As we worked the slick a couple of female/immature Mesoplodon beaked whales appeared and kept us company, seeming quite curious as they rode along beside the bow to offer amazing views – rarely do we see them let alone this well. The animals appeared consistent with Gervais’s Beaked Whale, a species first documented at sea (as opposed to by beach-washed specimens) on our trips not so many years ago! Our first Black-capped Petrel made a pass at the same time, and then it got quiet again: the patchiness of food (and birds) is typical of the blue desert.
Scattered birds, including Black-capped Petrels, kept us looking, and then in early afternoon some jaegers and terns came in to the slick to join the Great and Cory’s Shearwaters. For quite a while we enjoyed excellent views of Pomarine and Long-tailed Jaegers, along with some Arctic Terns (including 2 first-summers) and a Common Tern. The call of ‘skua’ heralded the approach of a South Polar Skua, which made several passes and was chased at times by a Long-tailed Jaeger. But all too soon it was time to pull in the chum and head back to the ‘real world,’ passing through more flyingfish and a steady light flow of shearwaters as the shoreline appeared.
Black-capped Petrel 9
Cory's Shearwater 78
Great Shearwater 12
Sooty Shearwater 2
Manx Shearwater 2
Audubon's Shearwater 18
Wilson's Storm-Petrel 84-94
Leach's Storm-Petrel 10
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel 1
Oceanodroma sp. 3
Common Tern 1
Arctic Tern 6
South Polar Skua 2
Pomarine Jaeger 1
Parasitic Jaeger (identified by photo) 1
Long-tailed Jaeger 9
jaeger sp 2
Bottlenose Dolphin 6
Gervais' Beaked Whale 2-3
Loggerhead Turtle 1
Our first Black-capped Petrel of the day made a nice pass
A more white faced Black-capped by Bob Fogg
On the way in this afternoon we had a Manx (left) & Sooty Shearwater flyby! Photo by Bob Fogg
Leach’s Storm-Petrel – some sailed high in today’s calm conditions
Another Leach's Storm-Petrel photo by Bob Fogg
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel – the wing molt indicating Grant’sAdult-type Common Tern – compare the molt contrast in the primaries with the uniform wings of Arctic
And resting on the sea
Arctic Tern 1st summer, following a complete molt in its first winter – in Antarctica! Note the translucent primaries
Another image by Bob Fogg
Adult-type Arctic Tern – note the short neck, uniform generation primaries
South Polar Skua, adult starting wing molt
Same individual by Bob Fogg
Adult Pomarine Jaeger, probably a male given the clean creamy-white breast
Same individual feeding in the slick by Bob Fogg
2nd-summer Long-tailed Jaeger, superficially resembling Parasitic, but note the small bill and wire-like tail points
Female/immature presumed Gervais’s Beaked Whale (uncropped head shot!)
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