This four-hour long adventure gives us more time to travel farther offshore in search of pelagic birds, whales, and dolphins. Each trip has a local bird expert on board. At the end of our trips, we recap what we saw and make sure that we log what everyone saw as well. This trip is the perfect outing for the beginning birder, the expert, or for anyone who just loves the longer adventure.
These four-hour trips are aboard one of our fast, comfortable catamarans and provide optimal viewing of pelagic birds, whales, and dolphins.
Wonder what you will have a chance to see on your Whale Watching trip in Dana Point?
Juvenile Blue Heron
This young Blue Heron looks a lot like a snowy egret, but it’s a bit bigger and its feet and legs are the same color. Its blue primary feathers show near the edges of its wings. Very rare bird for our area.
Green Heron
Red footed Booby
Muscovy duck (feral species) from South and Central America. There is a domestic species in the USA and rare for our area.
The fledgling Fulmar is on its own two weeks after hatching. It doesn’t need its parents to feed it any longer. Incubation of the egg is 50 days. They primarily feed on fish, shrimp, squid and also scavenge.
Ring-billed gull
Heermann’s Gull
Heermann’s Gull
Western gull
Pomarine Jaeger
Pomarine Jaeger
Parasitic Jaeger
Parasitic Jaeger
Long-tailed Jaeger by Jay Spring
Coming soon
Sooty shearwater
Tern species that we see:
Least
Elegant
Forster
Common
Caspian
Royal
Arctic (we see those in winter)
A rare juvenile yellow-crowned night heron
A little bird told me…
When a baby bird is old enough to fly out of the nest it’s called a fledgling. Fledge means to fly for the first time.
On this trip we also assisted with a Masked Booby trail release from the Wetlands and Wildlife center in Huntington Beach, they had been rehabbing what they though was a Blue Footed Booby but later learned it is a masked Booby – ultimately the bird was not quite ready and his feathers were not waterproofed enough so they had to take him back to the center we are hoping for a later release- because of this cool release encounter we did not get to go out to the usual 14 mile bank Birding area, instead we went south off San Onofre Power plant.
We saw:
Masked Booby ( in a crate for release )
Heermann’s gulls
Ring-billed gulls
California gulls
Bonaparte’s gulls
Western gulls
Forster’s terns
Common loon (1)
Brandt’s cormorants
Double-crested cormorants,
Yellow-crowned night herons (3)
Black-crowned night herons
Great Egrets
Great blue herons
Sanderlings (3)
Black turnstone (1)
Brown pelicans
Black-vented shearwaters
Crows
Snowy egrets
Osprey (2)
Black oystercatchers (2)
Total species = 22
Today at Dana Wharf Whale Watch. Today was the 4-hour Birding trip. We searched the shoreline of the island and saw crows, pigeons and other common birds. We then searched the inside of the breakwater and found a Great Egret, a Great Blue heron, at least six Black Oyster-catchers, Western gulls, Brown Pelicans, adult and juvenile Herrmann’s gulls and other juvenile gulls. We headed for the 14-mile bank. We spotted a small pod of common dolphins. We saw very few birds until we got out near the bank. We spotted what we thought at first was three gulls standing on a kelp paddy. As we got closer one of the birds, to our surprise was a rare adult Nazca Booby. We got closer but if few off about a hundred yards ahead of us and landed on the water. We followed and got close to it, but it finally flew away. We found nothing on the bank so we headed down the coast parallel to the shore. We saw a pair of Aukletts in the distance but they disappeared when we got closer. We were seeing an occasional California gull. Captain Frank also spotted at a distance an Elephant seal floating with its head up. We tried to get closer but it sank out. Then Bernardo spotted a Parasitic Jeagar flying some distance to our left but we could not follow it. Then Frank spotted the floating carcass of a sea lion. There was a gull standing on top of it and two Northern Fulmars floating in the water next to it, and a third Fulmar was flying away from us off the bow. One was a light phase bird. On the 12:00 P.M. trip on the Ocean Adventures we spotted a pod of common dolphins above and a pod below the harbor. On the 2:00 P.M. trip we again saw common dolphins above the harbor. On the 5:00 P.M. trip we had a huge pod of common dolphins off of the harbor. They were first moving inshore and then turned up the coast. It was a beautiful day, especial in the morning with the offshore Santa Ana winds.
Overall count: Compiled
By Dave Beeninga and Robin Lowe
October 4th Pelagic Trip
In harbor:
2 blue herons
3 great Egret
8 snowy
15 western gulls
8 heerman’s
20 rock pigeons
8 crows
10 brown pelicans
1 yellow-crowned night heron
Jetties:
6 black oystercatchers
1 great egret
3 blue herons
20 western gulls
8 Heerman’s gulls
7 Brandt’s cormorants
10 double crested
40 Brown Pelicans
Nearshore:
6 western gulls
1 California gull
2 black-vented shearwaters
1 heerman’s gulls
Offshore:
1 Nazca booby
25 western gulls
1 common tern
2 Craveri’s murrelets
1 Parasitic Jaeger
3 Northern Fulmars
1 Sooty shearwater
6 black-vented shearwaters
We had a pretty spectacular pelagic birding trip aboard Dana Wharf’s Ocean Adventures out of Dana Point Harbor last Friday. Conditions were perfect with smooth seas and clear skies; some fog was present but far enough not to be a factor. We checked the inside and outside of the breakwater, then headed pretty much straight to the 14 Mile Bank, traveled east parallel to the coast for a while and then returned to Dana Point.
Overall numbers of birds were low again, but we had a nice variety. We saw very few birds from about four miles out to the bank. And the bank itself was completely deserted. But soon after leaving the top of the bank things began to happen. First, we found a small flock of storm-petrels that allowed a relatively close approach and allowed us to compare Ashy and Black Storm-petrels side by side, noting the difference in size and color. Next, we had the only pair of alcids for the day, a pair of Scripps’s Murrelets that also allowed a relatively close approach but made a point of only showing us their tail ends. When they took flight, we were able to see the dark underwing and I called them Craveri’s based on that. Later examination of my photos revealed that the underwing only appeared dark because of heavy molt.
The first of seven Sabine’s Gulls was an apparent second-year bird sitting on a kelp paddy. When it took flight, we were able to see the striking upperwing pattern. We then entered an area with close to 100 of Common Terns, with our first sighting being of a flock of nine sitting on the water in that front-heavy way that terns have. Two jaegers were in the same area, and although one was originally identified as a Parasitic, photos revealed both to be Long-tailed Jaegers. We also found a Red Phalarope that stayed close to a Red-necked Phalarope both on the water and in flight allowing for a nice comparison.
In the harbor at the beginning of the trip, we had most of the expected species, including one Yellow-crowned Night Heron, and one each Whimbrel, Long-billed Curlew, Black Turnstone, Spotted Sandpiper, and Willet, in addition to a half dozen Black Oystercatchers.
Numbers of pelagic sightings:
Red-necked Phalarope 13
Red Phalarope 1
Scripps’s Murrelet 2
Parasitic Jaeger 1
Long-tailed Jaeger 2
Sabine’s Gull 7
Heermann’s Gull 15
Western Gull 85
Common Tern 80
Elegant Tern 65
Pink-footed Shearwater 3
Sooty Shearwater 1
Black-vented Shearwater 87
Ashy Storm-petrel 4
Black Storm-petrel 7
Brandt’s Cormorant 40
Brown Pelican 15
Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching ran the second of what we hope will become monthly four-hour pelagic birding trips out of Dana Point on Friday, 26 July. Conditions were wonderful: calm seas with a gentle swell and good visibility in spite of some fog in the distance. We left the dock and checked out the entire length of the breakwater along the inside before heading pretty much straight to the 14 Mile Bank.
We were planning to head to the San Clemente Pier first where Capt. Frank had spotted a subadult Nazca Booby the day before. I canceled that part of the trip because I thought that the bird we had found on the breakwater was the same individual but closer examination of the photos later revealed that there are two Nazca Boobies in the area. Our bird was sitting near the edge of the breakwater among Brown Pelicans, Heermann’s Gulls, and Brandt’s Cormorants, about 150 meters from the end. While we were watching it, the bird jumped to the outside edge of the breakwater. We left the bird at approximately 08:30; when we returned at 11:50 it was sitting by itself on the very top of the breakwater, about 250 meters from the end.
We covered about 30 miles offshore and found extremely low numbers of birds but a pretty nice diversity. We had very good looks at a Red Phalarope that allowed nice comparisons with nearby Red-necked Phalaropes; we had great looks at a flock of six Cassin’s Auklets that flew across our bow, and had okay looks at a Parasitic Jaeger and unsatisfactory looks at a Pomarine jaeger and a Common Murre. We also had three Pink-footed Shearwaters, a species that we missed on the previous Saturday’s Sea and Sage pelagic.
Species and numbers seen further than 2 miles offshore:
6 Red-necked Phalarope
1 Red Phalarope
1 Pomarine Jaeger
1 Parasitic Jaeger
6 Cassin’s Auklets
1 Common Murre
1 Heermann’s Gull
15 Western Gull
1 Royal Tern
12 Elegant Tern
17 Black Storm-petrel
3 Pink-footed Shearwater
25 Sooty Shearwater
1 Black-vented Shearwater
That is 91 birds of 14 species. Additionally, we had Least Tern and Brandt’s Cormorant closer to shore and a flyby flock of 12 Whimbrels. The only shorebird on the breakwater other than Black Oystercatchers were a couple of Black Turnstones.
Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching Pelagic Bird Watching Tour—Birds seen around the harbor and jetties as we were leaving the harbor for a half-day pelagic bird trip with the Dana Point Whale Watch. We left the dock and went up the channel towards the Ocean Institute before turning back to the mouth of the harbor and running the outer breakwater. A Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was nice.
18 species seen:
Egyptian Goose 1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 8
Black Oystercatcher 3
Black Turnstone 1
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Willet (Western) 2
Heermann’s Gull 35
Western Gull 90
Caspian Tern 3
Brandt’s Cormorant 6
Double-crested Cormorant 8
Brown Pelican 35
Great Blue Heron (Blue form) 7
Snowy Egret 2
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 1 Near-adult on the rocks below the park at the end of island way.
American Crow 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Barn Swallow (American) 1
Half-Day pelagic birding trip with Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching. We left the harbor and headed out to the Lausen Knoll. We saw a few offshore species en route, but then found flocks of shearwaters and other pelagic species on the knoll. Highlights included a Brown Booby, Sabine’s Gull, Black Storm-Petrels, Pink-footed Shearwaters, and Parasitic and Pomarine Jaegers. We also had several pods of common dolphins. Weather was sunny, clear, 68F, winds S 2 mph, 2-3′ swells.
16 species seen:
Red-necked Phalarope 4
Pomarine Jaeger 2
Parasitic Jaeger 1 Dark morph
Sabine’s Gull 1 Juvenile that sat next to the boat on the knoll.
Bonaparte’s Gull 5
Heermann’s Gull 6
Western Gull 15
Caspian Tern 2
Common Tern 1 Flyby over the knoll. Small white tern with dark rear cap and carpal bar. Head extension and darkish wedge in the outer wing favored Common over Arctic.
Elegant Tern 10
Black Storm-Petrel 3
Pink-footed Shearwater 6
Black-vented Shearwater 280
Brown Booby (Brewster’s) 1 Adult female that was first spotted plunge diving near a shearwater flock. We approached it several times on the water where it was associating with a shearwater flock.
Have the whole boat to yourself on this private whale watching tour! Keep an eye out for dolphins, whales, and other sea life during your unique adventure.