Yesterday, 6/21 was a Bodega pelagic everyone on board will remember for a long time. We embarked on the Surf Scooter, a boat that has lived in Bodega Harbor for years in the shadow of it's larger cousin the New Sea Angler. We left the harbor at 7am. June has always been a neglected time on the water off of Northern California, and a time that holds more intrigue and promise than almost any other to me. As we departed, we were greeted by flat birdless waters punctuated only by Common Murres and Pelicans for the first few miles offshore had some of us grumbling about the fear of a dead, slow June trip. But all this stopped when screams came out of "passerine!!" The boat stopped and we watched a tattered-looking passerine, seemingly a warbler circling the boat. After a minute or so of confusion as to it's identity it came close by the boat and we realized we were looking at a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER! The bird circled for about 5 minutes, taunting us and considering landing on the boat but eventually giving up and flying back east. We were in shock. We had already seen what we assumed would be the rarest bird of the day, and it wasn't even 8am! There is just a single previous record of Yellow-throated Warbler for Sonoma county, and this was the first to be photographed. Unbelievable.
As we charged offshore life picked up, a (summering?) Red-necked Phalarope flopped around about 10 miles off, and our first Pink-footed Shearwaters and Black-footed Albatross appeared. Then, about 20 miles off when we were reaching Bodega Canyon shouts came out of a Pterodroma: a COOK'S PETREL had appeared at the horizon! We waited around for a while. Some albatross came by, but with some patience we found several more Cook's Petrels.
We headed south and off of the continental shelf. What would ensue in the next hour was one of the most magical pelagic experiences I have ever encountered. A few miles from Bodega Canyon, we hit a wall of birds. Most were Sooty Shearwaters, but LOTS were COOK'S PETRELS! Dozens turned into hundreds, and before long we had seen upwards of 200 COOK'S PETRELS in one 45-minute stretch!! It had been years since Cook's had been seen from Cordell and Bodega, and this was a county bird for almost everyone on board. Through all of this, we picked up our first couple LAYSAN ALBATROSS for the trip as well as an interesting June first-summer LONG-TAILED JAEGER and several Ashy and Black Storm-Petrels.
As we proceeded south the Cook's thinned out somewhat but the birdlife did not. A FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER made a quick pass my the boat and our first pair of SCRIPPS'S MURRELETS were found on the water. As we neared the area right off Cordell Bank, the farthest area offshore we would reach today, we found a feeding frenzy of several Storm-Petrels. Among them was a small, blackish, white-rumped, short- and square-tailed bird that caught our attention. After a quite a bit of study, we concluded that the bird appeared to be a TOWNSEND'S STORM-PETREL, a potential first record for Sonoma/Marin and the farther north the species has ever been seen! It allowed good views for all, and eventually drifted off. We will be sending photos of the bird off for further discussion in the coming weeks.
The return leg was suitably spectacular. We re-entered the COOK'S PETREL zone, with hundreds all around us for over an hour. If you scanned the horizon, you were sure to see at least a few if not a dozen or more Cook's at any given time! Flocks of 15 and 20 were found resting on the water. Amidst all the commotion, a close HAWAIIAN PETREL bombed right by no more than 30' from the boat at times, and we ran into a group of BLUE WHALES feeding among large numbers of birds. On many boats, a Hawaiian Petrel would be the talk of the day, but not today! It was during this period that someone spotted a Murrelet off the front of the boat: a GUADALUPE MURRELET! Not only is this a rarity at this date, but it is all but unknown in June. Then again, there are no June boats, so who knows....As we headed back in another white-rumped Storm-Petrel crossed by, this one a clear nominate/northern LEACH'S STORM-PETREL, and not long after a stunning breeding-plumaged RED PHALAROPE landed by the boat.
As we kept cruising inshore, a group of DALL'S PORPOISE briefly investigated our vessel. By 20 miles off, we had re-entered the pelagic desert of inshore dead waters. But, it was spiced up by the occasional shearwater raft. As we neared shore, we found a dead Humpback Whale with a few Black Storm-Petrels nearby, just 5 miles off Bodega Head! Normally the species is rarely found inshore of 15-20 miles this far north. It looks like it will be a good summer for Black Storm-Petrels off NorCal!
It was an unbelievable day out there, with the quantity of quality birds, let alone the ubiquity of Cook's Petrels and the Yellow-throated Warbler making a truly unforgettable combination. Through the day, we estimated upwards of 400 Cook's Petrels, the most anyone on board had ever seen, even off of SoCal!
For those interested in getting offshore elsewhere this season, there is a Fort Bragg pelagic on June 26th that still has available spots. Noyo is often similar to Bodega, and there could well be many Cook's out of there too, and who knows what else! If you are interested in joining the additional Cordell Banks trips like the one above, message me off-list, as there may be options for July.
A Full list of pelagic birds and mammals is here (Birds inshore of about 5 miles off not included):
