Trip Reports

Hello whalewhatchers,
We are excited to be on our first trip of the 2012 natural history season Today we saw several northbound gray whales, big groups of short-beaked common dolphins. three different species of pinnipeds, plenty of black oystercatches, and peregrine falcon at Islas Toda Santos.
The weather has improved greatly this afternoon with a period of wind just after lunch. The seas are calm now andsthe swell has dissipated. The front from yesterday has passed and the forecast for tomorrow looks promising.
Looking forward to Isla San Benito in the morning where we will anchor the boat and take people ashore for a nice island hike among the elephant seals.
Capt Art

Today was a good day for seabirds and for whales. We saw sperm whales, blue whales,  fin whales, Baird’s beaked whales and Pacific white-sided and common dolphins.

We added lots of shearwaters to our list and had a really good look at three south polar skuas flying around the boat. The passengers were complaining that the birds were too close and they couldn’t get a good picture!

Photo of Black-footed albatross by Tim Worfolk

They left the dock about three hours ago and already report seeing all three jaegers and  nice shows of fin and blue whales! We are hoping for a birdy afternoon and evening. More reports to follow.

Photo of Northern Fulmar by Tim Worfolk

SATURDAY 28 May 2011

(San Diego) North America’s most luxurious live-aboard birding vessel – SEARCHER – sailed on a three day adventure weekend to see seabirds and marine mammals. On the way out of the harbor we saw Caspian, Royal, Elegant and Least Terns. We stopped by the bait tanks to get close ups of the California Sea Lions, Black-crowned Night Herons, Great and Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Herons and Brandt’s and Double-crested Cormorants.

Several miles out to sea we encountered our first Sooty and Pink-footed Shearwaters of the trip. At the Nine Mile Bank we encountered a BROWN BOOBY and our first Black Storm-Petrels. Windy conditions made for challenging alcid and storm-petrel viewing conditions. Crossing into the deep water between the Nine and Thirty Mile Banks we encountered two SABINE’S GULLS our first two BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES, two Xantus’s Murrelets, our first Cassin’s Auklets and several California Flying Fish in San Diego County waters.

Beyond the Thirty Mile Bank we crossed into Los Angeles County Waters encountering another Black-footed Albie and 100 Short-beaked Common Dolphin. Three Brown Pelicans were unusually far offshore 30 – 40 miles from the mainland.

We found quiet waters in San Clemente Island’s Pyramid Cove where we had dinner, spent the night, and breakfasted Sunday morning before riding the swells southeast to the Los Coronados Islands about 9 miles south of the US/Mexican border.

SUNDAY

We encountered our first SOUTH POLAR SKUA 6 miles southeast of San Clemente Island, and a second Skua 9 miles south east of the island, plus an alternate plumaged Red Phalarope and a Northern Fulmar. (LA County.)

We encountered eight ARCTIC TERNS about 35 miles wsw of Point Loma in LA County waters. Also seen between San Clemente and the Coronados Islands was a Fin Whale, an Ashy Storm-Petrel and 40 Leach’s Storm-petrels, at least 20 with white rumps (presumably nominate) and eleven dark-rumped (presumably Chapman’s) – the others too distant to identify to subspecies.

At the Los Coronados Islands we saw two Black Oystercatchers on North Island and counted 26 Brown Boobies on Middle Rock. Participants enjoyed good looks at Harbor and Elephant Seals. The number of Brown Pelicans on North Island far exceeded last year’s counts where few young were seen. This trip we counted more than 800 Brown Pelicans – more than 600 of them were young “birds of the year.”

MONDAY

Monday morning dawned bright and clear with 10 knot winds. Another Black Oystercatcher was seen on South Island as we traveled six miles south from the Coronados Islands (11 miles offshore of Rosarito) and discovered a rich life zone, spending several hours in the midst of 5 or 6 enormous Blue Whales plus a close encounter with a Minke Whale.

Memorial Day sightings in this life zone in Mexican waters included COMMON MURRE (1), BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS (2) and SOUTH POLAR SKUA (1), all about six miles south of the islands as we enjoyed the whale show and 11 miles west of Rosarito. Also in this krill rich environment we saw 22 Xantus’s Murrelets, 40 Cassin’s Auklets and 250 Sooty Shearwaters – all enjoying their Memorial Day breakfasts.

Upon returning to United States waters we encountered an adult male BROWN BOOBY eight miles ssw of Point Loma flying towards the Coronados Islands.

Terry’s Pelagic List Grand Totals

Dave Povey’s “by the area: numbers and his totals:

Area #1   San Diego Bay , May 28th

Area #2  Pt. Loma to the outer edge of the Nine Mile Bank ( 0-12n.m. )

Area #3  The outer edge of the Nine Mile Bank thru the 30 Mile Bank (12-30n.m.)

Area #4  The 30 Mile Bank to about 5 n. miles from Pyramid Cove, San Clemente Is. (30-55n.m.)

Area #5  Pyramid Cove and the s.e. end of San Clemente Is.  May 28-29th

Area  #6  5 n.miles from Pyramid Cove to the Mexican Border  (55-25n.miles)

Area  #7  The Mexican Border to within 2 n. miles of N. Coronado Is.  (25-14n. miles)

Area  #8 The Coronado Islands, May 29-30th.

Area  #9 from 2n.m from the Middle Rock, of the Coronado Is. to the south, west and north.  (15-8n.m.)

Area  #10 From the Mexican Border to Point Loma  ( 8 to 0 n.m. ).

* * * * * *

areas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, = total     ( bold are Mexican birds)

Pacific Loon   0,  8,  0,  0,  2,  0,  0,   15,  0,  0,  =25

Osprey  2,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0, 0,  = 2

Black-ft. Albatross   0,  0,  2,   1,  0,  0,  0,  0,  2, 0,  =5

N. Fulmar   0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  1,  0,  0,  0,  0,  =1

Pink-ft. Shearwater    0,  21,  29,  38,  0,  12,  22,  0,  11, 0   =133

Sooty Shearwater   0,  36,  25,  18,  2,  44,  50,  7,  250,  15  =447

Black Storm Petrel   0,  20,  46,  12,  0,  100,  4,  0,   1,  0  =183

Ashy Storm Petrel   0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  1, 0,  0,  0, 0   =   1

Leach’s Strom Petrel   0,  0,  0,  0,   0,  25,   3,  0,  0,   0  =  28

Wht-rump                                    16,   0

Dark-rump                                     9,    3

Brown Booby    0,  1,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  26,  0,  1   =28

Brown Pelican   120,  68,  6,  3,  40,  5,  8,  600,  4,  30  =884

Double-cr. Cormorant   5,   1,   0,   0,  4,  0,  0,  10,  1,  2  = 23

Brandt’s Cormorant   250,  15,  1,  1,   45,  0,  3,  85,  4,  12  = 416

Pelagic Cormorant   0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  2,  0, 0  = 2

Great Blue Heron  6,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0  = 6

Great Egret   8,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0  = 8

Snowy Egret   11,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0 = 11

Black-cr. Nigth Heron  1,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0 = 1

Black Oystercatcher  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  3,  0,  0 =  3

Red Phalarope  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  1,  0,  0,  0,  0  = 1

Heermann’s Gull  3,  0,  0,  0,  1,  0,  0,  1,  2,  0  =7

Western Gull   75,  60,  35,  40,  100,  25,  15,  300,  50,  30 =  730

California Gull  1,  5,  1,  0,  0,  0,  0,   0,  2,   0  = 9

Sabine’s Gull  0,  0,  2,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0  = 2

Elegant Tern  0,  15,  1,  0,  0,  0,    0,  8,  5,  14  = 43

Royal Tern  2,  3,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  5,  0,  0  =  11

Caspian Tern  2,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0  = 2

Least Tern  0,  9,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  6  = 15

Arctic Tern   0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  8,  0,  0,  0,  0  = 8

Common Murre  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  1,  0  = 1

Xantus’s Murrelet  0,  0,  2,  0,  0,  4,  2,  1,  22,  0  = 31

Cassin’s Auklet  0,  5,  4,  0,  0,  2,  2,  0,  40,  0  = 53

South Polar Skua  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  2,  0,  0,  1,  0  = 3

jaeger sp.  0,  0,  0,  1,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0  = 1

Red-cr. Parrot  2,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0, 0  = 2

Cliff Swallow  0, 0,  0,  0,  0,  1,  0,  0,  0,  0  = 1

Barn Swallow  4,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0  = 4

Mammals

Blue Whale  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,   1,  2   = 3

Fin Whale  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  1,  0,  0,  0  = 1

Minke Whale  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  1,  0  =1

Risso’s Dolphin  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,   5+,  0,  0,  0  = 5

Bottle-nosed Dolphin  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  12,  5,  30, 0  =  47

Common Dolphin  0,  0,  0,  6,  100+,  10,  0,  0,  35,  0  = 151

Short-beaked                          65,    10,              35,     = 105

sp                                         6,    35,                                   =  41

Calif. Sealion  50,  8,  2,  1,  12,  ,3,  4,   175,  15,  6, 2  = 278

Harbor Seal  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  20,  0, 0  = 20

Elephant Seal  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0,  8,  0, 0  = 8

Fish;

Mola mola (Ocean Sunfish)  0,  0,  0,  1,  0,  0,  0,  0,  1,  0  = 2

Flying Fish sp.  0,  0,  4,  1,  1,  0,  0,  0,  0,  0  = 6

Dave Povey   6-2-2011

Hello whalewatchers,
Well today we started our day at Bahia Agua Verde with a great sunrise and a beach walk, followed by a snorkel. There were a few schools of mobulas around and everyone got  a good look at them leaping out of the water. We departed there and saw a good group of bottlenose dolphin. We stopped at Bahia Tambobiche for some birding and then moved on to Nopolo Village for the final stop of the day. We got great views of the endemic Xantus hummingbird and more there.
Tonight was margarita night and back deck buffet with Chef Charles’s famous ribs and Steve’s famous potato salad. What a team!
We are headed to Punta Colorado tonight and will visit there at daylight tomorrow.
More then,
Capt Art