Date: 6/16/26 11:09 am From: Alvaro Jaramillo via groups.io <chucao...> Subject: [southbaybirds] June 13 - Farallon Island pelagic report
Hello all,
Boy, it was a fantastic way to start the Farallon season. The breeding
birds on the island are insane right now, in terms of numbers. The team of
Eli Gross, Liam Murphy and John Tsortos estimated over 300,000 Common Murres
seen. This is the norm at this time of year, fledging will begin closer to
July and into early August. This is more individual birds than you may see
in the rest of the year combined. One of the stars of the show, Tufted
Puffin was more common than usual for an early trip, with 26 seen. The
Cassin's Auklets, Rhinoceros Auklets and Pigeon Guillemots made a showing as
they usually do. California Sea Lions, Steller's Sea Lions and Northern Fur
Seals are visible at this time of year as well.
The offshore portion of the trip was unforgettable for the fact that a
pod of Killer Whales showed up at the same time as Blue Whales. Two of the
world's most iconic marine, heck.. Mammals in general, seen at the same
time! The folks at the California Killer Whale project let us know the
identities of three of the whales: "CA 223s: specifically, CA223 (first seen
2005), CA223A (first seen 2009), and CA223b (first seen 2023). They were
last seen in 2024 with sightings coming from Monterey Bay, Morro Bay, and
Mendocino." Killer Whales/Orcas are always a fantastic find, while we live
in a good area for them, it takes luck to find them. Fin Whale, Pacific
White-sided Dolphin and Grey Whale were found as well. Birds offshore
included a surprise early set of Black Storm-Petrels, this year we expect a
lot of Black Stormies as they more north when the water warms too much for
them in the south. This is happening this year. Northern Fulmar are still
hanging around, and there was a good showing of Sooty and Pink-footed
shearwaters along with the king of the offshore in central California -
Black-footed Albatross.
Absolutely a fantastic trip. The weather forecast is good right now for
Sat June 20, and we have several open spots on the Outer Limits, a stable
and comfortable catamaran that leaves from Sausalito:
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
