Sunday May 19, 2013

On Sunday May 19, 2013 we set out on the Point Sur Clipper north by northwest to get us ahead of the winds that were forecast for later in the day. Fog meant that the seas were bearable for the first few hours of the morning. We hit a nice pocket of sunshine, and the birding started to pick up. Rough seas closed out our day. Birds were steady once we got out over deep water. Highlights were black-footed albatross, sooty and pink-footed shearwaters, and 10 ashy storm-petrels.

The marine mammal show really began for us once we got into Santa Cruz County waters. By the end of the day we had seen humpbacks (including 2 enormous adults who came in and gave us great views), Risso's dolphins, harbor porpoises, CA sea lions, northern elephant seal, sea otter, and harbor seal. The most spectacular sighting was in Monterey County -- a pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins (estimates ranged from 500 to 1000 animals) that brought with it a mixed flock of a couple thousand birds. At this point, the sea was churning with dolphins while the sky was churning with shearwaters and gulls.

All in all a great first pelagic trip for the 2013 season.

Birds observed:
3		Red-throated Loon		4		Whimbrel
11		Pacific Loon		55		Red-necked Phalarope
60		Black-footed Albatross		5		Red Phalarope
6		Pink-footed Shearwater		1		Bonaparte's Gull
5000		Sooty Shearwater		250		Western Gull
10		Ashy Storm-Petrel		200		California Gull
360		Brandt's Cormorant (nesting)		3		Heermann's Gull
25		Pelagic Cormorant		1		Common Murre
1		Canada Goose		23		Pigeon Guillemot (nesting)
10		Surf Scoter		1		Cassin's Auklet

Tim Amaral for Monterey Seabirds