Date: 11/12/24 2:24 pm From: Peter Pyle via groups.io <ppyle...> Subject: Re: [Mendobirds] Pelagic Trip report, Fort Bragg, Monday Nov 11
OK, and I again forgot the highlight of the trip for the lucky - a
Horned Puffin that briefly buzzed the boat twice in the company of a
Rhinoceros Auklet. Todd Easterla, who birds Mendocino frequently (and
found the Manx Shearwater and Bobolinks earlier this fall), is doing a
California big year and this was his 500th species, without counting
introduced birds!
Plus another highlight was receiving photos of the Song Thrush from the
Farallones, while we were at our second slick 35 miles out! Technology
today...
Cheers, Peter
On 11/12/2024 2:18 PM, Peter Pyle via groups.io wrote:
> Greetings Mendobirders,
>
> About 30 birders and marine mammal enthusiasts went out of Noyo Harbor
> on 11/11, on the Kraken, with Captain Richard Thornton of Anchor
> Charters (https://anchorcharterboats.com/). We'd been fretting a bit
> all week, whether the weather would allow us to go, but the long-range
> forecasts proved surprisingly accurate 10 days out: S winds at 20
> knots overnight, rain ending at about 8 am, followed by rather light
> NW winds and clearing skies the rest of the day. Although a bit bumpy
> at first, due to opposing seas and swell, most of the day was just
> glorious.
>
> We headed to our usual spot at the head of Noyo Canyon, about 8 miles
> WNW of the harbor and 6 miles off the coast. As we arrived here the
> leaders were asked if we'd see any storm-petrels today, to which the
> self-proclaimed expert response was "doubtful at this time of year,
> perhaps a Fork-tailed." Not two minutes later a dark storm-petrel with
> a white rump crossed our bow, just 6-7 miles from shore. We debated
> the "back-of-the-camera" identification and had fantasies of a
> Band-rumped Storm-Petrel, since one was captured on the Farallones
> this fall. We then approached a small slick and there was another one
> dancing about on the water surface. Better looks and we were all
> satisfied that it and the previous bird were Leach's Storm-Petrels, a
> fairly hard-to-get species in California waters, unless on a
> repositioning cruise liner 80+ miles out. We concluded that the
> Leach's were here due to 1) our actually being 80 miles out,
> latitudinally, compared to the Bay Area, and 2) a warm water pool of
> 60+ degrees (F) that had been pushed close to shore by the overnight
> front. Leach's winter in warm temperate and tropical waters throughout
> the Pacific gyre, but not usually close to shore.
>
> We then headed out the canyon, tossing popcorn off the stern and
> accumulating a nice flock of gulls. By the end of the day we had
> tallied 33 species/age combinations of 7 species and 2 hybrid taxa, 34
> age/sex combinations and 8 species if we end up counting the newly
> split Vega Gull, of which we had a well-photographed first-year
> prospect feeding behind the boat at one of our stopping points. This
> was at the second of three slicks, some 35 miles from shore and near
> the "mouth" of the Noyo Canyon where it drops off into the abyss.
>
> Each slick seemed to have it's own signature, We put the first one out
> near the "elbow" of the canyon, about 15 miles from shore, where
> shearwaters of five species were cavorting about with a scattered
> school of Pacific White-sided Dolphins and a couple of whales. The
> shearwaters, a few Black-footed Albatrosses, and a couple of Leach's
> came in briefly, then all suddenly departed, leaving us with just the
> gulls. Huh? Among the brief flurry, though, were two Flesh-footed
> Shearwaters, pirouetting with their brethren Pink-footeds of similar
> size and flight style, and the first of 15-20 Short-tailed Shearwaters
> seen on this trip. Bythe end of the trip we had all on board picking
> out Short-taileds from the Sooties, with confidence, or so they were
> convinced by the self-proclaimed experts.
>
> The third slick, back in the vicinity of the first slick on our way
> back in, was a dud. The second slick, however, at our turnaround point
> 35 miles out, kept delivering new birds for an hour and 40 minutes.
> Included here were many more tubenoses: squadrons of fulmars of
> variable morphs, more albatrosses, Leach's, and Short-taileds, 5-6
> Buller's Shearwaters, and 5-10 of the tentatively non-promised
> Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels. Our previous observation of jaegers showing
> up in the afternoon held true again today. After seeing none all
> morning, suddenly multiples of them began streaming in to check out
> the fray and chase the gulls around, perhaps 25 in all by the time we
> left. The vast majority were Pomarines although we have one
> well-photographed Long-tailed and several other possible
> "non-Pomerines," that we'll have to sort through our 1000+ digital
> images of these jaegers to ID (or not). We again surmised that the
> jaegers chase the other seabirds around for their food only after the
> latter have complete their breakfasts and brunches.
>
> As in recent trips, Mola Mola "nurseries" were everywhere, and marine
> mammals were also in fair supply, with the aforementioned Pacific
> White-sided Dolphins, brief looks at Humpback, Minke, and possible
> Blue Whales, two Fin Whales that came right at us a la Moby Dick
> before veering away at the last minute, and a squadron of Northern
> Right Whale Dolphins riding the bow in crystal clear water for 15
> minutes. A couple of fur seals popped up, which we'll also have to
> check our photos to ID, as either Northern or Guadalupe, the latter
> becoming more common in our waters. Finally, a highlight for many of
> us was a Thresher Shark coming into our chum and fully viewable under
> water!
>
> There's talk of a follow-up, half-day trip before the end of November.
> The good thing about these, at this time of year, is that we can watch
> the weather forecast and pick a calm day a week or so out. If
> interested in this (cost $120) check in or sign up with
> https://groups.io/g/Mendobirds/topics or email Tim Bray (<tbray...>).
>
> Hope to see you out there!
>
> Peter
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