Some fun highlights from a few days of seawatching. Wednesday 8/5 ( https://ebird.org/checklist/S380253872 ) had some slow but steady elegant tern movement with the terns blasting by low. The local dolphin trio was a nice treat, I’ve seen them twice since.
The interesting thing I noted was only two vessels out on the water which was very different than the 47 vessels I saw on Thursday 8/6 ( https://ebird.org/checklist/S380987188 ) … the fishers clearly knew something I didn’t because there were much larger feeding frenzies, several hundred sooties and a show put on by a squad of three parasitic jaegers harassing a local osprey. Does anyone know how these fishing boats knew to be out…
On Saturday ( https://ebird.org/checklist/S381366617 ) 8/8, presumably the same local osprey attracted in another jaeger to come over land, not just over the beach but past the beach sand and was over chasing over the great highway. I went further north to the sutro baths to scout for a larger gathering the next day and I saw something so unbelievable to my midwestern brain but apparently not too wild for the west coast: a flock of what I believe were 19 jaegers seen close to shore. Video can be seen here ( https://ebird.org/checklist/S381620250 ).
Today ( https://ebird.org/checklist/S381727237 ) 8/9 was slow up north despite the sooty show down south but I convinced a nice group of beginning to intermediate birders to join me. On most days I had a friend or two out with me to experience the magic of seawatching. If you’re familiar with the sociological concept of a “third place”, I’m hoping seawatching can be that here as I convince more people to come out. It was huge to have more eyes, I would’ve missed the close by osprey chases because I was locked in on the scope.
I hope the local ospreys will continue enticing jaegers to come close to shore, I’ll be out either at the pollution plant seawatch or Sutro Tuesday-Sunday and hope these reports will inspire some of you to join! I’ve learned a lot from Paul and Brian and still need lots of help with alcids, still feeling pretty useless with non-PIGUs.
