Monday 3 June 2024 - Spring Blitz Day 13

The final day was a bit breezy from the west and southwest...not windy, but more breeze than we had yesterday. As we circled to check out a Band-rumped Storm-Petrel feeding in the slick a Manx Shearwater zipped in to check out the slick too!! It flew by quite close and everyone had great views and we were able to compare it with the smaller more commonly seen Audubon's Shearwaters. Pomarine and Parasitic Jaegers also paid us nice visits. Our Black-capped Petrels were around, though we didn't see as many as we have been seeing this spring, and we had great views of Band-rumped and Leach's Storm-Petrels in the slick with the smaller Wilson's. Check out our trip list and report here:

https://ebird.org/tripreport/248531

And here are a few images from our trip today by me, Kate Sutherland.

Gorgeous Manx Shearwater

Parasitic Jaeger, one of two individuals we saw over the course of the day

Scopoli's Shearwater - we had at least seven today

Band-rumped Storm-Petrels - one molting, Grant's type, and one that is not molting and definitely not a juvenile...so one of those we call "little Band-rumpeds"

Great Shearwater taking the bait! We have been pulling these rigged squid (no hooks of course, and we feed them squid and fish, so not too much teasing...) this spring just waiting for the Greats to arrive - they are tenacious shearwaters! You can only imagine what goes on with all of the fishing boats and baited hooks around this time of year...

One of the Offshore Bottlenose Dolphins we had out there as well