The San Diego pelagic trip on 14 May aboard “Legacy” and sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon Society took place under beautiful sea conditions. We explored out to the western edge of San Diego County waters. The light seas provided for fine looks at virtually all species and for excellent photographic opportunities. The biggest surprise was the loose group of 3 breeding-plumaged Black Terns at the inside of San Diego Trough. eBird lists with lots of photos will be posted in the next couple days.
Offshore totals for the day were as follows:
Brant 16 (northbound)
Red-necked Phalarope 170
Red Phalarope 18 (incl. in full breeding plumage)
Pomarine Jaeger 2
Cassin’s Auklet 29
Scripps’s Murrelet 68 (excellent total, and incl. large chicks)
Sabine’s Gull 2
Heermann’s Gull 5
Western Gull 180
California Gull 15
Herring Gull 1 (getting late; first-cycle)
BLACK TERN 3 (breeding plumage; 17.8 mi off Point Loma)
Least Tern 25 (good number well offshore)
Royal Tern 2
Elegant Tern 350
Pacific Loon 31 (northbound flocks)
Northern Fulmar 8 (starting to look worn and tattered)
Pink-footed Shearwater 38
Sooty Shearwater 48
Black-vented Shearwater 3
Ashy Storm-Petrel 4 (good comparisons with Blacks)
Black Storm-Petrel 300
Brandt’s Cormorant 1
Brown Pelican 180
Great Blue Heron 1
passerine sp. 1
_____________________________________________
–Paul Lehman, Dave Povey, Nancy Christensen, Pete Ginsburg, Matt Sadowski, et al.
On Sunday, 24 April, a half-day San Diego pelagic trip aboard “Legacy” and sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon Society ventured out to the 9-Mile Bank area. Seas were moderate at first, but improved later in the morning. Northbound shearwaters are clearly moving through the area, and Northern Fulmars continue in good numbers. A surprising lack of alcids. The lone rarity of the trip was an adult Masked/Nazca Booby (probably Nazca) unfortunately seen and photographed by only a single observer as it crossed way behind the boat.
Offshore totals for the 6 hours:
30 Surf Scoter 2 Mourning Dove 5 Whimbrel [3 Surfbirds–jetty] 20 Western Sandpiper 40 Red-necked Phalarope 1 Pomarine Jaeger 1 Parasitic Jaeger 1 Bonaparte’s Gull 10 Heermann’s Gull 80 Western Gull 7 California Gull 1 Glaucous-winged Gull 9 Royal Tern 250 Elegant Tern 50 Pacific Loon 22 Northern Fulmar 30 Pink-footed Shearwater 50 Sooty Shearwater 150 Black-vented Shearwater 10 Black Storm-Petrel 1 MASKED/NAZCA BOOBY (probably Nazca–will view photos in near future) 2 Brown Booby 250 Brown Pelican 30 Brandt’s Cormorant 4 Double-crested Cormorant
–Paul Lehman, Dave Povey, Justyn Stahl, Dan Jehl, Tom Blackman, et al., San Diego
The October 3rd San Diego pelagic trip sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon Society aboard “Legacy” out of Mission Bay, out to the edge of San Diego County waters around 33 miles offshore, enjoyed nice weather and several good birds. We had extended views of a casual WILSON’S STORM-PETREL at the border between the sw. 30-Mile Bank and “The Corner,” two separate very rare MASKED BOOBIES at and inside the 9-Mile Bank, and a dozen LEAST STORM-PETRELS at the 30-Mile Bank and The Corner. Also several Brown Boobies and a pleasing number of jaegers. Lots of photos forthcoming with eBird reports when ready soon. Overall numbers of many species were rather low. Offshore (beyond 2 miles) totals for the trip were:
Sanderling 4
Red-necked Phalarope 100
Pomarine Jaeger 18
Parasitic Jaeger 9
jaeger sp. 4
Cassin’s Auklet 5
Rhinoceros Auklet 1
Sabine’s Gull 1
Heermann’s Gull 20
Western Gull 300
California Gull 4
Common Tern 5
Elegant Tern 150
Common Loon 1
WILSON’S STORM-PETREL 1 (32.631, -117.778; border between 30-Mile Bank and The Corner)
Black Storm-Petrel 90
Least Storm-Petrel 12
Pink-footed Shearwater 55
Black-vented Shearwater 3200
MASKED BOOBY 2 (approx. 2nd-year and 3rd-year birds; at n. end 9-Mile Bank and 7-1/2 miles W Mission Bay, respectively)
Brown Booby 3
Brown Pelican 75
Brandt’s Cormorant 11
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
passerine sp. 1
–Paul Lehman, Dave Povey, Todd McGrath, Tom Blackman, Jimmy McMorran, Matt Sadowski, Nancy Christensen, San Diego
The Sept 19th Buena Vista Audubon Society sponsored pelagic trip aboard “Legacy” out to the 9-Mile Bank, 30-Mile Bank, and “The Corner” was quite successful and took place under very pleasant weather and sea conditions. Highlights included fine views of a sub-adult Nazca Booby at the inner San Diego Trough, an adult Nazca Booby at the 30-Mile Bank, and a dark-morph immature Red-footed Booby at the outer San Diego Trough, as well as one Brown Booby; a total of 17 Least Storm-Petrels seen well and with good comparisons scattered mostly on the 30-Mile Bank and at The Corner, 1 Townsend’s Storm-Petrel in the SD Trough, about 8 Leach’s Storm-Petrels at the 30-Mile and The Corner, an unseasonal Northern Fulmar, 3 Sabine’s Gulls, and plenty of jaegers of three species. Totals offshore were:
Northern Pintail 17
Red-necked Phalarope 7
Pomarine Jaeger 20
Parasitic Jaeger 11
Long-tailed Jaeger 1 or 2
jaeger sp. 12
murrelet sp. 3
Rhinoceros Auklet 1
Sabine’s Gull 3
Heermann’s Gull 3
Western Gull 250
California Gull 1
Common Tern 40
Elegant Tern 150
Leach’s Storm-Petrel 8 (incl. mostly white and mostly dark rumped birds)
For additional information and the 2022 schedule (not posted until early 2022), see sandiegopelagics.com –Paul Lehman, Dave Povey, Bruce Rideout, Matt Sadowski, Justyn Stahl, et al., San Diego
The San Diego pelagic trip on Saturday, 14 August, aboard “Legacy” and sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon Society, out to the 30-Mile Bank and “The Corner” was very successful! Reasonably good sea conditions, excellent birds, and more bird activity for much of the day than has been the norm in recent times! A major highlight certainly was the 6 (possibly 7) COOK’S PETRELS scattered during the day, with good views and including birds as close to shore as the eastern San Diego Trough. Also good looks at various TOWNSEND’S STORM-PETRELS–as many as 8+ birds–a high count of approx. 30 Leach’s Storm-Petrels, 2 Ashy Storm-Petrels, a BLACK TERN and a young ARCTIC TERN with Common Terns, some 5 LONG-TAILED JAEGERS, 5 Sabine’s Gulls of varying ages, 2 rare-in-summer NORTHERN FULMARS, some 8 CRAVERI’S MURRELETS (mostly only in flight), a rare-in-August Scripps’s Murrelet, and 8 Brown Boobies. Unfortunately, a single LEAST STORM-PETREL was seen by just a very few observers. Several Surfbirds were on the Mission Bay jetties. Copious photos from the trip will be posted with the e-Bird reports in a few days, and elsewhere. Totals for the day beyond 2 miles offshore were:
Red-necked Phalarope 60
Pomarine Jaeger 1
Long-tailed Jaeger 5 (scattered)
Scripps’s Murrelet 1 (very rare this late in season)
Craveri’s Murrelet 8 (scattered, seen almost only in flight)
murrelet sp. 4
Cassin’s Auklet 3 (poor views)
Sabine’s Gull 5
Heermann’s Gull 12
Western Gull 160
Black Tern 1 (30-Mile Bank)
Common Tern 16
Arctic Tern 1 (30-Mile Bank)
Elegant Tern 500
Ashy Storm-Petrel 2
Leach’s Storm-Petrel 30 (including many dark-rumped “Chapman’s” types)
Townsend’s Storm-Petrel 8
Black Storm-Petrel 80
Least Storm-Petrel 1
COOK’S PETREL 6 (1 at the Corner that put on a good show, 2 on 30-Mile Bank, 3 in SD Trough to within about 18 miles of shore)
Northern Fulmar 2
Pink-footed Shearwater 170
Sooty Shearwater 25
Black-vented Shearwater 250
Brown Booby 8
Brown Pelican 17
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Also, brief views of Fin, Briede’s, Humpback, and probably Minke Whales.
The September pelagic sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon aboard Legacy is full, but the early October trip still has space and has the same good potential.
—Paul Lehman, Dave Povey, Bruce Rideout, Dan Jehl, Gary Nunn, and the many participants; San Diego
The San Diego pelagic trip on 15 May, sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon Society and aboard “Legacy,” went out to approximately 30 miles offshore–to the 30-Mile Bank and “the Corner.” It was a good day offshore, with light seas, nice neutral-lighting overcast, good photography, and a reasonable number of birds to look at almost all day long. Offshore (beyond 2 miles) totals were as follows:
Red-necked Phalarope 125
Scripps’s Murrelet 41 (including a couple fully-grown young with parents, providing excellent views and photos)
Cassin’s Auklet 12
Rhinoceros Auklet 1
Sabine’s Gull 2
California Gull 1
Western Gull 200
Least Tern 12
Forster’s Tern 1
Royal Tern 15
Elegant Tern 250
Pacific Loon 40 (northbound migrants)
Ashy Storm-Petrel 10
Black Storm-Petrel 420
Northern Fulmar 1 (dark)
Pink-footed Shearwater 32 (mostly northbound)
Sooty Shearwater 500 (noticeable northbound movement all day long)
Black-vented Shearwater 1
Brown Pelican 250
Brandt’s Cormorant 1
It was also an excellent day for marine mammals, with numbers of Fin Whales, a couple Humpbacks, Minke Whale, and at least one Bryde’s Whale, as well as a good-sized, cooperative group of Risso’s Dolphins.
–Paul Lehman, Dave Povey, Bruce Rideout, Matt Sadwoski, et al., San Diego
This is the Buena Vista Audubon pelagic birding trip report for Oct. 4, 2020.
Twenty-six birders and two leaders met at Seaforth Landing in Mission Bay. Paul Lehman did an orientation to the boat and shared general offshore etiquette and some seabird locating and viewing hints, while Bruce Rideout did the manifest sign-in and eBird checklist sign-up. We then boarded the 80ft. Legacy, stowed gear, and departed as scheduled. My thanks to all birders who show up with time to allow all the pre- departure routine to get done, allow loading, and shoving off on time.
The marine forecast was about as good as it gets. We did have a good size swell, but on a nice long interval. I don’t think most passengers were even aware of the swell. The “fly in the ointment” was fog. More about that in a minute, but skies were mostly clear at the landing and for a short distance offshore. Once we left the dock, we passed Mission Bay’s live bait receivers. These store sardines, anchovies, mackerel and the like for the fishing fleet. Those small fish often escape the transfer from receivers to boats and that attracts the fish eaters, providing nice views and great photo opportunities for pelicans, cormorants, gulls, herons, egrets, and the ubiquitous California Sea Lions. Once clearing the basin and entering the channel, we headed over to the river overflow wall to check out a group of Elegant and Royal Terns. This is a nice spot to compare these two similar tern species. I think these terns are easier to separate and identify when sitting side by side than when seen singly in the air.
The surprise here was six Surfbirds. They are somewhat regular wintering birds here in small numbers. The Mission Bay jetties are one of the most reliable local spots to find them. Surfbirds breed in the mountains of Alaska and winter along the west coast of North America. Some Surfbirds move past us to winter all the way down in southern South America. We also had a solo Black Turnstone here; a common rocky shoreline bird and much more widespread than Surfbird. While we were looking at the Surfbirds and terns, we also had a flyby Black Oystercatcher. This large rocky shoreline bird is rare but regular year around off San Diego. This is likely the same bird we saw a couple of weeks ago on the same jetty. I’d not seen Black Oystercatchers on the Mission Bay Jetties prior to that trip. That is of interest as they are somewhat regularly seen at La Jolla to the north and the San Diego Bay (Zuniga) Jetty to the south. They do breed on the Coronado Islands just across the border, and some may wander to the mainland, as I’ve seen them several times on the open ocean between the islands and the beach. They have turned up as far north as the Oceanside jetty.
We then headed offshore and within a couple miles hit the fog wall. Dang it all. I do mean the “wall”; visibility was sometimes down to a hundred feet or less. Paul jokingly said if anyone on the bow sees an iceberg, let us know. We are sure spoiled about ocean conditions off San Diego. Fog is not rare here but is usually thin, patchy, and burns-off fairly early in the day. Not today; we spent the next three plus hours staring into the mist. Looking up we could see blue sky. Looking out from the boat the most we could see was an occasional bird silhouette. By the time the silhouettes were called out, they had disappeared into the gray. We covered some productive waters with little to show for the effort. Even the chummed gull flock lost track of us as we moved down the Nine Mile Bank and into the San Diego Trough. The San Diego Trough had patches of open air, at times allowing visibility out to maybe a quarter mile or so; just enough to allow us a hint of what was there before shutting down again. We did pick up a few things, such as Black-vented Shearwaters. We almost certainly went through mobs of them in the fog, but recorded few. A couple Pink-footed Shearwaters were also seen, but this species is more common offshore, so we would do better out here. Then Black Storm-Petrels were seen here and there, but not in the concentration we’d hoped for. Black Storm-Petrel is our most common storm-petrel and usually we make a point of studying its shape and flight style to separate the other all dark storm-petrels, such as Ashy (not seen today), Leach’s (chapmani), and Least Storm-Petrels ( also not recorded today).
We did pick up a few expected species, including Red and Red-necked Phalaropes, a somewhat late Sabine’s Gull in a small flight of Elegant Terns, and a few Cassin’s Auklets. The latter species was mostly absent all summer and early fall. We actually felt like we could see some distance from the boat by the time we hit the so-called “corner” (a bend in the U.S.-Mexico border) thirty some odd miles from Point Loma, and the dividing line between San Diego County and Los Angeles County. We turned at this point and started back to the east. BINGO ! We got a bonus bird, a RED-FOOTED BOOBY flew down the length of the boat, circled, and made several passes. I really think it had in mind to land. This species often takes advantage of whatever floats. Boats work nicely, but floating kelp, a log, even a basking sea turtle will work. This bird was the common color morph found off western Mexico, kind of a warm coffee with cream color. The base of the bill was pink and the facial skin a bright blue. It was an immature, as the feet were a soft pink, not yet the bright red of an adult. This bird was nearly identical to the Red-footed Booby seen on the same bank, some ten miles to the north, and two weeks back. Could it be? Not likely, but as these guys cover pretty wide distances, it’s not impossible.
While we were maneuvering on this bird for photos, a Cassin’s Auklet came dashing into our wake. We stopped, thinking we’d get some distant photos, but then it worked its way over to the boat. That is a bit odd, as Cassin’s Auklets usually flee large objects such as the boat and seem terrified by the large gull flocks we attract. Not so this little guy. We got some of the best photos of a Cassin’s Auklet I’d ever seen. Once back underway, we saw a “gull” sitting on the water, which turned out to be a bright white-morph Northern Fulmar feeding on a dead fish floating at the surface. This bird did not want to give up its treasure, so again we got nice photos. It was in nice clean plumage, so must have recently arrived. We do occasionally get summering Northern Fulmars, but if they survive, they look pretty ratty by this time of the fall season.
We proceeded in a straight line back into the San Diego Trough, and then back toward the Nine Mile Bank. About half way across the Trough the call went up that the RED-FOOTED BOOBY was coming back up the wake. But it was quickly apparent this was a different bird from the first. It had a pale tail and rump unlike the first bird, and different wing molt pattern, but most conclusive was that the bill was all dark gray, as was the facial skin. This bird’s behavior was also different in that it clearly was after food, and it returned to our chummed gull flock repeatedly, providing lots of photo opportunities. Could the once very rare Red-footed Booby reach junk bird status here? I don’t think so!
The Nine Mile Bank had a few Black Storm-Petrels and one smaller stormie, which photos proved to be a chapmani Leach’s Storm-Petrel. That was disappointing, as we had a number of Least Storm-Petrels at this location two weeks ago (see the trip report dated Sept. 19, 2020). We did pick up a few things missed on the last pass through this area. First, a nice adult Pomarine Jaeger, then the first of nine Brown Boobies in all plumages, immature, adult female, and adult male. The adult male was the brewsteri subspecies from western Mexico, which has a frosted white head and neck, making it easy to identify from a fair distance. After that, we had a solo Sooty Shearwater, followed by an adult Herring Gull, which is not a rarity here but is much less common than Herring Gulls on the east coast. This bird was a bit on the early side and our first of the season. We also had nice looks at the abundant Black-vented Shearwaters as we traveled back inshore. We had seen some earlier, but not very well in the transit through the fog.
This is the trip report for Saturday, 19 September 2020. Forty-two passengers and two leaders met at Seaforth Sportfishing Landing in Mission Bay and boarded the 80-foot Legacy. Our weather forecast was dicey. The wind prediction was west at 10 kts increasing to 15 during the day, but winds in the bay this morning were near calm. The offshore swell, though not large, was a mixed direction and short interval. We made the decision to push as far offshore as quickly as possible, then work our way inshore with the weather and seas at our back. The Legacy is a bit quicker boat than the usual, so we made a beeline west. This was not the most comfortable ride, but we traded the shortest distance out for a much better ride in the afternoon when the winds did in fact match the forecast. We did not tarry on the many Black-vented Shearwaters we found just out of the bay. These are our local shearwater, typically seen inshore and by far the most numerous species for the day. We had much better looks in the afternoon on our return.
We did see a few Pink-footed Shearwaters and distant Black Storm-Petrels on the way out, but stuck with the plan to get offshore before the winds arrived. Fortunately, an adult female Brown Booby came in near the bow and circled around the right side as we passed. The bird even made a pursuit plunge while we watched. She missed breakfast on that dive. Sexes of Brown Booby in our local subspecies brewsteri are easily separable: the adult females have an all brown head and neck with a yellow bill and facial skin, while the males have a frosted gray head and bluish facial skin. The frosted white head can be discerned at great distance even with the naked eye. The danger there, in the excitement of a flyby adult male Brown Booby, is that it might get called a Blue-footed Booby. That species is far more rare here. Now that Booby sightings are somewhat regular on pelagic trips off southern California, study of booby differences prior to a trip is a must. Today this female was the trip’s only Brown Booby.
We made it most of the way across the San Diego Trough with not a lot to show but were now confident that we could make the Thirty Mile Bank before the wind made travel farther west difficult if not impossible. The call went out that a Red-footedBooby was coming up the wake, then high along the right side of the boat, and finally over the bow and off to our front. Nice looks at a great bird for San Diego, or anywhere in California. This bird was an immature with an all “coffee with cream” colored body and a pinkish bill base. No red feet at this age. Red-footed Booby is smaller billed, rounder headed, and daintier-looking than our other booby species. Red-footed Booby has a widespread distribution in the tropics. There are several subspecies, several color morphs, and different plumages at different ages. Any adult booby with red feet should not be a difficult identification, though the feet are not always seen when the bird is in flight. Subadults can be more challenging, but the pink base of the bill is a great help here. This Red- footed Booby was the best bird for the day. Like all species of boobies, they have been on the increase in recent years with warming waters.
The Thirty Mile Bank turned out to be a bit of a dud today. We circled north along the ridge, where on past trips we’ve had rafts of storm-petrels. Today a few scattered Black and Leach’s Storm-Petrels were the best we could do. Moving south we picked up a few more birds, including a few more Pink-footed Shearwaters and a couple of Pomarine Jaegers,but overall it was fairly quiet. We did try a brief run to the west to the area we call the “Corner”. We had no particular target species there, and as the wind was now approaching the forecasted speeds, we gave that up and moved east. That direction had a more comfortable ride. Almost immediately we had a smallish jaeger come racing down the left side of the boat and into the stern, and was gone. Good thing Jimmy McMorran was fast on the camera. The two white outer primary shafts, the stubby thick bill, and scaly under-tail coverts and belly revealed that it was an immature Long-tailed Jaeger. This can be another tough species to find inside the Southern California Bight. Most migrate well to the west of us, often following along with the Arctic Tern migration. We did pick up a few terns today, but all were identified as Common Terns. They are favorite target with pirating jaegers. After a couple more Pomarine Jaegers, we picked up our first all dark Parasitic Jaeger, with the standard short, pointed, central tail feathers. Not a bad day for jaegers, with all three species and maybe a dozen or so individuals, though not all close enough to identify.
Paul Lehman was sharp-eyed as we approached the outer edge of the Nine Mile Bank. First he picked up on a number of Black Storm-Petrels, then on a few smaller Least Storm-Petrels. Black Storm-Petrels are our default storm-petrel. We see them around all the deep-water escarpments and canyons, sometimes in the thousands, and at times close enough to shore to be seen by the coast watch folks with scopes. They are large and dark brown or black as the name implies. They have a steady bounding nighthawk like flight and can sail and glide with the wind to almost mimic a small shearwater. They look big winged and short tailed.
Least Storm-Petrels are in some ways like a miniature version of a Black Storm-Petrel, appearing big winged, short tailed (often looking almost tailless), but if seen well, the tail is actually wedge-shaped, unlike our other species here, which have a notched tail. Least Storm-Petrel’s flight style is a deep steady wing stroke, like that of a small bat. Their tiny size is pretty unmistakable when seen together with Black Storm-Petrels. Both Black and Least Storm-Petrels are primarily Mexican breeders. Black Storm-Petrels breed on the Coronado Islands just to our south, but a few breed north of the border to Santa Barbara Island. Least Storm-Petrels nest on islands well down the western Baja California coast and into the Sea of Cortez, where they can be seen in very large numbers at times. Here off San Diego they can be somewhat regular in small numbers in the fall, but are sporadic from year to year: in some yearsthey show up in big numbers, while in others years they are absent completely. It was nice to count about six on the outer Nine Mile Bank today.
We moved up the bank to the northwest, picking up a solo Sooty Shearwater, which was odd as they were present in good numbers in the spring and early summer. They move north through our waters and then return to the southern hemisphere by another route, but it is not at all unusual to get a handful in the fall. We also got our only Sabine’s Gull for the day. This bird was a juvenile. Sabine’s Gulls are arctic breeders, and September is usually a prime month to see them here. This year many adults were seen moving through in early August. Not sure what that means for their breeding this year, but at least this young one was a product of the season. Speaking of lone birds, only had one Red Phalarope today! That’s just odd. We had plenty of Red-necked Phalaropes but only having a single Red Phalarope in September is just strange. Maybe all this smoke we’ve suffered through has botched up their movements this fall. Any way, having only one Red Phalarope, one Sooty Shearwater, and one Sabine’s Gull was just odd.
We did have one more ONE! This species is always hoped for and when seen is usually well offshore and rarely as a solo bird. We certainly did not expect a Buller’s Shearwater two and a half miles off Sunset Cliffs while on our way back into Mission Bay. It was startling to see this beautiful shearwater away from its more usual open ocean haunt. Buller’s Shearwaters are another southern hemisphere breeder and used to be called New Zealand Shearwater. They are a brilliant white below, blue gray above, have a classic dark gray M pattern to the upper wing, and a capped head. They are slim, with a buoyant and easy flight style. It was a great bird to end the day on and it cooperated by allowing photos on the water and in the air.
So today might have lacked in quantity but we certainly made up for it in quality, with a Red-footed Booby, Long-tailed Jaeger, Least Storm-Petrels, and a Buller’s Shearwater. NOT A BAD LIST! The ocean made us pay with rough seas but gave back with some very nice birds. We did look at the south Mission Bay Jetty on the way in and spotted a Black Oystercatcher and a Black Turnstone.
This is the report for the August 16, 2020 Buena Vista Audubon pelagic trip.
Twenty-seven passengers and two leaders met at Seaforth Landing in Mission Bay for our 7:00 AM departure. Seaforth is not a new location for pelagic trips, as this is the location for the San Diego Audubon Bird Festival trips each winter, but it is a new dock for our trips. Check in and orientation were all done with appropriate social distancing and seemed to go smoothly, with facemasks were worn by all.
The 80 ft. Legacy is a new boat for us, and unlike all other local pelagic birding charters we have used, is not a fishing boat. The Legacy was built in Washington State as a tour-type boat and is now used mainly for whale watching. Like anything new, this boat presents some challenges, but the positives aspects include abundant seating; a large salon area out of the weather with large windows; a speed of 11-12 knots compared to the usual 8.5 kts; and better visibility and space for the group leader on the intercom. Best of all, there is no competition with fishing charters for trip scheduling.
We loaded-up and departed to check out the Mission Bay bait receivers just beyond the docks, where we found the usual suspects, such as pelicans, cormorants, herons, egrets, and gulls. Departing the bay’s jetty was smooth, although a last minute change to the forecast gave us a southwest breeze that increased during the day, giving us a crosshatched sea surface that made the ride less comfortable than we’d expected. Nothing serious, but we get spoiled with nice seas so much of the time. This also made finding small alcids on the surface tough before we drove over them.
The first “seabird” offshore was a group of Red-necked Phalaropes along the scum line from the tide change this morning. The first few were followed by a half dozen more, then by more and more extending off into the distance. Red-necked Phalaropes are early returnees from subarctic breeding areas. They spend the majority of their lives at sea picking plankton from the surface. They pass through here in the fall and are largely south of us by early winter. We also had a few Red Phalaropes today, generally a little farther offshore than the Red-necked. Red Phalaropes breed higher in the arctic and arrive in numbers later in migration. Most years a few winter locally. The next seabird seen was Black-vented Shearwater. These guys are our local shearwater. They are most abundant in the near-shore waters, but a few scattered birds can be found well out into the California Bight. Black-vented Shearwaters breed on a few islands off the west coast of Baja California. Post breeding dispersal is into our area and as far north as Point Conception. Their numbers will increase into fall and winter, when they often become abundant, and are often seen in large numbers from shore. Mass feeding concentrations are occasionally seen that may range into the tens of thousands. They were the most common seabird we saw offshore today.
We arrived at the north end of the Nine Mile Bank to find a little more life. As we moved off into the deep-water side of the bank, we found a mix of Pink-footed, Sooty, and Black-vented Shearwaters. Pink-footed and Sooty Shearwaters are wanderers from the southern hemisphere. Actually, wanderer is the wrong word as they come here with purpose: They feed, fatten, and molt here, then return south to breed in the southern hemisphere summer. Pink-footed Shearwaters are from the Juan Fernandez Islands off Chile, while Sooty Shearwaters breed on a number islands off Australia, New Zealand, and South America. Some of these Sooties may have the animal world’s longest annual migration, as shown by some satellite-tagged birds that have done a figure eight transit of the entire Pacific Ocean. Pink-footed Shearwaters increase here in the summer and fall before returning south. Sooty Shearwaters pass through here in their biggest number in spring then decline into fall.
Our trip took then us out across the San Diego Trough. This is a ten-mile wide, 3500 ft. deep, trough that runs mainly northwest to southeast. The bottom here is flat and featureless, which often makes it the quietest portion of the trip, but once in a while it will turn up some interesting birds. Today it provided our only look at Sabine’s Gulls. These are beautifully patterned black, white, and gray gulls that live in a world of rather dull brown and gray seabirds. Sabine’s Gulls breed in the high Arctic and those migrating down the west coast of North America spend the winter off the west coast of South America. We also got a good look at a Pomarine Jaeger that was sitting among a group of resting Pink-footed Shearwaters. Pomarine Jaegers are also Arctic breeders. “Poms” as they are often called, are our most common jaeger in the offshore waters. We sometimes get large numbers of them during migration and usually have a few stay for the winter. They are quite capable of catching their own food but prefer to pirate their food from terns, small gulls, and shearwaters.
Crossing the Trough we arrived at the edge of the Thirty Mile Bank, a two thousand foot rise from the floor of the trough, with a few spots along the ridge rising to within 750 feet of the surface. There were a fair number of storm-petrels here, including three of our expected storm-petrel species. The large, big-winged, short tailed, and all dark Black Storm-Petrels breed on our local islands off Baja California. Black Storm-Petrels are far and away the most numerous storm-petrels, ranging from the inshore waters out to perhaps 60 miles or so. A few Black Storm-Petrels were seen today as close as the inside of the Nine Mile Bank. Next seen were a few Leach’s Storm-Petrels. Most of these were the chapmani subspecies of Leach’s. The white rump patch is highly variable from bird to bird. A white smudge on the sides of the rump is the most common pattern, but it can range from all dark to bright white, usually divided by a dark strip down the middle of the rump. These birds have a rather dark brown body, long narrow wings, and a medium-length forked tail. They are smaller than the Black Storm-Petrels and have a manic, rapid, zig-zaggy flight compared to the more relaxed flight of a Black Storm-Petrel.
The last of the three regular storm-petrels today was the Ashy Storm-Petrel. This is a brownish storm-petrel, with a shorter wing and a long tail that may show a buffy rump patch. The under-wing coverts are a light gray. Ashy’s fight style is fast and rather direct, with a shallow wing beat. They are smaller than Black Storm-Petrels and a little less boat friendly. Generally we see more Leach’s Storm-Petrels in the late summer and fall, and more Ashy Storm-Petrels in the spring and early summer. Black Storm-Petrels are here from late winter until early November.
Then, just to liven things up a bit, we had a Least Storm-Petrel as we worked our way up the bank later in the day. This is a Mexican species that barely makes it into California’s waters. We got a very nice, though rather brief, look at it. Least Storm-Petrels are tiny, all dark, “big” winged, and short-tailed, sometimes looking like they have no tail as they move rapidly away with a steady deep wing beats. We search for these each year and sometimes miss them or see very few. Then, in other years, we may see very large numbers on the Thirty Mile Bank. Least Storm-Petrels associate regularly with Black Storm Petrels, less so with our other two species of storm-petrel.
While we were sorting through the storm-petrels, Paul Lehman called out an Arctic Tern over the PA system, close in at 11 o’clock. It turned out there were actually two adults – great birds for San Diego waters. Arctic Terns are another northern breeder and much of the western population passes well off our shore, often out over the shelf edge some 150 miles to our west. Few make it into the Southern California Bight, which makes them a tough bird to get in San Diego waters.
We drove over the high part of the Thirty Mile bank and into the “Corner”. This area is the spot where the border between the United States and Mexico makes a radical left hand (southerly) turn. This is also the spot where San Diego County and Los Angeles meet. In the old days, once you were three nautical miles from shore you were in international waters. Then, in 1982, that changed to a 12 nm contiguous zone and a 200 nm economic zone. This led to a change in the international and County borders offshore: between Point Loma and the Coronado Islands; between the Coronado Islands and San Clemente Island; and finally between San Clemente Island and Guadalupe Island. The end result was this sharp bend in the border and the creation of the area we now call The Corner. It also meant that San Clemente Island was in LA County, with the County line half way between the Island and San Diego. Complicated? Yes. Anyway, we found two more terns on a floating patch of kelp. These were LA County Common Terns. In spite of the name, they are not all that common. Care must be taken distinguishing Common Terns from the very similar Arctic Tern. A complete treatise on the difference is best left to the field guides, but I find that the easiest feature to start with is the underwing, which shows a smudgy black trailing edge to the primaries in Common Terns, and a very thin and neat black edge on in Arctic Terns. Common Terns often show a dark wedge in the upper primaries as well, where the Arctic does not. Overly simple, but useful. We did get some additional Common Terns back in San Diego county later in the day.
We also had a bit of a surprise with a flyby Pelagic Cormorant out here in no-man’s-land. In spite of the name, Pelagic Cormorants are not at all pelagic. They are usually found close to shore, and along rocky coasts. Like all cormorants, they must return to land to dry their feathers, otherwise they can become waterlogged, unable to fly, and will sink if they sit on the sea surface for too long. So what’s it doing out here at the Thirty Mile Bank? Our best guess is that it was transiting between Islands in the Southern California Bight.
We jogged back and forth up the bank for a nice look at a couple of Red Phalaropes, then stumbled on a pair of Craveri’s Murrelets, which flushed ahead of us. Craveri’s Murrelets are another Mexican species that most years just make it into Southern California waters. Some years they are absent, others years they move north of us. Paul worked to get us back on these guys, but the crosshatched wind wave and swell made it difficult and we only succeeded in flushing them a second time. Fortunately, we did get on a pair briefly later in the day for a few photos.
Starting back west across the top of the San Diego Trough we came on a Minke Whale that gave us a brief look before disappearing. Minkes are the smallest baleen whale and rather common, though not always seen. Their small blow and stealth attitude make them hard to find, which is helpful as they are the only baleen whale still hunted legally by some counties. Other marine mammals seen throughout the day included both Common and Bottle-nosed Dolphins.
The return to the Nine Mile Bank found several areas of breaking fish and a frenzy of bird activity, consisting mostly of Black-vented Shearwaters, Elegant Terns, and a mix of some others, such as several Brown Boobies. We also had two or three jaegers, including a near adult Long-tailed Jaeger seen right over the top of the boat. This is another species that passes well to our west most and is sometimes missed during migration. This bird caused confusion initially because it showed some dusky feathers in the neck, unlike the clean white throat and neck of an adult. We watched it make a couple of feeble attempts to harass Elegant Terns. They were just a little too big for the Long-tailed Jaeger.
One other jaeger here gave us a little confusion and excitement when the shout went out South Polar Skua! It was actually a very dark Pomarine Jaeger, not skua-like except for the dark coloration and large white wing flashes. Paul corrected our mistake quickly and we moved on to start our return to Mission Bay.
It was a nice mix of birds, a few rarities, and a manageable ocean today. We felt pretty good about the trip overall.
