Saturday June 2, 2012

Despite strong winds and torrential rain overnight (and into the morning!) we headed out and enjoyed another wonderful day offshore. The winds shifted (finally) from southwest to northwest, and the seas were generally easy going. Good numbers of Wilson's Storm-Petrels stayed with us most of the day, and among them we found a few “Band-rumpeds”, including a fresh-plumaged bird we suspect was a Madeiran Storm-Petrel. Cory's and several Scopoli's Shearwaters showed particularly well, and sundry Black-capped Petrels and a few 1st-summer Pomarine Jaegers visited us. The afternoon produced a very co-operative light-morph Trinidade [Herald] Petrel, thanks to quick chumming work by Kate, followed by bow-riding Bottlenose Dolphins and then an obliging Bridled Tern as we stopped to examine the Sargassum weed lines. A Red-necked Phalarope on the way back inshore rounded the day.


Trinidade Petrel (light-morph)   1
Black-capped Petrel   15
Cory's Shearwater   32
Audubon's Shearwater   10
Wilson's Storm-Petrel   185-195
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel   3
Red-necked Phalarope   1
Bridled Tern   1
Pomarine Jaeger   3

Trinidade Petrel

(Bob Fogg)

(Nate Dias) Trinidade Petrel & Cory's Shearwater

Black-capped Petrel

Cory's (Scopoli's) Shearwater (top photo by Bob Fogg)

Wilson's Storm-Petrels & Common Tern in the slick

 fresh Band-rupmed Storm-Petrel (prob. Madeiran)

VERY cooperative Bridled Tern

Pomarine Jaeger photos...

 (Nate Dias)