Hello all, it's been about 4 months since I last posted, but not for lack of birds or outdoor adventures this summer. I almost made a post last month about my first Pileated Woodpecker, but the motivation escaped me by the time I sat down with my laptop. But not tonight, for I have a birding experience too exciting to keep to myself!
Last year I posted about my very first birding pelagic trip with none other than Debi Shearwater herself out of Monterey Bay , which you can read at the following links: Part one and Part two. It was an unforgettable yet bittersweet experience because I knew it would be my only Shearwater Journeys trip due to her previously announced plans to retire after the season.
So this year I knew I would have to find a different company to bird with. Of course, with the pandemic I wasn't sure if I would be able to go on one at all, but a friend mentioned that Alvaro Jaramillo, a local biologist whose name I was familiar with through his work with SFBBO, had his own company and was doing trips that were Covid-19 compliant. After reading about the trip protocol on his website I felt confident that I could safely participate.
The boat was leaving out of Half Moon Bay, which is about an hour from where I live. We were required to be at the harbor by 630am, and since my boyfriend was not coming with me this time, I had to drive myself there. Long story short, my anxiety resulted in very little sleep leading up to the (early) morning of the trip. This would result in me getting seasick for the first time in my life and it sucked.
OK so with all that backstory out of the way (I always ramble in my posts), let's get on to the birds!
I had quite a few lifers, however my intense nausea at times led me to stashing my camera in the cabin on and off throughout the 10 hour trip rather than risk barfing on it, so I missed some opportunities for rarer birds, and overall did not take as many photos as I had planned. Still got some photos worth sharing, at least!
Western gull (Larus occidentalis), not rare at all but I enjoy gulls
Common murre, (Uria aalge) we saw quite a few young ones tailing their fathers and begging for food
Black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes). There were a couple on this trip, which was exciting and offered a lot of photo opportunities!
I like this photo because of the illusion of standing on the water heh
Amazing the way these giant birds soar - their wingspan is ~6.5 feet, and they are not even the largest of the albatrosses
I believe this is a pink-footed shearwater (Puffinus creatopus)
and I believe a sooty shearwater (Puffinus griseus) taking off
very much enjoy admiring the the shape of their bodies, wings, and bills
so sharp and streamlined!
I will end part 1 here. Part 2, when I get around to it, I will share some photos of a rhino auklet, some of the big groups of shearwaters during feeding frenzies, an amusing interaction between a couple albatrosses and gulls, a cute fish, and an unexpected visitor who hitched a ride with us for a few hours. I also plan to talk a little about my experience on the boat and how the Covid precautions made the trip a lot more comfortable than the one I had last year, even with the nausea. Until then, hope you enjoyed the photos!