Date: 8/21/26 9:02 am From: Tim Bray via groups.io <tbray...> Subject: [Mendobirds] Noyo Pelagics -August 30th
From Peter Pyle:
We still have some room on our pelagic trip on Sunday, August 30th, from
Noyo Harbor in Fort Bragg. Northwest winds continue and are predicted
for some days between now and then, but they are generally not big
blows, in the range of 10-15 knots, as typically occurs in late August.
Upwelling produced by these winds has kept water temperatures cool off
the Mendocino coast, now in the 54-58 degree range, with a cooler band
of water occurring off our coast among the warmer incoming water
associated with El Niño.
New and interesting birds continue to be seen on our trips. Following
positive comments from outside reviewers, we have accepted records of 6
Townsend's Storm-Petrels observed and photographed on our trip of August
3rd. Summaries of these and other recent records, representing the first
documented occurrences of this species in northern California, are in
the eBird Checklists, for example here:
Late August is a great time for a variety of all the regular species
(albatrosses, shearwaters, jaegers, skuas, Sabine's Gulls, Arctic Terns,
phalaropes, etc.) and we anticipate finding good numbers of
storm-petrels as we did on our August 3rd trip (five species including
Wilson's). Nazca Boobies seem to be having an incursion year, with 2 in
SF, 3-4 off Mendocino, and one off Humboldt yesterday, so far. Other
southern or warmer-water species such as Cocos Boobies and Guadalupe
Murrelets have also been seen in relatively good numbers off the central
and northern coasts of late, and we anticipate that these and other
unusual species will be attracted to the cooler waters of higher marine
productivity off Mendocino, surrounded by warm-water "oceanic desert"
moving in. Finally, you never know, there's always the chance for a
'mega-rarity' on any pelagic trip.
We still have scholarships available for high school and college
students, sponsored by Mendocino Coast Audubon, for free tickets. If
interested in one of these, contact Tim Bray (<audubon...>). MCAS has
also reserved a campsite at MacKerricher State Park for the night of the
29th-30th. If interested in taking advantage of this, contact Roger
Adamson (<radamson...>).
