Today, Saturday the 27th, Dave Povey, Nancy Christensen, and I
     went offshore, the main purpose being to visit the waters in the
     extreme southwest corner of the county, about 25-29 nautical miles
     from the tip of Point Loma and immediately bordering both Los
     Angeles County and Mexican waters. The waters offshore between the
     mainland and the inside edge of the 30-Mile Bank are currently
     amazingly dead, with very, very small numbers and an incredibly
     low diversity of birds. Once up on the 30-Mile Bank, just north of
     the international border, we starting finding a number of small-
     to medium-sized rafts of Black Storm-Petrels, Then, in the deeper
     water (2200-2400 feet; 67.7 F) beyond the shallowest section of
     the bank--right near where the international boundary makes an
     obvious 90-degree jog to the south, we starting seeing COOK'S
     PETRELS, many feeding with storm-petrels or just sitting in small
     groups on the water. We totaled at least 24 Cook's in San Diego
     County waters and at least 16 in L. A. County and 5 in Baja
     waters, with a bit of duplication as birds moved across the
     boundaries (as calculated by us!). Despite our working cameras
     only including a single super-zoom and a couple cell-phones,
     reasonable photos were obtained. We also had a pair of CRAVERI'S
     MURRELETS, an unseasonal Sabine's Gull, a one-year-old Common
     Tern, and 4 well-offshore Least Terns, all just inside L. A.
     County waters. There are only several previous sightings of Cook's
     Petrels inside San Diego County waters, and these involved just
     single birds.

    

     Before I list the day's totals, if there is enough interest in
     chartering a fishing/whalewatching boat for a "chase-trip" at some
     point sooner rather than later (the next regularly scheduled San
     Diego pelagic trip is not until mid-August), then Dave Povey is
     willing to inquire of the local boat landings to see if any boat
     is available. The cost would depend on what the charter costs
     divided by the number of people going. Let Dave know if you are
     potentially interested and whether any day of the week will work
     for you or if only weekends are do-able. Conditions can change
     rapidly offshore, so there is certainly no guarantee of success!
     This is now the beginning of the very busy fishing season, and
     whale sightings have just recently increased, so this all may be a
     moot point--but it's worth a try if there is enough interest out
     there. Dave's e-mail address is

    

     Today's list:

    

     Cook's Petrel: 32+

    

     Pink-footed Shearwater: 6

    

     Sooty Shearwater: 20

    

     Black-vented Shearwater: 4

    

     Ashy Storm-Petrel: 18

    

     Black Storm-Petrel: ca. 700

    

     Craveri's Murrelet: 2

    

     Cassin's Auklet: 4

    

     Sabine's Gull: 1

    

     Heermann's Gull: 1

    

     Western Gull: 8

    

     Least Tern: 6

    

     Common Tern: 1

    

     Elegant Tern: 80

    

     Brown Pelican: 25

    

    

     --Paul Lehman, San Diego