Monday May 27, 2013

Today was our first trip with a full boat but conditions made it seem like we had less people aboard, it was quite calm and most everyone spent the day outside comfortably spread around deck!  Winds were light from the east and our thoughts were on what might come with such a wind, since most of our scent was blowing inshore.  Cory's Shearwaters were around in higher numbers than they have been, but it was tough to get a good look at an Audubon's and Sooties were few, though we had one make a nice pass on the way in.  The stars of the day were the large storm-petrels!  Leach's came in on the east wind and they made many close passes by the boat, plus Band-rumpeds made a much better showing than yesterday!  We had excellent views of Black-capped Petrels flying, but even better looks at them on the water.  Wilson's were present, but their numbers were quite low compared with days past.  Pilot Whales and Bottlenose Dolphins both came in well for great looks and we even had a large Loggerhead Turtle in the morning.  Tomorrow will be even calmer, so perhaps we will head out to the mega-deep and see what we can find!

Thanks to everyone who joined us and to our leaders for the day:  Steve Howell, Todd McGrath, Dave Shoch, Bob Fogg, and Dave Pereksta!

Black-capped Petrel  17
Cory's Shearwater  52
Sooty Shearwater  3
Audubon's Shearwater  6
Wilson's Storm-Petrel  120
Leach's Storm-Petrel  15-17
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel  13-14
Red-necked Phalarope  1
Pomarine Jaeger  2
Parasitic/Long-tailed Jaeger  1
Common Tern  3

Short-finned Pilot Whale  8
Bottlenose Dolphin  10

Loggerhead Turtle  1

Cory's Shearwater - photo Dave Shoch

 Cory's Shearwater with food - Dave Shoch

 Leach's Storm Petrel - next two photos Bob Fogg

 Leach's Storm-Petrel - photo Dave Shoch

 Band-rumped Storm-Petrel (Grant's) - photo Bob Fogg

 Pomarine Jaeger - photo Dave Shoch

 Pilot Whale - photo Bob Fogg

Sunday May 26, 2013

Winds and seas were much calmer today as we headed offshore with the moon and sun both in the sky.  Birds were scarce on the way out, but soon after we slowed around 0800 we had fairly nice looks at some Audubon's Shearwaters on the water and in flight.  Though the wind was light, it was still enough to get some birds flying and Wilson's Storm-Petrels began to gather behind the boat once we started chumming.  A little after 0930 Brian said "check out this bird coming in at 1100!", and sure enough, a light Trindade Petrel came streaking across the bow and over to starboard!  All of us, and there were six of us with headsets..., were humbled, as often happens, by Brian and his ability to spot the bird of the day while maneuvering the boat and calling everything over the loudspeaker, trapped in the wheelhouse.  A Long-tailed Jaeger joined us in the slick just after the Trindade Petrel, and stayed with us for at least an hour making nice passes and feeding.  Band-rumped Storm-Petrels were a bit difficult to come by today and good views were had by those passengers in the right place at the right time!  Wilson's Storm-Petrels, though, were in attendance and made many close passes by the boat.  The afternoon brought us nice looks at a second summer Pomarine Jaeger followed by an adult.  Then a Bridled Tern popped up in the slick and flew in fairly close as we slowed and watched its' approach, and though the light was difficult, most aboard saw the bird well.  As we headed inshore, the wind fell out and we saw some shearwaters in the green, cooler water, but no Manx Shearwater turned up!  Overall a great day to be offshore, and tomorrow promises to be even better...we'll see !

Thanks to all who joined us today and to our leaders:  Steve Howell, Todd McGrath, Dave Shoch, Bob Fogg, and Dave Pereksta.

Trindade Petrel  1
Black-capped Petrel  8-9
Cory's Shearwater  44-50
Sooty Shearwater  2
Audubon's Shearwater  10
Wilson's Storm-Petrel  280-325
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel  3
Bridled Tern  1
Pomarine Jaeger  2
Long-tailed Jaeger  1
Short-finned Pilot Whale  5
Bottlenose Dolphin  5
Portuguese Man of War  1

Trindade Petrel - photo by Dave Shoch

Photo by Capt Brian Patteson of the Trindade Petrel...not bad!!

Trindade Petrel

 Trindade Petrel - next two photos by Bob Fogg

 Trindade Petrel

 Cory's Shearwater - photo Dave Shoch

 Grant's Storm-Petrel

 Second summer Pomarine Jaeger

 Pomarine Jaeger - photo Bob Fogg

 same Pomarine Jaeger - photo Dave Shoch

 Long-tailed Jaeger

 Long-tailed Jaeger - photo Dave Shoch

 Long-tailed Jaeger - photo Bob Fogg

 Pilot Whales - prob. Short-finned

 Portuguese Man of War

Saturday May 25, 2013

It was still a bit windy this morning, so we did not leave the dock until just after 0600 once Brian decided the trip was a go.  There were some Sooty and Cory's Shearwaters flying on the way out and a Bridled Tern was spotted just before we slowed down and began chumming.  The wind was about 25-30 from the northwest so the seas were a bit challenging, but as the temperature gradually rose the first Black-capped Petrels were seen soon followed by a fast moving Fea's Petrel!  Though the look was brief, most participants were able to see (and perhaps even photograph!) the bird as it quickly passed us on the port side and flew off.  Wilson's Storm-Petrels made a better showing than yesterday and a Band-rumped Storm-Petrel also joined us in the slick for a short period.  Before noon another Bridled Tern was spotted on a board and was much more accommodating than the first staying perched and then taking off in good light!  Though there was quite a bit of scattered sargassum, Audubon's Shearwaters were scarce, but one individual popped up close to the boat making a close pass that allowed for excellent viewing.  Soon after, another Band-rumped Storm-Petrel flew across the bow and away, then a young Pomarine Jaeger joined us in the stern.  A little after 2 in the afternoon, another distant Fea's Petrel was spotted in the slick, and flew in to make a few close, satisfactory passes.  Though the numbers were a bit lower than we expected with all of the wind today, it turned out to be quite a nice day offshore, even without the Great Shearwaters we had yesterday...!

Thanks to everyone who joined us and tomorrow promises some wind, though slighter seas!  Thank you also to our leaders for today, Steve Howell, Dave Shoch, & Bob Fogg, for helping out and contributing photos for this post.  Participant Dough Koch also helped out with an amazing Fea's Petrel shot from today!

Fea's Petrel  2
Black-capped Petrel  6
Cory's Shearwater  22
Sooty Shearwater  12
Audubon's Shearwater  2
Wilson's Storm-Petrel  250-270
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel  2
Bridled Tern  2
tropical tern sp.  4
Pomarine Jaeger  1
jaeger sp.  1

Common Loon  2
Northern Gannet  2
Ruddy Turnstone  1
Laughing Gull  2
Common Tern  1
Barn Swallow  1

Bottlenose Dolphin  4
Spotted Dolphin  3
Loggerhead Turtle  1

First Fea's Petrel from the morning - Steve Howell

 Second Fea's Petrel (much better passes!!) - Doug Koch

 Bob Fogg

 Steve Howell

 An interesting Wilson's Storm-Petrel from the slick - Dave Shoch

 same individual - Bob Fogg

 Bridled Tern - Bob Fogg

 First summer Pomarine Jaeger - Steve Howell

 Same individual Pomarine Jaeger - Bob Fogg

Friday May 24, 2013

We were glad to be heading offshore this morning after yesterday and though the forecast was for high winds in the afternoon, it was blowing just 10 from the south to begin the day.  Birds were scarce today compared to Wednesday, but perhaps some of them just got blown out with yesterday's storms.  We did have an excellent look at a Cory's Shearwater that flew around the boat on the way out, and while Black-capped Petrels did not initially respond well to the chum, we had good views of them as the day progressed.  By 0900 the winds had picked up to about 20 from the west southwest, and we had the first Band-rumped Storm-Petrel of the day in the slick.  It was a molting individual that made many close passes by the boat for all aboard to see!   Even though we took the time to drift a bit in the morning, numbers of birds were still low.

Around noon, there were clouds on the horizon ahead holding the promise of more wind.  Band-rumped Storm-Petrels made a fair showing in the morning, but the wind really helped get the birds moving and we soon had our first Sooty Shearwaters in the slick alongside a few Cory's and Black-cappeds.  Just before 1pm the first Great Shearwater of the season flew in, soon to be joined by another hungry individual.  They behaved as expected, coming in well to the stern and diving for a delicious meal of fish guts, to the delight of our participants!  While we were drifting around with the chum, we were treated to close views of Cory's, Sooty, and Great Shearwaters and even had an Audubon's (scarce today) pop up behind the boat.  This same drift turned up a non-molting Band-rumped Storm-Petrel that stuck around for photos at the same time a first summer Arctic Tern flew in to check out the chum!  Overall it was a great day, with just enough swell to make following the birds a challenge.  As we headed back inshore, the wind really started to blow, and by the time we were about 8 miles from the inlet, it was up to about 40 or so from the northwest...the ride home was a little bumpy.  Hopefully the winds will die down a bit before tomorrow!

Thanks to everyone who came out with us (special thanks to Dick Lura for putting together a group from Milligan College in TN!), and thanks to Dave Shoch & Bob Fogg for helping us lead the trip and contributing their excellent photos for this post!

Black-capped Petrel  19
Cory's Shearwater  31-32
Great Shearwater  2
Sooty Shearwater  4
Audubon's Shearwater  3
Wilson's Storm-Petrel  140-165
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel  7-8
Arctic Tern  1 first summer
Sterna sp  2

Common Loon  5
Northern Gannet  1
American Redstart  1
shorebird sp.  12-15

Loggerhead Turtle  1
(some dolphins were seen, but did not make a good showing, so no numbers or species on them)

Great Shearwater - photo Dave Shoch

 Great Shearwaters over some food - photo Bob Fogg

 Victorious!  Great Shearwater with delicious Mahi mahi guts - photo Bob Fogg

 Sooty Shearwater - photo Dave Shoch

 Audubon's Shearwater - photo Bob Fogg

 Band-rumped Storm-Petrel (Grant's type) - photo Bob Fogg

 The non-molting individual ventral - photo Bob Fogg

 Non-molting individual dorsal - photo Dave Shoch

 Arctic Tern - photos by Bob Fogg

Thursday May 23, 2013

Weather got us today and we did not run a trip, but most of our participants are able to come offshore with us tomorrow.  It gave me time to put together some little tidbits about trips we have run in the past on May 23.

Since 1997, we have run 13 trips on May 23 - this is the first year since 2003 that we have not made it offshore on the 23rd.  I have compiled a list of species that have been seen on this date, and wanted to remember a few dates of note!  May 23, 2004's trip from Hatteras was the only May 23 trip to have a Grand Slam featuring one each of the rarities (Bermuda, Trindade, & Fea's Petrels) plus Black-cappeds.  The following year on a trip from Manteo we had two each Bermuda & Fea's Petrels plus Black-cappeds.  On May 23, 2007, we broke the record for the number of Trindade Petrels seen on one day with SIX individuals photographed!  Then, in 2009 on a trip from Hatteras we had one each Bermuda & Trindade Petrels, plus Black-cappeds.

The only species that were seen on all 13 trips are: Black-capped Petrel, Cory's Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Audubon's Shearwater, and Wilson's Storm-Petrel.

May 23 species list:

Common Loon
Trindade Petrel
Fea's Petrel
Bermuda Petrel
Black-capped Petrel
Cory's Shearwater
Great Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Manx Shearwater
Audubon's Shearwater
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
Leach's Storm-Petrel
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel
Red-billed Tropicbird
Northern Gannet
Red-necked Phalarope
Sooty Tern
Bridled Tern
Common Tern
Arctic Tern
Pomarine Jaeger
Parasitic Jaeger
Long-tailed Jaeger
South Polar Skua

Osprey
Spotted Sandpiper
Ruddy Turnstone
Red Knot
Sanderling
Laughing Gull
Barn Swallow

Sperm Whale
Pilot Whale (prob. Short-finned)
Common Dolphin
Atlantic Spotted Dolphin
Bottlenose Dolphin
Risso's Dolphin
Loggerhead Turtle
Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola)

So, until tomorrow...