Date: 9/23/25 4:27 pm From: Tim Bray via groups.io <tbray...> Subject: [Mendobirds] Early October pelagics
Three trips in three days coming up soon - get your spots reserved at
noyopelagics.com if you haven't already.
We start with an all-day offshore seabirding trip on Friday October 3,
followed by a half-day birds & mammals trip on Saturday October 4,
followed by another half-day trip focusing on mammals Sunday October 5.
There is a marine heat wave offshore, which means a lot of marine life
is compressed into the relatively narrow strip of cooler waters within
30 miles of shore. Marine productivity is high on the shelf this
summer, with recurring episodes of wind-driven upwelling feeding
plankton blooms, and water temperatures varying widely. This is good
for the ecosystem and means there is likely to be plenty of food
available for birds and mammals, which in turn means plenty for us to
look at. At this time of year there can often be interesting
zooplankton, like Salps, Ctenophores, and Jellies, and the Ocean Sunfish
(Mola mola) that feed on them, plus schools of bait drawing birds and
whales. Last year in early October we found an amazing congregation of
baleen whales, with Humpback, Fin, and Blue Whales all feeding in the
same area.
Birds should be abundant with diversity improving as some of the winter
birds begin appearing along with the migrants, and improving chances of
finding a rare shearwater or murrelet. With plenty of chum we should
hold a good "fan club" of Gulls, and that often draws in Jaegers, Skuas,
and sometimes rarer birds. October trips have been very productive for us.
