Date: 7/21/26 8:56 am From: Peter Pyle via groups.io <ppyle...> Subject: [Mendobirds] Noyo Pelagics trip, July 20th
Ah the lure of far offshore waters when we have a chance to get out there, especially in this El Nino year when who knows what we might find? We had a full boat yesterday, many for the first time off our shores, and all enjoyed a pleasant day with smooth waters, mostly cloudy skies, and good visibility except for a brief run through a fog bank over Noyo Canyon on the way out. Our captain got a report from an albacore fisherman to our west that visibility was clear, water temps were a balmy 61 degrees (F), and that a booby had just flown by. Out we went!
As is often the case, the offshore waters were rather barren of birdlife, though we did bump into many small rafts of Ashy Storm-Petrels, possible Black and Leach's Storm-Petrels (photo review pending) and the highlight for many, a Wilson's Storm-Petrel, only about the 5th or 6th record for Mendocino County. We bumped into 10-12 murrelets, with some nice views of Scripps's, while others escaped ID (Guadalupe and Craveri's are also possibilities this far from shore). Sabine's Gull migration has begun in earnest, dozens of these elegant birds headed south, and with them Long-tailed and Parasitic Jaegers. An Arctic Tern was sitting on a piece of driftwood, and a giant Ocean Sunfish cruised by in crystal clear waters. Our captain spotted a probable Pilot Whale, very rare this far north.
Closer to shore there were dozens of Black-footed Albatrosses and thousands of Sooty Shearwaters over Noyo Canyon. Other highlights here included our first Buller's Shearwaters, a better-ID'd Leach's Storm-Petrel, a Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel, and an adult Tufted Puffin. We ended up with a 'skua slam' including two South Polar Skuas and a confiding Pomarine Jaeger that followed the boat for 15 minutes in perfect lighting against picturesque monsoonal skies. In a major reversal of roles, one of the skuas got chased by a Long-tailed Jaeger. You just never know.
Later this week we'll get our trip report out, including many excellent photos. Our next trip is on August 3rd. It will be interesting to see how things evolve this summer and fall, with the predicted incursion of much warmer water, and on any given day we never know what we will encounter. Please consider signing up for a fun day on the water: https://noyopelagics.com/
Cheers, Peter
On 7/2/2026 8:21 AM, Peter Pyle wrote: > Greetings Mendobirders - > > Our report for the Noyo Pelagics June 26th trip is now up. Birdwise we > 'only' had 2-3 Manx Shearwaters, a booby sp. (almost certainly a > juvenile Cocos Booby), 1-2 Scripps’s Murrelets, a Laysan Albatross, a > 2-yr-old Tufted Puffin, and two confiding Ancient Murrelets in full > breeding plumage. We've gotten a bit spoiled by Pterodroma petrels, > Short-tailed Albatrosses, and the like but, by the standards of twenty > years ago, this was a spectacular trip for birds. > > Other marine life stole the show this day, however, especially the > Humpback Whales that breached and lunge-fed on anchovy all around the > boat for over an hour. Add in dolphins around all day, Fin Whales, > Mola, a Purple Sea Nettle, and many large salmon sharks, some of which > were rubbing their bellies on logs! Marine productivity off our shores > is excellent right now. > > Check out photos and video of all the action: > > https://noyopelagics.com/june-26-2026-deepwater-pelagic-birds-and-mammals/ > > > Our next trip is on 20 July and then we have two more in August, the > 3rd and 30th. We continue to prioritize trips during times of low > previous offshore effort, and so far it has been paying off. Consider > joining us this summer! https://noyopelagics.com/ > > Cheers, Peter
