Date: 8/11/26 6:20 am From: Alvaro Jaramillo via groups.io <chucao...> Subject: Re: [northbaybirds] [SFBirds] Marine Madness 8/10 San Francisco county STREAKED SHEARWATER etc
Logan et al.
Fantastic trip! Congratulations. I have been chatting to some extent to the bird spotters on our trips to be aware not only of the El Niño situation which is making seabirds disperse from the Eastern Tropical Pacific and Humbold Current, but to also be aware of this HUGE marine heat wave going on right now offshore from Japan, Kamchatka and south of the Aleutians. Water is currently 2-5 C warmer than usual in a massive part of the north Pacific butting up to northernmost Japan. These warm water zones have less food, less oxygen. Seabirds will disperse from these areas and/or we may see breeding failure given the timing. See the link below.
For birders, it gives us a chance to see, survey, and database our sightings to better understand the longer distance reach of these events. In this case, the Streaked Shearwater and Tristam’s Storm-Petrel sightings may have to do with the Asian/North pacific event. I would also be on the lookout for stronger numbers of Short-tailed Shearwater and Flesh-footed Shearwater this year, perhaps with early arrivals. Albatross distribution will shift, and some of these areas that are too hot are the prime foraging sites for Short-tailed Albatross, they may shift south and older birds may be involved this time, not just juveniles. I would be thinking of unusual northern alcids if this continues, perhaps more Northern Fulmars than usual etc.
The effects of birds from the south is going on too and this is much more clear in what we are seeing. But perhaps not so clear is the situation of offshore species being closer to shore than the norm. It is likely that the numbers of Cook’s Petrels and Leach’s Storm-Petrels is not that unusual for the latitude, but we are seeing them on boats since they are closer to shore, and “reachable” in a single day pelagic. Also on this list is Hawaiian Petrel, and these may begin to show up in greater numbers as well. The reason is likely that offshore there is no food, and the birds are coming closer to shore to feed. If this is the case, if the situation continues eventually, we may also be on the lookout for Parakeet Auklets offshore.
Sure, these are crazy predictions, but this year is actually quite unusual, unlike any we have lived in. There have been strong El Niños before, yet this one is shaping up to be the strongest since folks have been measuring. The other areas of heat waves in the ocean are also having an effect. This is scary, and we are in the front line of seeing how they affect birds. Make sure in your birding that you estimate all birds you see, to the best of your abilities and eBird them. No “X” on your lists, this makes them much less useful for answering questions such as “is this year different than others.” We need to be documenting as part of understanding how these events make a difference to the birds. This includes birds on land…. It is all connected.
I look forward to heading back to do some pelagics myself this September to see how this progresses.
From: <SFBirds...> <SFBirds...> On Behalf Of Logan Kahle via groups.io
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2026 1:20 AM
To: <northbaybirds...>; <sfbirds...>
Subject: [SFBirds] Marine Madness 8/10 San Francisco county STREAKED SHEARWATER etc
Hi all,
Today, August 10th, a boat full of birders ventured out from Sausalito Harbor to the deep water far off of the continental shelf including the northern edge of the Pioneer Seamount. Warm waters offshore have continued to provide interesting conditions and an influx of species not normally found in our region.
The day started in overcast weather and reasonable wind. As we left the harbor and the typical stream of nearshore species, Lucas Stephenson and Eddie Monson started shouting out "BLACK TERN!!!" The bird paralleled the boat and ascended into the sky until we lost it in the fog. This was the start of many highlights to come.
As we headed off but were still relatively inshore, calls came out of a MANX SHEARWATER zipping by. Our first Pink-foots and Buller's came by the boat, as well as some Parasitic and Pomarine Jaegers.
Numbers of seabirds in the waters between the shore and the Farallons are typically low, and were spiced up only by a couple Tufted Puffins as we passed Northwest Farallon Island. As we crossed over the shelf break, birds started to materialize. The first Storm-Petrel of the day took the form of Wilson's flying in front of the bow. A smattering of Ashy and Black Storm-Petrels appeared, along with some jaegers and Sabine's Gulls. As we left the shelf edge and the associated temperature break, birds thinned out again and made way for the "Pelagic Desert" ecosystem characteristic of the far offshore waters of Northern California.
Nonetheless, we charged on, with smaller numbers of birds along the way. It was during this time in the pelagic desert that a couple species characteristic of more southern warm-water ecotypes came by: a mostly dark-rumped Leach's Storm-Petrel (likely a "CHAPMAN'S" LEACH'S STORM-PETREL) and a FLYING FISH sailed away from the boat. Both of these species have a typically more southern distribution. The Flying Fish that are showing up (which is apparently likely a Bennett's Flying Fish) are almost never found north of Southern California Waters, even by fishermen who spend weeks every summer on the water. Occasionally during large El Niño events they have reached as far north as Monterey Bay, but before this year I have never heard of one off of the Bay Area. This year, however, this is at least the third pelagic to record this taxon, a significant northward movement indeed. The Leach's is somewhat similar. In warm water years they will occasionally reach far offshore regions such as Davidson Seamount and likely Guide and Pioneer Seamounts. However, the encoursion of them this year even from boats just at the shelf edge at Pioneer Canyon is remarkable.
After spinning around the north end of the Pioneer Seamount we started to head back towards shore. It was then that a young female COCOS BOOBY flew right by the boat. The bird headed along the length of the boat then peeled off.
We were now headed back into harbor and were just 14 miles offshore. Most of the boat was silently napping in the cabin or back while a few birders still diligently scanned through the Sooty Shearwater flocks. That is when the call came out from Lucas Stephenson that a STREAKED SHEARWATER was heading by the bow!!! A mad rush to the front of the boat ensued and most people on board got solid views of this mega-rarity as it passed north with the Sooties. A lifer on board for many, and a state bird for many others. We were all in shock and awe of what had just happened. This also represented the first record of this species for San Francisco county. There were a solid number of photos as this bird passed by. The photos of this bird can be seen in the eBird checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S382127931
Full rough list of pelagic birds seen over the day:
South Polar Skua-1
Parasitic Jaeger-15
Pomarine Jaeger-3
Long-tailed Jaeger-2
California Gull
Western Gull
Sabine's Gull-10
Arctic Tern-5
BLACK TERN-1
Common Murre
Cassin's Auklet-50
Rhinoceros Auklet-8
Tufted Puffin-3
"Mexican Murrelet sp"-3
Black-footed Albatross-10
Northern Fulmar-5
Sooty Shearwater-10,000
Pink-footed Shearwater-200
Buller's Shearwater-50
STREAKED SHEARWATER-1
Manx Shearwater-1
Wilson's Storm-Petrel-1
Ashy Storm-Petrel-45
Black Storm-Petrel-6
"Chapman's" Leach's Storm-Petrel-1
Red-necked Phalarope-80
Red Phalarope-10
Marine Mammals:
Fin Whale-3
Humpback Whale-2
Minke Whale-1
Harbor Porpoise-4
There will be many more pelagics run off of Northern California in the coming weeks and months.
For upcoming trips see:
Humboldt county pelagics with Redwood Regional Audubon Society (https://www.rras.org/ next boats on Aug 15 and Sep 5) and Rob Fowler (<migratoriusfwlr...> <mailto:<migratoriusfwlr...> next boats on Aug 29 and Sep 19)
I will also likely be running some more deepwater trips off of the Bay Area. If you have interest in these please email me privately for additional details.
