August 24, 2002 Report
by Debi Shearwater
Hello, seabirders,
Our August 24th pelagic trip from Monterey Bay was our ninth trip of the fall season. It was a superb day, beginning with a HARLEQUIN DUCK in the harbor, a SURFBIRD and 6 BLACK TURNSTONES on the Coast Guard jetty. ELEGANT
TERNS, being chased by PARSITIC JAEGERS, and a few RED-NECKED PHALAROPES
were the usual species along the kelp beds bordering Cannery Row.
About 5 miles off of Point Pinos, we encountered a tremendous biomass of marine life that included thousands upon thousands of shearwaters, and more than 30
feeding whales. A single TUFTED PUFFIN was a real treat. Several hundred
dolphins thrilled many on board, especially the bow-riding Northern Right
Whale Dolphins. The leaders were: Ted Chandik, John Sorensen, Clay Kempf,
Debra Shearwater; chummer: Ryan Terrill. The complete species list follows.
BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS-45
SOOTY SHEARWATER-100,000+
PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER-150
BULLER'S SHEARWATER-10
POMARINE JAEGER-1
PARASITIC JAEGER-4
WESTERN GULL+
HEERMANN'S GULL+
CALIFORNIA GULL+
SABINE'S GULL-55
ELEGANT TERN-40
COMMON MURRE-300
PIGEON GUILLEMOT-2
RHINOCEROS AUKLET-25
CASSIN'S AUKLET-1
TUFTED PUFFIN-1
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE-24
SURFBIRD-1
BLACK TURNSTONE-6
HARLEQUIN DUCK-1
BLUE WHALE-10
HUMPBACK WHALE-33
PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN-80
NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHIN-200
RISSO'S DOLPHIN-480
HARBOR SEAL+
CALIFORNIA SEA LION+
SEA OTTER+
OCEAN SUNFISH
Our next trips with spaces available are from:
Monterey: Sep 1, 8 and 27; Oct 4, 6, 12, 19;
Santa Cruz: Sep 28 and Oct 13;
Bodega Bay: Oct 14.
To book your reservations,
call Debra Shearwater at 831/637-8527, or email her, or send a check for the trip that you prefer to:
Shearwater Journeys
PO Box 190
Hollister, CA 95024
Shearwater Journeys' forty+ leaders have extensive seabirding experience,
spanning more than 27 years, and the entire globe. Some leaders have worked
on hundreds of trips, a few have logged a thousand days at sea, and one
leader has spent the equivilant of 4 years at sea. In the past 27 years,
50,000 seabirders have joined a Shearwater Journeys' trip.
Come to sea with the seabird specialists!
Debi Shearwater
Click
on the Murrelet to find out how to reserve a trip.
