Monday, May 29, 2023

Gadflies & Tropicbirds! 29 May 2023

 It was so nice to finally get back offshore after five days on land due to weather! Here is our trip report from today's trip - enjoy!


The Trindade Petrel came right to the boat just as we slowed down over the shelf, I was getting a chum block ready to go over, but Peter Flood captured this gorgeous image!

Then, just over an hour later I heard a tropicbird overhead and looked up to see two dropping in! We had a spectacular show by these two individuals, calling and flying in synchrony for us for a few minutes. They swooped within just ten feet of our participants on the top deck - what a treat! (Kate Sutherland)

Just before noon Steve Howell spotted a Fea's Petrel on the starboard side and while it didn't give us a close pass, it did fly by close enough for everyone to have an excellent look! Photo by Peter Flood

On the shelf in the afternoon we had a nice flock of Cory's with a Great and Sooty Shearwater feeding over some fish - here I captured some with a Mahi mahi. It was a treat to see these birds feeding along a nice color change.

We also had some flyingfishes today, but not as many as I would have expected with the hot Gulf Stream water we were in today. Thanks everyone for joining us and thank you to Steve Howell and Peter Flood for helping Brian and me lead the trip!

No comments:

Post a Comment