The San Diego 11-hour pelagic trip on 26 August aboard “Legacy” and sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon Society made the usual route out to the Nine-Mile and 30-Mile Banks and “The Corner”–out to about 34 miles offshore. A mass of thousands of feeding shearwaters and other birds only 5-6 miles offshore was spectacular. As we neared that concentration, a light-morph Wedge-tailed Shearwater flew right up the side of the boat, establishing the fourth record for San Diego County of this casual visitor to California waters. The same mass of birds also included an adult or near adult Nazca Booby. Farther offshore was much quieter, but we did find a few Leach’s and single Townsend’s & Least Storm-Petrels, plus another adult booby that was just a bit too far to safely ID as either Nazca or Masked.

Totals for the day, once about a mile offshore were:

• Whimbrel:  25
• Marbled Godwit: 21 (single flock about 10 miles offshore)
• Western Sandpiper:  3
• Red-necked Phalarope:  90
• Pomarine Jaeger: 11
• Parasitic Jaeger:  2
• Sabine’s Gull: 6
• Heermann’s Gull:  25
• Western Gull:  250
• California Gull: 2
• Least Tern: 4
• Common Tern:  15  (scattered)
• Elegant Tern: 550
• Royal Tern:  2
• Leach’s Storm-Petrel:  13  (both light and dark rumped birds)
• Townsend’s Storm-Petrel:  1  (30-Mile Bank)
• Leach’s/Townsend’s Storm-Petrel:  3
• Black Storm-Petrel:  245
• Least Storm-Petrel: 1  (Nine-Mile Bank)
• Northern Fulmar: 1  (Nine-Mile Bank; rare in summer)
• WEDGE-TAILED SHEARWATER: 1  (ca. 5-1/2 mi W of Ocean Beach; 32.75, -117.35)
• Sooty Shearwater:  450  (good count for this time of year)
• Pink-footed Shearwater:  4500  (probably record high count for SD County)
• Black-vented Shearwater:  5000
• NAZCA BOOBY:  1  (adult ca. 5-1/2 miles off Mission Bay; excellent views)
• Nazca/Masked Booby:  1  (adult, just slightly too far to ID; 30-Mile Bank)
• Brown Booby:  5
• Brandt’s Cormorant:  3
• Double-crested Cormorant:  2
• Brown Pelican:  630
• Brown-headed Cowbird: 2
• ALSO:
• Neotropic Cormorant: 2  (stakeouts near the dock)
• Surfbird: 6  (jetties)
• Guadalupe Fur Seal: several

–Paul Lehman, Dave Povey, Dan Jehl, Dan King, Jimmy McMorran, Barbara Wise, San Diego

The San Diego pelagic trip on 6 August aboard “Legacy” and sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon Society took place under very nice weather and sea conditions. As is usual, we ventured out to the Nine-Mile Bank, across the San Diego Trough, to the 30-Mile Bank and “The Corner,” some 34 miles offshore. There were a reasonable number and variety of birds offshore, including such highlights as 5 Cook’s Petrels, 1 adult Nazca Booby, 2 Black-footed Albatrosses, plenty of Townsend’s & Leach’s and Ashy Storm-Petrels, 2 Long-tailed Jaegers, a getting-late Scripps’s Murrelet, 17 Craveri’s Murrelets, a surprising 5 summertime Northern Fulmars, 10 Common Terns and 2 offshore Forster’s Terns, and a good count of 15 Brown Boobies. Totals for the trip once we were over a mile or so offshore were:

• Semipalmated Plover  1
• Black Turnstone  1
• Least Sandpiper  1
• Western Sandpiper  1
• Red-necked Phalarope  135
• Red Phalarope  3
• Parasitic Jaeger  2
• Long-tailed Jaeger  2  (Nine-Mile Bank)
• jaeger sp.  2
• Scripps’s Murrelet  1  (getting late)
• Craveri’s Murrelet  17
• murrelet sp.  10
• Sabine’s Gull  8
• Heermann’s Gull  4
• Western Gull  40
• Common Tern  10
• Forster’s Tern  2  (unusual offshore; 13 mi W of Mission Bay)
• Elegant Tern  55
• Black-footed Albatross  2  (30-Mile Bank, SD Trough)
• Leach’s Storm-Petrel  10+  (incl. 7 “Chapman’s”)
• Townsend’s Storm-Petrel  7+  (30-Mile Bank & The Corner)
• Leach’s/Townsend’s Storm-Petrel  35  (a number may prove to be Townsend’s)
• Ashy Storm-Petrel  10
• Black Storm-Petrel  150
• Cook’s Petrel  5  (vic. 30-Mile Bank)
• Northern Fulmar  5  (scattered; unusual number for summer)
• Pink-footed Shearwater  105
• Sooty Shearwater  75
• Black-vented Shearwater  570
• Nazca Booby  1  (adult; The Corner)
• Brown Booby  15  (scattered; good count)
• Brown Pelican  4
• Rufous/Allen’s Hummingbird  2
• Blue Whale  1
• Minke Whale  2

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Paul Lehman, Dave Povey, Bruce Rideout, Alex Abela, Peter Ginsburg, Dan Jehl, San Diego

The San Diego pelagic trip on Saturday, 15 July, aboard “Legacy” out of Mission Bay and sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon Society took place under very pleasant conditions–good seas and nice marine overcast for much of the day. Our route took us out to the 9-Mile Bank, San Diego Trough, 30-Mile Bank, and “The Corner,” with about 10-15 minutes spent in L.A. County waters as well. Overall, bird numbers were much better than they had been for the past several weeks.

Totals for the offshore waters, once over a mile or so from shore, were as follows:

• Whimbrel  4
• Marbled Godwit  5
• Least Sandpiper  1
• Western Sandpiper  75
• dowitcher sp.  3
• Red-necked Phalarope  10
• Pomarine Jaeger  1  (30-Mile Bank)
• Heermann’s Gull  8
• Western Gull  55
• Least Tern  7  (including all the way to 30-Mile)
• Elegant Tern  65
• Scripp’s Murrelet  8  (including two pairs with large young; getting late)
• “Guadalupe” Murrelet  1  (30-Mile Bank; 32.66, -117.78; an “intermediate” bird likely from San Benito Island; possible genetic mixing with Scipps’s Murrelet; many photos; further discussion pending)
• Craveri’s Murrelet  14  (scattered)
• Cassin’s Auklet  13
• Rhinoceros Auklet  1  (30-Mile Bank; rare in summer)
• Black-footed Albatross  1  (in L.A. Co. waters at The Corner)
• Leach’s/Townsend’s Storm-Petrel  26  (good total; 8 white-rumped, 18 dark-rumped)
• Ashy Storm-Petrel  22  (good count)
• Black Storm-Petrel  135
• Northern Fulmar  2  (rare in summer; SD Trough, 9-Mile Bank)
• Pink-footed Shearwater  145
• Sooty Shearwater  190
• Black-vented Shearwater  35
• Brandt’s Cormorant  4
• Brown Pelican  8
• Rufous/Allen’s Hummingbird  1
• Blue Whale  several

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Paul Lehman, Dave Povey, Bruce Rideout, Alex Abela, Dan Jehl, Dan King

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

The San Diego pelagic trip on Sunday, May 7th, aboard “Legacy” and sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon Society, traveled out via the 9-Mile Bank to the edge of county waters at the 30-Mile Bank and “The Corner.” Seas were moderate on the way out and lightened up as the day went on and became quite a pleasant ride. Bird diversity was below average, with several surprising misses for May. Offshore totals for the trip (beyond a mile or so out) were as follows:

Greater Yellowlegs  1

shorebird sp. 10

Red-necked Phalarope  570  (many flocks heading north)

Scripps’s Murrelet  32

Cassin’s Auklet  58

Western Gull  260

California Gull  10

Least Tern  8

Royal Tern  2

Elegant Tern  200

Common Loon  2

Pacific Loon  40

Black Storm-Petrel  350

Sooty Shearwater  35

Brown Booby  7

Brandt’s Cormorant  2

Brown Pelican  45

hummingbird sp.  1

swallow sp.  1

Fin Whale  6

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–Paul Lehman, Dave Povey, Bruce Rideout, Tom Blackman, et al., San Diego

The San Diego pelagic trip on Sunday, 11 Sep, aboard “Legacy” and sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon Society was…..awesome! Well, certainly three hours of it in the morning were extra awesome. Sea conditions were surprisingly pleasant, post-“Hurricane KAY,” all day. Just several miles out to sea we had a very cooperative sitting RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD that allowed us to get quite close. That was followed by two separate sub-adult Nazca Boobies. Then, as we crossed the San Diego Trough in quick succession we had a BLUE-FOOTED BOOBY circle the boat–a casual visitor to coastal California–and then a casual, light-morph WEDGE-TAILED SHEARWATER–the third record for San Diego County and perhaps only around ten or so records for the state–which flew around and in front of the boat for an extended period. This was a new California bird for everyone on the boat except for two folks. Not too long after that an adult Nazca Booby appeared, followed immediately by a Red-footed Booby! Later on we added a Masked/Nazca Booby (photos will be examined further) and another Nazca! Also present were Least Storm-Petrels for much of the trip, a few exceedingly close to the boat, as well as a small-to-moderate number of Townsend’s and Leach’s Storm-Petrels and one Ashy Storm-Petrel. And then to cap it all off at the very end, there was an adult male MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD circling around near the dock when we returned!! Perhaps the strangest sight of the day, in a depraved sort of way, was the flock of five Killdeer that flew past the boat several miles offshore–not your typical “pelagic” species. We also had good looks at a Guadalupe Fur Seal.

Offshore totals for the day were as follows:

KILLDEER  5  (!!!)

Red-necked Phalarope  140

Red Phalarope  17

Pomarine Jaeger  6

Parasitic Jaeger  3

Cassin’s Auklet  1

Craveri’s Murrelet  3

Sabine’s Gull  3

Heermann’s Gull  8

Western Gull  400

California Gull  1

Common Tern  120  (good count)

Elegant Tern  125

RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD  1  (3.8 mi off n. Point Loma)

Leach’s Storm-Petrel  9

Townsend’s Storm-Petrel  8

Leach’s/Townsend’s Storm-Petrel  27

Ashy Storm-Petrel  1

Black Storm-Petrel  55  (low)

Least Storm-Petrel  95  (along entire route)

WEDGE-TAILED SHEARWATER  1  (21.8 to 21.3 mi W of tip of Point Loma)

Pink-footed Shearwater  48

Black-vented Shearwater  5000

MASKED/NAZCA BOOBY  1

NAZCA BOOBY  4  (high count; 1 immature, 2 sub-adults, 1 adult)

BLUE-FOOTED BOOBY  1  (21.7 mi W of  tip of Point Loma)

Brown Booby  7

RED-FOOTED BOOBY  1  (23.4 mi W of tip of Point Loma)

Brandt’s Cormorant 17

Brown Pelican  16

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Paul Lehman, Dave Povey, Bruce Rideout, Alex Abela, Jimmy McMorran, Gary Nunn

The San Diego pelagic trip on Saturday, 13 August, aboard “Legacy” and sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon Society visited the 9-Mile & 30-Mile Banks, San Diego Trough, and “The Corner,” out to the edge of San Diego County waters. The seas were moderate on the way out, but lightened the remainder of the day. It was a very good trip, with some of the highlights being a well-seen Cook’s Petrel at The Corner, at least three different Black-footed Albatrosses (The Corner, 30-Mile Bank, w. SD Trough), 3 or 4 Least Storm-Petrels (The Corner & 30-Mile), 1 Ashy, 12+ Townsend’s & 22+ Leach’s Storm-Petrels (some of which were closer to shore than usual, as close as the 9-Mile Bank), 11 Craveri’s Murrelets, 5 Long-tailed Jaegers, 9 Sabine’s Gulls, 1 Arctic Tern (30-Mile), a good count of 50 Common Terns, 3 Northern Fulmars (very rare at this time of year), and 9 Brown Boobies.

And we are on a roll!!!  For the THIRD scheduled pelagic trip in a row (June, July, August), despite our attempts to sift through flocks of Black-vented Shearwaters in hopes of finding a very rare Manx Shearwater, but to no avail, a Manx has indeed been found after the conclusion of the trip via folks looking carefully at their photos. This trip’s installment of the saga is courtesy of Barbara Wise, who studied her many trip photos from yesterday and found a Manx sitting in a large flock of Black-venteds in the eastern San Diego Trough.

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Offshore (beyond one mile out) totals for the day were as follows:

Red-necked Phalarope 135

Red Phalarope 3

Pomarine Jaeger 5

Long-tailed Jaeger 5

jaeger sp. 3

Craveri’s Murrelet  11

murrelet sp. 4

Cassin’s Auklet 12

Sabine’s Gull 9

Heermann’s Gull 13

Western Gull 140

Common Tern 50

ARCTIC TERN 1

Elegant Tern 180

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS 3

Leach’s Storm-Petrel 22

Townsend’s Storm-Petrel 12

Leach’s/Townsend’s Storm-Petrel 13

Ashy Storm-Petrel 1

Black Storm-Petrel 75

LEAST STORM-PETREL 3

Northern Fulmar 3

COOK’S PETREL 1

MANX SHEARWATER 1

Sooty Shearwater 14

Pink-footed Shearwater 40

Black-vented Shearwater 1200

Brown Booby 9

Brandt’s Cormorant 1

Brown Pelican 15

Also a Guadalupe Fur Seal.

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–Paul Lehman, Dave Povey, Bruce Rideout, Dan King, Gary Nunn, San Diego

The 16 July San Diego pelagic trip out to the 30-Mile Bank/The Corner area, aboard “Legacy” and sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon Society, was blessed with light seas and some good birds. The star of the show was the extremely cooperative Guadalupe Murrelet halfway across the San Diego Trough (32.626, -117.584; 19.9 miles W of tip Point Loma)–a species that is only casual within San Diego County waters. Only brief or distant views were had of a Red-footed Booby only a mile off Ocean Beach, of a Townsend’s Storm-Petrel along the outer edge of the 9-Mile Bank, and of a Black Tern in the San Diego Trough. The smooth seas were great for alcids, and we also had a super total of 77 Craveri’s Murrelets, which is possibly a new one-day record for the county (previous high 68?), 35 Cassin’s Auklets, and 2 Common Murres. Other highlights included two immature Long-tailed Jaegers at the 30-Mile Bank/The Corner, a falling-apart Northern Fulmar, two Sabine’s Gulls, and small numbers of both Leach’s (dark-rumped) and Ashy Storm-Petrels. Just after the trip, Nick Thorpe went through all his photos and discovered a MANX SHEARWATER he had photo’d at 9:22AM. At that time, we were down fairly close to the border and near the 9-Mile Bank. Congratulations to Nick for deducing the Manx from his photos, and lumps of coal to all the rest of us who missed this bird when it flew by…

Offshore totals for the day were:

Whimbrel 3

Western Sandpiper 17

Red-necked Phalarope 7

LONG-TAILED JAEGER 2

COMMON MURRE 2

GUADALUPE MURRELET 1

Craveri’s Murrelet 77

Cassin’s Auklet 35

Sabine’s Gull 2

Heermann’s Gull 1

Western Gull 120

BLACK TERN 1

Least Tern 2

Elegant Tern 275

Leach’s Storm-Petrel 7

TOWNSEND’S STORM-PETREL 1

Ashy Storm-Petrel 5

Black Storm-Petrel 250

NORTHERN FULMAR 1

MANX SHEARWATER 1

Pink-footed Shearwater 40

Sooty Shearwater 130

Black-vented Shearwater 1500

RED-FOOTED BOOBY 1

Double-crested Cormorant 3 Brown Pelican 50

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Paul Lehman, Dave Povey, Nancy Christensen, Jimmy McMorran, Gary Nunn, San Diego