The San Diego pelagic trip on 15 May, sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon Society and aboard “Legacy,” went out to approximately 30 miles offshore–to the 30-Mile Bank and “the Corner.” It was a good day offshore, with light seas, nice neutral-lighting overcast, good photography, and a reasonable number of birds to look at almost all day long. Offshore (beyond 2 miles) totals were as follows:
Red-necked Phalarope 125
Scripps’s Murrelet 41 (including a couple fully-grown young with parents, providing excellent views and photos)
Cassin’s Auklet 12
Rhinoceros Auklet 1
Sabine’s Gull 2
California Gull 1
Western Gull 200
Least Tern 12
Forster’s Tern 1
Royal Tern 15
Elegant Tern 250
Pacific Loon 40 (northbound migrants)
Ashy Storm-Petrel 10
Black Storm-Petrel 420
Northern Fulmar 1 (dark)
Pink-footed Shearwater 32 (mostly northbound)
Sooty Shearwater 500 (noticeable northbound movement all day long)
Black-vented Shearwater 1
Brown Pelican 250
Brandt’s Cormorant 1
It was also an excellent day for marine mammals, with numbers of Fin Whales, a couple Humpbacks, Minke Whale, and at least one Bryde’s Whale, as well as a good-sized, cooperative group of Risso’s Dolphins.
–Paul Lehman, Dave Povey, Bruce Rideout, Matt Sadwoski, et al., San Diego
Comments are closed.