The June 9th, 2019, Buena Vista Audubon pelagic birding trip on the Grande started off with wild hopes of Cook’s Petrels, given the recent sightings by Dave Povey in nearshore waters off northern Baja California. But the forecast for winds less than 10 knots throughout most of the day would make it much better for alcids.
We headed out of the bay and went straight across the San Diego Trough to the southern end of the 30-mile bank to increase our time in the outer limits of San Diego County waters, where most of the rare birds would be. Although we didn’t get a Cook’s Petrel, this strategy paid off in the end.
On the way out, we had the expected Sooty and Black-vented Shearwaters, as well as unusually good views of Cassin’s Auklets, which are often only distant whirring specks. Scripps’s Murrelet was a target bird for many, and we had good numbers and excellent views of those throughout the day as well.
The big payoff came a few hours into the trip with great views of an adult and apparent juvenile Craveri’s Murrelet. The great views can be attributed to the fact that the juvenile was likely still unable to fly, so the pair would only swim or dive as we approached. We stayed at a distance that afforded excellent views and time for studying the characteristics distinguishing Craveri’s from Scripps’s Murrelets, without unduly stressing the pair. Since this was a target bird for many onboard, an early success set a good tone for the day.
We also had good views of a white-rumped Leach’s Storm-Petrel early on, with several more Leach’s to follow, which allowed for nice comparisons of the structure and flight style with the more abundant Black and Ashy Storm-Petrels. We presume these Leach’s are subspecies chapmani based on the rump-pattern and the fact that it would be early for the more northerly breeding nominate subspecies or the more southerly breeding Townsend’s Storm-Petrel, but we still have a lot to learn about the status and distribution of these storm-petrels.
We had several Least Terns on the 30-mile bank, which is not unusual, but might not be a good sign regarding the availability of appropriately sized baitfish for breeding birds. Normally we would expect birds tending nestlings to forage as close to the nesting grounds as possible, and the 30-mile bank is a fair ways off for such a tiny bird. The biologists monitoring the nesting colonies are always interested in these offshore sightings.
There were some slow periods in the afternoon as we patrolled the 30-mile bank, but a Black-footed Albatross in the mid-afternoon provided a nice bit of excitement. The bird was very cooperative and made several close passes around the boat, affording great views and lots of nice photographs.
The late afternoon provided a nice marine mammal show, with the Common Dolphins doing acrobatics as they approached the boat for some bow riding, and we had good views of Fin and Blue Whales as well – a great end to a very nice day on the water.
Bruce Rideout
Buena Vista Audubon
sandiegopelagics.com
Offshore Species:
Black-footed Albatross: 1 (very good views near the south end of 30-Mile Bank)
Pink-footed Shearwater: 8 (low)
Sooty Shearwater: 180
Black-vented Shearwater: 75
Leach’s Storm-Petrel: 3 (30-Mile Bank)
Ashy Storm-Petrel: 45
Black Storm-Petrel: 450
Pacific Loon: 3 (northbound, basic plumage)
Double-crested Cormorant: 2 (well offshore)
Brandt’s Cormorant: 5
Brown Pelican: 14
Scripps’s Murrelet: 12
CRAVERI’S MURRELET: 2 (an adult and immature bird 30-Mile Bank)
Cassin’s Auklet: 130 (good number for June)
Heermann’s Gull: 2
California Gull: 1
Western Gull: 110
Least Tern: 6 (including several well offshore at 30-Mile Bank)
Elegant Tern: 150
Eurasian Collared-Dove: 1
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