copyright 2003 Shearwater Journeys

Hello, Seabirders,

Friday, September 19th we departed from Bodega Bay with a sold out boat of folks. We headed to Bodega Canyon and then over to the north edge of Cordell Bank. The seas were high, with swells running from the northwest at 9-11 feet by late afternoon. The high seas did not allow us to pick up on any murrelets, however, we did have a good show of seabirds, especially flocks of 20-30 Ashy Storm-petrels on the water, mixed with Black, Fork-tailed, and Wilson's Storm-Petrels. A Flesh-footed Shearwater made a brief appearance. Sea surface temperatures were much cooler than in Monterey ~ 51-54F. Mostly, we were all glad to return to the steady dock!

Species recorded on September 19th:

Black-footed Albatross-26
Sooty Shearwater-34
Pink-footed Shearwater-79
Buller's Shearwater-27
Flesh-footed Shearwater-1
Northern Fulmar-61
Ashy Storm-Petrel-340
Black Storm-Petrel-1
Wilson's Storm-Petrel-7
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel-2
Pomarine Jaeger-12
Parasitic Jaeger-9
Long-tailed Jaeger-22
South Polar Skua-8
Western Gull-50
California Gull-250
Heermann's Gull-7
Sabine's Gull-7
Arctic Tern-1
Common Tern-1
Common Murre-42
Pigeon Guillemot-1
Rhinoceros Auklet-98
Cassin's Auklet-127
Red-necked Phalarope-80
Red Phalarope-17
Pacific White-sided Dolphin-2
Northern Right Whale Dolphin-12

Debra Shearwater