Date: 9/19/26 11:24 pm From: Grigory Heaton via groups.io <g.heaton...> Subject: [LACoBirds] Least Storm Petrels / Catalina Ferry
Standing on the top deck of the Catalina Express today to and from Avalon, I counted 4x Least SPs around the middle of the Catalina Channel (3x outbound, one on the way back), most vaguely associating with Black SPs. They're generally quite common pretty close to shore at the moment all over southern California even on whale-watches just 3-4 miles from shore, so if you want to see one locally now is the time.
Buoy 2, host to an adult Nazca booby and immature Masked/Nazca recently, is just barely in viewing range from the San Pedro-Avalon ferry route. I was able to pick out the immature in my camera with a 600mm lens (albeit with Ivory-billed Woodpecker Evidence quality), and I suspect if a specifically *adult* Nazca was there it would be just close enough to call it.
