Seabirding: Three more winter trips in 9 days by Brian Patteson

We didn't have a midweek trip scheduled following our trip on February 8th, so our next opportunity to get out was on the 15th. Fortunately that day coincided with a lull in the weather and we had reasonable sea conditions and fairly warm air. It was a bit choppy during the morning and it made for a wet ride, but there was an awesome flight of Razorbills during the morning and we saw nearly 1000 in an hour or so. The Razorbills were headed north but we were headed to the southeast for a couple of reasons. I hoped to find a better temperature break down that way, and the wind was supposed to come on from the south a bit later, so it would set us up for a better inshore tack. SST images courtesy of Rutgers.

A few miles off the beach we found the only two Common Murres of the season (!!!) and one of these gave us nice views on the water and in flight.

Common Murre by Brian Patteson

About ten miles out we came across a dead White-fronted Goose, a casualty of a notable flight earlier in the week, during which a few even reached Bermuda. About 25 miles from the inlet we got into a band of warmer water which was in the low 50s. It was loaded with puffins.

Atlantic Puffin by Daniel Irons

We kept going out to the edge of the continental shelf where the water gradually warmed to over 70 degrees. There wasn't much to recommend it bird-wise, so I headed to the north a bit, and we found some life where the SST varied between high 50s and low 60s. It was a good area for Dovekies and puffins, and we found our only Red Phalaropes there.

Red Phalarope by Daniel Irons

Heading back inshore, we tallied quite a few more puffins, pushing it up well over 100, which happens more often down here than some folks realize. There was also a good number of Dovekies slightly to the west. Our chumming attracted a few gulls and gannets, with increasing numbers closer to the beach. The highlight was a first winter Thayer's Gull just outside the inlet. Remarkably, after seeing so many Razorbills during the morning, we only saw 20 for the afternoon!

Northern Gannet by Daniel Irons

We were supposed to go out again on Sunday or Monday but the weather was unfit for either. Fortunately I was able to cobble a group together for Tuesday, February 18th. This turned out to be our prettiest day so far, but gale force winds on the previous two days had really churned things up. As a result, we found dirty water and virtually no life close to shore. Razorbills were not present, and there weren't any Common Loons either. There was a modest flight of Red-throated Loons heading north but not much else. We did come across our one and only Parasitic Jaeger of the season a few miles out. Dovekies and puffins were not around like they had been on the 15th. The water was warmer, especially to the south, so I set a course to the east.

Compare this image to the previous one!

It's amazing to see how quickly the marine environment changes here after the wind blows from the southwest and the Gulf Stream pushes shoreward over the shelf. We finally came across a few Dovekies and puffins offshore, with the best of it being close to the shelf break about 28 miles out. We also had a quick flyby Little Gull, and later we found a huge pod of Common Dolphins out in the deep.

Dovekie by Daniel Irons

There wasn't much going on back inshore with the subpar water clarity, but we did chum up a few gulls and gannets. Among the gulls we found a hybrid American Herring X Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Am. Herring X Lesser Black-backed Gull by BP

Our last trip was scheduled for February 22nd or 23rd, weather dependent. Even though the 22nd would have been doable, I elected to push it back a day to let the seas calm down after several days of wind. I knew we might have to cover a lot of miles and I wanted the best possible day for it. That's what we got, and it was a much better environmental condition than what we had on the 18th. There were several small flocks of Razorbills a few miles off, and Common Loons had finally returned to Platt Shoals. The water was cooler and we had great conditions for spotting small birds on the sea.

Five days makes a difference!

Again, I elected to head out to the east. The numbers of alcids we saw on the 18th were fractional compared to the 15th and I wanted to check out the reverse temp break there. Fortunately, we didn't have to go too far to get on some Dovekies and puffins. They were both more numerous than on the previous trip.

Atlantic Puffin by Ed Corey

I was hoping that with the calm conditions we might find some whales out near the shelf break and I was not disappointed. We checked an area where we had seen the Humpbacks a couple of weeks before and we found them in good numbers, racking up double digits in just a few minutes!

Humpback Whales by Daniel Irons

The whale show was awesome, but there weren't really any birds associated with them like we had found previously, so I decided to pick up some speed and try to find some warmer water and hopefully a temperature break to the south. Along the way, we found even more Humpbacks, a Minke, and at least one Fin Whale!

Fin Whale by Daniel Irons

We eventually arrived at a very productive area where there was a slight but distinct temperature break and a gathering of Bonaparte's Gulls and Red Phalaropes. Both of these can be extremely abundant offshore here where the water is flush with the plankton they feed on. We found only modest numbers this day, but compared to the previous five trips, it was epic. There were dozens of phalaropes and Boneys close to the boat and many more on the horizon. We found an adult Little Gull with the close flock, and there were Dovekies, puffins, and whales scattered all around.

Little Gull (at left) by Daniel Irons

First mate and number one bird man, Danny soon noted some commotion out on the horizon, and instantly knew it was probably Common Dolphins, so I made a quick lap offshore and we were soon surrounded by a big pod of them. They don't come out of the water very far in slight seas, but Ed Corey managed to snap a killer image of one close on port side.

Short-beaked Common Dolphin by Ed Corey

It was definitely a great day to be offshore. I wish we had been able to put on another trip or two, but the weather took a turn for the worse in the days to follow, so I decided against it, and we'll have to wait until next year to go looking for winter seabirds again. The Outer Banks is definitely a great place to do it. Some days the birds are incredibly close to shore, and it's only 30 or 40 miles to the deep water off Oregon Inlet, where we see some really cool marine life in addition to the birds. I was fortunate to have some excellent help on the boat again this winter. My first mate Daniel Irons, was aboard for all of the trips, which means I don't have to scan so much and nothing gets by unseen. Our guest leaders were top notch, and they included Andrew Thornton, Chris Sloan, Todd McGrath, and Ed Corey. Of course, we couldn't do it at all without our clients, and we are fortunate to have people who truly appreciate what goes into making this all happen.

More superb images by the crew follow the list of birds and wildlife for these trips. Participants got a lot of nice shots too, and you find see those on eBird. We have a hotspot for the winter boat trips, so you can find some older stuff there too including peak counts, some of which are pretty impressive.

https://ebird.org/hotspot/L10719823

Species seen Feb. 15/ 18/ 23

Black Scoter 0/ 15/ 0

Red Phalarope 4/ 0/ 176

Parasitic Jaeger 0/ 1/ 0

Atlantic Puffin 139/ 11/ 43

Razorbill 987/ 0/ 43

Dovekie 189/ 40/ 43

Common Murre 2/ 0/ 0

Little Gull 0/ 1/ 1

Bonaparte's Gull 55/ 321/ 206

Ring-billed Gull 4/ 7/ 5