Sunday October 8, 2023

We left and began our journey out west in some dense fog. Despite the conditions, we found many Common Murre and Rhinoceros Auklets. Pink-footed Shearwaters were the flavor of the day over the Monterey submarine canyon, but we also found a Buller's Shearwater early on into the trip. We spent time with a socializing group of Risso's Dolphins and Northern Right Whale Dolphins, a lucky find under the conditions. As we followed the canyon northwest, we observed Black and Ashy Storm-Petrels, a Blue Shark, and we had great looks at Black-footed Albatross. We even had a Lapland Larkspur try to land on the boat before the fog lifted. South Polar Skuas, Parasitic Jaegers, and a couple mists of Storm-Petrels in Santa Cruz County were a highlight, along with a pair of Guadalupe Murrelets. We stopped for a Mako Shark and later a couple Northern Fur Seals. Some even witnessed another shark attack one of the fur seals! We followed our route further out west and found a couple Sabine's Gulls. We had some great Humpback sightings on the way home. A mixed group of Shearwaters, including a Buller's, was a nice finale to welcome us back towards the shore. Huge thanks to our bird leaders Bernardo Alps, Beth and Tom Hamel and Fred Hochstaedter for another insightful and exciting day on the water!

Dane McDermott

Buller's Shearwater		Ashy Storm Petrel
South Polar Skua		Guadalupe Murrelets

Monterey Seabirds