Pelagic Bird Watching Tour

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.