The San Diego pelagic trip on 6 June aboard “Legacy” out of Mission Bay and sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon Society traveled out to the 9-Mile and 30-Mile Banks and “The Corner” region under pleasant weather conditions. Highlights of the trip included well-seen Flesh-footed Shearwater and Manx Shearwater, both in the San Diego Trough, the former on the way out and the latter on the return. A first-year Masked/Nazca Booby came right up to the boat at the 30-Mile Bank. Telling Masked from Nazca in birds this young can be very difficult or near impossible, so photos will be sent out to other booby experts to see if there is any consensus of opinion. Several Craveri’s Murrelets flew by and several Scripps’s Murrelets were better seen with chicks. A high total of 35 Cocos Boobies were scattered over the entire route. Also, three Ashy Storm-Petrels and a good count (for June) of 11 Sabine’s Gulls. Several species of whales.
Totals for the day once we were over a mile offshore were as follows:
- Surf Scoter 14 (northbound)
- Red-necked Phalarope 1
- Pomarine Jaeger 1
- Scripps’s Murrelet 8
- Craveri’s Murrelet 5
- murrelet sp. 5
- Cassin’s Auklet 25
- Sabine’s Gull 11 (high for June)
- Heermann’s Gull 35
- Western Gull 250
- Common Tern 8
- Elegant Tern 330
- Pacific Loon 4 (northbound)
- Ashy Storm-Petrel 3
- Black Storm-Petrel 250
- Sooty Shearwater 4000
- Pink-footed Shearwater 550
- FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER 1 (20-1/2 mi W Point Loma)
- Manx Shearwater 1 (17 mi W Point Loma)
- Black-vented Shearwater 280
- Masked/Nazca Booby 1 (28-3/4 mi W Point Loma
- Cocos Booby 35 (high)
- Brandt’s Cormorant 8
- Brown Pelican 900
- Blue Whale 1
- Fin Whale 2
- Minke Whale 4
Paul Lehman, Nancy Christensen, Adrian Hinkle, Dan Jehl, Matt Sadowski, Patti & Sally, San Diego
Comments are closed.