The San Diego pelagic trip on Saturday, October 17, aboard “Legacy” out of Seaforth Landing and sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon Society was highlighted by boobies and storm-petrels. The actual avian highlight for many was a mammal: a pod of about 10 Orcas not far off Point Loma which had earlier killed a Fin Whale and were lollygagging right near our boat. An adult or near-adult Nazca Booby was at the 30-Mile Bank, and there were 6 Cocos Boobies scattered during the day, including one perched on the Mission Bay jetties. A good total of ca. 180 Least Storm-Petrels (scattered, but mostly at the 30-Mile Bank), plus a small number of dark-rumped Leach’s (seven). The 59 Sabine’s Gulls was a very good count, especially for this getting-late date. A Common Murre was just off Mission Bay, part of a recent influx of murres locally. Also a number of pelagic coots and grebes well offshore.
Offshore totals for the trip were as follows:
- Mourning Dove 1
- Eared Grebe 1
- Western Grebe 1
- American Coot 5 (as far offshore as 30-Mile Bank)
- Dunlin 22 (flock well offshore at “The Corner”)
- Red-necked Phalarope 220
- Red Phalarope 14
- Common Murre 1
- Cassin’s Auklet 33
- Sabine’s Gull 59
- Heermann’s Gull 10
- Western Gull 450
- California Gull 35
- Arctic Tern 1
- Elegant Tern 3 (low)
- Leach’s Storm-Petrel (dark-rumped) 7
- Black Storm-Petrel 65
- Least Storm-Petrel 180
- Sooty Shearwater 1
- Pink-footed Shearwater 11
- Black-vented Shearwater 600
- Nazca Booby 1
- Cocos Booby 6
- Brandt’s Cormorant 15
- Brown Pelican 14
- Peregrine Falcon 1
- Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
- Also: Orca, Humpback Whale, Calif. Flying Fish, Striped Marlin, Black Oystercatcher, Surfbird
Paul Lehman, Bruce Rideout, Dan Jehl, Alex Abela, Jimmy McMorran, Paul Mulholland, Nick Thorpe, San Diego
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