Date: 4/28/26 9:18 am From: Francois Christen via groups.io <fogrover...> Subject: Re: [Mendobirds] Mendocino County Big Day 4/25 174 species; Baird's Sandpiper, Short-eared Owl (long)
Date: 4/28/26 8:46 am From: Robert Keiffer via groups.io <rjkeiffer...> Subject: Re: [Mendobirds] Mendocino County Big Day 4/25 174 species; Baird's Sandpiper, Short-eared Owl (long)
Date: 4/27/26 10:01 pm From: Logan Kahle via groups.io <logan...> Subject: [Mendobirds] Mendocino County Big Day 4/25 174 species; Baird's Sandpiper, Short-eared Owl (long)
Hi All,
On Saturday, 4/25 Team Aztec Batman consisting of Marty "this is almost as cool as San Mateo" Freeland, Jonah "let's walk all of ten-mile beach" Benningfield, and Eric "the hazinator" Heisey embarked on a 23 hour hour, all out Mendocino Big Day effort. It was a hardcore effort, and we ended up driving over 400 miles and were in the car for over 12 hours of this period (much at night). We ended the day at 8pm with 174 species. This surpassed the previous record set by Bob Keiffer, Chuck Vaughn, Jerry White and George Chaniot on 4/30/2005 of 167 species. More on that below. A big thank you to Chuck Vaugn, Peter Pyle and Bob Kieffer for tips on where to find stuff, and to Eric for driving the entire day! Species in caps were new for the day.
We all met around 11pm in Willits, consolidating into one car and heading back south. We arrived at our first destination, the area around Hopland, at 11:55pm. Getting there a bit early, I decided we might as well try to get a screech owl going for midnight. We got out of the car at a patch of oaks and a screech-owl was already bouncing away! What luck. Of course, while the owl was calling we were also chattering away and at 11:59, the bird fell silent. Completely. Not a peep. What the hell. We decided to whistle at it a little. Nothing. A NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD sang out in the distance and a CANADA GOOSE honked in the darkness. We waited 5 minutes. After about that time, the WESTERN SCREECH-OWL flew into a tree next to us and eventually started calling. Good stuff.
We decided to roll farther down the road. Eventually we hit a nice big open field adjacent to a vineyard. We thought this seemed perfect for Barn Owl. We waited. Nothing. We listened. Silence. Not even a Great Horn. After about 10 minutes, a lone BARN OWL cried out. But no Great Horn? I wanted to get Great Horned out of the way while we were still in the hopland area. So we tried at a few other spots and even tried Great Horned playback. Nothing besides some more screeches and barns. Surreal. But we had to roll.
Our next stop was the Reynolds Highway. In scouting I'd had both common rails and American Bittern here and we entered with high hopes. We arrived just before 2am. As we got out of the car, a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT made its presence known, and a MARSH WREN clattered away in the distance. Another Screech-Owl was sounding off. After a bout of clapping some VIRGINIA RAILS sounded off, and after playing a few calls a SORA piped up. Things were going well. But still no bittern, and still no Great Horns. Eric scanned the marsh with a thermal camera and picked out a Great Horn perched way out on a snag in the marsh. You could tell what it was: the size and shape were diagnostic. But something about telling the bird purely off heat signature seemed wrong to me. Anyways, we kept trying for Bittern. Nothing. We decided to try a different patch of the highway.
Pulling into the west side of the marsh complex, we heard another Virginia Rail sounding off. And, right above us, a loud NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL tooted away, right on Highway 101! Crazy. We went back to the bittern spot one more time. Nothing. Sometimes you just gotta give up. We rolled on.
An hour later we were passing through covelo and I decided we should pull off just to listen. A Barn Owl was sounding off and a GREAT HORNED OWL called away. So we didn't have to start in Hopland after all..,oh well. That's what scouting is for.
We rolled up to M1 just below Mexico Ridge at around 4:45. Should be plenty of time. The primary target was Barred Owl. I had been scouting for Saw-whets when I discovered one of this road, so we rolled up to the exact spot. We hooted and barked. No response. we walked up and down the road. Barred Owls can have large territories and sometimes take a long while to come in, so we brought our patience. Still nothing. A screech sounded off. After about 30 minutes I decided to try a different angle: when I'd had it in scouting it had responded to Saw-whet toots (presumably to try to eat the Saw-whet). So I tried tooting for Saw-whets. Well, a Saw-whet came in but no Barred. We tried up the canyon a ways but no dice. Oh well. However a chorus of NORTHERN PYGMY-OWLS had begun. Dawn was approaching and it was time to get into position.
The first birds to sound off in the predawn hours were some WESTERN FLYCATCHERS and SPOTTED TOWHEES. We descended to the oak forest towards the base of the road. I had one bird particularly in mind. Right as we got out the car, a WILD TURKEY gobbled away. Turkeys can be a serious pain after they stop gobbling in the early morning, and I wanted to get them out of the way early. We started ascending, picking up a baseline of common birds: CALIFORNIA QUAIL, MOUNTAIN QUAIL, STELLAR'S JAYS, DARK-EYED JUNCOS and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS were all sounding off in force. We decided to pull off at a little ridgeline overlook and were amazed to have a pre-sunrise GOLDEN EAGLE bomb by! Eagles sometimes do this right at dawn, I presume relocating from a nesting site to a foraging area. Anyways, hopes were high.
It was proper dawn chorus, and the forests were alive. Our first NASHVILLE WARBLER, CASSIN'S VIREO and a lone BROWN CREEPER sang from the woods. Then, from an oak tree behind us came a familiar call: a HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER! A hoped-for target up here but nothing we could rely on. Things were lining up. And the sun was still not up. We spent a little while cleaning up some birds in the mixed forest here: RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER, HAIRY WOODPECKER, PILEATED WOODPECKER, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH. It was time to roll up.
The weird oaky grasslands that separates the mixed black oak-jeffery pine forest from the true fir-dominated montane forest up top is a rather unproductive landscape. Nonetheless, we decided to make a few stops in between. The local residents were easy to pick up such as BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, OAK TITMOUSE, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, LARK SPARROW, and WESTERN MEADOWLARK. We stopped briefly at my staked out California Thrasher but it was not singing.
We reached the Grizzly Flat region before 7. We were cookin. We bombed directly to the areas I had staked out the day before. As hoped, a THICK-BILLED FOX SPARROW sang away, a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE tooted from a burn. DUSKY FLYCATCHERS were in in force, with several singing from the firs. In just a few minutes, we had found most of the birds we were hoping for up there. But a few still eluded. We went to the edge of the conifer patch. A PURPLE FINCH sang away. We were hoping for Cassin's, but all the birds up here today were Purples! Oh well. We still had one more montane stakeout and we fanned out a little to try to find one. After a couple minutes, Eric shouted in our direction. We all ran over and there, on a snag, was a WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER. Good stuff.
Heading back down the mountain we had specific targets yet to clean up. After a couple stops we added HERMIT WARBLER, WARBLING VIREO, and BAND-TAILED PIGEON. We were still adding birds at just about every stop. We pulled over to try for a California Thrasher that had been oh-so-easy the previous morning. Silence. We walked around. Nothing. We split up a bit. Still nothing. Hmm. We did add ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER. But no thrasher. Lame. We continued downslope. Townsend's Warbler was one we were quite worried about and one that I had only had on this road. As we were driving down we heard some suspicious songs. We pulled over and sure enough, a couple TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS were foraging in some black oaks. Lets jam!
Heading down to the lower oak section we started entering new birds again. ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, WESTERN KINGBIRDS, and BULLOCKS ORIOLES all sang their hearts out. Nearing the bridge over the Eel River, we had a staked out flock of GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS, some of our only ones all day. We walked up to the bridge and immediately started picking up a plethora of new birds: CLIFF and NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS, YELLOW WARBLERS, and our desired WHITE-THROATED SWIFT. Down on the shore of the river, a HOUSE WREN jumbled away. This saved us a trip to Riverview Park in Ukiah! Crossing the bridge, some HOUSE SPARROWS called away and a NUTTALL'S WOODPECKER sounded off from the oaks. We still needed to find Canyon Wren though. I had two spontaneously singing here the day before and two days before that, but there was silence. We looked in the maintenance shed that it liked to hang in, nothing. We checked some of the rocks. Nada. We decided to walk upstream a little bit and after some patience a beautiful CANYON WREN started singing from the top of the rocks. Lets roll!
Our next area was the stretch of river west of the campground. I had staked out a few birds along this stretch. Our first stop was a patch of flowering bottlebrush which had been loaded with hummers in scouting. Sure enough, rolling up there were over 10 *selasphorus* of which 3-4 were beautiful male RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS. Fantastic. As we continued down the river, Jonah spotted an adult BALD EAGLE perched on a large rock. Nearby, a staked out AMERICAN KESTREL sat on a wire above us and eric picked out a calling DOWNY WOODPECKER on the river. As we headed west towards covelo our first MOURNING DOVES kicked off the road. It was Covelo time.
The Round Valley (Covelo) is a rather interesting and isolated little riparian valley full of lush mature cottonwood forest and fields surrounded by dry hot chaparral and gray pine woodlands. As such, it is a natural migrant trap for birds passing through. Our first stop in the Covelo area we checked a region I had had Lincoln's Sparrow in times past. None of those today, but we did find a single WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW and a distant RED-SHOULDERED HAWK. Continuing on to one juicy looking riparian patch Jonah picked up on our first AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES, and a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT called from a ditch. While walking down this road I was astounded to hear a RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, and sure enough the little guy was popping around in a cottonwood above us. We decided to check one more patch of riparian, and it payed off: a HOODED ORIOLE started calling away. While common in Ukiah, this was the first Hoody I had found up here.
We then only had three stakeouts left. We went to my Grasshopper Sparrow field. We listened. We waited. We played a few songs. Nada. Hmm. After a bit under 10 minutes, we decided to cut our losses. Next up we pulled up to a spot south of Covelo. I had Lawrence's Goldfinch at this spot the previous day and we were hoping they had stuck. Sure enough, within 5 minutes of getting out of the car the tinkly sounds of the larries caught our attention, and we quickly found the pair of LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCHES perched together. Awesome.
Leaving the Round Valley we stopped at the first chaparral ridge as you climb up. I had scouted this place out for thrasher. As we rolled up, some WRENTITS called away, and a distant sound which sounded intriguing came from downslope. After about 10 minutes, a CALIFORNIA THRASHER appeared at the top of the slope. Time to jam. Eric was flying down the highway and mentioned that we should keep our eyes out for Vaux's Swifts. This fell on deaf ears, as Jonah and Marty were passed out cold in the back and I was fading in and out of consciousness, trying to catch up from the 4 hours of sleep/night I'd had while scouting. Fortunately, Eric kept his eyes trained at the road and the sky and 15 minutes later shouted VAUX'S SWIFT! We pulled over and sure enough, several swifts were circling over the ridge.
It was on to Reynolds Highway. This spot, an excellent wetlands mitigation site created in the last 10 years I believe, is one of the more hit-or-miss spots for a big day. It is a huge complex of wetlands and only a sliver is visible from the road. But, with patience birds will come out. We started at the north end of the highway and overlooked the marsh. A huge flock of swallows including a Vaux's Swift circled overhead. In the water, a single GREATER YELLOWLEGS showed itself. The spot had not produced as it sometimes does, and my staked out Hooded Mergansers were nowhere to be found. We continued to another patch that Eric and Jonah had scouted along highway 101. After some sketchy pullouts, we looked out at the marsh and found some GREEN-WINGED TEAL. But no Cinnamons as scouted. Bother. This place was not adding up. But we decided to check another scouted spot on the east side of the valley as a last-ditch effort. On our way there we added our first CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE. We pulled out at the pond and started scanning the pond. Almost immediately Eric mentioned "whats that weird duck way out there?". A pair of CINNAMON TEAL! Alright! We kept scanning. Not 20 feet over, a male WOOD DUCK appeared!! Things were changing around. We kept scanning. A BELTED KINGFISHER flew in! Things were *really* changing around. Eric picked out a few distant WILSON'S SNIPE probing around. It was time to roll. But as we were leaving the valley we checked one more pond. Eric had the first view and shouted "PIED-BILLED GREBE!" No way. Those had been totally absent in scouting (somehow). I had completely written it off, with Reynolds being the only place I had hung on to any hope. But it dove. Where?? We waited. And waited. And waited. It did not come back up. "Maybe it died" Jonah remarked. But we could only wait so long, so we counted it as dirty and moved on.
Passing under the bridge in Willits we picked up PURPLE MARTIN. And in a patch of willows a staked out SWAINSON'S THRUSH sounded off. Things were going well. We bombed south. Next up was the south ramp at Lake Mendocino. Both Eric/Jonah and myself had scouted this place, and we knew it to be one of our only shots at Rock Pigeon! Sure enough as we rolled up: there it is! A flock of ROCK PIGEONS elegantly strolling around the parking lot. Nearby a GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE sounded off, one of the many new additions to the Mendocino avifauna in recent years. We already had Kingfisher and both Eagles, so we did not need to linger long. But we needed grebes. We scanned. One single *Aechmorphorus *grebe: a WESTERN GREBE. Come on. Really? The one that lives on the coast? Well not matter, we continued to scan, picking up DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT while we were at it. Then two geese flew by, one big one small. I shouted "CACKLING GOOSE!" and the unexpected score landed on the water offshore. No Clark's Grebes though....we'd have to try the north end. Also the Forster's Terns that had been present for the previous two days had bailed. Ugh.
Entering Ukiah we swung by a spot that Chuck Vaughn had turned me on to: an OSPREY on a nest. We then headed to the Ukiah WTP. We entered the ponds and started jogging around. Since I had visited twice in the past 4 days, I more or less knew where everything was. The flock of NORTHERN SHOVELERS picked up from their pond, leaving behind the RING-NECKED DUCKS, BUFFLEHEAD and RUDDY DUCKS. Those were our only ruddies all day. Looking into the middle pond, the SOLITARY SANDPIPER was exactly where it was the day before, next to a SPOTTED SANDPIPER. Good stuff. The Greater Scaup I'd had the day before was nowhere to be found, but the shorebird pond produced BLACK-NECKED STILT, AMERICAN AVOCET, LEAST SANDPIPER, WESTERN SANDPIPER, and SEMIPALMATED PLOVER. But no dunlin. Hmm. We continued walking out. Some Wilson's Snipe kicked up, offering Marty and Jonah their first views of the day. We had seen most of what we came here for. We jogged down to the east end of the pond and, sure enough, the BAIRD'S SANDPIPER I'd found the day before was chilling out next to a Least. Baird's are quite exceptional in Spring, and this bird was a total scouting surprise! We went back along the north levee. We still had not had Dunlin or Dowitcher, both of which had been present in scouting. As we ran by we found a flock of LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS but no Dunlin. It was time to roll.
We checked a couple small winery ponds for Green Heron and Great Egret but had no luck. A single Belted Kingfisher was working the pond edge. We decided to skip our staked out Lewis's Woodpecker (10 minute 1 way drive) to save more time for the coast. Heading north, we quickly picked up several CLARK'S GREBES on Lake Mendocino. We bombed west. We left Willits with more birds than I could have possibly hoped for, 139 species. The route up to this point had run flawlessly. But it was time for the big gamble on the coast. As many things in the interior can be worked out with good scouting or persistance, on the coast sometimes birds are literally not there.
We were beeliing for the coast. Passing through the dense redwoods, we pulled over and added PACIFIC WREN. But we were hoping for Hermit Thrush. Over the next 25 minutes we tried at half a dozen spots for Hermit Thrush, but at 3pm, they just weren't vocal. During this though we added our first GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS.
First up on the coast was Noyo Headlands. This view of the cove and the ocean seemed like a great place to wrack up a baseline of coastal diversity. Driving up, we added SAVANNAH SPARROW from the car, and some Marsh Wrens sang from an unlikely grassy habitat. We headed on to a seawatch. The overcast skies made looking offshore easy and the low swell helped to see birds on the water, but the lack of wind was very unfortunate: most seabirds barely move in calm weather. Nonetheless, we easily added PIGEON GUILLEMOT, COMMON MURRE, BRANDT'S and PELAGIC CORMORANTS, BROWN PELICAN, WESTERN and CALIFORNIA GULL, BLACK OYSTERCATCHER and PACIFIC LOON. Looking out to the horizon, a few SOOTY SHEARWATERS passed by, and a worn GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL flew by. Continuing to scan, we picked up on RHINOCEROS AUKLET, ELEGANT TERN, and a couple CASPIAN TERNS. Eric briefly saw what he thought was a Heermann's Gull. "Don't worry about that one" I assured him. I'd seen dozens in scouting. I regretted saying that later...
We were doing well but tiredness had taken it toll on our team and we were all a bit sluggish. Still, we headed on to Lake Cleone. Scouting can sometimes reveal birds to be more challenging than you'd thought. In this case, Pygmy Nuthatch had been an enormous pain everywhere except Cleone. On our way over, we stopped briefly at Pudding Creek. A fluke RED-BREASTED MERGANSER was on the island. Good stuff. On to cleone. Once there, we pulled up to silence. We whistled some PyNut calls. Nada. We tried Pygmy-Owl. Nothing. This was not helping our momentum. But this WAS the spot. We decided to stick it out. Then about 10 minutes later Jonah called us over. We waited. There, from a pine snag, called a long PYGMY NUTHATCH. Excellent.
Feeling a bit better we rolled up to 10 mile beach at Ward ave. There were no birds. It seems that northwest winds on the coast in spring is when birds put down on the beaches here and there was no wind to speak of. Never have I been more sad to not have strong northwest winds. Regardless, we kept scanning. A few WHIMBREL were on the rocks. Way out in the distance, a shimmering flock of shorebirds lay just beyond what we could see. And the Mew Gull I had scouted out was nowhere to be found. Dejected, we pressed on. We decided to detour up to the Ten Mile River mouth. This turned out to be a mistake. A silent dowitcher picked up right as we arrived, and while Short-bills dominate on the coast, this spot is one place it is truly ambiguous. My staked out Green Heron was nowhere to be found, and it was time for us to roll.
We started bombing south. We only needed one easy landbird on the coast. So we pulled in on the Stanford Inn. As soon as we got out of the car, an ALLEN'S HUMMINGBIRD displayed over us. In the distance, a Pygmy Nuthatch called from the firs. We continued south. As we passed Navarro River I realized we could look offshore from the highway. So we pulled out. Scanning the offshore waters, we quickly added our hoped for RED-THROATED LOON and RED-NECKED GREBE! The coast was really turning around for us. Just not shorebirds. As we were packing up, a PINE SISKIN bombed by overhead. Apparently we tied the record with the grebe and broke it with siskin. In 10 minutes, we had added almost as many unique birds as the previous 3 hours. We headed on.
It was now onto the Point Arena area. As we crossed the pastures we pulled over. It took a few minutes, but we eventually found a NORTHERN HARRIER. Alright! It was on to the mouth. We got to the lighthouse area and looked offshore. Tons of birds moving, but we didn't really have many likely additions. So we headed up to the mouth itself. There, we looked out on the beach and were dismayed to find only a couple dozen shorebirds. In scouting three days prior there had been 100s of shorebirds (including 6 species missed on this day!) thanks to the northwest winds, but they had all cleared out. Still, Marty picked out a nasty-looking HERRING GULL on the beach, and Eric spotted an AMERICAN WIGEON flying by. We spent until almost dusk at the overlook, and things just kept turning up. A pair of GADWALL, absent in scouting, showed themselves. Then, while looking out over the flats I noticed a SHORT-EARED OWL cruising by!! A totally unexpected bonus, and not even active at true dusk. We all scoured for Snowy Plover, Dunlin, and Heermann's Gull in the fading light but eventually came up dry. We tallied out lists. 172. Not bad, considering the coast had been so devoid of shorebirds. We walked back to the car. There, as we waited around and chatted in the dark, Eric picked out a calling WANDERING TATTLER from the rocks below us.
We decided to go for one more bird and set a slightly better record. We bombed up to the redwoods. In scouting a Barred Owl had tried to eat my speaker when I was playing Saw-whet calls. I figured they would be there. So we rolled up and hooted and caterwauled. Sure enough, two BARRED OWLS, our last new birds of the day, sounded off. Lets. Roll.
We were exhausted. None of us had gotten more than three hours of sleep the night before and for me that came after three successive similar nights. We decided to not try for the bittern again and instead go sleep in the redwoods near Fort Bragg. Of course, right where we'd tried there were several Hermit Thrushes singing at dawn the next morning. Oh well.
Like any big day, this one came with it's misses, though the majority of these were shorebirds that did not show themselves on the coast: Blue-winged Teal (one at Arena in scouting), Northern Pintail (absent in scouting), Greater or Lesser Scaup, Hooded Merganser, Eared and Horned Grebe (none in scouting), Snowy Egret, Great Egret, Green Heron (only a couple in scouting), Black-crowned Night-Heron (none in scouting), White-tailed Kite, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Black-bellied Plover (all the shorebirds left in the calm conditions....), Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Sanderline, either Turnstone, Short-billed Dowitcher, Red-necked Phalarope, Bonaparte's Gull (they all left in the calm weather), Heermann's Gull (our worst miss), Mew Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Forster's Tern, Spotted Owl, Common Poorwill, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Bank Swallow (apparently not in yet??), Rock Wren, Hermit Thrush (by far our worst landbird miss), Grasshopper Sparrow (stakeout didn't show), Bell's Sparrow, Rufous-crowned Sparrow (not in route), White-throated Sparrow, Green-tailed Towhee (not in yet).
Overall it was a fantastic day spent with good people in an amazing chunk of California's coastal slope. As I assumed going into this day, multiple efforts seriously help in this county. The original record took nearly 15 attempts, and they got better each time. I had spent the previous three days scouting out the route in all of its corners and we came in relatively, but not entirely, prepared into the day. The day worked out well in terms of timing. Had we done a week later, some later arrivals like Olive-sided Flycatcher, Green-tailed Towhee and Flammulated Owl may have been in but some of the ducks and lingering shorebirds may well have cleared out. It seems to me that 180 is very possible (heck, if waterbirds on the coast had been as they had been 3 days prior we would have added over 8 species!), and 190 is a perfect distant goal.
Ok so a brief note on the original 2005 record. I learned more about this after the fact but not only did that route not incorporate the mountains, but Point Arena was not public land trust property at that time, and access to the Garcia River Mouth was not tenable. So that entire record was set between Ukiah and Fort Bragg. Feels like a whole different beast to me, and kudos to the old-time Mendo birders for setting such an impressive record on that route.
A lot has changed in this county since 2005. For the most part, it is good for big days: the colonization of Great-tailed Grackles and Black-necked Stilts, the insane increase in Heermann's Gulls, Elegant Terns, and Bald Eagles (all assumed on a current big day, and all missed in 2005). And all this with few losses (decline in Tricolored Blackbirds does come to mind).
Date: 4/27/26 3:02 pm From: Peter Pyle via groups.io <ppyle...> Subject: [Mendobirds] Pelagic trip report, 19 and 26 April
Greetings Mendobirders -
Twenty-five to 30 enthusiastic folks joined captain Richard Thornton and Anchor Charters each for a half-day trip to Noyo Canyon on April 19th and full day trip to the canyon and beyond on the 26th.
The trip of the 19th was attended by 15 Pacific Union College students and their teachers, and we added 10-15 locals which made for a great mix. The ocean was flat and winds were south at 10 knots or so, increasing as the trip went on and a slow-moving frontal system approached, but we avoided the rain that had been forecast a few days prior. Out of the gate we got a great lesson in distinguishing Steller's from California Sea Lions on the outermost "red-and-white" channel marker. Steller's are larger and stockier, with a bear-like profile and blunt nose, whereas Californias have a longer sloped nose, more dog-like. Usually Steller's are paler, more "blond" than Californias, but there was an unusually blond California next to a Steller's (both adult females) so we all got lessons in identification caveats as well. Vocalizations also differ and we heard both, the circus-familiar arfs of the Californias and the deep-throated roar of the Steller's, the latter how "sea lion" got it's name (along with the thick neck of adult males), from the early Russian explorers (possibly including Steller himself) in Alaska.
The rest of the day was quite active. We followed a group of Humpbacks around for an hour or so, making sure we got photos of the fluke undersides for individual ID. While we were doing this, 1000s of Pacific Loons and 100s of Surf Scoters were headed north overhead, in long lines and scattered clumps. Spurred by the south winds before the front, it gave us satisfaction to see this avian migration spectacle so healthy. Over the canyon, an 8' Salmon Shark was a highlight for many of the students, and shearwaters, gulls, alcids, and some Black-footed Albatrosses were everywhere. But we failed to find any deeper-water species, despite 'friendly' wind speeds that should have brought birds our way (see our April 4th report here <https://noyopelagics.com/trip-report-noyo-pelagics-4-april-2026/>). We surmised that northwest winds would be better for this than south winds.
Our rather constant, multivariate strategizing about routes and locations in the context of date, weather conditions, and recent bird reports, continued on the 26th. I've heard thispelagic-trip process described, rather accurately, as "chasing mirages," but it is fun to do none-the less! On the 22nd, one or more "reposition trips" working up the coast reported dozens of /Pterodroma/ petrels of three species, including Cook's and Murphy's Petrels 20-30 miles off the Mendocino coast. These are trips in which large cruise ships reposition from the Baja winter cruising season to the Inside Passage and Alaskan seasons in summer, and they allow birders aboard to set up scopes 100 feet or so above the water surface, spotting distant seabirds over a large ocean expanse surrounding the ships.For our trip, weather on the 26th seemed ideal for observing these, with 10-15 knot winds and fairly flat seas, as we've been going on about. So, we headed out with great anticipation that we'd be graced with great looks of multiple /Pterodorma/ sallying off the stern, as happened with several of our trips last spring and summer. As we left the harbor mouth, sea-surface temperatures were slightly above-average, 56° F, and, quite remarkably, stayed at 56°for the entire trip! Usually there is mixing of water temperatures and/or what we really hope for, a temperature break with warmer ("albacore") water 15-20 miles off shore, but captain Richard's Terrafin app showed no such breaks as far offshore as it could record.
Before we even reached the aforementioned outer buoy, inside the harbor channel, a Scripps's Murrelet flushed from the side of the boat and landed on the water for most to see. This is the third spring SCMU we've seen out here, the others being one in this exact same spot exactly a year ago, on 26 Apr 2025 (see our report here <https://noyopelagics.com/pelagic_calendar/saturday-4-26-25-half-day-noyo-canyon-mammals-and-birds/>), and one a mile or two out from here on 1 March 2026 (here <https://noyopelagics.com/trip-report-noyo-pelagics-1-march-2026/>), the first March record for Northern California prior to the 27th. What's up with that? This species breeds only as far north as the Channel Islands, as far as known. So is this a wayward individual or might they be breeding on our offshore rocks?
Soon we started seeing scores of Sooty Shearwaters and this would be a theme of the trip. The horizon was dotted with them all day, all the way out to 25 miles from shore, and we also hit sitting flocks of 4000 and 1500 individuals, >15 miles from shore. We have become quite skilled at distinguishing SOSH dots from /Pterodroma/ dots (it's all about the ascending and descending angles, not the height above water) and we did not even sniff any of the latter. Even 3-4 Laysan Albatrosses and a nice second-cycle Cocos Booby that visited our chum flocks did not seem to suppress a little disappointment in the lack of /Pterodroma/, given location, date, weather, and the repo-trip reports. We did finally get one each of Cook's and Murphy's petrel on our way back in, 11 miles from shore, perhaps a close-to-shore distance record for the Cook's off California (excepting beach-watch carcasses and true vagrants in the Salton Sea), but they were quick passes, seen well by only a few and missed by many.
Our musings of the day centered around the constant 56° F SST. This is California Current water and everything we saw was typical of this water mass, which can extend, variably, out to 20 miles or more depending on conditions. We surmised that the pelagic water mass needed for more /Pterodorma/ petrels had been pushed offshore by the strong NW winds and upwelling that occurred from the 23rd to the 25th. Always something! So for today, the mirages we were chasing were skies full of wheeling /Pterodroma/ out at our maximum distance, 25-30 miles from shore.
As always, however, there were other trip highlights. The highlight of the day for the writer came when we were some 15 miles out. We spotted a fishing boat traversing north, which we thought could be a trawler, but it was in transit. Richard pulled it up on his navigational app and it was the Western Flyer, transiting from Baja California to Oregon. The Western Flyer! I have been a huge Ed Ricketts fan since reading Steinbeck's "Log from the Sea of Cortez" in my early 20s, and we have visited his lab a couple of times on Cannery Row, during infrequent tours, as well as paying homage to "The Great Tidepool" and his former residence in Pacific Grove. I couldn't believe my eyes! The history of the Western Flyer can be found here <https://www.westernflyer.org/steinbeck-and-ricketts/history/>.
Before leaving the dock I asked how many would like to see birds and how many would like to see mammals. All but one raised their hand for birds, the inverse of that for mammals. I told the lone participant not to worry, that we'd stop for whales, but perhaps not for too long. He (and it turns out several others) got their wish when we encountered some "friendly" Humpbacks about 20 miles out. These are Humpbacks that, for whatever reason, have come to enjoy whale watching boats, surfacing within meters, looking participants in the eye, and sometimes saluting us with their odoriferous blows, which I'm sure they think we enjoy. So clear was the water out there that we could watch them go right under the boat! We also photographed an unidentified whale and a few fur seals (Northern or Guadalupe?) that we'll need to work on as far as ID.
Finally, even way out to sea, we spotted some logs covered with barnacles that have been floating around for a while. Another item covered with barnacles was a plastic fishing buoy, which we retrieved, to do our teeny weeny part eliminating plastics from the ocean. We discovered an entire ecosystem of barnacle denizens, which we put into a bucket of seawater, including a pelagic nudibranch that only lives on these barnacles, and which iNat quickly identified for us, even 25 miles from shore! Such is technology these days. Stay tuned for photos and identifications of these inverts on our Trip Reports page <https://noyopelagics.com/trip-reports/>, which will also include IDs (or maybe not) of some weird or intriguing shearwaters photographed in the SOSH flocks, and the whale and fur seals mentioned above.
We have more full-day trips scheduled for spring and summer 2026, the next one for May 9th (see the 2026 calendar at https://noyopelagics.com/). There is always something for all on these trips; we never know what until we head out and over the deep blue to see what's up on any given day.
Date: 4/24/26 7:25 pm From: Lisa D. Walker, (Feather Forestwalker) via groups.io <feather...> Subject: Re: [Mendobirds] Shorebirds at Ukiah treatment plant
On 2026-04-24 6:44 pm, Janet Theilen via groups.io wrote: > Wow! Looks like I need to go there!!
Me, too! :)
> > On Fri, Apr 24, 2026, 4:59 PM Rain Tenaqiya 4001 Parducci Rd Ukiah, > CA 95482 via groups.io [1] <raincascadia...> wrote: > >> Today I saw two breeding plumage solitary sandpipers, 2 spotted >> sandpipers, 11 dowitchers, 1 greater yellowlegs, numerous least >> sandpipers, and lots of American avocets and black-necked stilts. >> The avocets had four swimming babies!
Date: 4/24/26 6:45 pm From: Janet Theilen via groups.io <jcrtheilen...> Subject: Re: [Mendobirds] Shorebirds at Ukiah treatment plant
Wow! Looks like I need to go there!!
On Fri, Apr 24, 2026, 4:59 PM Rain Tenaqiya 4001 Parducci Rd Ukiah, CA
95482 via groups.io <raincascadia...> wrote:
> Today I saw two breeding plumage solitary sandpipers, 2 spotted
> sandpipers, 11 dowitchers, 1 greater yellowlegs, numerous least sandpipers,
> and lots of American avocets and black-necked stilts. The avocets had four
> swimming babies!
>
>
>
Date: 4/24/26 4:59 pm From: Rain Tenaqiya 4001 Parducci Rd Ukiah, CA 95482 via groups.io <raincascadia...> Subject: [Mendobirds] Shorebirds at Ukiah treatment plant
Today I saw two breeding plumage solitary sandpipers, 2 spotted sandpipers, 11 dowitchers, 1 greater yellowlegs, numerous least sandpipers, and lots of American avocets and black-necked stilts. The avocets had four swimming babies!
Date: 4/23/26 7:31 am From: Peter Pyle via groups.io <ppyle...> Subject: [Mendobirds] Upcoming Noyo Pelagics trip 4/26
We still have a few spaces left on Sunday's full-day Noyo Pelagics trip. Weather appears to be ideal, with NW winds diminishing through the day. NW winds are our friend, as we now like to say!
Yesterday on one or more reposition cruises, dozens of Cook's Petrels and Murphy's Petrels and a couple of Hawaiian Petrels were seen 20-25 miles from shore, from San Francisco to Humboldt County waters. Both Cook's and Murphy's were seen 20 miles off Ft Bragg over the outer Noyo Canyon, where we will be heading Sunday. Also a Nazca Booby was reported out there in Mendocino waters.
So if you'd like to see these Pterodroma petrels up close and personal, wheeling around just behind the stern rather than as dots on the ocean surface, please join us! There are also dozens of feeding and breaching Humpbacks off our coast that we'll pass on the way out, and who knows what else we may observe. Marine productivity appears to be very good over Noyo Canyon now.
On 4/9/2026 11:47 AM, Peter Pyle wrote: > Greetings again, > > One of the marine-mammal observers aboard on the 4th, Cricket Raspet, > found an Ancient Murrelet in her photos, while reviewing pics of > Cassin's Auklets. Her photo is in this checklist: > > https://ebird.org/checklist/S317638587 > > Also our April 4th trip report with photos and video is up at > > https://noyopelagics.com/trip-report-noyo-pelagics-4-april-2026/ > > Check out Capt. Richard Thornton's incredible video of Fin Whales, > Blue Sharks, and moments of our day from above, captured with his > drone. Also Lucas Stephenson's video of Blue Shark and albatrosses > from the stern of the boat. > > We still have some space of our half day trip of 4/19 and full-day > trip of 4/26. I think, if the buttons don't lead to a wait list there > is still space! > > Cheers, Peter > > On 4/6/2026 12:06 PM, Peter Pyle wrote: >> Greetings Mendobirders - >> >> On April 4th about 25 folks, largely birders, accompanied Richard >> Thornton and Anchor Charters <https://anchorcharterboats.com/> >> <https://anchorcharterboats.com/> for a full day pelagic trip over >> and down Noyo Canyon, out about 30 miles to Vizcaino Knoll, and >> back.This knoll, along with Vizcaino Rock north of Westport and an >> important desert in Baja CA, was named for Sebastián Vizcaino who >> sailed up the northern California coast, in 1602, the second explorer >> to do so since Cabrillo in 1542, and the first to take ecological >> notes. Historians are unsure how far Cabrillo got, maybe only to the >> Russian River (wishfully as far as Point Cabrillo Lighthouse), so >> Vizcaino could well have been the first European to visit Mendocino >> but, like any disruptive invasive species, a detrimental harbinger >> for native populations. >> >> In any case, we were finally blessed with fine weather and sea >> conditions. Sort of. Light NW winds at dawn quickly diminished to >> beautiful calm flat seas for the majority of the day and spectacular >> visibility to all horizons. This was only the second Noyo Pelagics >> trip we've had with such unbelievable conditions, and both have been, >> well, very pleasant and fun, but lacking some of the deepwater bird >> species we hope for. In fact, it was somewhat "dead" out there, >> though not as bird-less as our trip of 7 September 2025 (see our trip >> report: >> https://noyopelagics.com/trip-report-noyo-pelagics-5-7-8-september-2025/). >> The going soap-boxing has been that, when winds are calm, the >> tubenoses sit tight and we don't see as many because they are not >> moving around as much. But we came up with an alternate hypothesis, >> that, as the circulation systems and accompanying winds move off, the >> birds go with them. Otherwise, you'd think we'd see some of these >> birds sitting around under such great observation conditions. The day >> before, healthy NW winds blew and then pushed off to the south as the >> high weakened and calm came in from the north. So that may have been >> where all the seabirds went! Follow the winds, as the sailors say. >> >> Sea-surface temps leaving the harbor were a cool 53° F. We were in >> what we call "salmon water," greenish to mud-colored due to a thick >> phytoplankton bloom. Richard pulled up his Terafin SST-View app and >> we could see clearer water and a temperature break about 10 miles >> offshore so we made a bee-line (or albatross-line) west and found >> beautiful blue pelagic waters of 59°F, where a couple of trip >> highlights occurred. We had seen 3-4 Humpbacks on the way out but >> they were not as cooperative as three Fin Whales we encountered in >> the deeper blue. Richard ascended his drone and got some incredible >> footage as they slowly surfaced and circled around the boat. These >> were adults, perhaps 70-80' in length, second only to Blue Whales as >> being the largest creatures we know of...ever...on earth. The second >> highlight involved Blue Sharks coming up to our chum net where, >> somehow, they and the albatross shared a black cod carcass without >> interaction (if only the internet and AI could learn from this!). >> More cool blue video was taken of these cool blue sharks in the clear >> blue waters. Stay tuned for video clips when our Trip Report with >> photos gets posted at noyopelagics.com! >> >> Although no /Pterodroma/ petrels or Short-tailed Albatrosses, the >> trip was not without some avian highlights. Two different Laysan >> Albatrosses swung by, one with orange band P33 in purple, probably >> from Mexico. We'll report on this bird's origin once we find out. A >> nice Manx Shearwater sauntered by on our way back in, as did two >> Elegant Terns in elegant al*tern*ate (breeding) plumage. These terns >> used to come up our coast only in late summer and fall but, perhaps >> related to global ocean warming, they are now surging north in >> spring, so much so that they are no longer an eBird alert species in >> San Francisco and Mendocino counties in April (San Mateo and Marin, >> please take note!). Many Bonaparte's Gulls, some in full alternate >> plumage, graced our gull flock all day, and some early northbound >> Sabine's Gulls, likewise in both alternate and basic plumage, further >> embellished the air space. The Humpbacks have definitely humped their >> way back, 14-16 in all today, and as usual we took many fluke shots >> to contribute to the Happywhale photo-ID catalogue. We 'only' had >> about 40 Black-footed Albatross, as compared to 135 at once on our >> March 18th half-day trip in, ahem, windy conditions. We figure now >> that the 'perfect' weather will involve moderate winds near shore but >> a break or wind shear, as often occurs on a line between Cape >> Mendocino and Point Arena, such that we may even be able to sit in >> calmer waters and chum in /Pterodroma/ petrels from gale-force NW >> blow on the other side of the shear. Or maybe just plain old wind >> everywhere, as we can slowly and rather comfortably churn 5-6 miles >> out to see what these winds have delivered to us (see our May 24th >> 2025 trip: >> https://noyopelagics.com/pelagic_calendar/saturday-5-24-25-half-day-noyo-canyon-mammal-dedicated/). >> >> Our next trips are for April 19th (half-day), April 26th, and May >> 9th. You can sign up for these or others later in the year at our >> Noyo Pelagics website <https://noyopelagics.com/>. This is the real >> good window for Short-tailed Albatrosses and /Pterodroma/ petrels >> (Hawaiian and Murphy's at least), as well as "who knows what else!" >> (Herald?) so please consider joining us! >> >> Peter >> >
Date: 4/20/26 8:03 am From: Rudyard Wallen via groups.io <arelist12...> Subject: Re: [Mendobirds] Tagged Brown Pelican?
Hi Michael,
The white band is a project of the Wildlife Center of the North Coast (WCNC). You can still report it on the BBL, just say that the Federal (metal) band was unreadable. You could also drop the Center a line and let them know the white band number, location and date.
Date: 4/20/26 4:31 am From: Jon Shiu via groups.io <jonshiu...> Subject: Re: [Mendobirds] Tagged Brown Pelican?
The pelicans usually have a metal band on right leg, and color band on left leg with large numbers/letters on it.
Jon
On Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 08:07:05 PM PDT, Michael Coustier via groups.io <mcoustier...> wrote:
I took a photo of a Brown Pelican in flight that seems to be tagged/banded. (Unfortunately no detail on band.) Is this normal or is this something else? Also - when I post a "New Topic", why doesn't this create a new thread? It seems all of my posts to this group end up as email only topics. Thank You
Date: 4/19/26 8:22 pm From: Diane Hichwa via groups.io <dhichwa...> Subject: Re: [Mendobirds] Tagged Brown Pelican?
This looks like a standard band, which, if you can read it can be submitted and info on the bird supplied to you . We were able to read a band on a peli during a bird survey and were able to learn that it had been starving and rehabbed and released by International Bird Rescue. For FWS aluminum bands you can submit the band number , band location on which leg, and location where seen and report to www.reportband.gov. They are very pleased to get information on the bird and give you a certificate of appreciation for your help.
Diane Hichwa
Email: <dhichwa...>
Telephone: 707-785-1922 (Sea Ranch)
707-483-3130 (cell)
More Tail Wagging!!! Less Barking!!
Millie 2007
From: <Mendobirds...> on behalf of "Michael Coustier via groups.io" <mcoustier...>
Reply-To: <mcoustier...>
Date: Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 8:07 PM
To: <Mendobirds...>
Subject: [Mendobirds] Tagged Brown Pelican?
I took a photo of a Brown Pelican in flight that seems to be tagged/banded. (Unfortunately no detail on band.)
Is this normal or is this something else?
Also - when I post a "New Topic", why doesn't this create a new thread? It seems all of my posts to this group end up as email only topics.
Date: 4/15/26 8:02 pm From: Tim Bray via groups.io <tbray...> Subject: [Mendobirds] Half-day pelagic this Sunday
Reminder - there is a half-day trip out to Noyo Canyon this Sunday April
19, organized by the Pacific Union College, and there are several spaces
available for anyone who wants to go. Cost is $125 per person. Sign up
at noyopelagics.com to reserve a spot. Departure time is 7:30 AM and we
should return in early afternoon. This will be a general-interest
marine life trip, looking for everything from jellyfish to whales.
Right now we are seeing large numbers of Humpback Whales out there -
numerous small pods apparently feeding, and occasionally breaching. It
appears that a lot of them have moved into the shelf waters here and are
finding abundant food, so they should stick around. We will definitely
be looking for them on Sunday! And as you know from Peter's report on
the 4 April trip, there are also Fin Whales, Fur Seals, even Elephant
Seals out there.
Birds are on the move, and we will be looking for feeding flocks of them
as well. Spring is a great time to find rarities here in addition to
the abundant Albatrosses and smaller seabirds.
Sea conditions look excellent with very little swell and light to
moderate winds. There may be occasional showers, so wear rain gear and
be prepared for that. If we get into the Humpbacks again like the last
trip, you won't even notice the weather!
--
Cheers,
Tim
“I now belong to a higher cult of mortals for I have seen the
albatross.” Robert Cushman Murphy, 1912
mendocinocoastaudubon.org
kzyx.org/show/ecology-hour
kzyx.org/show/oak-and-thorn
Date: 4/15/26 8:50 am From: Rain Tenaqiya 4001 Parducci Rd Ukiah, CA 95482 via groups.io <raincascadia...> Subject: [Mendobirds] Ukiah treatment plant going off
The Ukiah sewage treatment plant was going off yesterday morning with hundreds of Vaux’s swifts and swallows, including northern rough-winged swallows. The hundreds of ducks included four pairs of lesser scaup. There were a bunch of shorebirds, including avocets, stilts, killdeer, two gorgeous breeding plumage, greater yellowlegs, and over a dozen least sandpipers. I also saw one great-tailed grackle around the southeast pond. Amazing morning!
Date: 4/12/26 7:42 pm From: Robert Keiffer via groups.io <rjkeiffer...> Subject: Re: [Mendobirds] Surfbird or Spotted Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpipers also always have that whitish triangle on the shoulder.
> On Apr 12, 2026, at 6:36 PM, Lisa D. Walker, (Feather Forestwalker) via groups.io <feather...> wrote:
>
> On 2026-04-12 4:46 pm, Michael Coustier via groups.io wrote:
>> Newbie here.
>> I came across a new bird ( to me ) near Walk On Beach / Sea Ranch.
>> I convinced myself it's a Spotted Sandpiper, but looking at other
>> reports from the area show Surfbird as more likely.
>> Also, the habitat of Spotted Sandpipers suggest they're more of a
>> shorebird / freshwater.
>> I went with Spotted Sandpiper due to: Beak color/black at tip -
>> Surfbird seems to be more black on top.
>> The Surfbird looks to have a darker coloring on the back.
>> I thought maybe the leg coloring was more Surfbird, but I also find
>> similar colors on some Spotted Sandpipers.
>> Ugh.
>> With these few pixels, can any of you help me verify?
> Spotted Sandpiper is correct. I believe most of the Surfbirds have headed north by now. Note that the bi-colored bill of the Surfbird (in image attached) is shorter than the bill of a Spotted Sandpiper (also attached). Spotted Sandpipers bob their tails up and down while walking and are overall a much slimmer bird in appearance.
>
> Hope this helps :)
>
>
> Lisa Walker,
> Fort Bragg-Cleone
>
>
>
>
>
> <110324Surfbird.JPG>
> <041325SpottedSandpiperB.JPG>
Date: 4/12/26 6:36 pm From: Lisa D. Walker, (Feather Forestwalker) via groups.io <feather...> Subject: Re: [Mendobirds] Surfbird or Spotted Sandpiper
On 2026-04-12 4:46 pm, Michael Coustier via groups.io wrote:
> Newbie here.
> I came across a new bird ( to me ) near Walk On Beach / Sea Ranch.
> I convinced myself it's a Spotted Sandpiper, but looking at other
> reports from the area show Surfbird as more likely.
> Also, the habitat of Spotted Sandpipers suggest they're more of a
> shorebird / freshwater.
>
> I went with Spotted Sandpiper due to: Beak color/black at tip -
> Surfbird seems to be more black on top.
> The Surfbird looks to have a darker coloring on the back.
> I thought maybe the leg coloring was more Surfbird, but I also find
> similar colors on some Spotted Sandpipers.
> Ugh.
>
> With these few pixels, can any of you help me verify?
>
Spotted Sandpiper is correct. I believe most of the Surfbirds have
headed north by now. Note that the bi-colored bill of the Surfbird (in
image attached) is shorter than the bill of a Spotted Sandpiper (also
attached). Spotted Sandpipers bob their tails up and down while walking
and are overall a much slimmer bird in appearance.
Date: 4/12/26 4:46 pm From: Michael Coustier via groups.io <mcoustier...> Subject: [Mendobirds] Surfbird or Spotted Sandpiper
Newbie here.
I came across a new bird ( to me ) near Walk On Beach / Sea Ranch.
I convinced myself it's a Spotted Sandpiper, but looking at other reports from the area show Surfbird as more likely.
Also, the habitat of Spotted Sandpipers suggest they're more of a shorebird / freshwater.
I went with Spotted Sandpiper due to: Beak color/black at tip - Surfbird seems to be more black on top.
The Surfbird looks to have a darker coloring on the back.
I thought maybe the leg coloring was more Surfbird, but I also find similar colors on some Spotted Sandpipers.
Ugh.
With these few pixels, can any of you help me verify?
