!  The third nest is not yet accessible and we won't know for some time if this chick survived.  I wanted to give you the great news right away.  Joe Burnett, Senior Wildlife Biologist and his team visited one of these nests yesterday and took this photo of the precious little "bundle of joy".


Here is what he had to say upon his return,
"Nest entry went great this morning, the Partington chick was fat and happy
in the cave. Mom and Dad have been keeping this chick full of food despite
the disruption of the fire, pretty resilient birds.  Dad came back while
we were in the nest and we had to cut the entry short, he was being his
usual aggressive self."

CALIFORNIA CONDOR EXHIBIT IN SACRAMENTO

Our condor exhibit - Bringing the Condors Home - visits the California Museum for History, Women & the Arts in Sacramento from July 15 to September 14, 2008.

The California Museum for History, Women & the Arts is open Tuesday through Saturday 10am - 5pm, and Sunday 12pm - 5pm.  Please note last admittance is at 4:30pm.  Admission to the museum is $7.50 for adults, $6.00 for seniors (60 and over), $5.00 for youth (age 6-13) and free for age 5 and under.

The museum is located at 1020 O Street, Sacramento, in the California State Archives building.  For directions, please visit their website at http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=222195560&u=2316670.

On August 2, 2008 at 1pm, Award-winning science writer John Moir, author of Return of the Condor: The Race To Save Our Largest Bird From Extinction will tell the riveting story of the condor's dramatic rescue from the brink of extinction with rare photographs and accounts of new developments at the museum. Visitors will learn how a remarkable team of scientists carried out a bold plan to save the species using non-traditional methods. Moir will also speak about the link between the condor's plight and the pressing need to conserve biodiversity across the planet. Moir will sign his book, which is available in the Museum Store.


For more information about Ventana Wildlife Society please go to http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=222195560&u=2316671

Condors forever,
Debra


Debra Shearwater
Shearwater Journeys, Inc.
PO Box 190
Hollister, CA 95024
831.637.8527
www.shearwaterjourneys.com

*Antarctica, South Georgia, & The Falkland Islands, January 5-24, 2010* 
Shearwater Journeys' Exclusive Charter

posted by Debra Shearwater at 5:07 PM Links to this post

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Condors & The Big Sur Fire

Hello, Birders,

Just now, I received this news and update from Sal Lucidos regarding the California Condors and the raging fires at Big Sur:

I just got off the telephone with Joe Burnett (Ventana Wildlife Society Condor Coordinator). He drove up to the Sanctuary with the Monterey County Herald to FINALLY get a visual of the status of all improvements on the property. All the Condor facilities are toast, as is their outhouse and one of their travel trailers. What is remarkable considering the extent of this wildfire in Big Sur is that the Condor Crew's Bunkhouse survived. It actually had burn marks on their decking and one of their screened windows burned............. fortunately... that window did NOT shatter from the heat of the flames and their Cabin is safe..................... as is the Sal & Ada homestead cabin rebuild.  Ada & I can't express in words how happy and relieved we are with all this and that the Condor crew were safely rescued by the Coast Guard helicopter & condors are doing so well.  The indications are very promising with all three condor babies................. for the GPS data shows that the parents continue to fly back to their nestsites.
So keep praying and if able.............. considering assisting the Ventana Wildlife Society with the Condor Emergency Fund.............. they have to rebuild the two Condor Facilities !

Their website is www.VentanaWS.org 

In case you have not been following this story: All of the released condors were captured during a daring helicopter and ATV rescue and transported in their crates to Pinnacles National Monument. However, just prior to the breakout of the fire, a third condor nest was discovered in a very tall, old redwood tree. These six breeding adults were not captured, as they each had a youngster in the nest. The other two nests are near the coast. The redwood nest is in a very remote area that did burn, including the nest tree, but the tree stood. You know, these old redwoods are pretty tough. Apparently, Sal thinks that all of the young may still be surviving. IF this turns out to be the case, it would be something of a miracle to say the least.

Condors forever,
Debra

Debra Shearwater
Shearwater Journeys, Inc.
PO Box 190
Hollister, CA 95024
831.637.8527
www.shearwaterjourneys.com

*Antarctica, South Georgia, & The Falkland Islands, January 5-24, 2010* 
Shearwater Journeys' Exclusive Charter

posted by Debra Shearwater at 7:05 PM Links to this post