DATE: April 14-18, 2007
TRIP: Offshore Birding Trip

Report

Day 1

After leaving San Diego Harbor to just SE of Catalina Island

Surf Scoter
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Northern Fulmar
Pink-footed Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Short-tailed Shearwater
Black-vented Shearwater
Black Storm-Petrel
Brown Pelican
Brandt’s Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Bonaparte’s Gull
55
42
2
8
48
68
1
1
2
9
9
1
1
18
California Gull
Western Gull
Sabine’s Gull
Caspian Tern
Common Tern
Forster’s Tern
Royal Tern
Elegant Tern
Pomarine Jaeger
Parasitic Jaeger
Jaeger sp.
Xantus’s Murrelet
Cassin’s Auklet
Rhinoceras Auklet
lots
lots
3
2
1
28
12
29
17
8
3
9
1
11

Mammals: California Sea Lion, Bottlenosed Dolphin

Day 2

Spent in Oxnard harbor waiting out the weather

Day 3

Oxnard harbor to the east tip of Anacapa then along the south side of the Channel Islands west to the midpoint of Santa Rosa Island then SW to the 1000+ fathom waters about 20 miles east of the San Juan Seamount.

Surf Scoter
Red-throated Loon
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Black-footed Albatross
Northern Fulmar
Pink-footed Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Black-vented Shearwater
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel
Brown Pelican
Brandt’s Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Peregrine Falcon
115
3
67
3
3
10
61
396
1
1
thousands
thousands
~1000
36
1
Black Oystercatcher
Red-necked Phalarope
Bonaparte’s Gull
Heermann’s Gull
California Gull
Western Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
Sabine’s Gull
Elegant Tern
Pomarine Jaeger
Common Murre
Pigeon Guillemot
Xantus’s Murrelet
Cassin’s Auklet
Rhinoceras Auklet
2
21
55
1
~1k
thousands
1
16
2
10
7
26
20
77
28

Some participants also saw 2 alternate plumaged Tufted Puffins fly by south of Anacapa Is.

Mammals: California Sea Lion, Northern Elephant Seal, (offshore) Common Bottlenosed Dolphin, Long-beaked Common Dolphin, Risso's Dolphin, Dall’s Porpoise

Day 4

Cortez Banks to the Mushrooom and Sixtymile Bank

Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Laysan Albatross
Black-footed Albatross
Northern Fulmar
Pink-footed Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Leach’s Storm-Petrel
Ashy Storm-Petrel
Black Storm-Petre
1
1
1
9
70
4
72
2
1
103
Red-billed Tropicbird
Red-necked Phalarope
California Gull
Western Gull
Sabine’s Gull
Pomarine Jaeger
Long-tailed Jaeger
Xantus’s Murrelet
Cassin’s Auklet
Rhinoceras Auklet
1
50
1
130
11
6
1
3
153
12

Mammals: California Sea Lion, Northern Right Whale Dolphin (~200 off the Mushroom)


Searcher Natural History Tours   searcher@bajawhale.com   (619) 226-2403
Some photographs taken by Frank S. Balthis of Nature's Design, FrankBalthis@yahoo.com