Message Board Search Tool
Banding Code Translator | Recent Rare Bird Sightings
©2024 Christopher Taylor (Kiwifoto.com)
Help Support!
calbirds        search ebird rarities [plot]
filter rba/cbc

  306 result(s) found...Displaying messages 1 through 15, sorted by date descending.
  next page

 Month/Year Breakdown (Top 15):

 Sep, 2017 - 14 e-mail(s)...
 Oct, 2006 - 12 e-mail(s)...
 Sep, 2015 - 11 e-mail(s)...
 Sep, 2008 - 11 e-mail(s)...
 Sep, 2007 - 10 e-mail(s)...
 Sep, 2006 - 7 e-mail(s)...
 Sep, 2016 - 7 e-mail(s)...
 Aug, 2006 - 6 e-mail(s)...
 Aug, 2009 - 6 e-mail(s)...
 Sep, 2004 - 6 e-mail(s)...
 , - 6 e-mail(s)...
 Sep, 2019 - 5 e-mail(s)...
 Sep, 2005 - 5 e-mail(s)...
 Aug, 2013 - 5 e-mail(s)...
 Oct, 2008 - 4 e-mail(s)...




   Ashy Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma homochroa) - ASSP (recent eBird sightings, view CBRC records, range map
)

  1. Oct 1 Ventura Pelagic...one for the ages LINK
    DATE: Oct 2, 2022 @ 6:41am, 1 year(s) ago
    On Saturday Oct 1, we ran our annual fall pelagic trip with Island Packers from the Ventura Harbor. We had a great forecast and a nice setup of sea conditions so we left the harbor with a game plan and a sense of optimism. That didn't last very long after we heard radio chatter that the Navy was firing a missile at some point during the morning, which closed off most of the waters south of the Channel Islands. Our hopes that this exercise would be done by 0930 dragged on through the morning and we had to adjust our route with the severe limitations imposed upon us. It is tough to stay focused when the radio in the wheel house is blowing up with constant communication between the Navy and the fishing fleet; the latter of which was violating the boundaries of the closure so frequently that the launch had to be delayed again and again. With our hopes of visiting Santa Barbara Island and it's booby colony becoming more unrealistic by the minute, we adjusted and here is how the day went...
    After leaving the harbor we started the trip with an unusual surprise when we found rafts of thousands of Black-vented Shearwaters sitting on the water right past the breakwaters. The birds must have been feeding all night as they were piled up on the water and not as skittish as they might normally be. We had great looks, which included several leucistic birds, and then moved on to Anacapa Island. The crossing was slow bird wise, but Anacapa provided our first thrill of the day after we found a Brown Booby and then a Masked Booby perched below the lighthouse on the east end of Anacapa. These two birds just sat there giving everyone on board great views.
    Our original intention from here was to run west-southwest before eventually turning towards Santa Barbara Island. With the missile launch still pending the Navy told us we couldn't go south and we had to stay with a few miles of the islands. We adjusted and moved west on the south side of Anacapa and Santa Cruz. We were rewarded with nearly 30 Craveri's Murrelets behind Anacapa and as we headed west into Santa Barbara County waters we had great looks at a few close Ashy Storm-Petrels. This run was slow but we did have a few jaegers of all three species and the three expected species of shearwaters (Black-vented, Pink-footed, and Sooty) among other birds. We had hoped we would be cleared to move south somewhere along this route but it did not happen so we continued to the Santa Rosa Passage where we checked Bird Rock and found a Peregrine Falcon and a pair of Bald Eagles sitting on a midden on the adjacent part of Santa Cruz Island.
    Moving into the Santa Cruz Canyon, we encountered some small flocks of Pink-footed Shearwaters that had other birds feeding with them and then somewhere off the east end of Santa Rosa Island, the day went haywire. Not long after finding Curtis Marantz his long-awaited Santa Barbara County Craveri's Murrelet, we had a few shearwaters in front of the boat when one of our sharp-eyed passengers said, "there is a white-headed Pink-footed in this flock." Linda Terrill said that I leapt off the deck at this point, but among a series of expletives flowing from my mouth were the two words I have only ever yelled once before in unison from a boat...STREAKED SHEARWATER!!!!!! Among a ton of out-of-control emotions and ensuing panic of birders, we just stopped the boat, started getting everyone on the bird, carefully evaluated our ID to make sure we weren't looking at a white-headed Pink-footed Shearwater, and then spent an extensive amount of time with this bird. Finding rare seabirds is often tricky business as some birds fly by the boat quickly or a bird flushes, never to be seen again. Many times only a few people on board see the very rare ones. However...Captain Joel Barrett managed the boat impeccably and everyone had incredible views of this mega rarity (Only the 20th for the state and the second off southern California). Although it flushed a few times, the low winds had the shearwaters settling back on the water so we had repeated looks at it. We quickly forgot about the travel restrictions imposed by the Navy which had ultimately and serendipitously led us to this bird. There it is...rare bird found, a boat full of satisfied birders, day is done...hardly!
    The Navy pulled their restrictions, but we would not have time to head to SBI. We followed the shearwaters south along the eastern part of the Santa Rosa Flats and the number of birds increased ultimately revealing a few Buller's Shearwaters. A few birders got their life Streaked before their life Buller's...life is not fair. While still working the Streaked we found a Nazca Booby sitting on the water; our third booby of the day. We also had another interesting bird flash by that may have been a Wedge-tailed Shearwater. The winds were increasing so the birds were becoming more mobile. We did gather some photos of distant flocks on the water where we believed this bird briefly settled so we will see if we can find it after-the-fact. They were not very cooperative.
    Our run south and then east into the deep waters of the Santa Cruz Basin continued to produce birds and we started finding storm-petrels including Black, Ashy, and Least. Our jaeger numbers were increasing and as we traversed the basin we had impressive numbers of Long-tailed Jaegers with decent numbers of Pomarines and a few Parasitics. Here and elsewhere starting at the Santa Rosa Passage, we also found a few South Polar Skuas. Along our run east we continued to encounter Craveri's Murrelets which were often clumped by pairs in loose groups of as many as 10-12 birds in view at a time. We will see what our eBird reveals, but we certainly had somewhere in the ballpark of 50-100 for the day. They were the most abundant alcid by far, but we did have a few Cassin's Auklets and Rhinoceros Auklets. The jaeger show continued with a few flocks chasing groups of Common Terns and Sabine's Gulls. Careful inspection of the tern flocks found us a few Arctic and Black Terns as well. The number of birds in the Santa Cruz Basin was awesome and our ride back was filled with jaegers, terns, shearwaters, murrelets, and phalaropes.
    
    I joked that when life gives you lemons, you spike the lemonade with tequila and have the kind of day we ultimately had at sea. While we reflected that the day would have been great even without the Streaked Shearwater, we are not trading that one in. We will remember this one for a long time. Many thanks to Joel Barrett and Island Packers for supporting our pelagic trips and working with us to consistently provide great pelagic experiences. I also want to give a shout-out to our leaders who busted their butts all day...many thanks to Jon Feenstra, Peter Gaede, Hugh Ranson, Bob Schallmann, and Wes Fritz. Among the kind words I received as we wrapped up was sentiments from one very seasoned pelagic birder and dear friend who said she was impressed at how well people worked together and that there was a pleasant vibe on the boat throughout the day. One for the ages...
    Dave Pereksta Ventura
  2. -back to top-
  3. Searcher Pelagic Trip Results LINK
    DATE: Sep 10, 2022 @ 10:06am, 2 year(s) ago
    The 4 day Searcher Pelagic left San Diego Monday a little before noon on it's annual swing through the Southern California Bight and beyond. The trips spent Monday at the 9 and 30. mile banks off San Diego. We started Tuesday at Santa Barbara Island and the Sutil Rock booby colony and then moved NW across the Santa Cruz Basin hitting a variety of featured before anchoring behind San Miguel Island at dark. Day 3 we left San Miguel Island at 4AM and were just east of Rodriguez Dome at dawn. We crossed the Dome and proceeded south to the San Juan Seamount, then southeast to a deep 2100 fathom canyon located there. the fourth day found us near the Tanner Bank moving Southeast to the San Clemente basin. We started a bit east of our usual location as we needed to be back to shore about 7 hours early to avoid the hihi winds offshore predicted due to Kay. We were still able to bird until dark, so no impact on the trip, and in fact one of the best birds of the trip was found late in the day in an area we typically don't bird. We were back at the dock by midnight, where we all slept on the boat and had a hardy breakfast before departing at our usual morning time.
    
    I've been fortunate to participate in 18 of the 19 fall Searcher trips, and this was one of if not the best for diversity of species, weather, and the great looks we got at the vast majority of birds and mammals. A big thanks to my co-leaders Dave Pereksta, Dave Povey and Jon Feenstra. Also a big thanks to Art Taylor, Celia Condit, and the the crew of Searcher who took great care of us as they always do.
    
    We keep bird checklists and haven't added everything up yet, so the numbers are approximate where given
    
    Black-footed Albatross (Seen everyday)
    Pink-footed Shearwater
    Sooty Shearwater
    Manx Shearwater 2 (one in SD and one in SB counties)
    Black-vented Shearwater
    Buller's Shearwater (about 500 most on the San Juan Seamount)
    Ashy Storm-Petrel
    Black Storm-petrel
    Leach's Storm-Petrel (most the dark or dusky-rumped Mexico breeders)
    Least Storm-Petrels (40 or so, seen in SD, LA, SB, and VEN) more widespread and numerous than typical
    Townsend's Storm-Petrel (seen more inshore than in some years and seen every day)
    Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel (1 at a slick near in the late afternoon on Thursday in LA county about 7 miles west of the "corner"
    Cook's Petrels (40 or so, mostly south of Rodriguez Dome)
    Hawaiian Petrel 1 (South of Rodriguez Dome)
    Craveri's Murrelet (about 60 mostly near Santa Cruz Basin)
    Scripp's Murrelet 4
    Guadalupe Murrelet 7 (some incredible looks)
    Cassin's Auklet 2
    Common Murre 1
    Brown Booby
    Red-footed Booby 2
    Blue-footed Booby 2.5 (2 adults and the continuing Brown X Blue-footed hybrid) all on Sutil
    2 Nazca Boobies
    Red Phalarope
    Red-necked Phalarope
    Red-billed Tropicbird 5 (with two different birds on the water allowing close approach)
    Sabine's Gulls
    Arctic Terns
    Parasitic, Pomarine, and Long-tailed Jaegers
    
    Marine Mammals included
    Humpback, Blue, and Fin Whales
    Baird's Beaked-Whales
    10-12 ETP Orcas
    Short-beaked Common Dolphin
    Bottle-Nosed Dolphin
    California Sea-Lions
    Elephant Seals
    Gudalupe Fur-Seals
    
    Quite a haul for 4 days.......
    
    The trip is already sold out for 2023, but you can go to bajawhale.com for info about the trips. a more detailed trip report with some photos will be prepared and all these sightings will be placed in ebird with photos over the next month.
    Todd McGrath
    skua@...
    The Woodlands, TX
  4. -back to top-
  5. April-June 2022 San Diego pelagic trips LINK
    DATE: Apr 8, 2022 @ 5:54am, 2 year(s) ago
    Three Buena Vista Audubon sponsored pelagic trips out of San Diego are being offered in April, May, and June 2022. All are aboard the 80-foot "Legacy" out of Seaforth Landing in Mission Bay. Passenger loads are limited to 55, with several leaders.
    April 24, 2022 . This is a 6- hour Sunday trip to the local canyons and banks off San Diego. A shorter trip than others but which still allows for coverage of inshore waters frequented by many seabirds and other marine life. Expected species include Scripps's Murrelet, Cassin's and Rhinoceros Auklet, Northern Fulmar, Pink-footed, Sooty, and Black-vented Shearwaters, Black Storm-Petrel, Pomarine and Parasitic Jaegers, Red Phalarope, and Brown Booby.
    
    May 14, 2022. This is a 10-12-hour Saturday trip that will likely extend west to the farthest reaches of San Diego County waters, and we may enter briefly into Los Angeles Co. as well. The "on the water time" here allows for a more thorough coverage of the various banks and deeps, for both the expected and less numerous species also found slightly farther offshore. Expected species include all those from the April trip, plus Ashy Storm-Petrel and Sabine's Gull, and gives us a better chance at possible species such as Black-footed Albatross, Red-billed Tropicbird, and South Polar Skua, with a slight chance for Laysan Albatross.
    
    June 12, 2022. This is a 10-12-hour Sunday trip, with a similar general route as the May trip. Expected species are much the same as for the May trip, with a somewhat lower likelihood of Scipps's Murrelet but the possibilityof picking up the first of several summer species such as Craveri's Murrelet and Leach's Storm-Petrel, and with a slight chance for Cook's Petrel.
    
    For further details and to see the July-October 2022 schedule, go to sandiegopelagics.com
    
    You may book directly online at www.sdwhale.com (be sure you are on the Legacy Whale Watch site). Hit the red "BOOK NOW" button, which leads to the boat's schedule (both whale-watching and birding). Then scroll down to the date you wish to book. Hit "CLICK HERE" then "BOOKING."
    You can also call Seaforth Sportfishing Landing during regular business hours: (619) 224-3383.
    Thanks, and we hope we will see you onboard!
    
    --Dave Povey, Bruce Rideout, Paul Lehman, San Diego
  6. -back to top-
  7. Great late season pelagic - Half Moon Bay. LINK
    DATE: Oct 24, 2021 @ 10:24pm, 2 year(s) ago
    Hello all, We had a narrow weather window yesterday to get offshore and see a few birds and cetaceans. Wind after the front on Thursday was to decline on Friday and into Saturday, and so were the swells. Swells were big and mean on Friday, but by Saturday they had switched to big but rounded, well-spaced. We went out with an eye to the winds to our north, as we knew the wind shifts would happen north to south. As such, we were able to enjoy a rain free, and very diverse day offshore. The fun began close to shore where we found some foraging shearwaters, pelicans and gulls. In there we were elated to see a Manx Shearwater, and folks on the bow a little later said there were two. One on the right and one on the left of the boat. However, we were able to photograph only one. A bird in molt. Crazy, but it was just beyond the 5 mile distance from my house. Almost in reach for my home patch list. Here are the photos: https://ebird.org/checklist/S96591196 A tad farther out we found some Humpback Whales, more Pink-footed and Sooty shearwaters, then a very nice Bullers Shearwater; Bob Toleno and Chris Hayward saw a Short-tailed Shearwater at this time. After missing them for most of the migration, today all phalaropes out there were Reds. I expect that some will be found on shore tomorrow after the storm passes, I did see one today (Sunday) at Pillar Point marsh. Continuing on our voyage we worked our way out along the Pioneer Canyon, with a short glimpse of Ashy Storm-Petrel, and several Northern Fulmars. These looked fresh, unlike the few remaining over-summering youngsters which are patchy looking. Likely these were migrants. Heading south from the Pioneer, we found an amazing concentration of marine mammals with a big pod of Rissos Dolphins, mixed in with Pacific White-sided Dolphins, and some amazing views (right below the boat) of Northern Right Whale Dolphins. While we were looking here and waiting, a storm petrel flew by in bad light, first thought that it was a Black but the white rump shape clarified it was Leachs! This is a very tough species to see around here, a great find; minutes later a Black Storm-Petrel was seen. Then someone alerted me to a fur seal right by our boat, and amazingly it was the rare Guadalupe Fur Seal! Several folks obtained great photos of the distinctive head shape that separates it from the Northern Fur Seal. It is difficult to confirm this species at sea, they are perhaps more common now than ever as the population has increased. Then all heck broke loose minutes later when a Laysan Albatross flew right by the boat for amazing photos, and cheers from a boat full of happy birders. Several Black-footed Albatross were seen earlier. So much happened during this stretch. We also had one or maybe even two, Short-tailed Shearwaters come through at this time. These birds were all in San Francisco county. In total, we found five species of Shearwater, 3 storm petrels, and 2 albatross Not bad at all. Photos here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S96642277 We began to return to port, often at this time the surprises are done. But this time we stumbled on a South Polar Skua, after thinking we had missed that for the day (Pomarine and Parasitic jaegers were seen as well). Yet it was in the harbor that we found the final amazing bird of the day was the Northern Gannet sitting right on the break wall for the best looks I have ever had of that bird. Just fantastic! The photos of the gannet are outstanding - https://ebird.org/checklist/S96623361 The late season pelagic species showed up. It was a superb pelagic, unfortunately we did not find a Flesh-foot but I think we are saving that one for the next trip. We are doing our final pelagic of the season on November 13. Our hopes for a Laysan Albatross happened for this weekend, and in general late season is good for them. I always hope for Short-tailed Albatross of course, and November has produced them in the past. We shall see what turns up. If you are interested, we have approximately 6 spots left: https://www.alvarosadventures.com/pelagic-dates-2021.html see you out there. This has been an amazing pelagic season so far, and we hope that our last trip of 21 will provide some nice sightings. Alvaro Jaramillo alvaro@... www.alvarosadventures.com
  8. -back to top-
  9. Oct 2 pelagic results LINK
    DATE: Oct 3, 2021 @ 1:28pm, 2 year(s) ago
    Hi all
    We had an 11-hour pelagic trip out of Ventura with Island Packers yesterday (Oct 2). It was a beautiful day with low winds and nice seas, and we encountered a lot of birds and other sea life. We went from Ventura to Anacapa Island and then to Santa Barbara Island. The highlights were:
    A huge feeding frenzy near Anacapa Island has thousands of birds including big numbers of Black-vented Shearwaters. We had our only Common Murre of the day in the channel before the frenzy.
    A large flock of oystercatchers (30+) on Anacapa with three white-bellied birds. We could not get too close due to divers in the water and need to review photos to see if we can determine if any were Americans. The ones we could see well from the boat looked like hybrids and we did not get to see many fieldmarks like spread wings or rumps.
    The waters from Anacapa to the Pilgrim Bank in Ventura County had lots of birds and common dolphins. We had a "skua slam" over the course of a few minutes, finding Parasitic, Pomarine, and Long-tailed Jaegers; and South Polar Skua. We also had decent numbers of Pink-footed Shearwaters, a few Sooty Shearwaters, Sabine's Gulls, Rhinoceros Auklets, two Brown Boobies, and an Ashy Storm-Petrel that sat on the water near the boat. However, the highlights of this stretch were 21 Craveri's Murrelets and several large rafts of Black Storm-Petrels that numbered around 1,200 birds or more.
    The stretch from Pilgrim to Santa Barbara Island was less eventful, but Sutil Rock provided and incredible Booby show. We had 146 Brown Boobies, two Blue-footed Boobies, and two Red-footed Boobies!! This is the first time we have seen Red-footed Boobies perched on Sutil. Two birds perched together in vegetation makes you wonder what they are thinking. There was another booby that was either a juvenile Blue-footed or the hybrid Blue-footed x Brown from last year. Photo review of that is pending.
    We left SBI and checked the Osborn Bank before heading back north on a line over deeper water than our southbound track. We continued to see Craveri's Murrelets and a variety of other species including Red and Red-necked Phalaropes, Sabine's Gulls, shearwaters, and jaegers. The highlight of this stretch was a cow/calf pair of Bryde's Whales that mugged the boat several times and swam along the side with their bellies turned upward. A "life" mammal for most on board. As we continued north back into Ventura County we continued to see a variety of birds and lots of common dolphins. The bird highlights there were our most photogenic Sabine's Gulls and Craveri's Murrelets of the day. We had 40+ Craveri's for the day!
    Thanks go out to Island Packers for another great trip and all they do to support pelagic birding in southern California. Captain Joel Barrett, Laurie Van Stee, and Paige Knowles were awesome as always. In addition, the trip was expertly led by Todd McGrath, Ryan Terrill, Deven Kammerichs-Berke, Wes Fritz, and myself. Everyone's efforts led to a great day on the water.
    We are also proud to announce that big year birder Tiffany Kersten picked up numbers 699 (Craveri's Murrelet) and 700 (Blue-footed Booby) for her lower 48 big year. Congratulations to her for an amazing milestone!
    We have an 8-hour trip out of Ventura on Oct 23. Visit Island Packers website for more details.
    Cheers
    Dave Pereksta Ventura
  10. -back to top-
  11. Monterey Seabirds Trip Report LINK
    DATE: Sep 3, 2021 @ 6:22pm, 3 year(s) ago
    Hi all.
    This is a belated report for Monterey Seabirds' August 22 pelagic birding trip, with apologies.
    Highlights were a Manx Shearwater in a flock of Sooty Shearwaters that spent a few minutes within view, long enough to be seen by everyone on board, and a Tufted Puffin that circledthe Pt. Sur Clipper several times at close range allowing for great views and photos.
    A few more species were unusually cooperative, including a Scripps's Murrelet that spent a considerable amount of time not only close to the boat on the water, but in a perpendicular orientation allowing for great side-on views. One of a handful of Cassin's Auklets also allowed closer-than-usual approaches, and a few of the Black-footed Albatrosses made close passes.
    The weather and sea conditions were favorable and there were good numbers of birds in sight at all times. Our only jaegers were a couple of Parasitic Jaegers, but we had good numbers of Sabine's Gulls and Arctic Terns, with a handful of common terns. We had over 100 Ashy Storm-petrels, some in rafts of about a dozen each, and a couple of dozen Black Storm-petrels. Other species seen in good numbers include Red-necked Phalaropes, Sooty and Pink-footedShearwaters, Rhinoceros Auklets, and Common Murres. We also had three Northern Fulmars.
    The mammal show was also spectacular. We had multiple humpback and blue whales, a couple of minke whales, multiple groups of Pacific white-sided and Risso's dolphins, as well as bow-riding Dall'sporpoises. We also had killer looks at three different Guadalupe fur seals.
    There are still spots available on our upcoming 8-hour trips, including this Sunday, September 5. More info at https://www.montereyseabirds.com/ .
    Take care,
    Bernardo
    --
    Bernardo Alps
    Wildlife Biologist California Whales & Wildlife www.photocetus.com
    whalephoto@...
    310.597.0449
    P.O. Box 1667
    San Pedro, CA 90733
  12. -back to top-
  13. Pelagic results from August 28 (Half Moon Bay) and August 29 (Monterey) - loads of good birds! LINK
    DATE: Aug 30, 2021 @ 3:23pm, 3 year(s) ago
    Our string of fantastic Alvaros Adventures pelagics continues!
    
    Saturday, August 28th
    We departed Half Moon Bay harbor under sunny skies. A lone MARBLED MURRELET and two PARASITIC JAEGERS showed
    before we rounded Mavericks, and we picked-up SOOTY and PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS as we headed offshore. Approaching
    the continental shelf, we found hundreds of BLACK STORM-PETRELS, dozens of ASHY STORM-PETRELS, and double-digits of
    WILSONS STORM-PETRELS. This trip was billed as San Mateo specific, so we did not proceed into the Pioneer Canyon (SF County)
    as we had the two previous weeks; instead, we turned southwest and hugged the county line into deeper water. We added several
    BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES across the next hour, but the action peaked when we encountered several massive rafts of
    storm-petrels (500+ birds each). They, like the group we found earlier, was overwhelmingly Black with Ashy, Wilsons, and 1-2
    FORK-TAILED. A confiding LAYSAN ALBATROSS circled the boat several times, and we found singles of BULLERS SHEARWATER,
    LONG-TAILED JAEGER, POMARINE JAEGER, SABINES GULL, and ARCTIC TERN. Returning inshore, we encountered one
    FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER and one SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER over feeding HUMPBACK WHALES about ten miles
    from the harbor. Otherwise, RHINOCEROS and CASSINS AUKLETS showed in expected numbers. Among dozens of RED-NECKED
    PHALAROPES, 1-2 REDS were welcome. Shearwater and jaeger numbers were very low, but those were offset by huge numbers of
    storm-petrels and other, high-quality finds. With minimal swell, this was a pretty perfect trip! Offshore water temp was 59.5 degrees,
    and we reached a maximum depth of 1,600 feet. (The shelf falls-off very slowly in San Mateo County compared to the 4,000-foot
    Pioneer Canyon in nearby SF waters.)
    
    Sunday, August 29th
    Translocating to Monterey, we powered south towards Carmel Canyon amidst overcast and fog. Nothing beyond gulls was flying
    around on this windless morning, but we sussed out SOOTY and PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS from floating flocks. Occasional
    jaegers offered distraction, and our first BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS was encouraging. Diversity remained low through the morning,
    but we tacked-on usual suspects like RED-NECKED PHALAROPES and RHINOCEROS and CASSINS AUKLETS. Leaving the canyon,
    joining the underwater weenie, and venturing into the deeper Monterey Seavalley, the action increased. Among swelled shearwater
    numbers, a lone BULLERS the only new variety, we found ARCTIC and COMMON TERNS, ~30 SABINES GULL, a single RED
    PHALAROPE, and 5-6 EXAMPLES OF EACH JAEGER. The highlight, however, was two GUADALUPE MURRELETS, one of which
    allowed pants-soiling views as it paddled about the bow for ten minutes; that amazing encounter helped minimize a notable (distressing)
    lack of storm-petrels across the day, two ASHIES all that we found. In the un-bird department, we observed several HUMPBACK WHALES,
    two NORTHERN FUR SEALS, and a group of LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHINS beyond the expected SEA OTTERS, SEA LIONS, and
    HARBOR SEALS. Offshore water temp was 63-64 degrees, and we reached a maximum depth of ~5,500 feet. The first GUMU was at that
    depth; the second was at 3,000 and only 7-8 miles from Point Pios. Oh yeah - a putative LEAST TERN went over the boat near the
    aquarium, but we'll need to scrutinize photos before we can say for sure. That's a nice MTY County bird if it holds up.
    
    Our remaining boats are selling out fast, so dont delay if youre thinking about joining us in September and October. August has been
    incredible, so who knows what well find as fall progresses!!!
    
    https://www.alvarosadventures.com/pelagic-dates-2021.html
    
    Cheers,
    Dorian Anderson (on behalf of fellow spotters Malia De Felice, Chris Hayward, Eli Gross, Steve Tucker, Bill Hubick, and Mark Kudrav)
  14. -back to top-
  15. Pioneer Canyon Petrel grounds - we go this Friday! LINK
    DATE: Aug 17, 2021 @ 2:11pm, 3 year(s) ago
    Hello all, There are Cooks Petrels being reported from Bodega down to San Diego, so this is definitely an incursion year for this species. Dan Nelson had 7-8 Cooks, and a Hawaiian Petrel on Sunday 30 miles from Bodega Head. We saw three Cooks and a Hawaiian Petrel on Saturday in the Pioneer Canyon, also about 30 miles offshore. The Sea Surface Temperature charts show that this warmer water where the petrels were continues in our area, and we will be heading back out there on Friday to look for these conditions and these birds, weather forecast looks good as well. To book a spot: https://www.alvarosadventures.com/pelagic-dates-2021.html On Saturday our Hawaiian Petrel and the first two Cooks Petrels were in San Francisco water. This is also where the thousands of Ashy Storm-Petrels were, along with a sprinkling of Black and Wilsons storm-petrels. We found three South Polar Skuas (both counties), all three jaegers and the elevated number of Sabines Gulls continues. Our first Arctic Terns showed up, and two very close Scrippss Murrelets were in San Mateo county. Without any rarity, Saturday would have been a great and birdy day, lots to see throughout the day. But the petrels put it over the top! A superb day. I think that if we get into the right area, chances are good that we may find other Cooks Petrels, but obviously it is not a guarantee by any means. Here are some photos from Saturday: First Cooks Hawaiian Petrel (distant) https://ebird.org/checklist/S93315940 Second Cooks https://ebird.org/checklist/S93316011 San Mateo County Cooks Scrippss Murrelet https://ebird.org/checklist/S93316166 Good birding. Alvaro Jaramillo alvaro@... www.alvarosadventures.com
  16. -back to top-
  17. Summary of April 25, 2021 Bodega Bay Pelagic, Sonoma/Marin Counties LINK
    DATE: Apr 26, 2021 @ 12:17pm, 3 year(s) ago
    Report by Gene Hunn
    
    Cordell Banks and the Continental Shelf Pelagic from Bodega Bay aboard the New Sea Angler with Captain Rick Powers. April 25, 2021.
    
    Lucas Corneliussen has emerged as the young empresario of pelagic birding out of Bodega Harbor. He put this spring trip together and filled the boat to its Covid capacity in face of stiff odds for fair weather. This was the first spring season pelagic trip in many years, as the spring season is well known to be the windy season on the Northern California coast and spring offshore trips always problematic. The forecast for this Sunday was dicey, but we persevered and were well rewarded for our faith in the pelagic gods.
    
    For the first few hours, birds were scarce beyond the zone of gulls, loons, grebes, cormorants, and murres, though hundreds of migrating loons and bright Red-necked Grebes were a treat as we left the harbor. We did enjoy a nice variety of Northern Fulmars, spotted a few Sooty and Pink-footed Shearwaters, Rhinoceros and Cassins Auklets, distant Pomarine Jaegers and Sabines Gulls, will-o-the-wisp Ashy Storm-Petrels, shy flocks of Northern/Red-necked Phalaropes (some in nice breeding plumage, and a very few Reds), and our first Black-footed Albatrosses. A visitation by a troop of Dalls Porpoises livened up the early hours.
    
    Blue sky broke through as we reached the continental shelf on the outside edge of Cordell Banks. The Captain announced that we had crossed a temperature threshold from chilly a 49 degrees to 51 degrees. At that precise moment a shout arose from the stern, Pterodroma!! Pterodroma!! HAWAIIAN PETREL!!! This high value target rarity glided to the boat, banked past the stern, toyed with us briefly off the bow before vanishing in the distance, but not before the big lenses had captured the moment.
    
    Lucass gamble on targeting the outer shelf was richly rewarded and birders were screaming with joy, as only birders can do when in the presence of a super rarity, as if we had caught the worlds biggest fish. The Captain proceeded due west just beyond the shelf and the albatross numbers climbed, with 21 surrounding the boat at one time, of perhaps 100 in all for the day. Then another scream, LAYSAN ALBATROSS, as this pied monster cruised in from our wake to circle close in for ample photo ops. We also enjoyed an intimate encounter with a pristine spoon-tailed Pomarine Jaeger, a few Black-legged Kittiwakes, and close views of passing SABINES GULL flocks, eventually numbering in the hundreds.
    
    At the head of Bodega Canyon, the Captain turned toward home, still 35 miles distant. The fine weather and calm seas had induced a somnolent air about the boat, but we awoke once more to excited shouts, this time of auklet!! Auklet!! PARAKEET AUKLET!!! This Alaskan vagrant cooperated most amiably for the next 20 minutes, allowing everyone (and every camera) to examine every detail. (This bird represents Sonoma Countys second Parakeet Auklet record with the first being a flock of 6 on a Repo Cruise in 2010.) But the day was not yet done. A large pod of Rissos Dolphins was spotted ahead, and we mingled with these striking cetaceans -- as did a Northern Fur seal -- as we headed to port. Finally, a lone, small dark shearwater with a flock of gulls proved on examination of the photos to be a SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER, always difficult to pin down. The captain slid the big boat neatly into the dock and we all debarked smiling.
    Thank you Gene for the complete summary of the trip. I (Lucas Corneliussen) will likely be leading another trip in May from Bodega Bay so keep your eyes peeled!
    
    Good Birding
    Lucas Corneliussen
  18. -back to top-
  19. Nazca Booby and more. LINK
    DATE: Oct 10, 2020 @ 11:35pm, 3 year(s) ago
    Hello all, A quick summary of our very fun pelagic out of Pillar Point Harbor today in calm weather. On our way out we found the first of a few Black-vented Shearwaters, most in San Mateo but one was in San Francisco county. A few Ashy Storm-Petrels were in the Pioneer Canyon, and then farther south we found Black Storm-Petrels. Shearwaters were fantastically well represented, Bullers throughout the trip, and then the most common was Pink-footed. Sooty Shearwaters were about in small numbers, and eventually we found a few Short-tailed Shearwaters in both counties, as well as nice views of Flesh-footed Shearwaters in both counties. We saw two or three, it was difficult to keep track! Six species of shearwaters, not bad. What was great were the nice views of all of the shearwaters, with even a good study of Short-tail which can be difficult to see well in the field. Several South Polar Skuas were found, as well as Pomarine and Parasitic jaeger. But the surprise of the day was when shouts of booby came from the stern of the boat, we assumed there was a fly by happening but no, the bird was sitting in the water. Wow, what a disconcerting look this bird had! From a distance it almost resembled a Blue-footed, but as we got closer it was clear that it was one of the Nazca/Masked. However it was a year old bird. Several keys led us to Nazca Booby, lack of collar on the neck, amount of dark markings on the underwing, extensive dark remaining on the head, and the bill color which was dusky at base, and more pinkish and then yellow at tip. As far as we know this is the first Nazca Booby seen by birders in San Mateo, the first in the county was earlier this year, photographed by fishermen on their boat. The bird was on the county line and flew into San Francisco before exiting to San Mateo, so a two county bird! Incredibly, with all of these birds we did not see an albatross today unfortunately. A surprise flock of Aleutian Cackling Geese were well offshore, and then a single one sitting on the water was bizarre to see. Marine mammals were spectacular with approximately a dozen Blue Whales, many Humpback Whales and a huge (2000) pod of Pacific White-sided Dolphin with Northern Right Whale Dolphins. Bottlenose Dolphins and Harbor Porpoise were also seen close to shore. Blue and Salmon shark were seen! Booby photos here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S74673610 Flesh foot and Short-tailed photos here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S74673581 What an amazing day. We head out next weekend, but the trip on the 24 th is the only one with open spots remaining before the end of the season. You can sign up here: https://www.alvarosadventures.com/pelagic-dates-2020.html good birding, Alvaro Alvaro Jaramillo alvaro@... www.alvarosadventures.com
  20. -back to top-
  21. Pelagic trip report - Sun Oct 4. LINK
    DATE: Oct 7, 2020 @ 9:20pm, 3 year(s) ago
    Hello all, Belated trip report, it has been a busy week. Yes, the season has turned, the late season birds are here. Overall the weather was a bit less amenable than the forecast had suggested, this meant we had to go a bit farther north into the weather to get offshore. It worked, and were able to drive south in a following sea through the Pioneer Canyon and then stayed off the continental shelf until we had to head back to port. We started off nicely with a pair of Marbled Murrelets close to shore as well as a couple of Parasitic Jaegers. Heading offshore I did get a very troubling feeling, there was little to nothing other than Common Murres as we went out, it took a long time to see a shearwater! In fact I saw an Ashy Storm-Petrel before I saw a Sooty Shearwater on this trip. But once we arrived at the continental shelf things began to sort out with Sooty, Pink-footed, and Bullers shearwaters, Black-footed Albatross, as well as Rhinoceros and Cassins Auklets. It was a good day for Rhino Auklets, lots out there. Perhaps associated with these numbers we found two Tufted Puffins, a juvenile and a non-breeding adult; puffins at this time of year are very neat to see, so different from the summer. Heading south we picked up more Ashy Storm-Petrels, many Black Storm-Petrels and a Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel. South Polar Skua, two Long-tailed Jaegers (together) and Pomarine jaegers gave us the skua-jaeger grand slam. We picked up Blue Whales, which have been hard to find in central CA, we were able to share this information with Monterey Bay Whalewatch who are working with a TV/Film crew (BBC) and they have been looking for Blue Whales, fortunately our magic spot worked for them a couple of days later and they were able to get some footage that we may see in a documentary in the future! On our way back more Bullers Shearwaters showed up, and a flock of Sooty Shearwaters had an individual that was flying around with a darker underwing, a Short-tailed Shearwater. As well, about 10 miles offshore our first of the season Black-vented Shearwater showed up and a few more in the next 20 minutes or so. All jaegers and South Polar Skua, three species of storm-petrels and 5 species of shearwater, diversity is up! We have two spots on Oct 18, and a few more on the 24 th remaining. https://www.alvarosadventures.com/pelagic-dates-2020.html Also, I am doing a Big Walk for Rhinoceros Auklets a walking big day next week where I am asking for donations to Oikonos for the Ao Nuevo Island project, restoring habitat and monitoring Rhinoceros and Cassins Auklets on the island. Hopefully I can break 110 species on foot power, and will likely walk about 20 miles assuming I survive!! Please donate more details here: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/oikonos-ecosystem-knowledge/alvaro-jaramillo-1 good birding! Alvaro Alvaro Jaramillo alvaro@... www.alvarosadventures.com
  22. -back to top-
  23. Ventura Pelagic Trip with Island Packers - October 3, 2020 LINK
    DATE: Sep 27, 2020 @ 2:40pm, 4 year(s) ago
    Hi All
    
    This
    is a reminder that Island Packers is offering an 11-hour deepwater
    pelagic trip from the Ventura Harbor at 7 am on Saturday October 3 and we still have some tickets available. This
    trip will allow us to get to offshore waters beyond the reach of most
    day trips where we will
    have a chance to see a number of outstanding pelagic birds and marine
    mammals. The waters around the northern
    Channel Islands can be very productive during the fall when hundreds
    (sometimes thousands) of shearwaters crowd into the inter-island gaps.
    We will be looking through flocks of Black-vented,
    Pink-footed, and Sooty Shearwaters for Buller's, Flesh-footed
    (uncommon),
    and Manx (rare) Shearwaters. This is peak season for seabird diversity
    so in addition to the species already mentioned, Black-footed Albatross,
    Black and Ashy Storm-Petrels, Cassin's and Rhinoceros Auklets, and
    Pomarine and Long-tailed Jaegers are all possible. It is also a good time of
    year for South Polar Skua (we had seven last year), Sabine's Gull, and Arctic Tern. Recent trips to Santa Barbara Island have seen a Blue-footed Booby among the large numbers of Brown
    Boobies there and we intend to visit the island on this trip. The Blue-footed bred with a Brown Booby and I saw a hybrid fledgling there earlier in September. There is also a potential for sought-after species
    like Cooks' Petrel, Least Storm-Petrel,
    Townsend's Storm-Petrel, and
    Craveri's Murrelet. The last few years have been exceptional for Craveri's
    
    Murrelet off southern California so our
    chances to find this elusive species may be good. We saw approximately
    32 Craveri's Murrelets on this trip last year! In
    addition, a multi-day trip I led out of San Diego a few weeks ago had Nazca Boobies on four consecutive days. Remember that this trip in 2018 had all five North American boobies in a single day! We
    will decide what our offshore destinations will be after reviewing
    oceanographic conditions at the time of the trip, which will help
    determine where birds and other marine life may be present.
    
    While I would normally go on more about the birds we might see, I am
    going to focus on safety related to the COVID-19 pandemic and how we plan to
    run the trip to minimize risk to everyone on board. First, we are running at a
    reduced capacity to ensure that passengers can sit/stand 6 feet apart. Masks/face coverings are REQUIRED
    at all times while on the boat. If you do not believe in wearing masks for some
    political, religious, or other reason, then this is not the trip for you. The
    exception is to eat or drink. We ask that when you are eating or drinking to
    distance one's self 6 feet away from other people not in your party. When
    eating and drinking remove your mask only sparingly, replacing it between
    drinks, or bites of food (use your best judgement). We also suggest bringing a
    few spare masks as you may want to put on a fresh one after several hours. Make
    sure you can comfortably wear the mask for extended periods of time. In
    addition, all the tables and handrails will be disinfected before boarding and the
    restrooms will be disinfected on regularly scheduled intervals. The handrails
    along the perimeter of the boat are marked at 6-foot intervals to help maintain
    social distancing while aboard.
    
    The trip will be on an ultra-fast catamaran that features a spacious
    and comfortable cabin, galley, and excellent viewing from both the upper and
    lower decks. A full contingent of outstanding seabird leaders will be present
    to make sure we see all that is out there. The Captain and crew know how to run
    birding trips and are enthusiastic and helpful. In addition, we work hard to
    creep up on birds and get them in the right light...photographers will not be
    disappointed!
    
    Trips can be booked over the phone by calling (805) 642-1393 or online
    at www.IslandPackers.com by clicking the Reserve Trip tab, select the Special
    Trips tab, and select your desired departure. The cost of the trip is $170 per
    adult.
    
    Hope to see you at sea!
    Dave Pereksta Ventura
  24. -back to top-
  25. Storm Petrels - expand!! Trip reports from pelagics out of Half Moon Bay. LINK
    DATE: Sep 17, 2020 @ 8:22pm, 4 year(s) ago
    Hello all, Sunday and Monday (Sept 13 and 14), we went out from Pillar Point Harbor, into San Mateo and San Francisco waters. The Sunday trip was the SF country trip, where we maximize time in San Francisco county waters. We went to the Pioneer Canyon that day and had a great surprise, we found storm petrels out there. But first, on this day we did have multiple passerines fly by, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Wilsons Warblers, Audubons (Yellow-rumped) Warbler, Townsends Warbler, Merlin!, and perhaps a rarer warbler. It had pale at the base of the tail, but no good photos could be taken. One cowbird and a Wilsons Warbler eventually rode the boat back to shore. A boat fishing about 8 miles from shore texted us photos of a Magnolia Warbler that had landed on their boat, unfortunately it did not choose our boat. But what was exciting was finding flocks of Ashy Storm-Petrels in Pioneer Canyon, recall that the week before we found Black Storm-Petrels, but well south in San Mateo County. These were mainly Ashy, with a scattering of Black as well as Wilsons Storm-Petrels . On our best hour count, we estimated 600 Ashy Storm-Petrels . We lucked out as well with a San Francisco Flesh-footed Shearwater , our first of the season and we are looking forward to seeing many more. On the next day, we were not limited to San Francisco so we came up with a plan. How about looking for the Pioneer Canyon storm-petrels, and then heading south to where the Black Storm-Petrels had been the week before Our plan worked amazingly well. The big surprise was a super easy to see Minke Whale close to shore, not always a whale that allows for photography. We did not have the passerine fall out today, but a lost Black Turnstone about 10 miles out was trying to land on the boat. Once at the Pioneer Canyon we found the flocks of storm petrels again, this time maxing out with approximately 500 birds. But our diversity went up, finding Ashy, Black, Wilsons and Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels . Bullers Shearwater showed up today. We then went south into San Mateo County, looking for the Black Storm-Petrel flocks, and on our way we found 2-3 Sabines Gulls which have been sparce this year. Early in the afternoon we found the Black Storm-Petrels, approximately 425 mixed with Ashy and a few Wilsons. Amazing, in one day we had gone from a concentration of Ashy to a totally different site with a concentration of Black Storm-Petrels. It was another fantastic study opportunity for storm petrels. We found Black-footed Albatross, Pink-footed and Sooty shearwaters, Northern Fulmar, Rhinoceros and Cassins auklets, Common Murre, Parasitic and Pomarine jaegers. Other critters included Humpback Whale, Salmon Shark, Mola mola, California and Stellers sea lions, Northern Fur Seal and Northern Elephant seal. The weather was good, we are excited about our trip this Saturday but it is sold out. Our next trips to this part of the ocean are on Oct 4, 17, and 24. The last two dates were just added. We have expanded our trips to later dates when numbers of albatross should increase, and we have high probability of finding Short-tailed Shearwater, as well as Flesh-footed Shearwater. Cross your fingers, but these late dates may also be good for Short-tailed Albatross. We will be on the lookout, Laysan Albatross will be a good chance and perhaps Ancient Murrelets may have started to show up by then. You can book and reserve here: https://www.alvarosadventures.com/pelagic-dates-2020.html Good birding Alvaro Jaramillo alvaro@... www.alvarosadventures.com
  26. -back to top-
  27. Trip report - Record Black Storm-Petrel count!! LINK
    DATE: Sep 8, 2020 @ 10:52pm, 4 year(s) ago
    Hello all, We had an amazing pelagic out of Half Moon Bay yesterday in sunny weather. The storm-petrelpalooza continued, and numbers were even higher than on Saturday. We estimated 1600 Black Storm-Petrels during one hour long transect, with 60 or so Ashy Storm-Petrels, and 7 or so Wilsons Storm-Petrels. This is the highest number we can find for San Mateo county waters, ever. A record haul! What was just fantastic was that we not only found flocks, but the birds were coming very close to the boat when we sat and idled, with opportunities for great photography. I am sure that more fantastic photos will be uploaded to the list: https://ebird.org/checklist/S73349525 Again, it is difficult to put into words how fantastic the experience was. Just non-stop storm-petrels, multiple views. Over and over, and you could really see the flight style differences between Ashy and Black storm-petrels. We are all still going through our photos, as hundreds if not more were taken by each person there with a camera! Some of the Black Storm-Petrels were in San Francisco county, but the big numbers were to the south in San Mateo. We found three Tufted Puffins, many and close Black-footed Albatross, an abundance of Common Murres, Rhinoceros Auklets, Pink-footed and Sooty shearwaters along with other common seabirds. Finally, jaegers were found in larger numbers, and all three species were seen including a fantastic adult Long-tailed right over our boat by Juan Pablo Galvan. Thanks for that spot! We were all looking at storm petrels, great that someone was looking up. The Humpback Whales put on an amazing show once again, with a group of feeding whales foraging right by the boat, putting on quite a show. We are heading out of Monterey on Saturday the 12 th , and return to Half Moon Bay on Monday Sept 14. There are 4 spots remaining for our Monday trip. You can reserve and book directly here: https://www.alvarosadventures.com/pelagic-dates-2020.html Good birding to you either on land or out on the water! Alvaro Alvaro Jaramillo alvaro@... www.alvarosadventures.com
  28. -back to top-
  29. San Mateo County pelagic report - Storm Petrels! LINK
    DATE: Sep 5, 2020 @ 10:38pm, 4 year(s) ago
    Hello all, I had gone to sleep seeing 17 knot winds offshore on the computer, and wondering what things would be like in the morning. Well, winds were down to 10 knots, the sky was cloudless and suddenly what was an impending poor weather trip was going to be fine. It was better than fine, it was wonderful. As has been the norm recently Common Murres were in the harbor, and masses of Elegant Terns were fishing the anchovy that are trapped in the harbor by the millions. We headed out and the first good sign was that an Ashy Storm-Petrel was seen about 10 miles out, closer than we usually see one. In fact on the way back in, there was one 3 miles from shore, definitely a record for us. Closer to shore than we ever see them. As is typical the line of Sooty Shearwaters was out there a few miles out, and lots of Common Murres with a single remaining (they leave early) Pigeon Guillemot. As we reached greater distances from the coast we found Pink-footed Shearwaters, a few Northern Fulmar and Rhinoceros Auklet. When we arrived near the Half Moon Bay weather buoy, things picked up, more shearwaters, Black-footed albatross and a nice fly by Laysan Albatross! What we assume was the same Laysan came back and gave even better views about 40 minutes later. Wilsons Storm-Petrel caused a thrill, as one came close to the boat. Little did we know that we would see several before the days end. Most storm petrels were Ashy, but eventually we found a Black Storm-Petrel, and from there on in, they took over the show. Progressively more common on each section of the trip as we headed south. Eventually we had an hour period when we tallied over 400! Some coming in for great views. Some photos here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S73241708 The numbers do not do justice to the experience. For hours Black Storm-Petrels were constantly in view, so were many Ashy, and a few Wilsons here and there. Comparison between Ashy and Black was possible repeatedly, the bouncing flight of the long-winged Black Storm-Petrel is something we looked at so intently today, and on so many individuals that we will likely see those images as we fall asleep tonight. It was truly a great trip to really learn this species. Amazing! Another superb experience was spotting the Laysan Albatross, presumably the same one as earlier, and then Dorian Anderson yelling that he had just seen a second! Eventually, the two birds sat together at a distance from us, confirming two Laysan Albatrosses at the same time. To think that at one time it was thought that San Mateo County was not good for pelagics! It is fantastic for pelagics. Return to port surprise was a Tufted Puffin that buzzed the boat. Several Humpback Whales were enjoyed, including some lunge feeding individuals. We hope to replay some of this, with the caveat that things can change on a dime in the ocean, on Monday. Weather is forecast to be pretty calm on Monday and we can assure you that it will be cool out there. So if you want to try your luck with seabirds, and escape the heat, we have 4 spots left: https://www.alvarosadventures.com/pelagic-dates-2020.html take care, Alvaro Alvaro Jaramillo alvaro@... www.alvarosadventures.com
  30. -back to top-


-revision history-
v1.35 - 11/22/22 - Finally rewrote code to handle new Groups.IO web structure
v1.30 - 01/05/16 - Revamped cloud logic, optimized database queries, linked to eBird rarities.
v1.23 - 12/08/11 - Added direct link to CBRC records.
v1.22 - 12/03/11 - Corrected GMT offsets on dates. Added last 5 posts at top.
v1.21 - 11/24/11 - Added direct link to range map for NA birds.
v1.2  - 11/23/11 - Greatly improved graphing technology - separates month vs. year by posts. Added species auto-complete functionality.
v1.14 - 11/22/11 - Added cloud bubble for common thread topics.
v1.13 - 11/22/11 - Added integrated photos where available.
v1.12 - 11/22/11 - Added multiple input boxes for additional refinement, negative search criteria (eg. -keyword).
v1.11 - 11/22/11 - Added banding code, species look-up. Also direct link to recent eBird observations.
 v1.1 - 11/22/11 - Added 'date' functionality. Shows top 'month/year' combinations for a query. Restrict results to that 'month/year'.
 v1.0 - 11/21/11 - Initial version coded. Currently archiving 'lacobirds' and 'calbirds'.