Spring Blitz Day 3 - 22 May 2026 by Kate Sutherland

What an incredible day offshore! Certainly not a thought that crossed my mind when the rain began this morning...and it seemed to just stick with us most of the day. Sometimes this is what we have, though, and like we've said in the past - these birds don't have houses out in the open ocean - it's just where they live. And they don't really mind the rain. We ended up with thirteen pelagic species for the day which is always possible in the spring, but not always something we can attain. Birds of the day were a Cahow or Bermuda Petrel (Pterodroma cahow) and a Masked Booby!! Check out our eBird trip report for other species and the totals for the day here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/527285

Here is a record shot of the Cahow

We also caught a Round Scale Spearfish, which we call a Hatchet Marlin here in Hatteras, and is something we rarely see so was quite a treat! Here are a few images by leader Ed Corey:

And because we saw a Cahow we flew the Bermuda Flag and for the Hatchet Marlin we flew an upside down White Marlin flag (closest thing we had!) meaning we released it (right side up would mean we killed it). Thanks to leader Brent Stephenson for this image

It was great to see some Leach's and Wilson's in the rain! A few photos I took today follow - Leach's on top followed by the smaller Wilson's

It's cool to see the rain beaded up on these birds!