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 Aug, 2018 - 2 e-mail(s)...
 Apr, 2018 - 2 e-mail(s)...


  1. 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
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  3. Noteworthy Half Moon bay pelagic yesterday - Guadalupe Murrelet; tuna, skuas. LINK
    DATE: Sep 23, 2021 @ 11:15am, 3 year(s) ago
    Hello all, It started very slow, thick fog, no birds. It took forever to see our first Sooty Shearwater. But once we were at the Pioneer Canyon, Sabines, Bullers Shearwater, jaegers, Black Storm-Petrel, they all started to show up. It was calm and windless, and the fog lifted giving great visibility. It was an unusual day in many respects, the calm weather was one, but also the fact that there was warm (61F water) that was blue-green. A distant murrelet (likely Scrippss) started our murrelet searches. In the end we saw 16 murrelets including all that we identified as Scrippss or were too distant to identify. Additionally two Guadalupe Murrelets were in the Pioneer Canyon (SF county) https://ebird.org/checklist/S95041081 Guadalupe Murrelet is among the rarest of the worlds alcids. Only 5000 breeding individuals are thought to exist, some put the population at 7500 total. They breed on offshore islands, and keep to warmer and deeper water than Scrippss Murrelets so are much less likely to be found on a pelagic than its close relative. As such, they are perhaps the hardest alcid to find in North America, and certainly worldwide it is not much easier. So we were elated to see two of them offshore. This species is Endangered. All three jaegers were found with an estimate of 8 South Polar Skuas, at one time two were together on the water. That is a lot of bird muscle out there! Hundreds of Sabines Gulls were offshore, basically all over the place. We topped it off with a big Black Storm-Petrel flock of two thousand approximately. Four species of storm-petrel were seen, the others were Ashy, Wilsons and Fork-tailed. Great views of Bullers Shearwaters wowed folks on the boat. We also may have seen at least one Guadalupe Fur Seal. If the warm water feel is what you are getting from this day, you would be right. It was unusual in that the ocean was dominated by a warmer/offshore water component that included many jumping tuna! We photographed a couple poorly, and saw some close by we think these were big Bluefin, not Albacore. Record numbers of offshore murrelets, along with the tuna, this was not a normal situation but a lucky one in water types we usually do not encounter here. To top it off, a Minke Whale was seen on our way back to port. And we started with wonderful views of Marbled Murrelets, and saw three Tufted Puffins on the trip. What a day to be out!!! We are sold out currently on available dates. But when I get a minute we will be adding two dates as the boat is available to do so. Both late season trips which should be good for albatross, Short-tailed and Flesh-footed shearwaters, and perhaps something unusual! The dates will be Oct 23 and Nov 13. We seldom get out there in November, this is a good date for Laysan Albatross and if we are to find an offshore and non-injured Short-tailed Albatross November might be the time. I will send out a message when we have the dates available on the website. You can email me ( alvaro@... ) if you want to be penciled in for either of those dates. Alvaro Alvaro Jaramillo alvaro@... www.alvarosadventures.com
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  5. 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)
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  7. Searcher 5 day Pelagic Trip LINK
    DATE: Sep 13, 2020 @ 3:53pm, 4 year(s) ago
    Birders,
    
    The annual voyage on Searcher departed Monday Sep 7th from San Diego. Highlights from day 1 in San Diego and Los Angeles County included a single LEAST STORM-PETREL, a couple of TOWNSEND"S STORM-PETRELS and an adult NAZCA BOOBY as well as the usual species.
    
    Tuesday we started our day on the Osborne Bank and worked our way to Santa Barbara Island where we checked Sutil Rock for boobies. Just off the island we had a few CASSIN"S AUKLETS. About 80 BROWN BOOBIES were there, plus a single continuing BLUE-FOOTED BOOBY, which may have bred with a Brown and produced a hybrid chick. We are reviewing photos of the possible hybrid. a young MASKED/NAZCA type Booby was also seen on this day along with ASHY, BLACK, and LEAACH's STORM-PETRELS.We also saw a few CRAVERI'S MURRELETS, as well as all the JAEGERS and SOUTH POLAR SKUA. We anchored behind San Miguel Island.
    
    Wed we worked west from San Miguel Island to the shelf edge and down over the San Juan Seamount. We had more CRAVERI'S MURRELETS, plus a couple pair of SCRIPP'S MURELETS. about lunchtime we started seeing GUADALUPE MURRELETS, and had another adult NAZCA BOOBY. We were able to study LEACH's and TOWNSEND's STORM-PETRELS at close range on a natural slick, and we saw both light and dark rumped Townsdend's. BLACK_FOOTED ALBATROSS were following the boat in low numbers. over 100 BULLER's SHEARWATERS were out on the shelf.
    
    Thursday we started West of the Cortex Bank and worked our way in from the shelf edge, down the outside od the bank and then across the top. a distant COOK'S PETREL was seen at the shelf edge along with another GUADALUPE MURRELET pair. on top of the bank we hab a LAYSAN ALBATROSS, sporting a red band from Guadalupe Island. While wartching the LAYSAN at point blank range, another young NAZCA/MASKED type BOOBY joined the fray. We worked out way east and got into some BLUEFIN TUNA, with lots of COMMON and ARCTIC TERNS. a few SABINE"S GULLS and hundreds of PINK_FOOTED SHEARWATERS. Another COOK'S PETREL flew by the boat giving most a good, if quick look.
    
    Marine mammals included ELEPHANT SEAL, CALIFORNIA SEA-LION, NORTHERN and GUADALUPE FUR-SEALs, COMMON, BOTTLE-NOSED and RISSO's DOLPHINS, HUMPBACK, BLUE, and FIN WHALES.
    
    We did not see RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD, only the second time in 17 years we have missed this species. All in all a great trip. My thanks to Searcher Natural History Tours for running these trips, my co-leaders Dave Pereksta and Dave Povey, and the intrepid group of participants. It was truly an adventure. Smoke and haze was present 150 miles offshore, but otherwisse the weather was generally good.
    
    Todd McGrath
    SKUA@...
    Now safely back in TEXAS.
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  9. Searcher 2019 Pelagic Results LINK
    DATE: Sep 6, 2019 @ 9:20pm, 5 year(s) ago
    Birders,
    
    The Searcher 5 day pelagic trip left San Diego on Monday Sep 2 and arrived back there around 830 AM on Friday the 6th (today). Highlights were many. 6 adult Nazca Boobies. 1 on the 30 mile bank in SD, one near SB island in SB county, a third in VEN just east of the the San Juan Seamount, and an additional 3 flying near the bait barge in SD harbor this morning. 2 Red-billed Tropicbirds (both in VEN). Over 100 Cooks Petrels seen across 3 days ranging from the San Juan Seamount to well south and east of the Cortez bank. Over a dozen Craveris murrelets in SD and SBA county, and two Guadalupe murrelets that allowed close approach and a twenty minute view.
    
    Other highlights included a Wilsons Storm-Petrel in SBA waters, good numbers of Townsends Storm-Petrels in three counties, 500 Ashy Storm-Petrels north of SBI, as well as large numbers of Leachs and Black. Up to 10 Blackl-footed Albatrosses in view at once, plus all the jaegers, South Polar Skua And all the regular migrants. Brown Boolies at a fogged in Sutil Rock were the only place we saw that species.
    
    non-avian highlights included a Swordfish at the surface, a large Mako shark that came right to the boar, Blue Whales. Two seldom-seen in CA Brydes Whales, and atleast two ETP Orcas on a fresh seal kill. A group of six minke whales were unusually cooperative south of Santa Cruz Island. commin dolphins of both types were seen on multiple occasions.
    
    Thanks to Searcher Natural History Tours As well as Art Taylor and Celia Condit for another great trip.
    
    Special thanks to my co-leaders Dave Pereksta, Dave Povey, and Adam Searcy, as well as to all the participants.
    
    Todd McGrsth
    sku@...
    The Woodlands, TX
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  11. MTY PELAGIC REPORT: MASKED BOOBY & EVEN SEAS LINK
    DATE: Aug 28, 2018 @ 10:36am, 6 year(s) ago
    Hello, Calbirders,
    This is a report for Shearwater Journeys August 24, 2019 Monterey Bay pelagic trip. We had a fantastic day with calm seas and nearly non-stop seabirds. The most exciting seabird occurred during our return to Point Pinos at the end of the day when leader, Steve Tucker spotted a very distant booby.
    An exhilarating chase to keep up with the booby which was often flying through the blows of humpback whales ensued. The booby made multiple passes directly over our bow, thanks to the skill of our captain. We saw it plunge-diving amongst the many feeding seabirds and whales. Many images were made. After reviewing the images, and with input from Peter Pyle and Todd McGrath, the identification is presumed MASKED BOOBY about 10 months of age.
    It has been a great year for tropical boobies along the California coast, especially southern California. As we returned to the harbor, everyone was on high alert, hoping for a booby! And, it happened! Im sure this wont be the last booby sighted in Monterey this season.
    In addition to the MASKED BOOBY, we found a good assortment of fall seabirds. Highlights included: BULLERS SHEARWATERS, ASHY STORM-PETRELS; POMARINE, PARASITIC, and LONG-TAILED JAEGERS; SABINES GULLS; RHINOCEROS AUKLETS; and a beautiful TUFTED PUFFIN. We saw many HUMPBACK WHALES, 2 traveling BLUE WHALES, RISSOS DOLPHINS, DALLS PORPOISE, and NORTHERN FUR SEALS.
    EVEN SEAS: The sea surface temperature remained near 60 F throughout the day. So, although the flat-calm seas and the 60 F SST might tend to make one think that the conditions were good for finding Craveris, Scrippss, or Guadalupe Murrelets, this was not the case. Over my four decades of experience, finding these murrelets requires more than just warm water. Two additional conditions are needed: a temperature break and clear water. For instance, on our August 11th Half Moon Bay trip, the SSTs ran from 54 F to 58F over a short distance. And, the 58 F waters were clear. So, we had both a temp break and clear water. And, we found Scrippss Murrelets. Conversely, on this August 24th trip, we had pea soup green water, not clear at all. Of course, there will always be the odd exception, but in general, Ive observed that finding murrelets requires three things: 1. calmer seas, 2. temp break, and 3. clear water.
    Our next trip with spaces available is FRIDAY, AUGUST 31 with leaders Christian Schwarz, Alex Rinkert, Jim Holmes, and Debi Shearwater. We will be spending time in Santa Cruz County , a hard county for ticking seabirds! Spaces are available.
    The complete species list for AUGUST 24, 2019 SHEARWATER JOURNEYS MONTEREY BAY PELAGIC TRIP: All birds were recorded in Monterey County.
    COMMON LOON- 1 BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS- 20 NORTHERN FULMAR- 15 PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER- 75 BULLERS SHEARWATER- 4 SOOTY SHEARWATER- 8500 ASHY STORM-PETREL- 26 ****MASKED BOOBY- 1 BROWN PELICAN- 80 BRANDTS CORMORANT- 500 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT- 2 PELAGIC CORMORANT- 2 WESTERN SANDPIPER- 33 DOWITCHER SP.- 8 BLACK TURNSTONE- 2 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER- 2 RED-NECKED PHALAROPE- 125 RED PHALAROPE- 18 POMARINE JAEGER- 6 POMARINE/PARASITIC JAEGER- 4 PARASITIC JAEGER- 8 PARASITIC/LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 2 LONG-TAILED JAEGER- 9 JAEGER SP.- 10 HEERMANNS GULL- 40 CALIFORNIA GULL- 15 HERRING GULL- 1 WESTERN GULL- 100 SABINES GULL- 2 ELEGANT TERN- 40 COMMON MURRE- 550 PIGEON GUILLEMOT- 7 CASSINS AUKLET- 1 RHINOCEROS AUKLET- 70 *TUFTED PUFFIN- 1 SEA OTTER- + CALIFORNIA SEA LION- + NORTHERN FUR SEAL- 4 HARBOR SEAL- + BLUE WHALE- 2 HUMPBACK WHALE- 20 RISSOS DOLPHIN- 17 DALLS PORPOISE- 2 OCEAN SUNFISH- 1
    Leaders on the August 24, 2019 trip included: Steve Tucker, Christian Schwarz, Alex Rinkert, Nick Levendosky, Will Brooks, and Debi Shearwater. Many thanks to the keen-eyed leaders and birders from near and far for making this trip possible.
    Conditions on this August 24th trip were very different from our first trip on August 3rd where we encountered a strong red tide near shore, and very cold water (51 F, SST).
    One thing we can be certain of conditions will change, again. Perhaps, well get some clearing of the high chlorophyll conditions and a temperature break. On the other hand, perhaps, the conditions were just right for the MASKED BOOBY!
    Seabirding for Science, Debi Shearwater
    
    DEBRA SHEARWATER Shearwater Journeys, Inc. PO Box 190 Hollister, CA 95024 831.637.8527 debi@... www.shearwaterjourneys.com www.shearwaterjourneys.blogspot.com
    Celebrating 43 Years of Seabirding with Shearwater Journeys
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  13. August 25 pelagic trip to Tanner and Cortez Banks LINK
    DATE: Aug 2, 2018 @ 2:16pm, 6 year(s) ago
    Birders,
    
    I have organized a pelagic trip to the Cortez and Tanner Banks at the end of this month. The basic details are: departure from Dana Point aboard the R/V Sea Explorer, leaving at 1 AM and returning at 9 PM on Saturday, August 25 (20 hours); there are NO bunks or full galley on board, but possibly enough room to sleep on the floor or benches inside (plenty of room outside). The per person cost is $200, and there are only TWO spaces remaining.
    
    This should be an excellent opportunity to see species like Black-footed Albatross, Leach's Storm-Petrel, Red-billed Tropicbird, Craveri's Murrelet, Arctic Tern, South Polar Skua, and Long-tailed Jaeger. It is also a good opportunity to look for rare species such as Cook's and Hawaiian Petrels, Townsend's Storm-Petrel, Least Storm-Petrel, and Guadalupe Murrelet. On July 15 a trip from Ventura to nearby waters recorded nearly 100 Cook's Petrels, Tristram's Storm-Petrel, Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel, two Nazca Boobies, Long-tailed Jaeger, South Polar Skua, Sabine's Gull, and Black, Ashy, and Leach's Storm-Petrels. Additionally, t hree Townsend's Storm-Petrels were photographed on a trip out of San Diego on July 29. <
    /div>
    
    If you are interested in going or have any questions, please email me back (off list) and I will send you additional details and/or payment information.
    
    Tom Benson
    
    San Bernardino, CA
    
    thomasabenson AT aol.com
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  15. August 25 pelagic trip to Tanner and Cortez Banks LINK
    DATE: Jul 9, 2018 @ 10:45am, 6 year(s) ago
    Birders,
    
    I have organized a pelagic trip to the Cortez and Tanner Banks next month. The basic details are: departure from Dana Point aboard the R/V Sea Explorer, leaving at 1-2 AM and returning at 8-9 PM on Saturday, August 25 (18-20 hours); there are NO bunks or full galley on board, but possibly enough room to sleep on the floor or benches inside (plenty of room outside). The per person cost is $200, and there are currently about 10 spaces remaining.
    
    This should be an excellent opportunity to see species like Black-footed Albatross, Leach's Storm-Petrel, Red-billed Tropicbird, Craveri's Murrelet, Arctic Tern, South Polar Skua, and Long-tailed Jaeger. It is also a good opportunity to look for rare species such as Cook's and Hawaiian Petrels, Townsend's Storm-Petrel, Least Storm-Petrel, and Guadalupe Murrelet.
    
    If you are interested in going or have any questions, please email me back (off list) and I will send you additional details and/or payment information.
    
    Tom Benson
    
    San Bernardino, CA
    
    thomasabenson AT aol.com
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  17. El Nio might be on the way LINK
    DATE: Jul 8, 2018 @ 11:15am, 6 year(s) ago
    Hi folks, NOAA climatologists are predicting a chance that an El Nio develops by late summer or fall and an even better chance that by winter one will have developed. We came out La Nia by the spring, and are now in neutral conditions. As a reminder, the warm water cycle of ENSO (El Nio Southern Oscillation) is called the El Nio and the cold water cycle is the La Nia. The major ocean effects in water temperature change are felt along the Equator, however in strong El Nio, the warming can extend to Baja and California. Changes in ocean temperature regimes affect where productivity and food is on the ocean, and this can shuffle the distribution of seabirds around. In any case, this bears some attention particularly a few months from now when we can see if this develops or fizzles. The June forecast is an important one as it is past an uncertainty period that occurs during the spring months, so this forecast is much more accurate than anything done in the spring. https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/enso/june-2018-enso-update-el-ni%C3%B1o-watch In Central California we are seeing a warm water push closer to shore. Water went above the magic 60F temperature about 20 miles offshore a couple of days ago before retreating. The Chlorophyll maps show that some of this water is food poor, so blue albacore water. More of this water may come in during the next weeks, giving a greater chance for some offshore goodies, such as Pterodroma petrels, Craveris or Guadalupe murrelets etc. BTW, we are heading to the Farallon Islands next weekend, and on the 23d. July 21 is our July trip which has had some good birds in the past. All out of Half Moon Bay. http://alvarosadventures.com/boat-trips/pelagics/ Alvaro Alvaro Jaramillo alvaro@... www.alvarosadventures.com
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  19. Upcoming pelagic trip out of Ventura on July 15 LINK
    DATE: Jul 3, 2018 @ 10:55am, 6 year(s) ago
    Hi All
    
    This is a reminder that Island Packers is offering a 12-hour
    deepwater pelagic trip from the Ventura Harbor at 7 am on Sunday July 15. 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. Our intention is to go southwest from Ventura
    towards San Nicolas Island and the banks, knolls, canyons and other productive
    features in the area. This will give us
    a chance to look for sought after species like Cooks Petrel, Red-billed
    Tropicbird, Least Storm-Petrel, Leach's Storm-Petrel, Townsend's Storm-Petrel,
    Guadalupe Murrelet and Craveri's Murrelet.
    Our trip to this area last year was outstanding and yielded Cooks
    Petrels, Black-footed Albatross, 45 Craveris Murrelets (!!), Brown Booby, and
    a variety of other pelagic species. Recent pelagic trips out of San Diego have
    found Craveris Murrelets, Nazca Booby, Masked Booby, and Townsends
    Storm-Petrel so there are some great birds in the Southern California Bight at
    the moment. We will decide what our offshore destination will be after
    reviewing oceanographic conditions at the time of the trip, which will help
    determine where the birds and other marine life may be present or concentrated.
    
    Summer trips in July and August coincide with the earlier
    parts of the southbound fall migration of arctic nesting species, the northward
    dispersal of southern nesting species, and the nesting and fledging periods of
    breeding species on the Channel Islands.
    Past trips have found Cooks Petrel (rare), Manx Shearwater (rare),
    Black-footed Albatross, Laysan Albatross (rare), Buller's Shearwater, Leach's
    Storm-Petrel, Blue-footed Booby, Brown Booby, Long-tailed Jaeger, South Polar
    Skua, Scripps's Murrelet, Craveri's Murrelet, Arctic Tern, and a variety of
    other shearwaters, storm-petrels, pelagic gulls and terns, phalaropes, and
    alcids. Patrolling the shoreline of
    Anacapa Island has yielded American Oystercatchers over the last few
    years. Summer is also an excellent time
    for Ashy and Black Storm-Petrels, and Cassin's Auklets. There is often a flock of 1000's of Black
    Storm-Petrels south of the islands that we will attempt to find. A few Rhinoceros Auklets and Common Murres
    should still be around, along with Pigeon Guillemots near the islands. Red-billed Tropicbird is always possible on
    summer trips, although not found every year.
    
    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
    $195 per adult.
    
    Hope to see you at sea!
    
    Dave Pereksta
    
    Ventura, CA
  20. -back to top-
  21. Potential Cortez Bank pelagic trip, August 25 LINK
    DATE: May 29, 2018 @ 9:16am, 6 year(s) ago
    California birders,
    
    I am trying to organize a pelagic trip to the Cortez Bank this year. The basic details are: departure from Dana Point aboard the R/V Sea Explorer (same boat used on Orange County Audubon pelagics), leaving at 1-2 AM and returning at 8-9 PM on Saturday, August 25 (18-20 hours); there are NO bunks or full galley on board, but possibly enough room to sleep on the floor or benches inside (plenty of room outside). The per person cost will likely be $200 (it will not be more than that).
    
    This should be an excellent opportunity to add species like Black-footed Albatross, Leach's Storm-Petrel, Red-billed Tropicbird, Craveri's Murrelet, Arctic Tern, South Polar Skua, and Long-tailed Jaeger to your LA County (and California) list. It is also a good opportunity to look for rare species such as Cook's and Hawaiian Petrels, Townsend's Storm-Petrel, Least Storm-Petrel, and Guadalupe Murrelet.
    
    If you are interested in going, please email me back (off list) and let me know so I can put your name on the manifest and determine if there is enough interest to fill the boat. I have a list of about 15 people who have expressed interest already, but we need at least 15 more to fill the boat and make this trip happen. If you have any questions regarding the details of the trip, please contact me and I will answer them to the best of my ability.
    
    Tom
    
    thomasabenson AT aol.com
  22. -back to top-
  23. JOUANIN'S PETREL: A FIRST RECORD FOR NORTH AMERICA LINK
    DATE: Apr 11, 2018 @ 9:05pm, 6 year(s) ago
    Howdy, CalBirders,
    JOUANINS PETREL: FIRST NORTH AMERICAN RECORD:
    
    Today I learned that the mystery petrel briefly observed and photographed during the Saturday, September 12, 2015 Shearwater Journeys offshore albacore trip has been accepted by the California Bird Records Committee as a JOUANINS PETREL ( Bulweria fallax ). This record represents the first accepted record of this north-west Indian Ocean seabird for North America.
    This was a sold out trip accompanied by leaders: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Alex Rinkert, Mary Gustafson, Rick Fournier, and Debi Shearwater. In addition, Will Brooks (a leader) was on board as a regular along with his father, Jim Brooks. Expert seabirder, Fabio Olmos from Brazil was on board, along with many keen local and out-of-state seabirders: Cooper Scallan, Doug Koch, Bryan Hix, Paul Fenwick, Chris Hartzell, Hillary White, Peder Svingen, Peter Haines, and others. Our captain this day was John Klusmire whose experience with Debi dates back to the mid-1980s.
    Ace leader, Alex Rinkert, first spotted the petrel and called it a Bulwers Petrel from the stern of the boat which was a pretty darned good call. As the petrel circled the vessel toward the bow, Scott Terrill and I had a view as it crossed to the other side. However, having seen quite a few Bulwers Petrels (including the first record for North America on another of our Monterey Bay trips some years ago), I was immediately convinced that this bird was not a Bulwers Petrel, based on size alone. The sighting was in Santa Cruz County, based on using nearest point of land and at a depth of only 200 fathoms. This species occurs in shallow waters within its normal range.
    It should be noted that an extremely warm water river occurred along the north coast, off Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay during this period. The presence of warm water by itself was not so much a factor, as the fact that it smashed into a front of significantly cold water. It was this frontal zone that produced the food for seabirds. (Its all about food.) Indeed, only 3 days later, we found a WHITE-CHINNED PETREL on our September 15, 2015 Half Moon Bay trip. That petrel flew in and sat on the water for 45 minutes birders seemed to become bored with it!
    Much discussion ensued following the sighting of the September 12 petrel. Eventually, Scott Terrill and I put together all of the details we could muster including many (not-so-great) photos which became known as the petrel package. This was circulated to some of the top world seabirders. David Ainley, Peter Harrison and Hadoram Shirihai responded independently and immediately that they judged the petrel to be a JOUANINS PETREL!
    Finally, the package went to the CBRC and they made a concurring diagnosis. Of course, any first record for North America requires a laborious vetting, but especially so with seabirds which often present the most fleeting of views.
    So, although we had a very good number of images, I would not particularly call any of them great. I will try to put up a post on my blog with some of these images. I will post about that when it becomes available.
    Subsequent to our first record, nine months later (June 2016) a petrel captured during mist netting at Santa Cruz Island (southern California) was identified as a Jouanins Petrel. It may or may not have been the same individual we saw in September 2015.
    Jouanins Petrel occurs widely offshore in the Arabian Sea and Gulfs of Aden and Oman, where it is the commonest pelagic seabird. It has showed up as a vagrant off Australia, Kenya, Seychelles, Saudi Arabia, and other places. BirdLife lists this species as Near Threatened. There are about 4 records for Hawaii.
    If youd like to read an interesting and fun tale about Jouanins Petrels, I recommend this article by my friend, Bob Flood: http://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/Scilly_Pelagics_Jouanins_Petrels.aspxs_id=746315633
    
    HISTORY OF OFFSHORE MONTEREY ALBACORE TRIPS:
    The albacore, offshore Monterey pelagic trip was invented by Debi Shearwater back in 1983. During the 1980s albacore, a type of tuna, regularly occurred off Monterey Bay. Reports from fishermen of incredible seabird activity prompted me to begin offering these 12 hour trips. The purpose of this trip was to present a wholistic approach to enjoying marine life. To that end, we endeavored to search for key seabirds, including Craveris, Scrippss, and Guadalupe Murrelets; blue and Bairds Beaked whales; and to catch albacore, the cadillac of the tunas. We never dreamed these trips would turn out to produce so many incredible seabird records. Even though the albacore changed their migration pattern and rarely occur off Monterey nowadays, we continue to operate albacore trips. These trips always sell out in advance.
    Other rare, or very uncommon seabirds we have discovered on Shearwater Journeys past albacore trips have included: Laysan Albatross; Cooks and Hawaiian Petrels; Streaked, Flesh-footed, Greater, and Manx Shearwaters; Least and Leachs Storm-Petrels; Red-billed and Red-tailed Tropicbirds; Brown Booby; Craveris, Scrippss, and Guadalupe Murrelets. This is a spectacular trip for jaegers, often encountering over 100 in one day! We almost always have a grand slam on Pomarine, Parasitic, and Long-tailed Jaegers, Long-tailed being the most commonly sighted. It is the single best trip to see South Polar Skua.
    Our September 9, 2017 Albacore trip indeed found all of the jaegers, South Polar Skua; Guadalupe, Scrippss, and Craveris Murrelets, and many of the regular fall species. Northern Waterthrush and American Redstart were bonus birds.
    OUR UPCOMING ALBACORE: OFFSHORE MONTEREY TRIPS: SUN. SEP. 9 SAT. SEP. 15
    See our complete schedule for 2018: http://www.shearwaterjourneys.com/schedule.html
    Past trip reports: Oct. 6, 2001 with STREAKED SHEARWATER and Black-throated Gray Warbler: http://www.shearwaterjourneys.com/ag011006.html Sep. 15, 2002 with 42 LONG-TAILED JAEGERS and murrelets: http://www.shearwaterjourneys.com/020913.html Sep. 10, 2006 with ten FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATERS and 1500+ Bullers Shearwaters: http://www.shearwaterjourneys.com/ag060910.htm Sep. 13, 2008 with 7000 ASHY STORM-PETRELS: http://shearwaterjourneys.blogspot.com/2008/09/shearwater-birthday-birding-sep-13-2008.html Sep. 12, 2009 with 24 COOKS PETRELS and one HAWAIIAN PETREL: http://shearwaterjourneys.blogspot.com/2009/09/trip-report-sep-12-2009-monterey.html
    I gratefully thank all of the leaders and especially, the participants from near and far representing 14 different states in the USA and Canada and Brazil. Without you , the participants, we have nothing. Special thanks to the many photographers on board who sent their images, and to the reviewers who worked on this amazing record.
    Now check that box! Whats next Still discovering first North American records after 40 years of trips! Debi Shearwater
    
    DEBRA SHEARWATER Shearwater Journeys, Inc. PO Box 190 Hollister, CA 95024 831.637.8527 debi@... www.shearwaterjourneys.com www.shearwaterjourneys.blogspot.com
    Celebrating 43 Years of Seabirding with Shearwater Journeys
  24. -back to top-
  25. JOUANIN'S PETREL: A FIRST RECORD FOR NORTH AMERICA LINK
    DATE: Apr 11, 2018 @ 9:04pm, 6 year(s) ago
    Howdy, CalBirders,
    JOUANINS PETREL: FIRST NORTH AMERICAN RECORD:
    
    Today I learned that the mystery petrel briefly observed and photographed during the Saturday, September 12, 2015 Shearwater Journeys offshore albacore trip has been accepted by the California Bird Records Committee as a JOUANINS PETREL ( Bulweria fallax ). This record represents the first accepted record of this north-west Indian Ocean seabird for North America.
    This was a sold out trip accompanied by leaders: Scott Terrill, Linda Terrill, Alex Rinkert, Mary Gustafson, Rick Fournier, and Debi Shearwater. In addition, Will Brooks (a leader) was on board as a regular along with his father, Jim Brooks. Expert seabirder, Fabio Olmos from Brazil was on board, along with many keen local and out-of-state seabirders: Cooper Scallan, Doug Koch, Bryan Hix, Paul Fenwick, Chris Hartzell, Hillary White, Peder Svingen, Peter Haines, and others. Our captain this day was John Klusmire whose experience with Debi dates back to the mid-1980s.
    Ace leader, Alex Rinkert, first spotted the petrel and called it a Bulwers Petrel from the stern of the boat which was a pretty darned good call. As the petrel circled the vessel toward the bow, Scott Terrill and I had a view as it crossed to the other side. However, having seen quite a few Bulwers Petrels (including the first record for North America on another of our Monterey Bay trips some years ago), I was immediately convinced that this bird was not a Bulwers Petrel, based on size alone. The sighting was in Santa Cruz County, based on using nearest point of land and at a depth of only 200 fathoms. This species occurs in shallow waters within its normal range.
    It should be noted that an extremely warm water river occurred along the north coast, off Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay during this period. The presence of warm water by itself was not so much a factor, as the fact that it smashed into a front of significantly cold water. It was this frontal zone that produced the food for seabirds. (Its all about food.) Indeed, only 3 days later, we found a WHITE-CHINNED PETREL on our September 15, 2015 Half Moon Bay trip. That petrel flew in and sat on the water for 45 minutes birders seemed to become bored with it!
    Much discussion ensued following the sighting of the September 12 petrel. Eventually, Scott Terrill and I put together all of the details we could muster including many (not-so-great) photos which became known as the petrel package. This was circulated to some of the top world seabirders. David Ainley, Peter Harrison and Hadoram Shirihai responded independently and immediately that they judged the petrel to be a JOUANINS PETREL!
    Finally, the package went to the CBRC and they made a concurring diagnosis. Of course, any first record for North America requires a laborious vetting, but especially so with seabirds which often present the most fleeting of views.
    So, although we had a very good number of images, I would not particularly call any of them great. I will try to put up a post on my blog with some of these images. I will post about that when it becomes available.
    Subsequent to our first record, nine months later (June 2016) a petrel captured during mist netting at Santa Cruz Island (southern California) was identified as a Jouanins Petrel. It may or may not have been the same individual we saw in September 2015.
    Jouanins Petrel occurs widely offshore in the Arabian Sea and Gulfs of Aden and Oman, where it is the commonest pelagic seabird. It has showed up as a vagrant off Australia, Kenya, Seychelles, Saudi Arabia, and other places. BirdLife lists this species as Near Threatened. There are about 4 records for Hawaii.
    If youd like to read an interesting and fun tale about Jouanins Petrels, I recommend this article by my friend, Bob Flood: http://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/Scilly_Pelagics_Jouanins_Petrels.aspxs_id=746315633
    
    HISTORY OF OFFSHORE MONTEREY ALBACORE TRIPS:
    The albacore, offshore Monterey pelagic trip was invented by Debi Shearwater back in 1983. During the 1980s albacore, a type of tuna, regularly occurred off Monterey Bay. Reports from fishermen of incredible seabird activity prompted me to begin offering these 12 hour trips. The purpose of this trip was to present a wholistic approach to enjoying marine life. To that end, we endeavored to search for key seabirds, including Craveris, Scrippss, and Guadalupe Murrelets; blue and Bairds Beaked whales; and to catch albacore, the cadillac of the tunas. We never dreamed these trips would turn out to produce so many incredible seabird records. Even though the albacore changed their migration pattern and rarely occur off Monterey nowadays, we continue to operate albacore trips. These trips always sell out in advance.
    Other rare, or very uncommon seabirds we have discovered on Shearwater Journeys past albacore trips have included: Laysan Albatross; Cooks and Hawaiian Petrels; Streaked, Flesh-footed, Greater, and Manx Shearwaters; Least and Leachs Storm-Petrels; Red-billed and Red-tailed Tropicbirds; Brown Booby; Craveris, Scrippss, and Guadalupe Murrelets. This is a spectacular trip for jaegers, often encountering over 100 in one day! We almost always have a grand slam on Pomarine, Parasitic, and Long-tailed Jaegers, Long-tailed being the most commonly sighted. It is the single best trip to see South Polar Skua.
    Our September 9, 2017 Albacore trip indeed found all of the jaegers, South Polar Skua; Guadalupe, Scrippss, and Craveris Murrelets, and many of the regular fall species. Northern Waterthrush and American Redstart were bonus birds.
    OUR UPCOMING ALBACORE: OFFSHORE MONTEREY TRIPS: SUN. SEP. 9 SAT. SEP. 15
    See our complete schedule for 2018: http://www.shearwaterjourneys.com/schedule.html
    Past trip reports: Oct. 6, 2001 with STREAKED SHEARWATER and Black-throated Gray Warbler: http://www.shearwaterjourneys.com/ag011006.html Sep. 15, 2002 with 42 LONG-TAILED JAEGERS and murrelets: http://www.shearwaterjourneys.com/020913.html Sep. 10, 2006 with ten FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATERS and 1500+ Bullers Shearwaters: http://www.shearwaterjourneys.com/ag060910.htm Sep. 13, 2008 with 7000 ASHY STORM-PETRELS: http://shearwaterjourneys.blogspot.com/2008/09/shearwater-birthday-birding-sep-13-2008.html Sep. 12, 2009 with 24 COOKS PETRELS and one HAWAIIAN PETREL: http://shearwaterjourneys.blogspot.com/2009/09/trip-report-sep-12-2009-monterey.html
    I gratefully thank all of the leaders and especially, the participants from near and far representing 14 different states in the USA and Canada and Brazil. Without you , the participants, we have nothing. Special thanks to the many photographers on board who sent their images, and to the reviewers who worked on this amazing record.
    Now check that box! Whats next Still discovering first North American records after 40 years of trips! Debi Shearwater
    
    DEBRA SHEARWATER Shearwater Journeys, Inc. PO Box 190 Hollister, CA 95024 831.637.8527 debi@... www.shearwaterjourneys.com www.shearwaterjourneys.blogspot.com
    Celebrating 43 Years of Seabirding with Shearwater Journeys
  26. -back to top-
  27. 10/16 Monterey Seabirds trip report-Scripps's, Guadalupe Murrelets, Flesh-foot, and other goodies LINK
    DATE: Oct 17, 2017 @ 2:01pm, 6 year(s) ago
    All, Monterey Seabirds ended our pelagic season with an incredible tour of Monterey County yesterday. This hearty and patient bunch of birders was a great group to be with for the day. Everyone aboard was eager to run far offshore to get to a strong temperature break and it paid off. First, we had to get there. Inside the Monterey Bay, we encountered BULLER'S, PINK-FOOTED, SOOTY and BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATERS. One probable Short-tailed shearwater got away before a positive identification. NORTHERN FULMAR (13) and BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS were encountered farther out. We enjoyed great studies of POMARINE (7) and PARASITIC JAEGER. Conditions far from shore were calm and glassy. We enjoyed the near t-shirt weather. A Skua slam was rounded out with a LONG-TAILED JAEGER when we got into deeper water. SOUTH POLAR SKUA (7) were out in the deeper water as well. It took some patience to get to the warmer water as we hit a spell of very few birds for a while. One of two YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS landed on the boat and helped us pass the time. Water temperatures quickly jumped from mid/upper 50s to mid 60s as we hit the temperature break. This is where we found the first pair of GUADALUPE MURRELETS (4 total). Two more were found well south of the first two. While tracking the second pair, a pair of SCRIPPS'S MURRELETS (2) were also found. Eight SABINE'S GULLS flew south during our time in the warm zone. Four more MURRELET SPP. got away when we got closer to shore. Icing for our cake Yes please! A single FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER gave us distant but satisfying looks with gorgeous views of the Big Sur coast as background. Also seen during the trip were several offshore COMMON LOON as well as RED-THROATED LOON. We enjoyed a stunning sunset with HUMPBACK WHALES, PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED and NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE DOLPHINS in the foreground. BLUE SHARK (4) and Mola mola were found at various times during the epic journey. I owe a huge thanks to all of our participants this season. I also have a deep gratitude for all of our spotters this year. An extra thanks goes out to Dorian Anderson for spotting on so many of our trips and for finding most of our Tufted Puffins this season! Looking forward to next season! Photos will be posted soon to our facebook page as well as the eBird lists. Here's one: ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39979385 https://www.facebook.com/montereyseabirdtours/
    
    Good birding to all,
    Mark Kudrav Pacific Grove Monterey Seabirds
  28. -back to top-
  29. Pelagic trip out of Ventura with Island Packers on 7 Oct 2017 LINK
    DATE: Sep 25, 2017 @ 1:30pm, 7 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 7. 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 a good time of
    year for South Polar Skua, Sabine's Gull, and Arctic Tern. Recent trips
    near the islands have found Blue-footed Booby (2013-2014, 2016) and Brown
    Booby (2013-2017). There is also a potential for sought-after species
    like Cooks' Petrel, Red-billed Tropicbird, Least Storm-Petrel, Townsend's Storm-Petrel, Guadalupe Murrelet, and
    Craveri's Murrelet. The last 4 years have been exceptional for Craveri's
    Murrelet off southern California and with warm water continuing, our chances to find this elusive species may be good. We saw approximately 45 Craveri's Murrelets on our recent July trip from Ventura! In addition, there was a Nazca Booby seen on a pelagic trip out of San Diego this weekend so anything is possible out there. 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.
    
    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 for photographers.
    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, CA
  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'.