September 14, 2003
I took my first pelagic trip off the West Coast today, through Shearwater Journeys. It was a long day – we left at 5.30 a.m. and returned at 5.30 p.m. – and we saw a lot of terrific things, although not quite as many birds as I’d hoped to see.
We went about 35 miles offshore to the Albacore feeding grounds outside of Monterey Bay. When the conditions are right, this area can produce some really fantastic rare birds, although the density of birds is never as high as you’d find in the bay itself (because of the geography of Monterey Bay . . . there’s a big underwater canyon there, and deep water relatively close to land produces a great feeding habitat for birds).
Unfortunately, though some of the conditions were right, the birds were a bit sparse. Even so, I saw 14 new species, which is a fantastic day for me. Plus, what we missed in birds was well made up for in the mammals that we saw. These were the highlight of my day, and we saw some things that are pretty uncommon.
We saw four species of dolphins, including Common Dolphin. These were great – they rode the bow of our boat for several minutes. Plus, they’re really pretty; the picture doesn’t do them justice, unfortunately.
We also saw Risso’s Dolphin, Pacific White-sided Dolphin, and my personal favorite, lots and lots of Northern Right-whale Dolphin. These were AMAZING! Not only did several of them ride our bow, but we also go to see them leaping in the air in formation, as well as jumping high out of the water and spinning around before splashing down. It was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen in my life. And I really get the feeling that these dolphins are interested in us, and love playing with the boat. It’s just really heart-warming to experience them like this.
We saw two species of whales, as well: Blue Whale (yes – they’re big), and Baird’s Beaked Whale, which are apparently not seen very often.
We had a great viewing of them – they stayed near our boat for about 20 minutes, and we got to watch them swim, blow, dive and then resurface several times. The adults are each about 40 feet long, and there was a pod of at least 13 of them. They were really, really cool.
We saw a Northern Fur Seal who played by our boat for several minutes (very cute, not commonly seen), and a variety of other things including Blue Shark, and lots and lots of jellyfish (Eclipse was very excited to hear about the jellies). Plus, a possible Great White Shark (I was astounded to find that the area we were in is part of a triangle off the California coast which has the highest density of great whites on the planet. Note to self: don’t go swimming here, haha). The only thing I really wanted to see but didn’t was an Orca. They’ve been seeing them a lot lately on trips, but we never spotted any. But that’s okay. It’ll give me something to look for next time.
As for birds, my favorite of the day was the Black-footed Albatross – we saw several of these, and they are big and really fantastic to watch. A few of them followed our boat for a while, which was great. I also loved the Cassin’s Auklet we saw, and it was great learning to tell the difference between the various jaegers (we saw all three possible species on the trip), and also between the common west-coast shearwaters.
I ended up with what seems like not a particularly long bird list for a 12-hour trip, but I saw some things (like the Baird’s Whales) that not many people ever get to see. So, it was very worth it – worth the money and the drive (and the alarm ringing at 4.30 in the morning, haha). Next time, I’m going to take one of the shorter trips that stays in Monterey Bay, where there will be a higher density of birds, since I still haven’t seen all the common species in the area. It was also worth the strangeness of getting home last night to feel the world swaying (the after effects of being on the boat). It seems weird that this hit only after I’d driven for two hours home, although probably a good thing, as driving while in that condition might not have been the best idea.
It was a fabulous adventure, and now I’m ready to go out and do more birding soon. I’ve been ignoring it, and having a day like yesterday reminds me how much I love it.
Species List
Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus), Ashy Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates homochroa), Sabine’s Gull (Xema sabini), Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis rodgersii), Sooty Shearwater (Ardenna grisea), Flesh-footed Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes), Pink-footed Shearwater (Ardenna creatopus), Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis), Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus), Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius), Risso’s Dolphin (Grampus griseus), Pacific White-sided Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), California Gull (Larus californicus californicus), Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata), Western Gull (Larus occidentalis wymani), Connecticut Warbler (Oporornis agilis), Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura marginella), Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina arizonae), Pomarine Jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus), Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus), Blue Shark (Prionace glauca), Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus), Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater), South Polar Skua (Stercorarius maccormicki), Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), Buller’s Shearwater (Ardenna bulleri), Cassin’s Auklet (Ptychoramphus aleuticus), Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias), Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus), Northern Right-whale Dolphin (Lissodelphis borealis), Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), Baird’s Beaked Whale (Berardius bairdii), Short-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris), Heermann’s Gull (Larus heermanni), California Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus), Common Murre (Uria aalge), Pelagic Cormorant (Urile pelagicus), Brandt’s Cormorant (Urile penicillatus), Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba eureka), Elegant Tern (Thalasseus elegans), Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea), California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus)
Let me know what you think!