The Saturday, June 3rd, pelagic trip aboard “Legacy” and sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon Society traveled out to the outer edge of San Diego County waters at the 30-Mile Bank and “The Corner,” via the 9-Mile Bank and San Diego Trough. It was certainly a record day for Cook’s Petrels, many seen very well both in flight and sitting on the water, with the day’s total of 56 birds setting a new record for San Diego County waters. It also included two birds record close to shore, with one on the 9-Mile Bank some 11.5 miles off Point Loma and another just inside the 9-Mile Bank only 10 miles from Point Loma. Other highlights included 7 Arctic Terns (very rare in spring), 7 Leach’s Storm-Petrels (good count for this early in the season), 3 Craveri’s Murrelets, a rare-in-June Northern Fulmar, and 14 Ashy Storm-Petrels. Still good numbers of Scripps’s Murrelets present, two Brown Boobies, and single getting-late adult Sabine’s Gull and adult Pomarine Jaeger. Also a number of Blue Whales and one Fin Whale.
Totals for the day once a couple miles offshore were:
Pomarine Jaeger: 1 (northbound, Nine-Mile Bank)
Scripps’s Murrelet: 43
Craveri’s Murrelet: 3 (San Diego Trough)
murrelet sp.: 7
Cassin’s Auklet: 32
Sabine’s Gull: 1 (30-Mile Bank)
Western Gull: 40
Least Tern: 23
Arctic Tern: 7 (30-Mile Bank)
Elegant Tern: 110
Leach’s Storm-Petrel: 7 (30-Mile Bank)
Ashy Storm-Petrel: 14
Black Storm-Petrel: 170
Northern Fulmar: 1 (30-Mile Bank)
Cook’s Petrel: 56 (54 between SD Trough and 30-Mile Bank/The Corner, 2 on and just inside 9-Mile Bank)
Pink-footed Shearwater: 23
Sooty Shearwater: 280
Black-vented Shearwater: 28
Brown Booby: 2
Brown Pelican: 15
Brandt’s Cormorant: 5
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–Paul Lehman, Dave Povey, Bruce Rideout, Nancy Christensen, Dan King, Jimmy McMorran, San Diego
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