DATE: Sept. 1-5, 2008
TRIP: Offshore Birding Trip
28 passengers from 3 countries and 15 cities departed San Diego's Fisherman's Landing on a sunny, warm Labor Day afternoon, bound for a 5-day pelagic expedition through the Channel Islands, over deep water canyons and along the continental shelf-edge.
Highlights of the Sept 1-5, 2008 trip included Red-billed Tropicbird, Cook's Petrel and Wilson's Storm-petrel.
All participants had close views of more than 200 Leach's Storm- petrels, including dark-rumped Leach's Storm-petrels (O.I. chapmani) and Guadalupe Island summer-breeding Leach's (O. I. socorroensis) that some authorities believe should be elevated to full species status.
Also of interest were close-ups of both subspecies of Xantus's Murrelet, 2 Northern Fulmar, a first-year Ring-billed Gull 110 miles offshore at the Cortez Bank , a surprising (for SoCal) 169 Buller's Shearwater, 1147 Pink-footed Shearwater, 578 Black Storm- petrel, 25 Sabine's Gull, 5 Skua, 13 LT Jaeger, 20 Poms, 18 Ashy Storm-petrels, 4 Black-footed Albatross, 6 Blue Whale, 14 Fin Whale and a Sperm Whale.
Vagrants, lost, and out of place species over deep water included Greater Yellowlegs, Savannah Sparrow, Black Turnstone, McGillivray's Warbler, Spotted Sandpiper, Mourning Dove and the inevitable (3) Brown-headed Cowbirds.
Monday afternoon we birded the north edge of the Coronado Canyon, then headed north up the Nine-mile Bank towards the Channel Islands. Black-vented, Pink-footed and Sooty Shearwater were plentiful, as were Black Storm-petrels (197).
Tuesday morning at dawn found us just south of Anacapa Island where we counted 700 Pink-footed Shearwater over the course of the morning. This was a "Skua-Slam" day with 4 South Polar Skua, 14 Poms, 2 Parasitic and 3 Long-tailed Jaeger.
Excellent weather allowed us to wake up Wednesday morning further north than Searcher has ever ventured - over Arguello Canyon (Cook's Petrel!). After breakfast we cruised over the Rodriguez and San Juan Seamounts (Red-billed Tropicbird!). The deep water was right for Leach's Storm-petrels (140) and Long-tailed Jaegers (8) with a sprinkling of the other jaegers/skua for our second "Skua-slam". After dinner, the second tropicbird of the day flew just 20 feet overhead to Searcher's lights.
Thursday we awoke at a flat-calm Cortez Bank, 110 miles west of San Diego. The sweet spot of the day came at the Sixty-mile Bank where Wes Fritz laid an enormous slick attracting hundreds of storm petrels, including 2 Least and a Wilson's.
Full descriptions of what we saw by region follow at the end of this post.
| Species List | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Ttl |
| Black-footed Albatross Northern Fulmar Cook's Petrel Buller's Shearwater Pink-footed Shearwater Sooty Shearwater Black-vented Shearwater Ashy Storm-petrel Black Storm-petrel Leach's Storm-petrel Leach's Storm-petrel (soccorinsis) Least Storm-petrel Wilson's Storm-petrel Brown Pelican Red-billed Tropicbird Red-necked Phalarope Red Phalarope Western Gull Heermann's Gull Ring-billed Gull (juv) Sabine's Gull Black Tern Common Tern Arctic Tern Common/Arctic "Comic" Tern Elegant Tern Royal Tern South Polar Skua Pomarine Jaeger Parasitic Jaeger Long-tailed Jaeger Rhino Auklet Cassin's Auklet Xantus's Murrelet (scrippsi) Xantus's Murrelet (hypoleucus) |
0 0 0 0 74 23 95 4 197 0 0 2 0 95 0 75 7 220 115 0 22 1 29 0 0 55 2 0 1 2 1 1 6 0 0 |
0 2 0 49 1050 120 0 10 88 0 0 1 0 55 0 240 1 300 50 0 0 0 4 4 2 1 4 4 14 2 3 0 6 0 0 |
2 0 1 118 1 11 0 4 3 40 0 2 0 0 2 0 6 0 0 0 3 0 0 4 1 0 0 1 3 1 8 0 1 2 4 |
2 0 0 2 22 1 0 0 290 167 0 2 1 0 0 13 2 69 2 1 0 0 0 5 2 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 |
4 2 1 169 1147 155 95 18 578 207 0 7 1 150 2 328 16 589 167 1 25 1 33 13 5 56 6 5 20 6 13 1 13 2 4 |
| Ttl | 3840 | ||||
| Blue Whale Sperm Whale Beaked Whale Fin Whale Common Dolphin Risso's Dolphin Bottlenose Dolphin White-sided Dolphin Elephant Seal Guadalupe Fur Seal California Sea Lion Blue Shark Ocean Sunfish (Mola Mola) |
6 1 1 14 1300 110 85 35 1 5 124 12 5 |
SEPTEMBER 2008 SEARCHER TRIP LOG (by Jon Feenstra)
Nine Mile Bank – USA 9/1/08 This list includes all birds recorded from exiting SD harbor, the entire length of the 9 Mile Bank (US), just north of there - all SD County water Northern Shoveler 6
Pink-footed Shearwater 64
Sooty Shearwater 23
Black-vented Shearwater 75
Ashy Storm-Petrel 3
Black Storm-Petrel 200
Brown Pelican 63
Brandt's Cormorant 9
Red-necked Phalarope 70
Red Phalarope 6
phalarope sp. 15
Heermann's Gull 51
Western Gull 108
Sabine's Gull 23
Black Tern 1
Common Tern 28
Common/Arctic Tern 1
Royal Tern 2
Elegant Tern 49
Pomarine Jaeger 1
Parasitic Jaeger 1
Long-tailed Jaeger 1
Cassin's Auklet 3
Rhinoceros Auklet 1
Anacapa Island - Southern Waters 9/2/08 Waters south of Anacapa Island to the NE corner of the Sta Cruz Basin - all in VenCo waters.
Pink-footed Shearwater 700
Buller's Shearwater 2
Sooty Shearwater 52
Black Storm-Petrel 88
Brown Pelican 39
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Black Turnstone 1
Red-necked Phalarope 233
phalarope sp. 0
Heermann's Gull 2
Western Gull 42
Common Tern 2
South Polar Skua 1
Pomarine Jaeger 3
Rhinoceros Auklet 1
Mourning Dove 1
Savannah Sparrow 1
Santa Cruz Basin - SBA County 9/2/08 This list includes birds from the north and west edges of the Sta Cruz Basin - all in SBA County
Pink-footed Shearwater 200
Buller's Shearwater 12
Sooty Shearwater 31
Brown Pelican 5
Brandt's Cormorant 2
Red Phalarope 1
Heermann's Gull 5
Western Gull 85
Common Tern 1
Elegant Tern 1
South Polar Skua 2
Pomarine Jaeger 5
Parasitic Jaeger 1
jaeger sp. 2
Cassin's Auklet 2
Santa Rosa Flats - SBA County 9/2/08 Birds seen over the south end of the Santa Rosa Flats, near the Santa Rosa Buoy, and the 311 Bank. All in SBA County.
Pink-footed Shearwater 37
Buller's Shearwater 2
Sooty Shearwater 6
Brown Pelican 2
Red-necked Phalarope 3
Heermann's Gull 1
Western Gull 56
Common Tern 2
Arctic Tern 3
Common/Arctic Tern 2
Pomarine Jaeger 5
Parasitic Jaeger 1
Long-tailed Jaeger 2
jaeger sp. 3
Cassin's Auklet 3
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
San Miguel Island Pelagic waters 9/2/08 Birds recorded between the 311 Bank and Richardson Rock. The track was mostly along the 500 fathom line.
Northern Fulmar 2
Pink-footed Shearwater 215
Buller's Shearwater 10
Sooty Shearwater 27
Brown Pelican 8
Brandt's Cormorant 1
Red-necked Phalarope 7
Heermann's Gull 2
Western Gull 66
Arctic Tern 1
Royal Tern 4
South Polar Skua 1
Pomarine Jaeger 1
Long-tailed Jaeger 1
Cassin's Auklet 1
Arguello Canyon/948 Bank - SBA County 9/3/08 Species recorded at the 948 Bank starting at dawn (with a chum slick) and waters just to the south.
Black-footed Albatross 1
Cook's Petrel 1
Buller's Shearwater 5
Sooty Shearwater 8
Leach's Storm-Petrel 5
Black Storm-Petrel 2
Arctic Tern 2
Common/Arctic Tern 1
Pomarine Jaeger 2
Long-tailed Jaeger 7
jaeger sp. 4
Cassin's Auklet 1
Rodriguez Seamount - SBA County 9/3/08 Recorded in the vicinity of the Rodriguez Seamount which was passed while en route from Arguello Canyon to the San Juan Seamount.
Pink-footed Shearwater 1
Buller's Shearwater 80
Sooty Shearwater 2
Leach's Storm-Petrel (Dark-rumped) 16
Leach's Storm-Petrel (White-rumped) 3
Ashy Storm-Petrel 4
Least Storm-Petrel 1
Red-billed Tropicbird 1
phalarope sp. 1
Sabine's Gull 3
Arctic Tern 2
South Polar Skua 1
Pomarine Jaeger 1
jaeger sp. 4
Xantus's Murrelet 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
San Juan Seamount - SBA County 9/3/08 Recorded within about 30 miles north of the San Juan Seamount. The RB Tropicbird was later at night (9:30PM) east of the San Juan and may have been in VenCo waters.
Black-footed Albatross 1
Buller's Shearwater 34
Sooty Shearwater 1
Leach's Storm-Petrel 120
Black Storm-Petrel 1
Least Storm-Petrel 1
Red-billed Tropicbird 1
Red Phalarope 6
Parasitic Jaeger 1
Long-tailed Jaeger 1
jaeger sp. 4
Xantus's Murrelet 4
MacGillivray's Warbler 1
Cortez Bank 9/4/08 Western and southern edges of Cortez Bank, and waters SE en route to Mushroom Bank.
Pink-footed Shearwater 17
Buller's Shearwater 1
Leach's Storm-Petrel 33
Black Storm-Petrel 5
Red-necked Phalarope 2
Red Phalarope 11
phalarope sp. 4
Heermann's Gull 2
Ring-billed Gull 1
Western Gull 54
Arctic Tern 2
Pomarine Jaeger 2
Long-tailed Jaeger 1
jaeger sp. 2
Sixty-mile Bank - Los Angeles County 9/4/08 Includes birds recorded just north of the Mushroom Bank, along the north corner of the Mushroom, across the Sixty-mile Bank (including big chum slick), and just north en route to Butterfly Bank.
Black-footed Albatross 2
Pink-footed Shearwater 2
Sooty Shearwater 1
Wilson's Storm-Petrel 1
Leach's Storm-Petrel 38
Black Storm-Petrel 275
Least Storm-Petrel 2
Brandt's Cormorant 1
Red-necked Phalarope 8
phalarope sp. 2
Western Gull 2
Common/Arctic Tern 2
Parasitic Jaeger 1
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Butterfly Bank - LA County 9/4/08 Includes birds seen on and just south of the Butterfly Bank. We also sat on a slick on the bank for a time. The Leach's included one Guadalupe type.
Pink-footed Shearwater 3
Leach's Storm-Petrel 3
Black Storm-Petrel 7
Brandt's Cormorant 2
Western Gull 3
Arctic Tern 3
