Flyingfish were also getting some air on Friday and we saw at least five identifiable species over the course of the day. One unlucky Sargassum Midget (photo by Doug Gochfeld) ended up aboard the Stormy Petrel II and did not make it back into the ocean:
Trip Lists July 24, 25
Black-capped Petrel 26, 30
Cory's Shearwater 41, 100
Great Shearwater 51-56, 24
Audubon's Shearwater 13, 7-8
Wilson's Storm-Petrel 43-48, 75-90
Leach's Storm-Petrel 2-3, 4
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel 6, 17
Brown Booby 0, 1
Bottlenose Dolphin 0, 6-10
Spotted Dolphin 0, 3
Black-capped Petrel (Tom Johnson)
We also saw Atlantic Patchwing, Rosy-veined Clearwing, Oddspot Midget, Atlantic Necromancer, and at least one Yellowtail Flyingfish!
Saturday the wind persisted, though more from the east, but was not nearly as strong and we made it farther offshore before slowing down. No rain, few clouds, less wind, and lots of sun made it quite a different experience in the Gulf Stream, though we did find the same species of birds out there! The Black-capped Petrel was definitely the star of both trips, they came in well to the chum and on Saturday we even had them feeding on shark liver right next to the boat like storm-petrels (photo by Tom Johnson) for almost 30 minutes!
Band-rumped Storm-Petrels also made some close passes by the stern (photo by Tom Johnson)
and we had some Leach's visit us in the slick each day, though numbers of Wilson's were a bit low. Shearwaters were around each day, though they were easier to see on Friday! Running in on Saturday, Doug Gochfeld spotted a beehive not too far off so we ran over to check it out...and were rewarded with an immature Brown Booby in this feeding flock of about 85 shearwaters! It was easy to pick out this sulid as it flew with the shearwaters, as can be seen in this photo by Doug Gochfeld:
The afternoon light was harsh, but Brian was able to maneuver the boat around as the booby sat on the water with an Audubon's Shearwater peering under mats of sargassum (photo by Doug Gochfeld, Great Shearwater is in the foreground).
Overall a great couple of days offshore from Hatteras! Thank you to everyone who joined us and to George Armistead, Bob Fogg, Tom Johnson, and Doug Gochfeld for helping us lead these trips and for contributing photos for this post!Trip Lists July 24, 25
Black-capped Petrel 26, 30
Cory's Shearwater 41, 100
Great Shearwater 51-56, 24
Audubon's Shearwater 13, 7-8
Wilson's Storm-Petrel 43-48, 75-90
Leach's Storm-Petrel 2-3, 4
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel 6, 17
Brown Booby 0, 1
Bottlenose Dolphin 0, 6-10
Spotted Dolphin 0, 3
Black-capped Petrel (Tom Johnson)
Black-capped Petrels - top photo from 7/24, bottom 7/25 (Doug Gochfeld)
Nice candidate for Scopoli's Shearwater (nominate Cory's) from Saturday's trip (Doug Gochfeld)
An Audubon's Shearwater from Friday's trip (Doug Gochfeld)
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel (Tom Johnson)
Different individual (Doug Gochfeld)
& yes, some Brown Booby shots! Here seen flying ahead of a Great Shearwater
& sitting on the water (both by Doug Gochfeld)
a nice ventral view
& side view on the water (both by Tom Johnson)
Oddspot Midgets were seen each day in fairly large numbers! (Doug Gochfeld)
Atlantic Patchwings were also quite numerous on both trips, though photos may have been easier to take on Saturday! (Doug Gochfeld)
& finally, two of our handsome leaders hard at work on Friday morning - thanks for the photo Doug! George Armistead (l) & Tom Johnson (r)