Date: 7/3/26 8:31 pm From: Alvaro Jaramillo via groups.io <chucao...> Subject: [SFBirds] Farallon Islands today - Ancient Murrelet, Scripps's Murrelet etc.
Hello all.
It was a nice and unexpected Farallon Island trip today. The islands were
teeming, and we were able to see multiple Tufted Puffins out there along
with hundreds of thousands of Common Murres, and the breeding marine mammals
of course. The unusual nature occurred once we left the islands for the
offshore portion of the trip. There were storm petrels and Black-footed
albatross very close to the islands. Overall Black Storm-Petrel was more
common than Ashy Storm-Petrel, in itself unusual. Soon John Tsortos spotted
the first Scripps's Murrelet which we seldom see on a Farallon Island trip.
This was in a sea of Cassin's Auklets. Eventually there were 4-5 Scripps's
Murrelets and a good number of albatross. Northern Fulmars were also more
common than the norm at this time of year. The real surprise was an Ancient
Murrelet that popped in close to the boat for close views. Usually this is a
winter species, and found on some but not all winters. Others have been
found this summer in northern California, so something must be pushing them
south this year. But for us it was a total surprise. Lots of Sooty
Shearwaters are out there now, and many Pink-footed Shearwaters. I think the
interesting birds will continue to build through the season.
