Date: 7/12/26 12:56 pm From: Peter Pyle via groups.io <ppyle...> Subject: Re: [Mendobirds] More July Boats off NorCal!
The current forecast for our full-day trip from Noyo Harbor (Fort Bragg) on July 20th is for NW winds of 10-12 knots. This may change, but if it holds we have learned that it could be the ideal balance between a rough trip with lots of birds and a smooth trip with fewer birds. On last year's mid-July trip we had lots of storm-petrels including Mendocino's first record of a Least Storm-Petrel:
Townsend's Storm-Petrel likely gets up here regularly (another was reported from Cordell a couple of weeks ago) and, if so, July would be the peak month, and we likely will be able confirm the ID with advanced digital photography.
Our captain has also photographed a Nazca Booby (2nd one for us this spring/summer) and South Polar Skua a mile from shore in the past week or so.
For those who may be up in the area we also have a 3-hr trip to Caspar Highspot planned for July 16th at 1 pm, cost $75. To sign up for this call Anchor Charters at 707-964-4550. This appears to be a productive spot over which we've recorded Murphy's and Hawaiian Petrels and a Parakeet Auklet so far this year.
Very happy to see all the spring and summer pelagic trips now scheduled. Don't miss out!
Peter
On 7/8/2026 11:17 AM, Logan Kahle via groups.io wrote: > Hi All, > > As Alvaro just posted about, this Summer off California has been HOT > with good birds! Not only is there a huge pulse of Cook's Petrels off > our coast that has been ongoing for at least 3 weeks (including > hundreds off our coast in late June), there are also well above > average numbers of Scripps' Murrelets and many other pelagic goodies. > > Traditionally, late July is THE TIME for mega-rarity seabirds off of > Northern California. With way fewer than 100 trips run all time in > that period, the highlights have been staggering: Light-mantled Sooty > Albatross, Chatham Albatross, Salvin's Albatross, Tristram's > Storm-Petrel, Gray-faced Petrel, Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Great > Shearwater, and Short-tailed Albatross are just some of the amazing > rarities that have been found in this time period off of Northern > California, not to mention it being a great time for Cook's and > Hawaiian Petrels, Storm-Petrels of all kinds (last July had a trip > with 7 species of Storm-Petrel!), and so much more. If you are looking > for a chance at something really crazy out there, late July and early > August are arguably the best times of the entire year off of Northern > California. > > Anyways, for those interested in getting offshore we have more boats > off of Northern California this July than probably ever before. In > addition to the two boats Alvaro mentioned out of Half Moon Bay (July > 18th, July 25th), are two trips out of Eureka, Humboldt county: July > 18th with Redwood Regional Audubon Society (see https://www.rras.org/ > for more details) and July 25th with Rob Fowler (email > <migratoriusfwlr...> for details), as well as July 20th out of > Noyo Harbor with Noyo Pelagics (https://noyopelagics.com/#calendar) > and again on August 3rd out of Noyo as well. > > These more Northernly California ports of Eureka and Noyo tend to be > good for Hawaiian Petrels and other Pterodromas, rare Albatross, rare > alcids and much more, and you really never know what you might see out > there! Last year there were July boats off of Noyo and Humboldt with > pretty great success: > Noyo: https://ebird.org/tripreport/396250 (including Mendocino's first > Least Storm-Petrel) > Eureka: https://ebird.org/tripreport/397950 (including a Parakeet Auklet) > > If you're interested in coupling two trips to the north, Humboldt on > July 18th and Noyo on July 20th are right next to each other. Not to > mention, the birding on land up there can be excellent this time of > year as well. Mendocino Coast Audubon Society also offers free camping > for anyone participating before Noyo pelagic trips. Reach out to Noyo > Pelagics for more info! > > Hope to see you all out there! > > Logan > >
