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25 Aug SoCal Pelagic Trip Report & Upcoming Trips [thunefeld ] 18 Aug Special Cape pelagic for seabird conservation: Trip Report [Ross Wanless ] 12 Aug Western Pacific Odyssey 2011 - male share berth available [John Brodie-Good ] 12 Aug Western Pacific Odyssey 2011 - male share berth available [John Brodie-Good ] 11 Aug RE: NEW! Remote Islands of the Southern Indian Ocean 2012 ["Venables, Hugh J" ] 11 Aug NEW! Remote Islands of the Southern Indian Ocean 2012 [John Brodie-Good ] 11 Aug The Kermadecs - Whales & Seabirds [Chris Gaskin ] 6 Aug Santa Barbara California 31 July 2010 Trip Report & Video [thunefeld ] 29 Jul Aug-Sept SoCal Pelagics [thunefeld ] 29 Jul Free mega-pelagic [Ross Wanless ] 27 Jul Brookline Bird Club Overnight Pelagic - Massachusetts - 28-29 August - STILL SPACE! Don't miss out! [Jeremiah ] 14 Jul Exciting Deep Water CA Pelagic Adventures Aug and Sept. [Todd Mcgrath ] 14 Jul Major ID article on feae-complex of North Atlantic gadfly petrels [Angus Wilson ] 13 Jul World Seabird Conference in September [Dominic Mitchell ] 12 Jul Boobies, tropicbirds, Hawaiian Petrels, Craveri's Murrelet [thunefeld ] 11 Jul July 10 Hatteras Report; Next Trip July 24 ["J. BRIAN PATTESON" ] 11 Jul Colour-marked Manx Shearwaters in the UK [Dominic Mitchell ] 9 Jul Whale and pelagic bird observation trips have begun in NY [Artie K ] 8 Jul July 10, 2010; Other Upcoming NC Pelagic Trips ["J. BRIAN PATTESON" ] 8 Jul July 10, 2010; Other Upcoming NC Pelagic Trips ["J. BRIAN PATTESON" ] 4 Jul Record numbers of Leach's Storm-Petrels off New York and southern New England [Angus Wilson ] 1 Jul Antarctica for Birders 2010/11 [John Brodie-Good ] 28 Jun Upcoming CA Deep Water Pelagics - Cook's Petrels and more: July 31, August 16-18 [Todd Mcgrath ] 27 Jun Pelagics from South West Ireland [Birding Ireland ] 25 Jun 2010 Pelagics from Madeira Islands Update [Hugo Romano ] 23 Jun South Padre Island, Texas - Gulf of Mexico Pelagic trips (July 17th, Aug 21st, Sept 11th) [Mary Gustafson ] 23 Jun South Padre Island, Texas - Gulf of Mexico Pelagic trips (July 17th, Aug 21st, Sept 11th) [Mary Gustafson ] 23 Jun South Padre Island, Texas - Gulf of Mexico Pelagic trips (July 17th, Aug 21st, Sept 11th) [Mary Gustafson ] 23 Jun Re: Petition against whaling [Tony Pym ] 22 Jun Petition against whaling [Tony Pym ] 18 Jun California Cook's Petrel video [thunefeld ] 11 Jun Aleutian pelagic report - part 2 - May 28-29, 2010 [John Puschock ] 9 Jun Newell's Shearwater image request [Dominic Mitchell ] 7 Jun Aleutian pelagic report - part 1 - May 18-20, 2010 [John Puschock ] 6 Jun Re: Re: Swinhoe's sighting off Madeira [Dominic Mitchell ] 6 Jun Re: Swinhoe's sighting off Madeira ["tubenose AT tiscali.co.uk" ] 5 Jun Swinhoe's sighting off Madeira ["tubenose AT tiscali.co.uk" ] 3 Jun Tropicbirds, Skua, Laysan: SEARCHER trip report: May 29-31, 2010 [thunefeld ] 3 Jun Pelagic Trip #41 from Port MacDonnell, South Australia 23 May 2010 [mariner ] 2 Jun Charleston Pelagic: Arctic Terns, Harcourt's Storm-Petrels, Black-capped Petrels, Shearwaters... [Nate Dias ] 29 May CRESLI 2010 summer Great South Channel whale and pelagic bird trips - ["Dr. Artie Kopelman" ] 28 May Re: Cook's Petrels in numbers off Southern CA - June 12th trip out of Santa Barbara [Force ] 26 May SoCal Pelagic Trip Report - 172 Cook's Petrels [thunefeld ] 25 May Cook's Petrels in numbers off Southern CA - June 12th trip out of Santa Barbara [Todd Mcgrath ] 24 May Western Pacific Odyssey 2012 - Booking Now! [John Brodie-Good ] 21 May some practical notes - Zino's Petrel with Madeira Wind Birds. ["Elaine Cook" ] 21 May Zino's Petrel with Madeira Wind Birds. [Andy Paterson ] 21 May A must to watch... "The Ultimate WP Pelagic Expedition: Madeira, May 2010" [Wind Birds ] 21 May Video of Zino's Petrel and much more [Angus Wilson ] 20 May 100nm offshore Ponce Inlet, NE Florida [Robert Wallace ] 19 May Pelagic Trip # 40 from Port MacDonnell, South Australia 9th May 2010 [mariner ] 15 May Re: New! June 12th Santa Barbara CA Deepwater Pelagic [Force ] 15 May Not Gray-headed Albatross after all. [Gunnar Engblom ] 15 May Not Gray-headed Albatross after all. [Gunnar Engblom ] 12 May Interesting Petrel news from Jamaica [Nate Dias ] 10 May Another Black Capped Petrel - Eastern Atlantic [John Brodie-Good ] 10 May Amazing record - Gray Whale in the Mediterranean [Tony Pym ] 9 May New! June 12th Santa Barbara CA Deepwater Pelagic [Todd Mcgrath ] 9 May (no subject) [] 7 May Re: Possible Gray-headed Albatross in Lima, Peru [Gunnar Engblom ] 7 May Re: [Seabird-News:1217] Possible Gray-headed Albatross in Lima, Peru [Gunnar Engblom ] 7 May RE: Possible Gray-headed Albatross in Lima, Peru ["Alvaro Jaramillo" ] 7 May RE: [Seabird-News:1217] Possible Gray-headed Albatross in Lima, Peru ["Alvaro Jaramillo" ] 7 May Possible Gray-headed Albatross in Lima, Peru [Gunnar Engblom ] 7 May Possible Gray-headed Albatross in Lima, Peru [Gunnar Engblom ] 6 May Cape Petrel - seen from oil rig, North Sea [Tony Pym ] 4 May SoCal Murphy’s and Cook’s Petrels [thunefeld ] 21 Apr JFP comments [John Brodie-Good ] 20 Apr 17 April Trip Report & Upcoming San Diego & Santa Barbara Pelagics [thunefeld ] 20 Apr Re: J F Petrel photo [Force ] 20 Apr The Other Side Pelagic - 15 May, New Smyrna Beach FL [Robert Wallace ] 19 Apr Re: J F Petrel photo [Ross Wanless ] 19 Apr J F Petrel photo [John Brodie-Good ] 15 Apr More Western Pacific and Atlantic Odyssey goodies [John Brodie-Good ] 15 Apr Re: Some Weddell Sea sightings [Stan Howe ] 14 Apr Juan Fernandez Petrel at Gough Island. [William Bourne ] Subject: SoCal Pelagic Trip Report & Upcoming Trips From: thunefeld <thunefeld AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:23:35 -0700 (PDT) Greetings, Participants on last week’s sold out 48-hour trip aboard Grande saw a San Diego Brown Booby at the Nine Mile Bank, Skuas, tropicbirds, Long- tailed Jaegers, Sabine’s Gulls, Blue Whales, Pacific White-sided Dolphin, 4 species of Storm-Petrels and 4 amazingly awesome pods of seldom-seen-this-well Baird’s Beaked Whales. The trip list and photos are posted at: http://www.socalbirding.com/tripreports/sandiegoaug16182010.html UPCOMING PELAGIC BIRDING ADVENTURES FROM SAN DIEGO Mon – Friday Sept 6-10. The Mercedes-Benz of Pelagic Trips aboard Searcher. Air-conditioned staterooms, 4 bathrooms, chef-prepared meals, wine, beer and ICE CREAM all included in cost. This trip has it all. Lunch over the Nine Mile Bank, wake up in the Channel Islands, wake up in two-mile deep water, cruise and chum past the San Juan seamount, wake up in the south-western most regions of the ABA. Still some spots available. http://www.socalbirding.com/trips/searchersep6102010.html Oct 2-4. In search of Cook’s, Stejneger’s, Mottled and Hawaiian Petrels – a 56-hour Deep Water Adventure to the San Juan Seamount and Patton Escarpment aboard Grande. Already half sold out. http://www.socalbirding.com/trips/sandiegooct242010.html Oct 9. 12 hours. The Craveri’s Express. San Diego waters ALL day, ALL the time. The best chance to see tropicbird, Craveri’s Murrelet, Least & Ashy Storm-Petrels, Skua, Long-tailed Jaeger and Buller’s Shearwater in San Diego Waters. http://www.socalbirding.com/trips/sandiegooct92010.html W. Terry Hunefeld, Encinitas Life is short. Seabird often. In memory of Luke Cole and Mike San Miguel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aW8-13p-IE “Come on out with us to see what’s out there.” Southern California Seabirding Trips by: Buena Vista Audubon Society http://www.SoCalBirding.com Los Coronados Islands & Nine Mile Bank all the way to the edge of the Continental Shelf -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Special Cape pelagic for seabird conservation: Trip Report From: Ross Wanless <rosswanless AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:03:37 +0200 Trip report: Conservation pelagic trip report Date: Friday 13 August 2010 This pelagic trip came about for several reasons, but the short of it is that John Graham and Trevor Hardaker, owners of the pelagic tour company Zest for Birds, and Harry Dilly, owner of the vessel Zest II, gave BirdLife South Africa’s Seabird Division the use of their services and vessel for a day, at no cost to BirdLife. All booking fees, plus a few additional donations (Andrew Chick, Simon Fogarty and Barrie Rose) and a top-up from ZfB came directly to the Save the Albatross Campaign. In total, 12 people participated in the pelagic, including 4 VIPs and 8 paying guests and the day raised >R11,000 (~US$1500). I sincerely hope that we will benefit from generous acts such as this in the future! The day started with some early pelagic species still inside the bay, and large numbers of Subantarctic Skuas. we pushed through the quiet waters towards the shelf without delay: the trawlers have been very active in the Canyon area, and that was what we were after. Right on schedule a boat appeared on the Zest’s radar. Within a few minutes several vessels were visible on the horizon, and an awesome day’s birding was assured. The cloud of birds behind our target was typical of the August period, absolutely amazing. Soon we were in the thick of new species for the trip. One of the great albatrosses was called, but confusion resulted because there was a second bird flying close behind it. Both landed and allowed good views. One was without doubt a NORTHERN ROYAL ALBATROSS. The other bird was probably a second northern, but we never got to see the leading edge (it was either on the water with wings folded, or flying away from us), but a SOUTHERN ROYAL ALBATROSS has been mooted. We picked up all four regular mollymawk species, plus a bunch of other regular species. There was some excitement when a Spectacled Petrel was called, but closer inspection revealed that despite a white ‘smile’ and prominent white patch on the head, the bill tip was ivory and it was a White-chinned Petrel. Tim Reid, recently arrived in Cape Town, completed seabird atlas cards (http://seabirds.adu.org.za) during the trip, the first of many dedicated data-collecting spaces that ZfB have made available on their trips. After several hours milling around the active trawlers, we turned for Simon’s Town. Close to Cape Point we had good, but brief views of a Bryde’s whale, and just outside the harbour, deep inside the bay, we saw a humpback whale blow twice before diving, showing dorsal fin and characteristic white tail flukes. Birds seen and approximate numbers Swift Tern Common, coastal Arctic Tern 2 Antarctic Tern 1 Hartlaub’s Gull Common, coastal Kelp Gull Common, coastal Subantarctica Skua 50 Cape Cormorant Common, coastal White-breasted Cormorant Common, coastal Bank Cormorant Coastal Crowned Cormorant Coastal African Penguin Coastal Cape Gannet Common, coastal Southern Royal Albatross? 1 Northern Royal Albatross 1 Shy-type (White-capped and Shy) Albatross 500-1000 Black-browed Albatross 500-1000 Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross 1 Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross 5 Southern Giant-Petrel 10 Northern Giant-Petrel 1 Pintado Petrel 1000+ White-chinned Petrel 1000+ Sooty Shearwater 500-1000 Wilson's Storm-Petrel 50 Thanks to Harry Dilley for sponsoring the vessel, the crew of the Zest II, Trevor Hardaker, Alvin Cope, Ian Sinclair and Tim Reid for guiding, and to all the participants who helped raise good money for conservation! -- Ross Wanless +27 73 675 3267 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Western Pacific Odyssey 2011 - male share berth available From: John Brodie-Good <john.brodiegood AT btinternet.com> Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:19:47 +0100 Hi all, Due to a cancellation we can offer a male triple share berth on next year's WPO which has been sold out for a while now.... Details here http://www.wildwings.co.uk/wpodyssey.html E-mail tours AT wildwings.co.uk if you would like it or have any questions. Non-UK residents can be quoted, and pay in US funds. Cheers John Brodie-Good WildWings / UK -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Western Pacific Odyssey 2011 - male share berth available From: John Brodie-Good <john.brodiegood AT btinternet.com> Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:19:47 +0100 Hi all, Due to a cancellation we can offer a male triple share berth on next year's WPO which has been sold out for a while now.... Details here http://www.wildwings.co.uk/wpodyssey.html E-mail tours AT wildwings.co.uk if you would like it or have any questions. Non-UK residents can be quoted, and pay in US funds. Cheers John Brodie-Good WildWings / UK -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: RE: NEW! Remote Islands of the Southern Indian Ocean 2012 From: "Venables, Hugh J" <hjv AT bas.ac.uk> Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 21:54:54 +0100 As someone who has been lucky enough to spend three months at sea around the Crozet Islands (and an afternoon on them) I thought I'd give my experience of the area. Simply, it is an amazing place. It may not have the glaciers or scenery quite as spectacular as South Georgia or the Antarctic Peninsula but the seabirds are significantly more diverse (not that I'm complaining about annual South Georgia trips!). This is due to the islands being within foraging range of the Sub-Tropical Front and Sub-Antarctic Front as well as the Polar Front. Add to that some birds that breed elsewhere hanging around such as the Royal Albatrosses and Barau's Petrel (even if the books say they're not there, they are). Day lists of over 20 species were regular, more when we went close to land. 37 species of tubenose were seen on the trip (including some around South Africa). A list is at http://www.noc.soton.ac.uk/marine_wildlife/D285.html (the same species were seen on a return trip the next year, main addition being Southern Right-whale Dolphin). The numbers are also amazing, approaching the islands from the south there was a huge wave of Diving Petrels and Prions heading south towards the Polar Front - if my guesses on the width and timings were about right then there must have been about a million birds moving (there are several million breeding on the islands). To the north species such as Sooty and Yellow-nosed Albatrosses and Great-winged Petrel can reach warmer waters. Going ashore was an incredible privilege: Orcas patrolling the beach as we got ready, the beach completely covered in King Penguins, Light-mantled Sooties displaying, Wanderers on their nests and flying around (you really get the scale of them when ashore), Black-faced Sheathbills and Eaton's Pintails on the beach we sampled from and Kerguelen Terns over the kelp. Only shame is that rats mean that there aren't many small birds on Ile de la Possession and landing on the others is incredibly tightly regulated. Anyway, that's enough reminiscing! Hugh Venables British Antarctic Survey ________________________________________ From: seabird-news AT googlegroups.com [seabird-news AT googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of John Brodie-Good [john.brodiegood AT btinternet.com] Sent: 11 August 2010 20:03 To: Seabird-News AT googlegroups.com Subject: [Seabird-News:1278] NEW! Remote Islands of the Southern Indian Ocean 2012 Hi all, Rumours have abounded recently that Rodney Russ and his vessel are finally going to repeat his very successful voyage of 2002 and sail from Mauritius to West Australia via Crozet, Heard, Kerguelen and Amsterdam Islands, with landings planned at all of them, subject to weather and local conditions (and at this stage, government permits, which have been applied for). Final dates, itinerary and prices are due by November this year but we are already taking advance requests NOW. In addition to obvious goodies such as Amsterdam Albatross these islands hold some of the largest seabird colonies on the planet and chances to visit them on a 'birding' voyage are very rare indeed. For advance registrations in the meantime or for more information when this expedition is finally confirmed, please e-mail me at tours AT wildwings.co.uk John Brodie-Good WildWings UK We have waited many years to offer this amazing, one off seabird endemic itinerary again, and ten years after the first, Rodney Russ is going to take the Spirit of Enderby from Mauritius and plan to land on five of the world’s remotest and least visited islands. These legendary islands all have huge seabird and marine mammal colonies. Star birds should include Amsterdam Island Albatross, the world’s rarest and seen on the 2002 voyage, Northern Rockhopper Penguin, Black-faced Sheathbill, Eaton’s Pintail, Salvin’s and Saint Paul Prions, Crozet, Heard and Kerguelen Shags plus Kerguelen Tern. The supporting cast is somewhat mouth-watering too, and the numbers of birds immense. Other expected species King, Gentoo, Rockhopper, Northern Rockhopper and Macaroni Penguins, Wandering (Snowy), Black-browed, Salvin’s, Grey-headed, Indian Yellow-nosed, Sooty and Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, Southern & Northern Giant Petrels, Cape, Great-winged, White-headed, Kerguelen, Soft-plumaged, Blue, White-chinned and Grey Petrels, Antarctic, Slender-billed, Fairy, Broad-billed & Fulmar Prions, Flesh-footed, Wedge-tailed, Short-tailed, ‘Audubon’s’ & Little (Sub-Antarctic) Shearwaters, Wilson’s, Grey-backed, Black and White-bellied Storm-Petrels, South Georgian & Common Diving-petrels, Cape & Australian Gannets and Brown (Sub-Antarctic) Skuas. Half of the world’s King Penguins breed in the Crozet Islands alone! Some of the beaches teem with Southern Elephant and both Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Fur Seals plus Orcas and other cetaceans will be seen in the seas. Other potential species include Southern Bottlenose & Strap-toothed Whales, Hourglass Dolphins and Spectacled Porpoise. Landings will be attempted at all five islands but will be subject to weather and local conditions on the day. It is worth noting that the 2002 expedition got ashore at all of them. This epic journey will start in Mauritius, which in its own island group offers almost 20 endemics (why not fly out early?) and adds a chance of Barau’s, Mascarene and Round Island Petrels plus noodies, boobies, frigatebirds, White & Sooty Terns, Red & White-tailed Tropicbirds. Our vessel will be the comfortable expedition ship, the Spirit of Enderby, operated by Heritage Expeditions carrying a maximum of just 48 passengers. All cabins have portholes or windows and plenty of storage space. The ship has a bar/library lounge and a dedicated lecture room with informal but excellent dining in two dining rooms. We will use her Zodiacs for landings and cruises. All the islands are uninhabited with small scientific camps on some and are wildly beautiful. Photo opportunities should be good to superb. Places are limited to just 48 lucky passengers worldwide and demand is certain to be very strong, so early booking is definitely required! Itinerary Day 1: Embark the vessel in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, and set sail. Days 2 – 7: At sea, sea-watching for seabirds and cetaceans. Days 8 - 9: Crozet Islands The islands boast more breeding seabirds than any other island group in the world. 36 species of bird breed on the group, there are 24 species recorded from Ile de la Possession alone. Among the most common are King, Macaroni, and Rockhopper Penguins, Wandering, Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, Northern and Southern Giant Petrels, Kerguelen Petrel, White-chinned Petrel, South Georgian Diving Petrel, Crozet Shag, Kerguelen Tern, Eaton’s Pintail and Black-faced Sheathbill. Several species are very abundant on the small offlying islands, these include Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, Blue Petrel and Fairy Prion. Southern Elephant Seal and both Sub-Antarctic and Antarctic Fur Seals breed on the Islands. Days 10 - 13: Back at sea, heading for to Heard Island. There should be some great sea watching opportunities as we sail. Days 14 - 15: Heard Island Antarctic Fur Seal, Southern Elephant Seal and King Penguins, which were heavily exploited in the 19th century, are now recovering here. Gentoo, Macaroni and Rockhopper Penguins also breed there. Other main breeding bird species include Wandering, Black-browed and Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, Antarctic and Fulmar Prions, Wilson's Storm Petrel, Common Diving Petrel, Black-faced Sheathbill and the endemic Heard Island Shag. Day 16: At sea. Days 17 -18 Kerguelen Islands The Kerguelen archipelago comprises one large island and about 300 outer islands, islets and rocks. These islands are breeding sites for 30 species of bird including King, Macaroni and Rockhopper Penguins, Wandering Albatross, Cape, White-headed, Kerguelen and Blue Petrels. Both Wilson's and Black-bellied Storm Petrels breed here, as do diving petrels. Days 19 – 21: At sea. Day 22: St Paul Introduced mammals have had a considerable impact on the island's vegetation and birdlife. Cats and rats are thought responsible for the severe depletion of bird populations, especially small burrowing petrels. Five bird species currently breed there including Northern Rockhopper Penguin, Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, Sooty Albatross, Flesh-footed and Little Shearwaters, Broad-billed Prion, White-faced Storm Petrel and Antarctic Tern. Sub-Antarctic Fur Seals also breed on the island. As the ship sailed away in 2002 an adult Amsterdam Albatross came in and circled the ship for several minutes. Seeing this species at sea will be the best chance! Day 23: Amsterdam Island At least nine bird species are known to breed on the island, including Northern Rockhopper Penguin and Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross. Also breeding on the island are Sooty albatross, and probably the bird of the trip, the extremely rare and endemic Amsterdam Island Albatross, Soft-plumaged Petrel, Brown Skua, and the introduced Eaton’s Pintail. Note the albatross colony is on top of the island and is normally ‘out of bounds’ sadly. Days: 24 - 30 We begin the last leg of what will have been an amazing voyage at sea, sea watching all the way! Day 31: We will disembark in Albany, western Australia. There will be coach transfers to the inner city and Perth airport. NB Exact itinerary subject to weather and local conditions, and permissions from the French and Australian governments (permits applied for). Voyage Information Dates: TBC Mid-November – Mid-December 2012 Leader/s: Rodney Russ & expedition team Approx prices: Sharing a triple basic GBP9999 Sharing a twin basic GBP11,095 Sharing a twin with facilities GBP12,845 Sharing a superior twin with facs. GBP13,890 Sharing a mini suite with facilities GBP15,095 Landing Fees approx£315pp NB: Prices are approximate and will be confirmed by November 2010. In the meantime, you may advance register for this voyage for GBP200 per person (refundable) Fluid pricing will apply for this voyage. Sterling prices above reflect exchange rate of GBP1 = US$1.6. Non-UK residents can pay in US Dollars if they prefer. Deposit 25% Single occupancy 1.8 times twin share price (x2 for suites) Prices include: Voyage with accommodation as booked, including all meals aboard vessel, tea and coffee, guided shore excursions as described, lectures and services of ship’s expedition team including birders, day by day bird and mammal checklist, departure airport transfers in Australia and evening log-call (at sea). Excludes: Flights (to Mauritius, from Perth), transfers in Mauritius pre-voyage hotel in Mauritius or post-voyage hotel in Perth if required, travel insurance, other drinks, crew tips, visas and other items of a personal nature. www.wildwings.co.uk tours AT wildwings.co.uk -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: NEW! Remote Islands of the Southern Indian Ocean 2012 From: John Brodie-Good <john.brodiegood AT btinternet.com> Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:03:51 +0100 Hi all, Rumours have abounded recently that Rodney Russ and his vessel are finally going to repeat his very successful voyage of 2002 and sail from Mauritius to West Australia via Crozet, Heard, Kerguelen and Amsterdam Islands, with landings planned at all of them, subject to weather and local conditions (and at this stage, government permits, which have been applied for). Final dates, itinerary and prices are due by November this year but we are already taking advance requests NOW. In addition to obvious goodies such as Amsterdam Albatross these islands hold some of the largest seabird colonies on the planet and chances to visit them on a 'birding' voyage are very rare indeed. For advance registrations in the meantime or for more information when this expedition is finally confirmed, please e-mail me at tours AT wildwings.co.uk John Brodie-Good WildWings UK We have waited many years to offer this amazing, one off seabird endemic itinerary again, and ten years after the first, Rodney Russ is going to take the Spirit of Enderby from Mauritius and plan to land on five of the world’s remotest and least visited islands. These legendary islands all have huge seabird and marine mammal colonies. Star birds should include Amsterdam Island Albatross, the world’s rarest and seen on the 2002 voyage, Northern Rockhopper Penguin, Black-faced Sheathbill, Eaton’s Pintail, Salvin’s and Saint Paul Prions, Crozet, Heard and Kerguelen Shags plus Kerguelen Tern. The supporting cast is somewhat mouth-watering too, and the numbers of birds immense. Other expected species King, Gentoo, Rockhopper, Northern Rockhopper and Macaroni Penguins, Wandering (Snowy), Black-browed, Salvin’s, Grey-headed, Indian Yellow-nosed, Sooty and Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, Southern & Northern Giant Petrels, Cape, Great-winged, White-headed, Kerguelen, Soft-plumaged, Blue, White-chinned and Grey Petrels, Antarctic, Slender-billed, Fairy, Broad-billed & Fulmar Prions, Flesh-footed, Wedge-tailed, Short-tailed, ‘Audubon’s’ & Little (Sub-Antarctic) Shearwaters, Wilson’s, Grey-backed, Black and White-bellied Storm-Petrels, South Georgian & Common Diving-petrels, Cape & Australian Gannets and Brown (Sub-Antarctic) Skuas. Half of the world’s King Penguins breed in the Crozet Islands alone! Some of the beaches teem with Southern Elephant and both Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Fur Seals plus Orcas and other cetaceans will be seen in the seas. Other potential species include Southern Bottlenose & Strap-toothed Whales, Hourglass Dolphins and Spectacled Porpoise. Landings will be attempted at all five islands but will be subject to weather and local conditions on the day. It is worth noting that the 2002 expedition got ashore at all of them. This epic journey will start in Mauritius, which in its own island group offers almost 20 endemics (why not fly out early?) and adds a chance of Barau’s, Mascarene and Round Island Petrels plus noodies, boobies, frigatebirds, White & Sooty Terns, Red & White-tailed Tropicbirds. Our vessel will be the comfortable expedition ship, the Spirit of Enderby, operated by Heritage Expeditions carrying a maximum of just 48 passengers. All cabins have portholes or windows and plenty of storage space. The ship has a bar/library lounge and a dedicated lecture room with informal but excellent dining in two dining rooms. We will use her Zodiacs for landings and cruises. All the islands are uninhabited with small scientific camps on some and are wildly beautiful. Photo opportunities should be good to superb. Places are limited to just 48 lucky passengers worldwide and demand is certain to be very strong, so early booking is definitely required! Itinerary Day 1: Embark the vessel in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, and set sail. Days 2 – 7: At sea, sea-watching for seabirds and cetaceans. Days 8 - 9: Crozet Islands The islands boast more breeding seabirds than any other island group in the world. 36 species of bird breed on the group, there are 24 species recorded from Ile de la Possession alone. Among the most common are King, Macaroni, and Rockhopper Penguins, Wandering, Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, Northern and Southern Giant Petrels, Kerguelen Petrel, White-chinned Petrel, South Georgian Diving Petrel, Crozet Shag, Kerguelen Tern, Eaton’s Pintail and Black-faced Sheathbill. Several species are very abundant on the small offlying islands, these include Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, Blue Petrel and Fairy Prion. Southern Elephant Seal and both Sub-Antarctic and Antarctic Fur Seals breed on the Islands. Days 10 - 13: Back at sea, heading for to Heard Island. There should be some great sea watching opportunities as we sail. Days 14 - 15: Heard Island Antarctic Fur Seal, Southern Elephant Seal and King Penguins, which were heavily exploited in the 19th century, are now recovering here. Gentoo, Macaroni and Rockhopper Penguins also breed there. Other main breeding bird species include Wandering, Black-browed and Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, Antarctic and Fulmar Prions, Wilson's Storm Petrel, Common Diving Petrel, Black-faced Sheathbill and the endemic Heard Island Shag. Day 16: At sea. Days 17 -18 Kerguelen Islands The Kerguelen archipelago comprises one large island and about 300 outer islands, islets and rocks. These islands are breeding sites for 30 species of bird including King, Macaroni and Rockhopper Penguins, Wandering Albatross, Cape, White-headed, Kerguelen and Blue Petrels. Both Wilson's and Black-bellied Storm Petrels breed here, as do diving petrels. Days 19 – 21: At sea. Day 22: St Paul Introduced mammals have had a considerable impact on the island's vegetation and birdlife. Cats and rats are thought responsible for the severe depletion of bird populations, especially small burrowing petrels. Five bird species currently breed there including Northern Rockhopper Penguin, Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, Sooty Albatross, Flesh-footed and Little Shearwaters, Broad-billed Prion, White-faced Storm Petrel and Antarctic Tern. Sub-Antarctic Fur Seals also breed on the island. As the ship sailed away in 2002 an adult Amsterdam Albatross came in and circled the ship for several minutes. Seeing this species at sea will be the best chance! Day 23: Amsterdam Island At least nine bird species are known to breed on the island, including Northern Rockhopper Penguin and Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross. Also breeding on the island are Sooty albatross, and probably the bird of the trip, the extremely rare and endemic Amsterdam Island Albatross, Soft-plumaged Petrel, Brown Skua, and the introduced Eaton’s Pintail. Note the albatross colony is on top of the island and is normally ‘out of bounds’ sadly. Days: 24 - 30 We begin the last leg of what will have been an amazing voyage at sea, sea watching all the way! Day 31: We will disembark in Albany, western Australia. There will be coach transfers to the inner city and Perth airport. NB Exact itinerary subject to weather and local conditions, and permissions from the French and Australian governments (permits applied for). Voyage Information Dates: TBC Mid-November – Mid-December 2012 Leader/s: Rodney Russ & expedition team Approx prices: Sharing a triple basic GBP9999 Sharing a twin basic GBP11,095 Sharing a twin with facilities GBP12,845 Sharing a superior twin with facs. GBP13,890 Sharing a mini suite with facilities GBP15,095 Landing Fees approx£315pp NB: Prices are approximate and will be confirmed by November 2010. In the meantime, you may advance register for this voyage for GBP200 per person (refundable) Fluid pricing will apply for this voyage. Sterling prices above reflect exchange rate of GBP1 = US$1.6. Non-UK residents can pay in US Dollars if they prefer. Deposit 25% Single occupancy 1.8 times twin share price (x2 for suites) Prices include: Voyage with accommodation as booked, including all meals aboard vessel, tea and coffee, guided shore excursions as described, lectures and services of ship’s expedition team including birders, day by day bird and mammal checklist, departure airport transfers in Australia and evening log-call (at sea). Excludes: Flights (to Mauritius, from Perth), transfers in Mauritius pre-voyage hotel in Mauritius or post-voyage hotel in Perth if required, travel insurance, other drinks, crew tips, visas and other items of a personal nature. www.wildwings.co.uk tours AT wildwings.co.uk -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: The Kermadecs - Whales & Seabirds From: Chris Gaskin <chris.gaskin AT xtra.co.nz> Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 12:57:34 +1200 Hi all, Karen (Baird) of NZ"s Royal Forest and Bird Society plus four others left New Zealand, Monday 9 August, on a run from Whangarei to Nuie via the Kermadec Islands. The Kermadec Whale Expedition 2010 - they will doing an acoustic survey, as well as keeping a keen lookout for cetaceans at the surface, and seabirds of course! You can follow Karen's progress on http://www.thekermadecs.org/news-and-blogs/blog The new Kermadecs website has been set up to celebrate the region's extraordinary biodiversity. Plenty to peruse - take a look. Nice! Website: www.thekermadecs.org Please circulate links to those who might be interested. Chris (for Karen Baird) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Santa Barbara California 31 July 2010 Trip Report & Video From: thunefeld <thunefeld AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 6 Aug 2010 13:06:59 -0700 (PDT) Greetings, The Condor Express sailed into perfect seas on 31 July 2010 from Santa Barbara to the San Juan Seamount. We saw migrating Arctic Terns, South Polar Skuas, Long-tailed Jaegers and Sabine's Gulls. We also saw Black-footed Albatrosses, Cook's Petrels, lots of Ashy Storm-petrels, hypoleuca Xantus's Murrelets, Blue Whales, Fin Whales, Humpback Whales and rarely seen Baird’s Beaked Whales. See the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajzePuB1p14 See the trip report: http://www.socalbirding.com/tripreports/santabarbarajul312010.html See upcoming trips: http://www.socalbirding.com/upcomingtrips.html We highly recommend the air-conditioned chef-equipped SEARCHER pelagic adventure going out on Monday, Labor Day, returning the following Friday morning for the ultimate birding experience through the bird- rich Channel Islands and to the deep waters off the edge of the Continental Shelf. SEARCHER: http://www.socalbirding.com/trips/searchersep6102010.html W. Terry Hunefeld, Encinitas Life is short. Seabird often. In memory of Luke Cole and Mike San Miguel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aW8-13p-IE “Come on out with us to see what’s out there.” Southern California Seabirding Trips by: Buena Vista Audubon Society http://www.SoCalBirding.com Los Coronados Islands & Nine Mile Bank all the way to the edge of the Continental Shelf -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Aug-Sept SoCal Pelagics From: thunefeld <thunefeld AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:32:40 -0700 (PDT) Greetings, The annual Aug 16-18 Buena Vista Audubon 48-hour Summer Pelagic aboard the live-aboard Grande is nearly sold out, with 34 spots reserved, 4 spots remaining. A similar trip in May produced 170 Cook's Petrels. Red-billed Tropicbird has never been missed on a 48-hour Grande trip, and this species appears to be present in moderate numbers off SoCal this year. This trip will be great for studying Leach's storm-petrel subspecies. Other area-specialty targets are Least Storm-Petrel and Craveri's Murrelet. Small numbers of Leasts have been reported nearshore already this year. Grande is a comfortable 85 ft boat, with bunks for 38 passengers. Sleeping is in a dormitory style bunk room below deck. Hot food and beverages are available for purchase. details are below. ADVANCE RESERVATIONS: Advance reservations are $325, discounted to $285 if registered by July 31. http://www.socalbirding.com/trips/sandiegoaug16182010.html RESERVATIONS BY PHONE: Telephone Point Loma Sportfishing (the landing) seven days a week at (619) 223-1627. Tell them to wish to make a reservation for the Aug Birding trip on Grande. THE SEARCHER NATURAL HISTORY TOURS ANNUAL LABOR DAY PELAGIC The annual Labor Day 5-day pelagic adventure departs San Diego Noon on Monday, Sept 6 and returns to the dock at 0700 hours Friday Sept 10. This is the most luxury you’ll ever find while birding and marine mammal sighting (Blue Whales, Humpback and Fin Whales!). Comfortable staterooms, gourmet meals, and a trip through all of the life-zones of the Southern California bight are just a couple of the things that make this trip a winner. Least Storm-Petrel and Red-billed Tropicbird are expected, along with almost all the regularly occurring seabirds in Southern CA. Searcher's impressive September trip rarities have included Red-tailed Tropicbird, Bulwer's Petrel, Hawaiian Petrel, Cook's and Murphy's Petrels. 3 subspecies of Leach's storm-Petrels will be seen plus Black and Ashy Storm-Petrels, making this a great Storm-petrel study tour. SEARCHER’S blog just reported that they saw BAIRD’S BEAKED WHALES on a fishing trip this week. SEARCHER is the mother of all pelagic trips. Leader Todd McGrath loves waking up at dawn far out to sea, watching the sunset over the San Juan Seamount, hollering out rare birds like petrels and tropicbirds while nibbling warm, fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies. I’ll never forget the September sunny, calm afternoon 100 miles offshore aboard Searcher when Todd found and stopped the boat while thundering, ‘DARK-RUMPED PETREL! DARK-RUMPED PETREL!” All of Chef Charles’s meals, ice cream, cookies, wine, beer, home- baked muffins, soft drinks, etc are included in the ticket price – you WILL gain weight. Searcher is an immaculate 4-bathroom, 95ft vessel designed to do multi-week fishing and natural history tours in air- conditioned comfort. The crew from the Captain to the deckhands are friendly, accommodating and helpful. There is no trip we look forward to more each fall, and we hope you can join us. This trip typically is sold out by now, but this year there are still some spots. ADVANCE RESERVATIONS: Advance reservations are $1075 and include all meals, snacks, beverages. Reservations for this trip are handled by Celia at Searcher Natural History Tours (619) 226-2403 or http://www.socalbirding.com/trips/searchersep6102010.html We hope to see you out there as we continue to relish one of the most amazing pelagic years ever recorded according to people who have been doing this a LOT longer than me! Peace on earth. W. Terry Hunefeld, Encinitas Life is short. Seabird often. In memory of Luke Cole and Mike San Miguel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aW8-13p-IE “Come on out with us to see what’s out there.” Southern California Seabirding Trips by: Buena Vista Audubon Society http://www.SoCalBirding.com Los Coronados Islands & Nine Mile Bank all the way to the edge of the Continental Shelf Inn At Moonlight Beach San Diego's Pacific Coast Bed & Breakfast Inn Romantic oceanview suites from $129 http://www.InnAtMoonlightBeach.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Free mega-pelagic From: Ross Wanless <rosswanless AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:00:00 +0200 Hi all There is a space going on a 25-day research cruise around the southern coast of South Africa, through prime albatross and petrel territory, in prime (winter) birding season. Regrettably it's come at quite short notice, but there is a free berth for an able-bodied person with sea legs and seabird ID skills to participate on an ACEP research cruise from 31 August (departing Port Elizabeth) to 24 September (Cape Town) and a two day trip back to PE, to arrive on 27 September. I can assist with transport from Cape Town. The only official duties will be to collect daily seabird atlas data, but there would be plenty of opportunity to assist with other research programmes, take photographs or conduct your own work. All expenses (from Cape Town - not international travel!) will be covered, all I need is a warm body to be onboard. Anyone interested should please contact me directly on by BirdLife South Africa address (gsp AT birdlife.org.za). Please provide details of your at-sea experience and level of seabird ID skills. Thanks Ross -- Ross Wanless +27 73 675 3267 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Brookline Bird Club Overnight Pelagic - Massachusetts - 28-29 August - STILL SPACE! Don't miss out! From: Jeremiah <jeremiah.trimble AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:50:36 -0700 (PDT) Hi Massbirders, There is still some space available on the Brookline Bird Club Overnight Extreme Pelagic in Massachusetts scheduled for August 28 - 29. Sign up while you still can! This trip represents a unique chance to explore this interesting and rarely visited area. The avian possibilities are impressive as previous trips have shown. Also, the fact that this is a two-day trip will allow us even greater opportunity to explore at a more leisurely pace and to reach deeper waters. We will be in place to bird these waters at dusk and dawn (and at night!), times when seabirds tend to be quite active and times when few birders are present in these areas. To pique your interest, I have prepared a slideshow of images from past BBC Pelagic trips: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrtrimble/sets/72157624558375006/detail/ I can't emphasize enough what an amazing opportunity these trips are to view rarely seen and poorly known species of birds. For example, the BBC trips have proven to be the most consistent trips in the United States (!) for encountering the rarely observed White-faced Storm-Petrel in North American waters. This species is sought after by not only Massachusetts birders but folks from throughout the United States. Other species that we will be searching for are Band-rumped Storm-Petrel and Audubon's Shearwaters, species which appear to be regular in offshore warm water areas that this trip will be focusing on. The possibilities are endless and who could forget the extreme rarities that these trips have discovered including Barolo Shearwater and Black-capped Petrel! Beyond birds, these trips also have an amazing track record for producing other pelagic highlights. Most recently, we encountered TWO Blue Whales! This species is EXTREMELY rare in the Atlantic and most seasoned pelagic veterans in the Atlantic have never seen this species here. We consistently see many of the other large whales including Sperm Whales and a wide range of smaller marine mammals. Combined with sea turtles, hammerhead sharks, manta rays, flying fish, Portuguese Man-o-war's, Ocean Sunfish, Basking Sharks and more, these trips are unforgettable. If you have friends that are not necessarily focused on birds let them know that this trip is still for them! Please contact Ida Giriunas as soon as possible to book your spot on this trip and I look forward to seeing you out there! Details of trip below: Good birding, Jeremiah Trimble Cambridge, MA SATURDAY, SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 29, 2010: 5:30AM Saturday TO 6:00PM SUNDAY, Hyannis to off-shore areas: Hydrographer, Veatch and Veatch's Canyons Birds expected: AUDUBON'S, Greater, Sooty, Cory's and Manx Shearwaters, Leach's & Wilson's Storm Petrels, Parasitic and Pomarine Jaegers, Gannets, Gulls, Terns and several marine mammals. We hope to see WHITE-FACED STORM-PETRELS! Also: Skuas, Bridled Tern and other rarities are possible. It was in August, 2007 when we found a Barolo Shearwater in the Canyons so anything is possible. Maximum participants: #50 COSTS: BBC Members: $295 Non-members: $315 Please be advised that because of the possible increase in the cost of fuel, there may be a surcharge to cover any extra expense. Rick Heil, Steve Mirick, Jeremiah Trimble and Marshall Iliff lead these trips. Our boat, the Helen H, is a very comfortable, fast, 100 foot fishing boat with a knowledgeable and enthusiastic Captain and crew. There are 38 bunks aboard which will be available to the first 38 who sign up. There is a full galley with excellent food at reasonable prices. Parking is free. To reserve a space, send a check for the full amount made out to the 'BROOKLINE BIRD CLUB AGENT' along with a signed waiver to: Ida Giriunas, 83 Summer Ave., Reading, MA, 01867 and include either your email or your postal address for confirmation, boarding instructions and further information. For additional information and the waiver to be signed, contact Ida at 781-944-5135 or ida8 AT verizon.net -- Jeremiah Trimble Curatorial Associate - Ornithology Museum of Comparative Zoology Harvard University 26 Oxford Street Cambridge, MA 02138 phone: 617-495-2471 fax: 617-495-5667 email: jtrimble AT oeb.harvard.edu -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Exciting Deep Water CA Pelagic Adventures Aug and Sept. From: Todd Mcgrath <toddamcgrath AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2010 23:23:44 -0700 (PDT) Birders: The spring and summer 2010 Southern California Pelagic Season this year has been one for the books. Hundreds of Cook's Petrels (up to 237 on a single deep water day trip) as well as a few Murphy's Petrels. Red-billed Tropicbirds have been present in good numbers well offshore from San Diego and Brown Booby numbers on the Coronados Islands just south of the US border are at an all-time high. Recently some birders on a whale watch spotted the first Least Storm-petrels of the fall season, giving us some hope that the fall of 2010 will be another banner year for this Baja specialty. Wes Fritz and I had a Tufted Puffin in Santa Barbara channel a few weeks ago. Southern California is also THE place to study Leach's Storm-petrel subspecies (3 of the 4 current taxa are found regularly off So Cal), one of which has an excellent chance of being elevated to full species status. See http://www.socalbirding.com/images/NAB_63-4_Leach_s_Storm_Petrel.pdf for a copy of the recent North American Birds article on this complex. As we move into July and August, the chances of finding Craveri's and Xantus's Murrelets (the southern hypolecus form, which is another split candidate) increase, and the fall migration will getting into full swing. Shearwaters, Jaegers, Skuas, storm-petrels, Sabine's Gulls and Phalaropes will all be moving through. There are three excellent deepwater trips coming up in the next couple of months. WWW.SOCALBIRDING.COM has full details on all the upcoming trips. July 31 there will be a 13-14 hour deep water trip from Santa Barbara on the fast catmaran Condor Express, sponsored By Los Angeles Audubon. There are just a couple of spots left on this trip, so call 888.77WHALE right away if you wish to get onboard. August 16-18 the Grande will be heading out of San Diego at 7AM for a 48 hour trip to the shelf edge. This trip is sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon. Cook's Petrels were being seen in numbers from fishing boats in this area a few days ago, and this trip has a 100% success rate with Red-billed Tropicbird. This trip should have a good chance at Least Storm-petrels, and should see numbers of 3 subspecies of Leach's Storm-petrels. ADVANCE RESERVATIONS: Advance reservations are $325, discounted to $285 if registered by July 31. This trip has reached the necessary signup minimums and is officially a GO! RESERVATIONS BY PHONE (Check or Credit Card): Telephone Point Loma Sportfishing (the landing) seven days a week at (619) 223-1627. Tell them to wish to make a reservation for a birding trip on Grande and give them the date of departure. Last, but certainly not least, Searcher Natural History Tours is running the annual Labor Day 5 day Pelagic. This trip departs San Diego Monday September 6th and returning Friday the 10th in the early morning. This trip covers an area from the northern Channel Islands near Santa Barbara, to the deep water of the San Juam Seamount, to the warm water areas south and west of San Diego favored by Tropicbirds and Least Storm-petrels. It is not uncommon to experience water temperature changes of 10 degrees or more on this trip, and it spends time in every life zone in the Southern California Bight. As a result, any species recorded on any Southern CA trip in fall is possible. The Searcher is a 95 foot live aboard that specializes in multiple week natural history and fishing adventures. They know how to cater to guests, and many birders have done multiple trips with us. These guests may say they are still looking for a bird or two, but I suspect it is warm fresh-baked cookies and muffins or the hearty breakfasts, lunches and dinners that has them coming back. Of course it could be the wonderful feeling of waking up at dawn a hundred plus miles out to sea, or the relaxation you can experience with a few days "unplugged" on the ocean. And there are alot of birds. One of the economic realities of most day trips is that you have to pack quite a few folks on the boat to run the trips at a good cost. The Searcher will go with a maximum of just over 30 participants and leaders. 30 some people on 95 Foot boat with two decks. Plenty of room to move around, and confortable cabins with sinks. All your meals, beverages etc are included, everything but a tip for the crew. No hotel, rental car, food expense, gas etc. Plus you will be covering all the key areas of the Southern California Bight. The luxury of 4+ days at sea means you have time to fully enjoy what you find along the way. Whether it is a playful humpback whale, a giant blue whale, or a feeding flock of shearwaters, our relaxed pace gives us plenty of time to enjoy the ocean's bounty. Since the Searcher has been running these fall trips, I have missed only one,and I had a good reason, my wife was 8 1/2 months pregnant with twins! There is no trip I look forward to more, and I hope you will join us on what is always a memorable trip. Least and Leach's Storm-petrels, Red-billed Tropicbird, and a host of vagrants including Cook's, Murphy's, Hawaiian and Bulwer's Petrels, Brown Booby and Red-tailed Triocbird have all been found on the fall Searcher. Who knows what 2010 will bring. The all-inclusive cost (except crew gratuity) is $1075. Call Celia for reservation information about the trips at (619) 226-2403 or visit the Searcher Natural History Tours website. bajawhale.com Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions on any of these trips. Todd McGrath SKUA AT MSN.COM Calabasas, CA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Major ID article on feae-complex of North Atlantic gadfly petrels From: Angus Wilson <oceanwanderers AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2010 08:13:50 -0700 The current issue of BIRDING WORLD (Issue 282 - July 2010) includes a major article by Hadoram Shirihai, Vincent Bretagnolle and Francis Zino on field identification of Fea's, Desertas and Zino's Petrels. The article is replete with many stunning photographs of each form taken at sea around the various breeding islands with some Soft-plumaged Petrels from the South Atlantic thrown in for comparison. John Cox provides a summary painting, which to my eye only emphasizes the daunting challenge presented by these birds. I'm sure there will be much to discuss as birders digest the contents of the article or dig out notes and photographs of birds seen away from the nesting sites (e.g. off eastern North American and in Northwestern Europe). If nothing else, the article provides an exciting taster of the forthcoming and much anticipated monograph 'Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters of the World' authored by Shirihai and Bretagnolle. For those who don't subscribe to Birding World, I'm told that individual issues can be purchased for a modest sum via their web site ( http://www.birdingworld.co.uk/). -- Angus Wilson New York City & The Springs, NY, USA http://birdingtotheend.blogspot.com/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: World Seabird Conference in September From: Dominic Mitchell <dominic.mitchell AT yahoo.co.uk> Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2010 10:34:29 +0000 (GMT) Hi all The latest issue of Bird Watcher's Digest flags up the above major event, which takes place in early September in Victoria, BC, Canada. Organised by the Pacific Seabird Group and two dozen other professional seabird and research organisations, it appears to be the first international event of its kind. There is a busy five-day program, though apparently no field trips in spite of its interesting location. More information at: www.worldseabirdconference.com Rgds Dominic Mitchell -- www.birdingetc.com http://twitter.com/LondonBirds www.birdwatch.co.uk -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Boobies, tropicbirds, Hawaiian Petrels, Craveri's Murrelet From: thunefeld <thunefeld AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:03:22 -0700 (PDT) Wednesday July 7, 2010, found Dave Povey, Peter Ginsburg, Tom Blackman and Terry Hunefeld motoring out to the Nine Mile Bank. Up on the “bank” we encountered enormous “bait boils” of small fish gorging on millions and millions of krill, tiny crustaceans that are savored by baleen whales, Cassin’s Auklets and bait fish. We released a Black- footed Albatross on behalf of Project Wildlife, but it couldn’t get it’s feathers aligned so we brought it back for more rehab. We encountered close Blue Whales (probably 2) and Minke Whales (probably 3), a record high count of 54 Brown Boobies and an American Oystercatcher on the Coronados Islands and krill – lots and lots of krill. All this was faithfully documented in photos and video by Tom, Terry and Dave. http://www.socalbirding.com/tripreports/sandiegojuly72010.html Next up from San Diego: Paul Lehman, Steve Howell et. al. lead an overnight trip for Buena Vista Audubon Society looking for tropicbirds, Craveri’s Murrelet, Hawaiian and Cook’s Petrel and multiple species of storm-petrels including Least, Ashy, Black and 3 subspecies of Leach’s. http://www.socalbirding.com/trips/sandiegoaug16182010.html W. Terry Hunefeld, Encinitas Life is short. Seabird often. In memory of Luke Cole “Come on out with us to see what’s out there.” Southern California Seabirding Trips by: Buena Vista Audubon Society http://www.SoCalBirding.com Los Coronados Islands & Nine Mile Bank all the way to the edge of the Continental Shelf -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: July 10 Hatteras Report; Next Trip July 24 From: "J. BRIAN PATTESON" <patteson1 AT embarqmail.com> Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:59:24 -0400 Seabirders, We ran a pelagic trip yesterday from Hatteras and had good birding, seeing 8 species of tubenoses, which totalled over 800 individuals and less than half of these were Wilson's Storm-Petrels! Greater Shearwater was actually the most numerous bird of the trip, with at least 350 seen. Most of these were within 20 miles of shore and it seems likely that we would have seen many more if we had not spent a few hours working outside the shelf break. But the deep water was good too: we found a good number of Black-capped Petrels out there, as well as a several Band-rumped Storm-Petrels, which came in close to feed in the chum slick many times. A single Leach's Storm-Petrel was also seen well but briefly. Most surprising was a Sandwich Tern over 30 miles out. We saw several Sandwich Terns early in the morning about five miles out, where we found our first shearwaters- Cory's, Greater, and Manx. A South Polar Skua also came by behind us a few minutes later, but most of us missed it, as we were underway. Fortunately, the time I alotted for shallow water during the afternoon was well spent. We saw a Manx Shearwater sitting with Greaters just spitting distance from the boat, and within minutes, we spotted a South Polar Skua battering shearwaters in another flock. While the skua kept its distance, the Manx Shearwater provided an excellent photo opportunity and I managed to get a good shot, despite having to hand focus on account of techincal difficulties. It was kind of like the old days, expecting maybe five out of a hundred shots to be good by today's standards. The only difference was that it did not take days to find out. I'm hoping this summer will also be a bit like the old days for pelagic birding in the Gulf Stream- hundreds of shearwaters, skuas, dozens of Black-caps and Band-rumps, tropicbirds, a few Trindade Petrels, nice weather.... The last couple of summers have been pretty poor birdwise, at least until late August, when we just had a couple of trips left. But this year seems a bit different. We had odd conditions this spring, with a very distant Gulf Stream and cold water inshore. Now we have a more typical Gulf Stream, but the water inshore has been cooler and there is a lot of bait in the shelf water, which is probably what is holding the shearwaters here. While it was hotter than usual in late June, we've had more shifting winds lately than we sometimes get in midsummer. If we continue to get a regular shot of northerly winds every few days, then I expect the birding will better than when we have weeks of either calm conditions or unabated southwesterly winds, such as the last two summers. Three days of northeast winds a week and a half ago reminded me of the set up for Swinhoe's Storm-Petrel and Bulwer's Petrel in early August 1998 and multiple Trindade Petrels in mid August 2000. We have several trips scheduled for July and August of this year, with weekly departures planned beginning July 24. Space is available on all of our upcoming trips. I've said it before, but the fact remains. These are the best North Carolina Gulf Stream trips ever. Close looks at birds, incredible photo ops, and plenty of deck space on a very stable boat. We welcome newcomers and old salts alike. For what it's worth, we can get you out of cell phone range for several hours. I hope you will think about the value of these trips beyond the daily list of birds, but here it is for July 10, 2010. Black-capped Petrel- 53+ Cory's Shearwater- 85+ Greater Shearwater- 350+ Manx Shearwater- 4 Audubon's Shearwater- 5 Wilson's Storm-Petrel- 335+ Leach's Storm-Petrel- 1 "Band-rumped" Storm-Petrel- 8-9 large storm-petrel sp.- 1 South Polar Skua- 1-2 Information about our trips is online at http://www.seabirding.com/. Be sure to look back years into the trip lists; there is a lot there. You will learn more about what is sometimes like if you look back five, ten, or fifteen years. Pelagic birding is generally not consistent in terms of results. As far as numbers of birds go, I feel like we have seen a big decline in Audubon's Shearwaters, but it's hard to tell about any other species. Conditions here are constantly changing and that's why we try to offer back to back trips as much as possible. But if one trip is enough for you, we would still like to have you. If you have questions after perusing the website, give me a call- 252-986-1363 Evenings before 9PM EDT. Thanks, Brian Patteson Hatteras, NC brian AT patteson.com www.seabirding.com/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Colour-marked Manx Shearwaters in the UK From: Dominic Mitchell <dominic.mitchell AT yahoo.co.uk> Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2010 17:45:10 +0000 (GMT) From Surfbirdsnews, with apologies for cross-posting: >>>> Dear colleagues Please keep an eye out for colour marked Manx Shearwaters when you're out in the field in the coming weeks, and report any sightings via the SeaWatch SW website. Further details can be found in the following article: http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=2188 Best wishes Russell Wynn SeaWatch SW co-ordinator http://www.seawatch-sw.org ************************************ Dr Russell B Wynn Senior Marine Scientist Seafloor and Habitat Mapping Co-ordinator National Oceanography Centre, Southampton European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, U.K. E-mail: rbw1 AT noc.soton.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)23 80596553 (office) +44 (0)23 80596555 (PA office) +44 (0)7874 930081 (mobile) NOCS website: http://www.noc.ac.uk Co-ordinator, SeaWatch SW: http://www.seawatch-sw.org Associate Researcher, SAHFOS: http://www.sahfos.ac.uk >>>> Rgds Dominic Mitchell -- www.birdingetc.com http://twitter.com/LondonBirds www.birdwatch.co.uk -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Whale and pelagic bird observation trips have begun in NY From: Artie K <president AT cresli.org> Date: Fri, 9 Jul 2010 06:36:06 -0700 (PDT) CRESLI and the Viking Fleet began the 2010 season on July 1, 2010. While the pelagics were slow to show up in decent numbers, we are now seeing many species and many individuals on each trip. Here is a summary to date: 07/08/2010 16 Fin Whales 10-12 Minke Whales 50 Greater Shearwater 300 Corey's Shearwaters 10 Sooty Shearwaters 400 Wilson's Storm Petrels 1 Royal Blue Shark 07/07/2010 9-10 Fin Whales 0-12 Minke Whales 1 Ocean Sunfish 1 Leatherback Sea Turtle 1 Blue Shark 500+ Bluefin Tuna 100 Greater Shearwaters 200 Cory's Shearwater 200 Wilson's Storm Petrels 07/04/2010 12 Minke Whales Greater Shearwaters Cory's Shearwaters Wilson's Storm petrels Black-legged Kittiwakes Northern Gannets Least Terns Common Terns Blue Shark Skip-jack Tuna 07/03/2010 15 Greater Shearwaters 20 Cory's Shearwaters 75 Wilson's Storm Petrels 07/02/2010 30 Common Dolphins 60 Bottlenose Dolphins 12 Minke Whales 3 Finback Whales 1 Humpback Whale Cory's Shearwaters Greater Shearwaters Sooty Shearwaters Wilson's Storm Petrels Common Terns Red-throated Loons Double-Crested Cormorants 07/01/2010 1 unknown whale (blow only) 1 Ocean Sunfish 5 Manx Shearwaters 10 Greater Shearwaters 20 Cory's Shearwaters 50 Wilson's Storm Petrels -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: July 10, 2010; Other Upcoming NC Pelagic Trips From: "J. BRIAN PATTESON" <patteson1 AT embarqmail.com> Date: Thu, 8 Jul 2010 08:37:13 -0400 Seabirders and prospective seabirders, Our next scheduled pelagic trip from Hatteras is just a couple of days away: Saturday, July 10. Space is still available on this trip, as well as on several other dates in July and August. Midsummer is prime time to look for White-tailed Tropicbirds off Cape Hatteras. A variety of tubenoses can be expected, including Black-capped Petrel, Cory's Shearwater, Greater Shearwater, and Audubon's Shearwater, Band-rumped Storm-Petrel, and Wilson's Storm-Petrel. I recently saw a Manx Shearwater on a fishing trip here on July 4. There might also be a few Bridled and Sooty Terns around, and there is a chance for South Polar Skua, as well as any of the jaegers. The list of rare tubnoses seen in early to mid July includes Bermuda Petrel, Fea's Petrel, Trindade Petrel, and even Black-bellied Storm Petrel! Whether it's your first trip or your 50th trip, there is always a chance to see something new, be it a bird, cetacean, or an aspect of bird behavior. The trips we run are interesting for both beginners and experienced pelagic birders. We also work hard to provide good photo opportunities, such that if you have modern equipment, you can go home with pictures better than those in some of your bird books! Next month we are offering a special three day set of trips to search for White-faced Storm-Petrels off Oregon Inlet, NC. It is not likely to be an annual offering, so I recommend signing up for these if you would like to see this interesting little bird, which is generally found in cooler, greener water east of Oregon Inlet and seldom seen in the hot blue Gulf Stream water to the south. The trip dates are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday August 20, 21, and 22. Berths on these trips are sold as a set of three consecutive day trips. If we find the target species on day one, then we reserve the option to go birding in blue water on the following two days, where bird diversity is typically greater and we have a chance for other rare and uncommon species. In order to confirm these departures, we need a few more registrations over the next couple of weeks. If we cannot confirm the minimum number, then we cannot run the trips, as going to Wanchese requires us to rent another slip and burn more fuel than we would in the course operating a Hatteras Gulf Stream trip. Information about all of our upcoming trips and the birds we might see is available at our website- http://www.seabirding.com/. We run these trips on our own vessel, the Stormy Petrel II, which is over 60 feet long overall and offers excellent stability and visibility. We have led and run hundreds of these trips off the NC coast since the early 1990's, and the trips we run now are the culmination of many years of experience. There is no comparison between the photo ops and proximity to the birds on these trips and those from Hatteras trips 10 or 15 years ago. If it's been a while since you were out, I hope that you will join us again and see what I'm talking about. Brian Patteson Hatteras, NC brian AT patteson.com www.seabirding.com/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: July 10, 2010; Other Upcoming NC Pelagic Trips From: "J. BRIAN PATTESON" <patteson1 AT embarqmail.com> Date: Thu, 8 Jul 2010 08:37:13 -0400 Seabirders and prospective seabirders, Our next scheduled pelagic trip from Hatteras is just a couple of days away: Saturday, July 10. Space is still available on this trip, as well as on several other dates in July and August. Midsummer is prime time to look for White-tailed Tropicbirds off Cape Hatteras. A variety of tubenoses can be expected, including Black-capped Petrel, Cory's Shearwater, Greater Shearwater, and Audubon's Shearwater, Band-rumped Storm-Petrel, and Wilson's Storm-Petrel. I recently saw a Manx Shearwater on a fishing trip here on July 4. There might also be a few Bridled and Sooty Terns around, and there is a chance for South Polar Skua, as well as any of the jaegers. The list of rare tubnoses seen in early to mid July includes Bermuda Petrel, Fea's Petrel, Trindade Petrel, and even Black-bellied Storm Petrel! Whether it's your first trip or your 50th trip, there is always a chance to see something new, be it a bird, cetacean, or an aspect of bird behavior. The trips we run are interesting for both beginners and experienced pelagic birders. We also work hard to provide good photo opportunities, such that if you have modern equipment, you can go home with pictures better than those in some of your bird books! Next month we are offering a special three day set of trips to search for White-faced Storm-Petrels off Oregon Inlet, NC. It is not likely to be an annual offering, so I recommend signing up for these if you would like to see this interesting little bird, which is generally found in cooler, greener water east of Oregon Inlet and seldom seen in the hot blue Gulf Stream water to the south. The trip dates are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday August 20, 21, and 22. Berths on these trips are sold as a set of three consecutive day trips. If we find the target species on day one, then we reserve the option to go birding in blue water on the following two days, where bird diversity is typically greater and we have a chance for other rare and uncommon species. In order to confirm these departures, we need a few more registrations over the next couple of weeks. If we cannot confirm the minimum number, then we cannot run the trips, as going to Wanchese requires us to rent another slip and burn more fuel than we would in the course operating a Hatteras Gulf Stream trip. Information about all of our upcoming trips and the birds we might see is available at our website- http://www.seabirding.com/. We run these trips on our own vessel, the Stormy Petrel II, which is over 60 feet long overall and offers excellent stability and visibility. We have led and run hundreds of these trips off the NC coast since the early 1990's, and the trips we run now are the culmination of many years of experience. There is no comparison between the photo ops and proximity to the birds on these trips and those from Hatteras trips 10 or 15 years ago. If it's been a while since you were out, I hope that you will join us again and see what I'm talking about. Brian Patteson Hatteras, NC brian AT patteson.com www.seabirding.com/ Subject: Record numbers of Leach's Storm-Petrels off New York and southern New England From: Angus Wilson <oceanwanderers AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 4 Jul 2010 11:22:51 -0700 (PDT) This is shaping up to be an exceptional summer for Leach's Storm Petrels off New York and Massachusetts. Yesterday, I went tuna fishing out of Shinnecock Inlet (Long Island, NY) with John Shemilt and his nephews and we counted 83 LEACH'S STORM-PETRELS during the day. This smashes other the state maxima which I believe are in the teens or low twenties. We fished along the shelf edge between the Dip and Block Canyon, spending most of the time in 75-81 degree water. [Note: We encountered a nice pod of up to 35 Atlantic Spotted Dolphin in 80.1 degree water over the outer portion of Block Canyon - the first I've seen in NYS waters.] Significantly, John has observed comparable numbers of Leach's on a couple of trips to the shelf edge in June. I am sure even large counts could be made if one were to chum or put out a fish oil slick, something that is difficult to combine with trolling for tuna and other pelagic fish. A hint that this increase isn't limited to New York waters comes from an organized pelagic out of Hyannis, Massachusetts (26 June 2010, Brookline Bird Club) that recorded 137 Leach's on a trip to the Veatch and Hydrographers Canyons. According to Mashall Iliff's trip account, the Leach's were picked up "just beyond Nantucket Shoals until the continental Shelf. Our total of 138 was the highest ever for these trips. The species was most common over the deep water beyond the Shelf, where we had up to 40 in some half-hour segments." I suspect this might be a relatively new phenomena, at least in New York waters. Although very large numbers of Leach's nest in the Canadian Atlantic Provinces (estimated at 5 million pairs) with smaller colonies extending down into New England (c. 20,000 pairs), the species is generally considered uncommon to rare southwest of Cape Cod, with most records being storm-related or encountered in small numbers seen over the outer portion of submarine canyons and the shelf edge (500-1000 fathoms). This may reflect the species' preference for foraging in very deep water, habitat that few birders are able to reach on a regular basis from New York or New Jersey. For example, we had to travel more than 90 miles just to get to suitable areas. One possibility is that the Leach's are mirroring the noticeable southward shift in wintering alcids. The past couple of winters set records for Razorbill and Common Murre, although of course these are inshore species and it is hard to see how the food would be connected. Perhaps other who know more about the oceanography of the region can comment if there have been any current shifts (perhaps associated with rising ocean temperatures) that might affect upwelling and the water that washes over onto the shelf. It will be interesting to hear if others have noted changes in the numbers of Leach's being seen to the south (Delaware-Carolinas) or north (Gulf of Maine etc). Angus Wilson New York, USA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Antarctica for Birders 2010/11 From: John Brodie-Good <john.brodiegood AT btinternet.com> Date: Thu, 1 Jul 2010 20:26:48 +0100 Hi all, All too often, the expedition ships that visit Antarctica onboard birders are in fact biologists/scientists and not field birders. They often have other duties too and are rarely found out on deck when their ships are at sea and tend to appear for briefings and landings only. The alternative has been to join an over-priced tour with the tour company''s leader. We have just come up with a superb solution with our preferred partner One Ocean Expeditions. For 3 itineraries we can guarantee Dick Filby, one of the most experienced Antarctic bird and wildlife tour leaders will be onboard as the ship's premier field naturalist. He will be on deck or the bridge from dawn til dark looking for seabirds and cetaceans and all landings and Zodiac cruises on these voyages will have bird and wildlife options. Add a superb ship with one of highest ice-class ratings, all round open deck space, an enormous bridge (with tea and coffee whilst you seawatch!) plus a free pre-cruise hotel and birding excursion and discounted prices and you have an unbeatable package. Prices start from GBP3659 / USD 5490 per person sharing a cabin. One lucky passenger will win their fare back too! All booked names will go in a hat and one will be drawn out 30/11/10 (11/30/10 if you prefer). We have a second berth which you could win at the 2010 British Bird Fair, stop by our stand in Marquee 4 and buy some prize draw tickets, GBP1 each. All proceeds will go to the global Save the Albatross Campaign. Non-UK residents are very welcome to book and pay in US$, contact us for our special Dollar rates. Full details can be found here in the meantime http://www.wildwings.co.uk/antforbirders.html Cheers John Brodie-Good -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Upcoming CA Deep Water Pelagics - Cook's Petrels and more: July 31, August 16-18 From: Todd Mcgrath <toddamcgrath AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:30:23 -0700 (PDT) Seabirders: 2010 is proving once again to be a tremendous year for Cook's Petrels off Southern California.If you have not yet seen Cook's in the ABA area, this is the year to get them. I saw about 25 Cook's petrels between 1997 and 2008 on over 150 trips. in 2009 and 2010 I have seen 844. This won't last. Our 3 deep water trips this spring have produced 63 (May1) a record 173 (May 16), followed by another record 237 (June 12). The May 1and June 12 trips were aboard the fast Condor Express. These 12-14 hour trips typically cover about 250 miles, including ample time at the shelf edge. The May 16 trip was the deepwater day of a 56 hour pelagic out of San Diego on the Grande. The Condor Express has another trip coming up July 31, sponsored by Los Angeles Audubon. We will be back out to the same waters that have generated good numbers of Cook's on our two previous trips. Last year we recorded 132 Cook's on our late July trip, along with Red-billed Tropicbird, numerous Leach's storm-petrels, including some summer- breeding Guadlaupe Island birds that are a candidate for splitting. See the recent North American Birds article that describes this complex here: http://www.socalbirding.com/images/NAB_63-4_Leach_s_Storm_Petrel.pdf July is also a good time to look for Hawaiian Petrel, and this trip has recorded other goodies in July such as Tristam's Storm-petrel (2007) and Craveri's Murrelet. Cost is $195 call SeaLanding at 888.77WHALE to reserve your spot. We meet at 630AM for a 700AM departure. August 16-18 Buena Vista Audubon is sponsoring a 48 hour trip out of San Diego on the Grande. This trip will be a on a more southern route, which means it has a much better chance at Red-billed Tropicbird(never missed on a Grande 48 hour trip, several seen this May) and perhaps Craveri's Murrelets. This is a great trip to study Leach' s Storm- petrels, and may see Least Storm-petrels, as they have often arrived by mid-August. By mid-August last year, many of the Cook's Petrels had moved away from Southern CA, so I would give the edge to the Condor trip July 31 for Cook's. Either of these trips could produce a mega- rarity. Cost for the Gande trip is $285 before July 30, $315 after. Telephone Point Loma Sportfishing at (619) 223-1627 any day between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. and tell them you're interested in a birding trip aboard Grande. Both trips will be well staffed with expert, helpful leaders. There is a full schedule of trips out of Southern CA this summer and fall, check out www.socalbirding.com. for all the details. On that page you will see a link to the new Southern California Pelagics Facebook page. Become a fan and get updates on trips and see photo galleries of pelagic seabirds. Also note that Shearwater Journeys has an exciting trip schedule planned out of central and northern CA this summer and fall including some new trips out of Half Moon Bay. The August 13 and 15 Fort Bragg trips are the most relaible trips in the US for Hawaiian Petrel, and I will be guest leading those trips for Debi this year. Last year was a banner year for Hawaiian Petrels, so the continued presence of Cook's petrels may mean it will be another good year for these as well. see Shearwaterjourneys.com for more info. Feel free to contact me if you have additonal questions. Todd McGrath SKUA AT MSN.COM Calabasas CA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Pelagics from South West Ireland From: Birding Ireland <info AT birdingireland.com> Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2010 04:32:20 -0700 (PDT) The pelagic season in South West Ireland starts about the last week in July and continues to the end of September. Birding Ireland hold several each year. Those on 29th August and 15th August are fully booked, but others have vacancies. Please email me if you are interested this year and require details, or wish to be added to the mailing list. Regards, Mike Cobley - www.birdingireland.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: 2010 Pelagics from Madeira Islands Update From: Hugo Romano <hugoromano AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2010 22:37:11 +0100 Hi Everyone, Here is a quick update on our birding sea trips for 2010. We still have some availabilities for August pelagic trips which will be also good for migrating birds... All the best... Hugo Romano -- Zino's Petrel Pelagic Expedition (Hybrid Research) 3 consecutive afternoons on a pelagic trip to observe and photograph Zino's, Fea's and Bulwer's Petrels, Cory's and Manx Shearwaters, Madeira, White-face and Wilson's storm-petrels and any vagrants that might be around... Also scout the seas for the Unidentified Pterodroma Petrel ('snowy-winged' petrel) and Swinhoe's storm-petrels. Confirmed Trips for 2010: August 5, 6, 7 (not full yet) August 14, 16, 17 (not full yet) August 30, 31 & September 1 (not full yet) Previous trips reports: May 14, 15, 16 [Report http://j.mp/bmDLlA ] May 24, 25, 26 [Report http://j.mp/dyWPxN ] June 2, 3, 4 [Report http://j.mp/dnFua5 ] June 7, 8, 9 [Report http://j.mp/crbZn7 ] More Details and related articles on Zino's Petrel Pelagic Expedition http://www.madeirawindbirds.com/en/tours/zinos_petrel_pelagic_expedition.html Join the Pelagic's expeditions waiting list http://j.mp/pelagicslist Desertas Islands Birding Trip (Hybrid Research) Ideal trip for Petrels, Shearwaters and Storm-Petrels Night and Day. Confirmed dates for 2010: Wednesday, 7th July (full) Thursday, 15th July (full) Tuesday, 20th July - confimed Thursday, 29th July Wednesday, 25th August Wednesday, 8th September More Details http://www.madeirawindbirds.com/en/tours/madeira_desertas_for_birding.html -- Madeira Wind Birds & Oceanodroma email: info AT madeirabirds.com sites: http://www.madeirabirds.com / http://www.madeirawindbirds.com ph: +351-917777441 / +351-291098007 twitter: AT windbirds AT oceanodroma facebook: http://facebook.com/windbirds -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: South Padre Island, Texas - Gulf of Mexico Pelagic trips (July 17th, Aug 21st, Sept 11th) From: Mary Gustafson <live4birds AT aol.com> Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 08:50:50 -0400 FYI, the only pelagics going out of Texas. Mary Gustafson Mission, Texas -----Original Message----- From: Eric Carpenter To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG Sent: Wed, Jun 23, 2010 7:21 am Subject: [texbirds] Upcoming SPI Gulf of Mexico Pelagic trips (July 17th, Aug 21st, Sept 11th) Pelagic birders, Just a reminder that we have set up three pelagic trip that will be eaving out of Port Isabel/South Padre Island this summer and fall. he dates for the trips are: Saturday, July 17th (best choice for storm-petrels) (sign-up by July 1st) aturday, August 21st (sign up by August 4th) aturday, September 11th (sign up by August 25th) These are not-for-profit trip where the cost per participant is $150. Besides the usual quest for pelagic species, this year's trips may be mportant in getting a reading on how much of an impact the BP oil pill is having on the marine life off of the lower Texas coast. I would like to encourage anyone who is interested in the trips to ontact me (ecarpe AT gmail.com) to let them know you'd like a spot on oard. We need to have enough participants two and half weeks in dvance of the trip to ensure we can cover the cost of the charter. These trips leave from the southern tip of South Padre Island, aboard he Osprey (http://ospreyfishingtrips.com/). The good folks at the sprey have been involved with Texas pelagics for several years and heir captains are familiar with where we need to go and also are uite good at spotting birds with us. These are all-day trips, eaving the docks at around 6am, and returning 12 hours later at 6pm. e motor out to deepwater (takes a couple hours to get there), spend he next several hours working the area just off the shelf, and then eturn back to dry land by around 6pm. Leaders for these three trips ill include Mary Gustafson, Brad McKinney, Petra Hockey, Randy inkston, Dwight Peake and myself. I've been out on the Gulf with ach of these folks multiple times and their passion for birds and elagics is on par with my own. These Gulf of Mexico trips don't yield huge numbers of birds but we eem to always make up for it with a high quality sighting or find. he star of last year's trips was a Sooty Shearwater sitting in the ater right next to the boat, a first for me in Texas waters. Two ummers ago, we had great looks at a Greater Shearwater on one trip, nd a cooperative Long-tailed Jaeger on the other trip. The year efore that, it was the mixed species flock that included a Brown oddy & a Brown Booby. And...I'm sure many has heard me mention the ellow-nosed Albatross we had in 2003...it is possibilities like that hat keep me coming back for more. And of course, when there aren't reat birds around, sometimes other marine life steal's the show. We outinely get bottlenose dolphins plus have had encounters with whale harks, atlantic spotted dolphins, risso's dolphins, short-fined pilot hales and even sperm whales. More information on these trips and on Texas pelagics (including hotos from previous trips and what species can be expected) can efound at: http://www.texaspelagics.com/ I hope you'll join us. -- ric Carpenter ustin TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds = [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: South Padre Island, Texas - Gulf of Mexico Pelagic trips (July 17th, Aug 21st, Sept 11th) From: Mary Gustafson <live4birds AT aol.com> Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 08:50:50 -0400 FYI, the only pelagics going out of Texas. Mary Gustafson Mission, Texas -----Original Message----- From: Eric Carpenter To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG Sent: Wed, Jun 23, 2010 7:21 am Subject: [texbirds] Upcoming SPI Gulf of Mexico Pelagic trips (July 17th, Aug 21st, Sept 11th) Pelagic birders, Just a reminder that we have set up three pelagic trip that will be eaving out of Port Isabel/South Padre Island this summer and fall. he dates for the trips are: Saturday, July 17th (best choice for storm-petrels) (sign-up by July 1st) aturday, August 21st (sign up by August 4th) aturday, September 11th (sign up by August 25th) These are not-for-profit trip where the cost per participant is $150. Besides the usual quest for pelagic species, this year's trips may be mportant in getting a reading on how much of an impact the BP oil pill is having on the marine life off of the lower Texas coast. I would like to encourage anyone who is interested in the trips to ontact me (ecarpe AT gmail.com) to let them know you'd like a spot on oard. We need to have enough participants two and half weeks in dvance of the trip to ensure we can cover the cost of the charter. These trips leave from the southern tip of South Padre Island, aboard he Osprey (http://ospreyfishingtrips.com/). The good folks at the sprey have been involved with Texas pelagics for several years and heir captains are familiar with where we need to go and also are uite good at spotting birds with us. These are all-day trips, eaving the docks at around 6am, and returning 12 hours later at 6pm. e motor out to deepwater (takes a couple hours to get there), spend he next several hours working the area just off the shelf, and then eturn back to dry land by around 6pm. Leaders for these three trips ill include Mary Gustafson, Brad McKinney, Petra Hockey, Randy inkston, Dwight Peake and myself. I've been out on the Gulf with ach of these folks multiple times and their passion for birds and elagics is on par with my own. These Gulf of Mexico trips don't yield huge numbers of birds but we eem to always make up for it with a high quality sighting or find. he star of last year's trips was a Sooty Shearwater sitting in the ater right next to the boat, a first for me in Texas waters. Two ummers ago, we had great looks at a Greater Shearwater on one trip, nd a cooperative Long-tailed Jaeger on the other trip. The year efore that, it was the mixed species flock that included a Brown oddy & a Brown Booby. And...I'm sure many has heard me mention the ellow-nosed Albatross we had in 2003...it is possibilities like that hat keep me coming back for more. And of course, when there aren't reat birds around, sometimes other marine life steal's the show. We outinely get bottlenose dolphins plus have had encounters with whale harks, atlantic spotted dolphins, risso's dolphins, short-fined pilot hales and even sperm whales. More information on these trips and on Texas pelagics (including hotos from previous trips and what species can be expected) can efound at: http://www.texaspelagics.com/ I hope you'll join us. -- ric Carpenter ustin TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds = -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: South Padre Island, Texas - Gulf of Mexico Pelagic trips (July 17th, Aug 21st, Sept 11th) From: Mary Gustafson <live4birds AT aol.com> Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 08:50:50 -0400 FYI, the only pelagics going out of Texas. Mary Gustafson Mission, Texas -----Original Message----- From: Eric Carpenter To: texbirds AT LISTS.TEXBIRDS.ORG Sent: Wed, Jun 23, 2010 7:21 am Subject: [texbirds] Upcoming SPI Gulf of Mexico Pelagic trips (July 17th, Aug 21st, Sept 11th) Pelagic birders, Just a reminder that we have set up three pelagic trip that will be eaving out of Port Isabel/South Padre Island this summer and fall. he dates for the trips are: Saturday, July 17th (best choice for storm-petrels) (sign-up by July 1st) aturday, August 21st (sign up by August 4th) aturday, September 11th (sign up by August 25th) These are not-for-profit trip where the cost per participant is $150. Besides the usual quest for pelagic species, this year's trips may be mportant in getting a reading on how much of an impact the BP oil pill is having on the marine life off of the lower Texas coast. I would like to encourage anyone who is interested in the trips to ontact me (ecarpe AT gmail.com) to let them know you'd like a spot on oard. We need to have enough participants two and half weeks in dvance of the trip to ensure we can cover the cost of the charter. These trips leave from the southern tip of South Padre Island, aboard he Osprey (http://ospreyfishingtrips.com/). The good folks at the sprey have been involved with Texas pelagics for several years and heir captains are familiar with where we need to go and also are uite good at spotting birds with us. These are all-day trips, eaving the docks at around 6am, and returning 12 hours later at 6pm. e motor out to deepwater (takes a couple hours to get there), spend he next several hours working the area just off the shelf, and then eturn back to dry land by around 6pm. Leaders for these three trips ill include Mary Gustafson, Brad McKinney, Petra Hockey, Randy inkston, Dwight Peake and myself. I've been out on the Gulf with ach of these folks multiple times and their passion for birds and elagics is on par with my own. These Gulf of Mexico trips don't yield huge numbers of birds but we eem to always make up for it with a high quality sighting or find. he star of last year's trips was a Sooty Shearwater sitting in the ater right next to the boat, a first for me in Texas waters. Two ummers ago, we had great looks at a Greater Shearwater on one trip, nd a cooperative Long-tailed Jaeger on the other trip. The year efore that, it was the mixed species flock that included a Brown oddy & a Brown Booby. And...I'm sure many has heard me mention the ellow-nosed Albatross we had in 2003...it is possibilities like that hat keep me coming back for more. And of course, when there aren't reat birds around, sometimes other marine life steal's the show. We outinely get bottlenose dolphins plus have had encounters with whale harks, atlantic spotted dolphins, risso's dolphins, short-fined pilot hales and even sperm whales. More information on these trips and on Texas pelagics (including hotos from previous trips and what species can be expected) can efound at: http://www.texaspelagics.com/ I hope you'll join us. -- ric Carpenter ustin TEXBIRDS help file and Texas birding links at: http://moonmountaingroup.com/texbirds = [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: Petition against whaling From: Tony Pym <tony_pym AT hotmail.com> Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 03:49:27 -0700 (PDT) Thanks to all those that signed the petition. It has been handed over at the IWC meeting, taking place in Morocco. See here, from BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/science_and_environment/10384336.stm On Jun 22, 11:22 pm, Tony Pym wrote: > Hi everybody > > This is important. Please sign it! Whale hunting is cruel and > unsustainable on every level. Norway, Iceland and Japan have continued > to ignore the international pressure for them to stop whaling, as all > other countries have done under the current international ban on > commercial whaling. The International Whaling Commission will very > shortly vote on whether or not to legalise commercial whaling for the > first time in a generation, in effect endorsing the illegal hunting of > those three countries for the past two decades AND allowing whaling to > go ahead again by all others. > > I've just signed this petition to stop the legalisation of whaling. > Already it has over a million signatures, and an international vote on > commercial whale hunting is just days away. Click below to sign on -- > it only takes a few seconds! > > https://secure.avaaz.org/en/whales_last_push/96.php > > Again, PLEASE SIGN THIS NOW. It is the only chance we have to get our > views known. > > I rarely forward things like this but whale hunting is too abhorrent > to ignore. We need to take a stand (again). I know many birders also > enjoy watching whales. But sign the petition for the sake of the > wildlife in our world. It is precious but sadly disappearing at the > hands of too many people who don't care. > > Regards > Tony Pym -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Petition against whaling From: Tony Pym <tony_pym AT hotmail.com> Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:22:00 -0700 (PDT) Hi everybody This is important. Please sign it! Whale hunting is cruel and unsustainable on every level. Norway, Iceland and Japan have continued to ignore the international pressure for them to stop whaling, as all other countries have done under the current international ban on commercial whaling. The International Whaling Commission will very shortly vote on whether or not to legalise commercial whaling for the first time in a generation, in effect endorsing the illegal hunting of those three countries for the past two decades AND allowing whaling to go ahead again by all others. I've just signed this petition to stop the legalisation of whaling. Already it has over a million signatures, and an international vote on commercial whale hunting is just days away. Click below to sign on -- it only takes a few seconds! https://secure.avaaz.org/en/whales_last_push/96.php Again, PLEASE SIGN THIS NOW. It is the only chance we have to get our views known. I rarely forward things like this but whale hunting is too abhorrent to ignore. We need to take a stand (again). I know many birders also enjoy watching whales. But sign the petition for the sake of the wildlife in our world. It is precious but sadly disappearing at the hands of too many people who don't care. Regards Tony Pym -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: California Cook's Petrel video From: thunefeld <thunefeld AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 09:35:09 -0700 (PDT) Greetings A record-breaking 237 Cook’s Petrels were seen and photographed in Southern California waters last Saturday from the Condor Express out of Santa Barbara. Full trip report, photos and the Cook’s Petrel video dedicated are at: http://www.socalbirding.com/tripreports/santabarbarajun122010.html Three subspecies of Leach's Storm-Petrels were seen, including one summer-breeding Guadalupe subspecies that is a good candidate for eventual splitting. The current issue of North American Birds has an article about the status and identification of the subspecies of Leach’s off Southern California: http://www.socalbirding.com/images/NAB_63-4_Leach_s_Storm_Petrel.pdf The next deep water pelagic seabirding adventure to the Cook’s Petrel zone is from the Condor Express on July 31: http://www.socalbirding.com/trips/santabarbarajul312010.html On August 16-17, the Buena Vista Audubon Society has chartered the live-aboard Grande from San Diego. This trip expects to see Laysan and Black-footed Albies, tropicbirds and 3 subspecies of Leach’s Storm- Petrel. http://www.socalbirding.com/trips/sandiegoaug16182010.html And on Labor Day week, the legendary luxury live-aboard SEARCHER will spend depart Labor Day Monday and spend the week seabirding the life- rich Channel Islands, the deep waters off Point Conception and beyond San Nick Island, all the way south to the Mexican Border. http://www.socalbirding.com/trips/searchersep6102010.html All SoCal Pelagic Seabirding Adventure Trips are listed at: http://www.socalbirding.com/upcomingtrips.html W. Terry Hunefeld, Encinitas Life is short. Seabird often. In memory of Luke Cole “Come on out with us to see what’s out there.” Southern California Seabirding Trips by: Buena Vista Audubon Society http://www.SoCalBirding.com Los Coronados Islands & Nine Mile Bank all the way to the edge of the Continental Shelf -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Aleutian pelagic report - part 2 - May 28-29, 2010 From: John Puschock <g_g_allin AT hotmail.com> Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2010 19:36:43 +0000 Howdy again, Here's part 2 of 3 of the Aleutian pelagic report, covering May 28 and 29. We departed Attu late on May 27, so no real birding until the next morning, though I did see some of the usual species that evening, including Laysan Albatrosses. One tour participant stayed in the pilot house later than I did and saw an apparently all-dark albatross in Agattu Strait, though it was very low light so not identified to species. Our route took us south of Buldir and Kiska, and then we took a bit of a detour up to Kiska Harbor/Harbour (there were several Canadians on the trip, so in deference to them, I'm making the report bilingual) for a quick look at some of the remainders of the Japanese occupation of the island during World War II. We went through most of the Rat Islands overnight (May 28/29), across Amchitka Pass, through the Delarof Islands and then south of the Andreanof Islands the next night. We were went back through Little Tanaga Strait just after sunrise and into Adak, but from what I remember most people were busy packing for departure at this point, so not much birding effort was expended that morning (May 30). Again, we saw just about everything expected, and the highlights were Whiskered Auklet, Red-legged Kittiwake, Mottled Petrel, and the biggest, both literally and figuratively, an adult Short-tailed Albatross in Amchitka Pass. The Short-tailed was first seen quite close to the boat, and then it sat on the water for a short time. We were able to approach it, but it then flew off, disappearing for a short time. I began chumming with herring, attracting quite a few Laysans and a single Black-footed. Rich MacIntosh then came running to the stern saying the Short-tailed was flying back into our wake and then, "THERE IT IS!" It landed no more than 100 feet behind us, and then twice flew up much closer, but never took any chum, typical of other reports I've read. It was definitely the seabird of the trip for everyone, and I think all of us were relieved to have much closer Short-tailed. The Short-tailed on the first leg of the trip was definitely a "BVD" lifer for everyone except maybe Kirk Zufelt, who was the only one to get a close look at that bird. Some of us also had all three species in one binocular field of view. MAY 28 - SOUTHEAST of BULDIR to east of KISKA (all ducks were in Kiska Harbor/Harbour) Cackling Goose Green-winged Teal Common Eider Harlequin Duck Black Scoter Common Goldeneye Laysan Albatross Northern Fulmar Short-tailed Shearwater Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel Leach's Storm-Petrel Red-faced Cormorant Bald Eagle - Kiska Red Phalarope Black-legged Kittiwake RED-LEGGED KITTIWAKE - 1 southeast of Buldir Glaucous-winged Gull Common Murre Thick-billed Murre Pigeon Guillemot Ancient Murrelet Cassin's Auklet Parakeet Auklet Least Auklet WHISKERED AUKLET Crested Auklet Horned Puffin Tufted Puffin Steller's sea lion Dall's porpoise MAY 29 - SEMISOPOCHNOI ISLAND to TANAGA ISLAND Laysan Albatross Black-footed Albatross - 3, Amchitka Pass SHORT-TAILED ALBATROSS - 1 adult Amchitka Pass Northern Fulmar Mottled Petrel Short-tailed Shearwater Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel Leach's Storm-Petrel Red-faced Cormorant Red Phalarope Black-legged Kittiwake Glaucous-winged Gull Aleutian Tern Pomarine Jaeger Parasitic Jaeger Long-tailed Jaeger Thick-billed Murre Ancient Murrelet Cassin's Auklet Parakeet Auklet Least Auklet WHISKERED AUKLET Crested Auklet Horned Puffin Tufted Puffin Lapland Longspur orca Dall's porpoise minke whale sperm whale John Puschock Seattle, WA g_g_allin AT hotmail.com http://www.zbirdtours.com _________________________________________________________________ The New Busy is not the too busy. Combine all your e-mail accounts with Hotmail. http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?tile=multiaccount&ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_4 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Newell's Shearwater image request From: Dominic Mitchell <dominic.mitchell AT yahoo.co.uk> Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2010 15:43:54 +0000 (GMT) Hi all Can anybody on the list possibly help supply a decent Newell's Shearwater image? It is needed to illustrate a news story to be published on the Birdwatch website (www.birdwatch.co.uk) highlighting the problem of birds being disorientated by bright lighting in Hawaii, and promoting the good work of the Save Our Shearwaters program on Kaua‘i. If so, thanks in advance, and please email me with the photo off list. Rgds Dominic Mitchell -- www.birdingetc.com http://twitter.com/LondonBirds www.birdwatch.co.uk -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Aleutian pelagic report - part 1 - May 18-20, 2010 From: John Puschock <g_g_allin AT hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2010 21:38:14 +0000 Howdy, I recently returned home from a trip to Attu I organized involving a cruise from Adak to Attu and then back to Dutch Harbor via Adak. All of the expected (*arguably?) Bering Sea species were seen daily or almost daily in most cases. Some of the highlights include multiple Short-tailed Albatrosses (all ages), Mottled Petrels, Red-legged Kittiwakes, and of course Whiskered Auklets. The show at dusk at Sirius Point on Kiska was incredible, too. Our route was on the south side of the Andreanof Islands and then through the Delarof and Rat Islands, passing by the north end of Kiska (Sirius Point), then north of Buldir to Ingenstrem Rocks, south of Shemya and on to Attu. I'll have a photo gallery on my website soon, and I'll give the URL in a subsequent report. In the meantime, you can see some photos of the albatrosses from Kirk Zufelt and me at the Surfbirds North American Stop Presses page (http://www.surfbirds.com/cgi-bin/gallery/display.cgi?gallery=gallery10). Also, daily reports of the entire trip are available at my blog at http://www.zbirdtours.com/blog. I'm very poor at counting and recording individuals in these situations, so all numbers other than 1 are rough estimates. Here's a day-by-day rundown of the first pelagic leg of the trip, May 18-20, 2010, Adak to Attu: MAY 18 - ADAK to LITTLE TANAGA STRAIT to ADAK STRAIT EMPEROR GOOSE - 1 south of Adak Cackling Goose Red-breasted Merganser Laysan Albatross SHORT-TAILED ALBATROSS - 1 adult or near-adult east side of Adak Strait; seen near boat only by Kirk Zufelt while everyone else was eating, then 1/4-mile+ away by everyone else. Luckily, there are no gannets or Masked Boobies in the area as possible confusion species. :) Northern Fulmar Short-tailed Shearwater Red-faced Cormorant Pelagic Cormorant Bald Eagle Black-legged Kittiwake Glaucous-winged Gull Pomarine Jaeger Common Murre Thick-billed Murre Pigeon Guillemot Ancient Murrelet Cassin's Auklet Parakeet Auklet Least Auklet WHISKERED AUKLET - thousand+ in Little Tanaga Strait Crested Auklet Horned Puffin Tufted Puffin Steller's sea lion orca MAY 19 - RAT ISLANDS to KISKA Cackling Goose White-winged Scoter Laysan Albatross Northern Fulmar Short-tailed Shearwater Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel Leach's Storm-Petrel Red-faced Cormorant Pelagic Cormorant Bald Eagle (2 at Kiska) Peregrine Falcon (Kiska) Rock Sandpiper Black-legged Kittiwake Glaucous-winged Gull Pomarine Jaeger Thick-billed Murre Ancient Murrelet Cassin's Auklet Parakeet Auklet LEAST AUKLET - million+(?) at Sirius Point Whiskered Auklet CRESTED AUKLET - a whole lot of these at Sirius Point too; so many you could smell their citrus scent Horned Puffin Tufted Puffin Lapland Longspur Dall's porpoise minke whale humpback whale sperm whale harbor porpoise Pacific white-sided dolphin MAY 20 - BULDIR to ATTU Cackling Goose Common Eider Harlequin Duck Laysan Albatross - 40-50 around boat at Ingenstrem Rocks (200+ for the day) Black-footed Albatross - 1 at Ingenstrem Rocks Northern Fulmar MOTTLED PETREL - ~5 between Buldir and Ingenstrem Rocks Short-tailed Shearwater Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel - many between Buldir and Ingenstrem Rocks Leach's Storm-Petrel - less numerous than Fork-tailed Red-faced Cormorant Pelagic Cormorant Red Phalarope Black-legged Kittiwake RED-LEGGED KITTIWAKE - ~8 around Buldir SLATY-BACKED GULL - one near Shemya (second-cycle, if memory serves) Glaucous-winged Gull Pomarine Jaeger Common Murre Thick-billed Murre Pigeon Guillemot Ancient Murrelet Cassin's Auklet Parakeet Auklet Least Auklet Whiskered Auklet Crested Auklet Horned Puffin Tufted Puffin Lapland Longspur BRAMBLING - 1 male momentarily landed on the stern rail between Buldir and Ingenstrem Rocks Steller's sea lion orca Dall's porpoise - hundreds from Ingenstrem Rocks to Shemya humpback whale sperm whale John Puschock Seattle, WA g_g_allin AT hotmail.com http://www.zbirdtours.com *The only "expected" alcid species we did not see on the pelagic portions of the trip were Marbled and Kittlitz's Murrelets, but they are probably much less pelagic at this time of year. For example, at Adak, Kittlitz's is seen regularly only on Clam Lagoon. So I'm not sure if they're really an expected species or not. _________________________________________________________________ The New Busy is not the old busy. Search, chat and e-mail from your inbox. http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_3 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Re: Re: Swinhoe's sighting off Madeira From: Dominic Mitchell <dominic.mitchell AT yahoo.co.uk> Date: Sun, 6 Jun 2010 10:30:43 +0000 (GMT) Hi all The correct link, as posted to WestPalBirds by Hugo, is http://www.madeirabirds.com/swinhoes_storm_petrel_off_madeira. It should load as an embedded video with the word 'Oceanodroma' writ large above the play button; click the button and stick with it through the initial rather juddery frames - it's well worth it! Rgds Dominic Mitchell -- http://dominicmitchell.blogspot.com http://twitter.com/LondonBirds www.birdwatch.co.uk ________________________________ From: "tubenose AT tiscali.co.uk" To: Seabird-News AT googlegroups.com Sent: Sun, 6 June, 2010 10:15:26 Subject: [Seabird-News:1245] Re: Swinhoe's sighting off Madeira Several seabirders emailed to say they cannot access the link to the Madeira Winds' video of Swinhoe's. I cut and pasted the link that was emailed to me. I will see Hugo & Catarina of Madeira Winds this evening and confirm the correct address. Meanwhile, I guess the footage is on their website, but I cannot easily check due to the antique computer I am using in the lobby of my hotel in Madeira. Might be worth a try in the interim. Bob Bob said: Following several postings on Madeira Winds' excellent Zino's pelagic 3 day package, seabirders will be interested in an extraordinary sighting of Swinhoe's Storm-petrel on the most recent 3 day package on the 3rd June. A Swinhoe's turned up at the chum at about 7.25 pm and stayed for 40 minutes. We saw it again briefly at 8.30 pm. We watched it at close range and it was photographed well by 'Carlos' a participant from Spain. The Madeira Winds crew took some video footage and this can be viewed at http://www.madeirabirds.com/swinhoes_storm_petrel_off_madeira.html I managed to get some quite reasonable video and this will be included in a DVD/book set in the North Atlantic Seabirds series, the first set being 'Pterodromas, Storm-petrels and Bulwer's Petrel' - see http://www.scillypelagics.com/NASB.html We will write up this sighting with photos and post where it is to be published. I highly recommend the Madeira Winds Zino's pelagic package! Bob Flood -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Re: Swinhoe's sighting off Madeira From: "tubenose AT tiscali.co.uk" <tubenose@tiscali.co.uk> Date: Sun, 6 Jun 2010 10:15:26 +0100 (GMT+01:00) Several seabirders emailed to say they cannot access the link to the Madeira Winds' video of Swinhoe's. I cut and pasted the link that was emailed to me. I will see Hugo & Catarina of Madeira Winds this evening and confirm the correct address. Meanwhile, I guess the footage is on their website, but I cannot easily check due to the antique computer I am using in the lobby of my hotel in Madeira. Might be worth a try in the interim. Bob Bob said: Following several postings on Madeira Winds' excellent Zino's pelagic 3 day package, seabirders will be interested in an extraordinary sighting of Swinhoe's Storm-petrel on the most recent 3 day package on the 3rd June. A Swinhoe's turned up at the chum at about 7.25 pm and stayed for 40 minutes. We saw it again briefly at 8.30 pm. We watched it at close range and it was photographed well by 'Carlos' a participant from Spain. The Madeira Winds crew took some video footage and this can be viewed at http://www.madeirabirds.com/swinhoes_storm_petrel_off_madeira.html I managed to get some quite reasonable video and this will be included in a DVD/book set in the North Atlantic Seabirds series, the first set being 'Pterodromas, Storm-petrels and Bulwer's Petrel' - see http://www.scillypelagics.com/NASB.html We will write up this sighting with photos and post where it is to be published. I highly recommend the Madeira Winds Zino's pelagic package! Bob Flood -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Swinhoe's sighting off Madeira From: "tubenose AT tiscali.co.uk" <tubenose@tiscali.co.uk> Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2010 20:46:08 +0100 (GMT+01:00) Following several postings on Madeira Winds' excellent Zino's pelagic 3 day package, seabirders will be interested in an extraordinary sighting of Swinhoe's Storm-petrel on the most recent 3 day package on the 3rd June. A Swinhoe's turned up at the chum at about 7.25 pm and stayed for 40 minutes. We saw it again briefly at 8.30 pm. We watched it at close range and it was photographed well by 'Carlos' a participant from Spain. The Madeira Winds crew took some video footage and this can be viewed at http://www.madeirabirds.com/swinhoes_storm_petrel_off_madeira.html I managed to get some quite reasonable video and this will be included in a DVD/book set in the North Atlantic Seabirds series, the first set being 'Pterodromas, Storm-petrels and Bulwer's Petrel' - see http://www.scillypelagics.com/NASB.html We will write up this sighting with photos and post where it is to be published. I highly recommend the Madeira Winds Zino's pelagic package! Bob Flood -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Tropicbirds, Skua, Laysan: SEARCHER trip report: May 29-31, 2010 From: thunefeld <thunefeld AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2010 20:37:34 -0700 (PDT) Greetings, The Memorial Day weekend double-overnight Whales and Seabirds trip from San Diego aboard the live-aboard SEARCHER delivered all we hoped for and more: Sunny skies, warm temperatures, gently rolling seas and pleasant breezes. Highlights included 6 tropicbirds, 6 skua, 4 Laysan Albatrosses and 11 species of cetaceans including Blue Whales, a cooperative Minke Whale, a very late northbound adult Grey Whale and 20 very-rare-this-far-south Northern Right Whale Dolphins. We did not venture as far north or west as we had two weeks earlier aboard Grande into the Cook’s Petrel zone, instead making the decision to stay south of San Clemente island to maximize both our marine mammal and bird lists. We decided to leave it to the Condor Express to head back into 2000 fathom waters on June 12 to hunt more pterodroma and Laysan Albatrosses: http://www.socalbirding.com/trips/santabarbarajun122010.html The May 29-31 trip report is now posted to SoCalBirding.com and included photos by 5 photographers plus video footage of South Polar Skua, Laysan & Black-footed Albies, Blue, Minke, Fin and Humpback Whales, Risso’s and Pacific White-sided Dolphin: Trip report: http://www.socalbirding.com/tripreports/searchermay29312010.html The SEARCHER 5-Day Channel Islands and Deep Water trip is scheduled to depart San Diego on Labor Day. Hawaiian Petrel was seen on this trip a few years ago, and this is the prime time of year and location for Buller’s Shearwater, Craveri’s Murrelet and Red-billed Tropicbirds. Expected September species: http://www.socalbirding.com/trips/searchersep6102010.html Peace on earth. W. Terry Hunefeld, Encinitas Life is short. Seabird often. In memory of Luke Cole “Come on out with us to see what’s out there.” Southern California Seabirding Trips by: Buena Vista Audubon Society http://www.SoCalBirding.com Los Coronados Islands & Nine Mile Bank all the way to the edge of the Continental Shelf -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Pelagic Trip #41 from Port MacDonnell, South Australia 23 May 2010 From: mariner <diomedea1 AT bigpond.com> Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2010 00:15:52 -0700 (PDT) Pelagic trips are organised by the South Australian Ornithological Association out of Port MacDonnell once or twice per month between September and May. Date : 23rd May 2010 Boat : Remarkable Personnel : Mark Moody (skipper), Jamie Moody (mate) plus 12 seabirders. Synoptic Situation : Large High centred east of Tasmania, distant Low and front approaching from the west. Weather : Fine conditions with 10 knot NE-NW breeze. Seas : Wind waves to 1 metre. Low SW swell. Sea temperature off shore 13.5C. Route : Sailed 0650 heading south to hotspot at 38 27'S 140 38'E c. 1200 metres depth. Worked berley slick all day at shelf edge, returning via 7 nm Bank and arriving at Port Mac at 1500. Inshore to 200 metre depth contour Little Penguin 1 Shy Albatross 20 Black-browed Albatross 20 Yellow-nosed Albatross 1 Buller's Albatross 3 Fluttering Shearwater 15 Southern Skua 1 Skua sp. 1 Fairy Prion 100 Australasian Gannet 15 Silver Gull 2 Over Shelf, 200 to 2000 metre depth contour Wandering Albatross 1 Shy Albatross 75 ( both cauta and steadi present) Black-browed Albatross 100 ( nominate and impavida) Yellow-nosed Albatross 5 Buller's Albatross 18 Northern Giant Petrel 5 Southern Giant Petrel 1 Cape Petrel 10 Great-winged Petrel 2 (nominate) Fairy Prion c.200 Antarctic Prion 10 Salvin's/Broad-billed Prion 1 Slender-billed Prion 1? Sooty Shearwater 1 Wilson's Storm-petrel 75 White-faced Storm-petrel 2 Grey-backed Storm-petrel 15 Australasian Gannet 10 White-fronted Tern 2 Crested tern 5 Notes : An excellent day seabirding in kind sea conditions. Continuation of this summer/autumn's good numbers of Buller's Albatross and Grey-backed Storm-petrel. For Grey-backed Storm-petrel the best year ever. Antarctic Prions and Salvin/Broad-billed confirmed by photo records. Organiser Colin Rogers, Chief Berleyman and recorder Stuart Hull. Neil Cheshire Encounter Bay, South Australia. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Charleston Pelagic: Arctic Terns, Harcourt's Storm-Petrels, Black-capped Petrels, Shearwaters... From: Nate Dias <offshorebirder AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 2 Jun 2010 17:15:27 -0700 (PDT) We had a good pelagic trip this past Friday May 28 out of Charleston, South Carolina, USA. Our course was *far* southeast, primarily into Georgia waters. We searched for action in the western portions of the Gulf Stream where it passes over several pinnacles rising out of the Blake Plateau, a bit north of the Charleston Bump. Arctic Terns put on a show, and two fairly approachable Manx Shearwaters sitting on the water were another highlight. Normally Manx Shearwaters clear out of here by mid-April, but these birds were a late May surprise. We had a total of 3 Band-rumped/Madeiran/Harcourt's Storm-Petrels (1 in SC waters and 2 in GA) - decent looks at a couple of them. I think a couple of participants got photos of the Band-rumped SP, and multiple people got Arctic Tern and Manx Shearwater photos. Everyone got Black-capped Petrel photos in flight and sitting on the water. The most Black-capped Petrels that we had "orbiting" the boat at once was 15. The 'dark-naped' ones looked not-too-worn yet not-that-fresh, and most of the 'white-naped' ones looked ragged, with several missing quite a bit of "flight feather real estate." I got a brief look at a Sooty Shearwater that went behind a wave but we never "got on it" again. Other than that, we had very good looks at every species except Band-rumped Storm-Petrel, but everyone got 'satisfactory' looks at BRSP. The southernmost point we reached was N31 50.585 W78 59.664, which is 119 miles due east of Ossabaw Sound, and 77.6 miles southeast of the outer Charleston Jetties. We ventured a bit further east than that at times. We spent most of our time in 80-82 degree (Gulf Stream) water, and all our time in 100 fathoms or deeper. We did not see any sargassum windrows (weed lines) - presumably the passing storm a couple of days prior had 'blown things apart.' Nb. The trip would have been a much poorer experience if not for some "chummy" assistance from Captain Brian Patteson. Trip list (9 pelagic species, 10 counting the Sooty Shearwater): In addition to 20+ Audubon's and Cory's Shearwaters and 10-12 Wilson's Storm-Petrels in SC waters on the ride out, we had: Black-capped Petrel - 54 Manx Shearwater 2 Cory's Shearwater - 10 (more but we were conservative in case of birds semi-following) Audubon's Shearwater 9 (more but we were conservative) Band-rumped Storm-Petrel 3 Wilson's Storm-Petrel 22 (more but we were conservative) Pomarine Jaeger 1 Arctic Tern - 8 Bridled Tern - 2 Chestnut-sided Warbler (60+ miles offshore, photos of it sitting on our outrigger) Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: CRESLI 2010 summer Great South Channel whale and pelagic bird trips - From: "Dr. Artie Kopelman" <president AT cresli.org> Date: Sat, 29 May 2010 18:20:12 -0400 2010 Great South Channel trip - August 15-17, 2010. Same price as last year. Reservations are required and can be made as of March 2010 at http://www.cresli.org/cresli/reservations/offshore_res.html. The Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island is a non-profit research and education organization. Our mission is: "To promote and foster understanding and stewardship of coastal ecosystems through research and education ." Part of our work is to observe and document the whale and sea bird populations of NY and New England and to take people to see these animals in the wild. Since 2002 we have been offering incredible and successful multi-day offshore pelagic bird and whale observation trips. Our trips have been 100% successful and we have encountered thousands of pelagic birds over the years . We've also encountered fin, minke, sei, and right whales; common, white-sided, dolphins, pilot whales We are planning one trip to the Great South Chanel in August 15-17, 2010 (51 hours). The vessel is the 140' Viking Starship that can sleep up to 65 passengers in navy style bunks. Excellent food will be available at reasonable prices. Passengers may bring their own food as well. The trips will be led by a seasoned marine mammal biologist and professor. Volunteers from CRESLI will assist in photo-identification spotting and data collection. (1) Our August trip will leave at 7:00 PM on August 15, 2010 and head to Martha's Vineyard (MV) to pick up (and drop off) passengers. We expect to arrive at Oak Bluffs in Martha's Vineyard at approximately 12:30 AM on 8/16; we leave MV at 1:00 AM and proceed to the GSC. We should reach the whale grounds around day break, spend the next 24 hours amongst the whales and birds of the GSC. The following morning, we will have the option of either remaining on the whale grounds, or returning early to Martha's Vineyard for land-based birding, hiking, or other activities. The vessel will ultimately depart Martha's Vineyard at 4:30 PM on 8/17 and return to Montauk at 10:30 PM on 8/17/10. We at CRESLI hope that you will join us on our trips. Remember that members do get discounted fares. Go to http://www.cresli.org/cresli/GSC_offshore.html for info and reservation links. Reservations can be made at http://www.cresli.org/cresli/reservations/offshore_res.html Expectations: . Cetaceans: Humpback, Fin, Minke, Right; Sei, Sperm and Pilot whales; Common, Bottlenose, Atlantic White Sided and Risso's Dolphins; Leatherback, Green and Loggerhead Turtles; Basking, Great White, Hammerhead, and Blue Sharks; Bluefin, Yellowfin, and Bigeye Tuna; White Marlin; Ocean Sunfish; Portuguese Man-of-War; and other marine life. . Birds: Cory's, Greater, Sooty, Manx, and Audubon's Shearwaters; Wilson's and Leach's Storm-Petrels; Northern Fulmar; Northern Gannet; Red-necked and Red Phalaropes; Pomarine, and Parasitic Jaegers; South Polar Skua; Greater Black-backed, Herring, Bonaparte's Gulls. Arthur H. Kopelman, Ph. D. President, Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island president AT cresli.org www.cresli.org 631-244-3352 ( e-mails scanned for viruses before sending) "When the last individual of a race of living thing breathes no more, another heaven and another earth must pass before such a one can be again" ...... William Beebee P Be kind to the environment - unless you need to, please don't print this e-mail -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Re: Cook's Petrels in numbers off Southern CA - June 12th trip out of Santa Barbara From: Force <pagodroma AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 28 May 2010 20:05:36 -0700 (PDT) SoCal Seabirders, We're currently at anchor in Avila Bay hiding from the Northwest Gale. We've finished our survey lines in the Southern California Bight and are slowly working our way north to San Francisco where we'll undergo a crew change. Only a couple days remain of counting Western Gulls! This survey has been far too coastal to find much of anything other than gulls and the expected shearwaters (other than a Flesh-footed Shearwater). However, the following brief summary may be of interest. The only Cook's Petrels were 62 on 11 May, not in the SoCal Bight, but rather 50-20 nmi west of Points Cabrillo and Reyes. Yesterday 27 May, I saw a couple of Cook's Petrels: 1 about 7 nmi SW of the west end of San Nicolas and another 15 nmi WNW of there. There was strong upwelling in this area with plenty of Black and Ashy Storm-Petrels and Red Phalaropes (I saw 430 Reds that day). The day before (26 May) there were 4 Red-billed Tropicbirds off the south and west end of San Clemente Island and an adult female Brown Booby 26 nmi SE of Pyramid Head the same day (26 May). The only other Red-billed Tropicbird was on 24 May over the Santa Cruz Basin, 17 nmi south of Anacapa Island. As for Murphy's Petrels, I've seen only 16, all between Cypress Point and Point Cabrillo and none since 11 May. Today (28 May) I saw 2 different Laysan Albatrosses 11-19 nmi west of Point Sal. Otherwise, it has been a rather mundane and uneventful cruise; too bad we didn't get farther off shore. happy seabirding Michael Force currently aboard F/V Frosti Avila Bay, CA On May 25, 3:21 pm, Todd Mcgrath wrote: > Seabirders: > > Cook's Petrels are again being seen off Southern California in good > numbers. Our May 1 trip on the Condor Express (The same boat we will > use June 12th) recorded 60+ Cook's and a Murphy's Petrels in rather > rough seas. On May 16, as part of a multi-day trip on the Grande out > of San Diego we saw 170+ Cook's, including groups of 20 or so feeding > over tuna just south and east of the San Juan Seamount. > > We have organized a special trip out of Santa Barbara on the fast > catamaran Condor Express for Saturday June 12th. The Condor Express > has a cabin that seats 50+ a full galley with hot breakfast, lunch and > dinner available for purchase. It is a very comfortable, fast boat. We > will cover 200-250 miles of water on this 13-14 hour trip. Our plan > will be to head out to the shelf edge to the areas where we have > recently recorded Cook's and Murphy's Petrels, perhaps as far as the > San Juan Seamount (our exact route will be flexible depending on > recent reports, weather, and where we see birds on the way, but we > will get to deep water where Cook's have been seen recently). June is > at the tail-end of the Murphy's window, but they are possible. > Research boats off the coast of CA have also recorded small numbers of > Hawaiian Petrels as well as a couple of Stejeneger's Petrels. > > June is a good time to look for Black-footed and Laysan Albatross, > Ashy, Black, and Leach's Storm-petrels as well as shearwaters, and > South Polar Skuas. > > The trip has enough particpants to run, so if you would like to look > for Cook's Petrels, this is a great opportunity. Before 2009, I had > seen only a handful of Cook's off CA (less than 30), despite doing > over 100 trips. In 2009 and 2010, I have seen well over 600, including > 200 off the Condor Express in two trips! > >  There is much specualtion as to why Cook's Petrels are showing up in > such numbers off CA recently, but if past history is a guide, this > won't last. > > You can see trip reports from our recent trips as well as a listing > and description of all upcoming trips on Socalbirding.com. > > The cost for this trip is $195 and you can call the Sea Landing at > 888-77Whale for your reservation. Meeting time is 630AM with a 700AM > departure. > > Good Seabirding and I hope to see you in June! > > Todd McGrath > S... AT MSN.COM > Calabasas CA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: SoCal Pelagic Trip Report - 172 Cook's Petrels From: thunefeld <thunefeld AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 26 May 2010 22:06:45 -0700 (PDT) Greetings The Buena Vista Audubon 56 hour pelagic May 15-17, 2010 from San Diego took us from San Diego. past the southern tip of San Clemente Island, then 170 miles out into the Pacific Ocean to the two-mile deep trench between the San Juan Seamount and Patton Escarpment - 2100 fathoms of water. Long time (35 years!) pelagic birder Dave Povey called this trip “one of the all time epic San Diego offshore birding trips.” The weather and seas were perfect for pterodromas. On Sunday, May 16, we saw 172 Cook's Petrels, multiple Laysan Albatrosses, tropicbirds and dozens of pterodromas too distant to identify with certainty. Monday was “skua and murrelet chicks” day. The complete trip report, video, photos, GPS trip tracks and eBird species lists are posted at http://www.socalbirding.com/tripreports/sandiegomay15172010.html Saturday, June 12: The next deep water trip from SoCal is from Santa Barbara on Saturday June 12th aboard the Condor Express. Details: http://www.socalbirding.com/trips/santabarbarajun122010.html Friday, June 25: Debi Shearwater has a special “Monterey meets Hollywood” trip planned June 25 and a diverse assortment of summer and fall trips from Monterey, Half Moon Bay, Bodega Bay and Ft Bragg. http://www.shearwaterjourneys.com/schedule.shtml Sunday, June 27: Buena Vista Audubon has chartered Grande to take birders on a 9-hour day trip to the Nine Mile Bank and visit the booby colony on the Coronados Islands on Sunday June 27 in search of Humpback Whales, albatrosses and murrelets for only $60. http://www.socalbirding.com/trips/sandiegojun272010.html All upcoming pelagic charters from Southern California are listed in detail at: http://www.socalbirding.com/upcomingtrips.html Peace on earth. W. Terry Hunefeld, Encinitas Life is short. Seabird often. In memory of Luke Cole “Come on out with us to see what’s out there.” Southern California Seabirding Trips by: Buena Vista Audubon Society http://www.SoCalBirding.com Los Coronados Islands & Nine Mile Bank all the way to the edge of the Continental Shelf -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Cook's Petrels in numbers off Southern CA - June 12th trip out of Santa Barbara From: Todd Mcgrath <toddamcgrath AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 25 May 2010 15:21:44 -0700 (PDT) Seabirders: Cook's Petrels are again being seen off Southern California in good numbers. Our May 1 trip on the Condor Express (The same boat we will use June 12th) recorded 60+ Cook's and a Murphy's Petrels in rather rough seas. On May 16, as part of a multi-day trip on the Grande out of San Diego we saw 170+ Cook's, including groups of 20 or so feeding over tuna just south and east of the San Juan Seamount. We have organized a special trip out of Santa Barbara on the fast catamaran Condor Express for Saturday June 12th. The Condor Express has a cabin that seats 50+ a full galley with hot breakfast, lunch and dinner available for purchase. It is a very comfortable, fast boat. We will cover 200-250 miles of water on this 13-14 hour trip. Our plan will be to head out to the shelf edge to the areas where we have recently recorded Cook's and Murphy's Petrels, perhaps as far as the San Juan Seamount (our exact route will be flexible depending on recent reports, weather, and where we see birds on the way, but we will get to deep water where Cook's have been seen recently). June is at the tail-end of the Murphy's window, but they are possible. Research boats off the coast of CA have also recorded small numbers of Hawaiian Petrels as well as a couple of Stejeneger's Petrels. June is a good time to look for Black-footed and Laysan Albatross, Ashy, Black, and Leach's Storm-petrels as well as shearwaters, and South Polar Skuas. The trip has enough particpants to run, so if you would like to look for Cook's Petrels, this is a great opportunity. Before 2009, I had seen only a handful of Cook's off CA (less than 30), despite doing over 100 trips. In 2009 and 2010, I have seen well over 600, including 200 off the Condor Express in two trips! There is much specualtion as to why Cook's Petrels are showing up in such numbers off CA recently, but if past history is a guide, this won't last. You can see trip reports from our recent trips as well as a listing and description of all upcoming trips on Socalbirding.com. The cost for this trip is $195 and you can call the Sea Landing at 888-77Whale for your reservation. Meeting time is 630AM with a 700AM departure. Good Seabirding and I hope to see you in June! Todd McGrath SKUA AT MSN.COM Calabasas CA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Western Pacific Odyssey 2012 - Booking Now! From: John Brodie-Good <john.brodiegood AT btinternet.com> Date: Mon, 24 May 2010 18:02:29 +0100 Hi seabirders, The 'final' WPO is now open for bookings...dates are 1st April - 1st May 2012 There will also be a short pre-voyage from South Island to North Island, details available soon for that optional leg. Details can be found here http://www.wildwings.co.uk/wpodyssey.html It will be first come, first serve, demand is expected to be high again. Pricing and bookings can also be made in US Dollars for non-UK residents. For reservations ( and any questions) please contact tours AT wildwings.co.uk in the first instance. John Brodie-Good WildWings UK -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: some practical notes - Zino's Petrel with Madeira Wind Birds. From: "Elaine Cook" <elaine AT elainecook.info> Date: Fri, 21 May 2010 18:50:34 +0100 Dear All, To build on Andy’s excellent summary – also a Cuvier’s Beaked Whale. A few comments on practical points: I would second his recommendation about full marine waterproofing – jacket and trousers. The good news is that at least for our trips it was reasonably warm and the water temperature wasn’t cold so while I was wet, I wasn’t wet AND cold. Also, the sea is not tranquil and there was a fair amount of unavoidable bounce and the boat regularly dropped 6-10 feet from the top of a wave onto the water – there was voluble discussion in Spanish about “mis huevos” which I suspect it was just as well I didn’t fully understand. Those with weak backs will want to consider their fitness for 1-2 hours of this; standing up helps. There is a chemical toilet on board for the ladies but has little privacy – “gentlemen, please look that way” is a phrase worth learning in the languages of your fellow participants – or ask Hugo to organize this. There is absolutely no cover on the boat – so marine bags for your equipment, particularly optics, are recommended – for example http://www.over-board.co.uk/catalog. The first two days ran with a 13.30 pickup from the hotel, 14.00 at the boat, 14.15 departure, a 1.5+ hour run out to 10 miles offshore of north coast. Then the first chum block gets dropped over the stern and a pattern of drifting down wind for 15 minutes, then starting up the engines and going back to the top of the slick that forms as the chum melts, drift down, back to the top, drift, etc., etc. This goes on for about 4 hours until sunset and then it’s a run back to the harbor. A sandwich is provided about 5.00pm and a nice fresh salad around 7.00pm with fruit juice. Machico is a pleasant little town and the hotel was excellent – only 8 euro taxi ride from the airport, good value at 34 euros/day for a single room; nice food – the soups for lunch were fab; friendly, helpful hosts; internet included; more info -- http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g580260-d1058022-Reviews-White_Wat ers_Hotel-Machico_Madeira_Madeira_Islands.html . There’s a car rental place right around the corner from the hotel that rents little cars for 34 euros/day so you can go twitch the Madeira endemics. But best of all there’s a health spa in town that does massages for 15 euros – you’ll want at least one! Just to reassure anyone who is concerned about a young woman being skipper of the boat – Catarina competed in the Mistral Windsurf Class at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, and achieved 21st position. She was the first Portuguese female athlete to enter an Olympic event in a sailing class. And she handles the paperwork for the bookings very competently. And finally – you will want warm gear for the trip to the top of Pico de Areeiro – I found gloves, a hat, and long johns made the trip more comfortable. Be prepared for a 50 mph cross wind while you’re walking down the back of the ridge (with a long drop on both sides and no rails). Gulp! But the second time we did the trip was absolute magic! Best regards, Elaine From: seabird-news AT googlegroups.com [mailto:seabird-news AT googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Andy Paterson Sent: 21 May 2010 15:43 To: seabird-news AT googlegroups.com Subject: [Seabird-News:1233] Zino's Petrel with Madeira Wind Birds. Hi: Further to the post by Angus from Catarina and Hugo of Madeira Wind Birds with Hadoram's more detailed specific sp. info., here are the basic impressions of myself and and six Spanish seabirders, plus Elaine Cooke and Steve Howell. I have just returned from the first ever 3 days of pelagic expeditions in search of Zino's Petrels at sea organised by Catarina Fagundes and Hugo Romano of Madeira Wind Birds over the afternoon-evenings of 14, 15 and 16 May, leaving harbour on Caniçal on Madeira at 14.00L and returning any time between 22.30L and 01.00L. We all stayed in the highly recommendable White Waters Hotel in the nearby town of Machico. Birding was done from an 11.5m RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) with 2x200hp outboards skippered by Catarina, which means that although low on the water it is pretty stable although one is likely to get wet if there is a beam sea or wind (which happened and full marine waterproofing is essential) and coming back late after dark after staying in the lee of the Desertas islands on Sunday 16 May I seemed to get a goodly portion of the North Atlantic on top of me and I wasn't alone. All of us from Spain agreed that we had been privileged to enjoy (most of the time) what must be definitely one of life's great seabirding experiences on this side of the Atlantic! As to the birding, the brief list below will give an idea, but basically we saw all that we hoped for and then some, missing out only on Leach's Storm-petrel. Petrels Zino's Pterodroma madeira, of which there are only 80 pairs and all breed on the top of Pico de Areeiro, the highest point of Madeira. Wind Birds will take you up to hear the immatures calling as they come in to the breeding area after dark, but the walk is hard and not for those with dicey knees, heart problems (you are at c.1.800m a.s.l.) or just darned unfit Seen well several times. Fea's Pterodroma feae, also seen, breeds on Bugio, one of the Desertas islands.Seen only a few times, breeds later than Zino's. Bulwer's Bulweria bulweri, suprisingly numerous, seen well. Shearwaters Cory's Calonectris diomedea, race borealis, numerous (I should add that I don't go for the Med. race diomedea being separated as a separate sp. increasingly often known as Scopoli's. Manx P. puffinus, quite common. Little / Barolo (according to taste) P. baroli, only a couple which went by, never investigated the chum and ignored us totally. Storm-petrels Wilson's Oceanites oceanicus, a few but seen well. White-faced Pelagodroma marina, superb views of this fantastic little stormie which was much numerous than we had hoped for. Madeiran / Band-rumped Oceanodroma castro (forget the 4 proposed races for the moment), 2-3 birds but seen well. European/British Hydrobates pelagicus, few but seen well, many appeared to show far more white in the underwing than those I have seen in the Med. and North Sea. And what else? A sea a Grey/Red Phalarope (name depends on which side of the pond you are from) stayed alongside the chum feeding one afternoon and we had brief but good views of an adult Sabine's Gull in breeding plumage, plus a single Arctic Tern. From the shore we saw Common Terns in Funchal harbour (4) and at Porto Moniz (>20) and also 2 Roseate Terns in Funchal harbour. I have slew of photos to sort out of Madeiran Yellow-legged Gulls (anyone interested in sado-masochism should get in touch after the end of May) and we also saw a single adult Lesser Black-backed off the Desertas. We saw 4 Sperm Whales, Spotted Dolphins and a single turtle. Regards, Andy Paterson Torremolinos, España http://birding-the-costa.blogspot.com http://guiri-pajarero-suelto.blogspot.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Zino's Petrel with Madeira Wind Birds. From: Andy Paterson <andy.birds AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 21 May 2010 16:43:03 +0200 Hi: Further to the post by Angus from Catarina and Hugo of Madeira Wind Birds with Hadoram's more detailed specific sp. info., here are the basic impressions of myself and and six Spanish seabirders, plus Elaine Cooke and Steve Howell. I have just returned from the first ever 3 days of pelagic expeditions in search of *Zino's Petrels* at sea organised by Catarina Fagundes and Hugo Romano of *Madeira Wind Birds* over the afternoon-evenings of 14, 15 and 16 May, leaving harbour on Caniçal on Madeira at 14.00L and returning any time between 22.30L and 01.00L. We all stayed in the highly recommendable *White Waters Hotel* in the nearby town of Machico. Birding was done from an 11.5m RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) with 2x200hp outboards skippered by Catarina, which means that although low on the water it is pretty stable although one is likely to get wet if there is a beam sea or wind (which happened and full marine waterproofing is essential) and coming back late after dark after staying in the lee of the Desertas islands on Sunday 16 May I seemed to get a goodly portion of the North Atlantic on top of me and I wasn't alone. All of us from Spain agreed that we had been privileged to enjoy (most of the time) what must be definitely one of life's great seabirding experiences on this side of the Atlantic! As to the birding, the brief list below will give an idea, but basically we saw all that we hoped for and then some, missing out only on Leach's Storm-petrel. *Petrels* * Zino's Pterodroma madeira*, of which there are only 80 pairs and all breed on the top of Pico de Areeiro, the highest point of Madeira. Wind Birds will take you up to hear the immatures calling as they come in to the breeding area after dark, but the walk is hard and not for those with dicey knees, heart problems (you are at c.1.800m a.s.l.) or just darned unfit Seen well several times. *Fea's Pterodroma feae*, also seen, breeds on Bugio, one of the Desertas islands.Seen only a few times, breeds later than Zino's. *Bulwer's Bulweria bulweri*, suprisingly numerous, seen well. *Shearwaters* *Cory's Calonectris diomedea*, race *borealis*, numerous (I should add that I don't go for the Med. race *diomedea* being separated as a separate sp. increasingly often known as Scopoli's. *Manx P. puffinus*, quite common. *Little / Barolo* (according to taste) *P. baroli*, only a couple which went by, never investigated the chum and ignored us totally. *Storm-petrels** **Wilson's Oceanites oceanicus*, a few but seen well. * White-faced Pelagodroma marina*, superb views of this fantastic little stormie which was much numerous than we had hoped for. *Madeiran / Band-rumped Oceanodroma castro* (forget the 4 proposed races for the moment), 2-3 birds but seen well. *European/British Hydrobates pelagicus*, few but seen well, many appeared to show far more white in the underwing than those I have seen in the Med. and North Sea. * * And what else? A sea a *Grey/Red Phalarope* (name depends on which side of the pond you are from) stayed alongside the chum feeding one afternoon and we had brief but good views of an adult *Sabine's Gull* in breeding plumage, plus a single *Arctic Tern*. From the shore we saw *Common Terns* in Funchal harbour (4) and at Porto Moniz (>20) and also 2 *Roseate Terns* in Funchal harbour. I have slew of photos to sort out of Madeiran *Yellow-legged Gulls * (anyone interested in sado-masochism should get in touch after the end of May) and we also saw a single adult *Lesser Black-backed* off the Desertas. We saw 4 *Sperm Whales*, *Spotted Dolphins *and a single *turtle*. Regards, Andy Paterson Torremolinos, España http://birding-the-costa.blogspot.com http://guiri-pajarero-suelto.blogspot.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: A must to watch... "The Ultimate WP Pelagic Expedition: Madeira, May 2010" From: Wind Birds <hugoromano AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 21 May 2010 03:00:42 -0700 (PDT) We are inviting seabird birders to watch our exciting expedition report, with many findings... and open ideas about petrels in Madeira. A report by Hadoram Shirihai (Extreme Gadfly Petrel Expeditions) and Madeira Wind Birds / Oceanodroma: http://www.madeirabirds.com/ultimate_western_palearctic_pelagic_expedition_madeira_2010 The main features of the report are: - 6 Zino's Petrel documented at sea, with the first ever video of the species at sea... - Unidentified Pterodroma Petrel, with photo and video... - up to c. 20 White-faced Storm-petrels in one day, which is the largest numbers recorded in European waters... Madeira Wind Birds/ Oceanodroma will continue research and pelagic birding, aiming to find more about the fascinating petrels of the Madeira Archipelago, and also to show them to birders from around the world. Surly we created the ultimate pelagic operations, globally, and we will be happy to share our findings will birders. To find out about planed trips, please visit: http://j.mp/zinopelagics This is going to be the most exciting pelagic for European birders... Catarina Fagundes and Hugo Romano Madeira Wind Birds / Oceanodroma -- email: info AT madeirabirds.com sites: www.madeirabirds.com / www.madeirawindbirds.com ph: +351-917777441 / +351-291098007 twitter: AT windbirds AT oceanodroma facebook: http://facebook.com/windbirds -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Video of Zino's Petrel and much more From: Angus Wilson <oceanwanderers AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 21 May 2010 06:35:56 -0700 (PDT) Hadoram Shirihai (Tubenoses Project/Extreme Gadfly Petrel Expeditions), Catarina Fagundes and Hugo Romano (Madeira Wind Birds/ Oceanodroma) have posted a fascinating series of videos and photos entitled "The Ultimate WP Pelagic Expedition: Madeira, May 2010". http://www.madeirabirds.com/ultimate_western_palearctic_pelagic_expedition_madeira_2010 Six Zino's Petrel's were documented in the trip, including the first ever video footage of the species at sea. There are also images and discussion of an unidentified Pterodroma Petrel (dubbed 'snowy-winged type petrel"), possibly an aberrant Zino's. Checkout the exciting video and extraordinary photos... -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: 100nm offshore Ponce Inlet, NE Florida From: Robert Wallace <chnuts AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 20 May 2010 04:59:46 -0700 (PDT) Yesterday, May 15, a group of 41 intrepid birders and our ten leaders sailed out of Ponce de Leon Inlet, Volusia County, aboard the Pastime Princess on a pelagic birding trip sponsored by the Marine Science Center. We set out at about 4:30 a.m. On a voyage that would take us out over 100 miles offshore, exploring the entire width of the Gulf Stream and then punching out the east wall of the Gulf Stream to the deep water canton area, locally known as the “Tuna Grounds.” A steady wind of about 15 knots out of the southeast greeted us we headed east out of the Inlet and sailed out into the darkness. The birding began slowly, with an occasional Northern Gannet, and then an occasional storm-petrel. The looks that these birds were brief and very difficult to see. We found the Gulf Stream at about 37 miles offshore, but the winds had blown out all of the Sargassum Weed at the west wall of the Gulf Stream and the area was not productive. Soon, though we began to encounter an occasional storm-petrel, with quick looks at Leach's, Wilson's and Band-rumped Storm-Petrels. Finally at 42 miles out we found the first Black-capped Petrel. This would be the first of 8 Black-capped Petrels we would find that day. Still, the birding was slow, punctuated by the excitement of a lone bird. We continued east and exited to east wall of the Gulf Stream. At this point we found a few storm-petrels and we put some more menhaden oil chum and were not disappointed, as Wilson's Storm-Petrels came flying in to inspect the oil slick, and with them a larger Band-Rumped Storm-Petrel. These birds gave as all wonderful chances to see them close up. Soon we found our first Sooty Tern flock at 85 miles offshore. But the great surprise came here when as we approached we realized that mixed in with the Sooty Terns was an entire flock of Arctic Terns. We had extraordinary looks at lots of Arctic Terns. We could hear the Arctic and the Sooty Terns calling. In addition to the terns, were the occasional Audubon's Shearwater and Cory's Shearwater. This experienced repeated itself multiple times as we moved from flock to flock. In total, we found about 64 Arctic Terns! One single flock contained 25 birds. We also found 6 Pomarine Jaegers and 4 Parasitic Jaegers working the flocks and floating on the surface. The time was getting away from us so we had to head back to shore, having seen some amazing birds. We were all tired and settled down for the long trip back. We were back in the Gulf Stream at 71 miles out when someone yells, TROPICBIRD! Coming right up to us from behind the boat was a spectacular adult White-tailed Tropicbird! It was so cooperative, that it made 3 separate passes right over our heads. What a sight! About a half hour later the call comes again, and we had another White-tailed Tropicbird! Who could imagine seeing two in one day!. About another half hour later even a third White-tailed Tropicbird appeared briefly. Three White-tailed Tropicbirds in one day! What an incredible end to a spectacular day of pelagic birding! Photos to come later. Species list Black-capped Petrel 8 Cory' Shearwater 2 Audubon's Shearwater 7 Leach's Storm-Petrel 3 Band-rumped Storm-Petrel 4 Wilson's Storm-Petrel 17 Northern Gannet 13 White-tailed Tropicbird 3 Brown Pelican 1 American Coot 1 (What was it doing out there at 40 miles offshore?) Sooty Tern 115 Bridled Tern 3 Arctic Tern 64 Pomarine Jaeger 6 Parasitic Jaeger 4 Shearwater sp. 1 Storm-Petrel sp. 6 It was a spectacular trip. I want to give a special thank to the leaders, who made the trip such a success: Bob Wallace, Wes Biggs, Bruce Anderson, Andy Kratter, Mitchell Harris, John Hintermister, Roberto Torres and Murray Gardler. Michael Michael Brothers Marine Science Center Ponce Inlet, Daytona Beach, FL -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Pelagic Trip # 40 from Port MacDonnell, South Australia 9th May 2010 From: mariner <diomedea1 AT bigpond.com> Date: Wed, 19 May 2010 18:40:03 -0700 (PDT) Location : Port MacDonnell, South Australia. Date : 9th May 2010 Boat : 'Remarkable' Crew : Skipper Mark Moody, Mate Jamie Moody plus 12 seabirders. Weather : Overcast with low level stratus. Approaching front producing showers, some heavy, during day. Winds NE-NW 15-25 knots. Synoptic Situation : Large High centred over western NSW, approaching SW front from Southern Ocean. Seas : 1-2 metre wind waves across 3 metre+ SW swell produced uncomfortable conditions. Sea surface temperature c. 16C Route : Departed 0710h heading south to hotspot at shelf edge c.1100 m depth at 38 27'S 140 38'E worked berley slick in area before returning to Port Mac around 1430h. Inshore to 200m depth contour. Shy Albatross 5 Black-browed Albatross 3 Yellow-nosed Albatross 2 Fluttering Shearwater 2 Arctic Skua 1 Fairy Prion 20 Australasian Gannet 10 At Shelf edge 200-2000m depth Wandering Albatross 4 Shy Albatross 50 Salvin's Albatross 2 Black-browed Albatross 150 ( melanophrys and impavida) Yellow-nosed Albatross 10 Buller's Albatross 1 Sooty Albatross 5 (all immatures) Northern Giant Petrel 4 Cape Petrel 6 (including 1 australe) Great-winged Petrel 50 ( including 1 gouldi) Soft-plumaged Petrel 1 Fairy Prion 100 Antarctic Prion 2 Wilson's Storm-petrel 150 White-faced Storm-petrel 10 Grey-backed Storm-petrel 4 Black-bellied Storm-petrel 1 Australasian Gannet 5 Crested Tern 3 Notes : An uncomfortable trip where several seabirders made personal contributions to the berley, but this was compensated by great seabirding. During the previous week winds had been consistently from West to Southwest. Sooty Albatross the highest count for any Port Mac pelagic. All were immature birds in worn and faded plumage. The Soft-plumaged Petrel made two quick passes of the boat. Black-bellied Storm- petrel the second for a SAust pelagic. Photo records confirmed the Antarctic Prions and revealed possible Salvin's and Slender-billed Prions. Organiser Colin Rogers, Chief Berleyman and Recorder Stuart Hull. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Re: New! June 12th Santa Barbara CA Deepwater Pelagic From: Force <pagodroma AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 15 May 2010 10:48:39 -0700 (PDT) Todd and SoCal seabirders, I've just completed a couple of weeks aboard the Canadian F/V Frosti so thought I'd update you on the situation in Central CA. The cruise has been extremely coastal, rarely venturing further than 10 nmi from shore. However, 11 May, I saw about 10 Murphy's Petrels and 62 Cook's Petrels between Point Cabrillo and Point Reyes (the only Cook's I've seen son far). We were about 50 to 30 nmi from shore. Other species of note include 3 Laysan Albatrosses and a single Flesh-footed Shearwater. Otherwise, it has been extremely dull. No, more than dull. After a couple days here in San Francisco, we'll work our way south towards the southern California Bight. happy seabirding Michael Force currently aboard F/V Frosti On May 9, 7:08 pm, Todd Mcgrath wrote: > Birders: > > The Cook's Petrels have returned again this year to the waters off > Santa Barbara, and reports from research vessels and others indicate > they are present up and down the CA coast. Last year, after seeing a > few in early May, numbers along the CA coast peaked in late-July and > early August, with hundreds being seen off Santa Barbara in July, and > also from various points north (including many in Monterey Bay),on the > legendary Shearwater Journeys Pelagics from Northern California. > > This year they showed up off SoCal in numbers in May with hundreds > reported from research ships, and 65 from a very rough May 1 Pelagic > from Santa Barbara on the Condor Express. I have no doubt that we > would have seen many more with better weather. This trip also recorded > Murphy's Petrel, and again based on research ship and other reports, > it seems that Murphy's are present in some numbers this Spring. > > The good folks of the Condor Express have agreed to add a birding trip > Saturday June 12th, to give us an additional opportunity to get out in > the deepwater. Who know how long the Cook's will last, but I know they > will not be present in these numbers every year. We are adding this > trip to give as many folks as possible a chance to share in this rare > opprtunity. > > This is also the tail end of the normal window for Murphy's Petrel, > and an excellent time of year to look for other rarities like Hawaiian > Petrel, Parakeet Auklet (also reported offshore this year, as well as > a sighting from Piedras Blancas Lighthouse a day or so ago). This is a > great time for other species such as Black-footed Albatross, and > Laysan Albatrosses from the breeding colonies in Mexico often wander > north to SoCal waters in the late spring and early summer. > > The regular species like Black and Ashy storm-petrel, Xantus's > Murrelets, as well as Cassin's Auklets, and various shearwater species > should give us plenty to look at while we search for rarities. > > These deepwater trips on the Condor Express (a big,fast,and > comfortable catamaran) cover 250+ miles in 13-14 hours, and are the > only single day trips that can take you to the edge of the Continental > Shelf and beyond. > They have posted excellent results including such rarities as Murphy's > Cook's and Hawaiian Petrels, Parakeet Auklets, Horned and Tufted > Puffins, Tristam's Storm-petrel, as well as all the expected species. > > The Condor Express will be staffed with the usual assortment of > excellent leaders, and leader Wes Fritz will be on hand to bring those > petrels to the boat, as he did on May 1. > > I hope you can join us for what is sure to be a fun trip offshore. > While there are never any guarantees, I think the chances of seeing > Cook's Petrels are quite good, given the numbers present up and down > the coast. > > The cost of the trip is $195. Call the SeaLanding at 888-77WHALE to > sign up. Please don't wait to make your reservation. June is a very > busy time for the boat, and we need to get the trip subscribed in > short order to be able to run it. > > Please e-mail me with any questions and I hope to see you onboard. > > Todd McGrath > S... AT MSN.COM > Calabasas CA > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. > To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Not Gray-headed Albatross after all. From: Gunnar Engblom <kolibriexp AT gmail.com> Date: Sat, 15 May 2010 09:29:11 -0500 Thanks to Alvaro Jaramillo, Brian Patteson and Chris Robertson for comments on my photos from Peru. I have included their commentsand photos in the blogpost http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/index.php/mystery-albatross-on-lima-pelagic/ with their permission. Gunnar Gunnar Engblom-Lima, Peru. Gunnar's Blog - updated frequently. http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/ Follow me on www.twitter.com/kolibrix http://www.facebook.com/Gunnar.Engblom/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Not Gray-headed Albatross after all. From: Gunnar Engblom <kolibriexp AT gmail.com> Date: Sat, 15 May 2010 09:29:11 -0500 Thanks to Alvaro Jaramillo, Brian Patteson and Chris Robertson for comments on my photos from Peru. I have included their commentsand photos in the blogpost http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/index.php/mystery-albatross-on-lima-pelagic/ with their permission. Gunnar Gunnar Engblom-Lima, Peru. Gunnar's Blog - updated frequently. http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/ Follow me on www.twitter.com/kolibrix http://www.facebook.com/Gunnar.Engblom/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Interesting Petrel news from Jamaica From: Nate Dias <offshorebirder AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 12 May 2010 07:12:03 -0700 (PDT) http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2010/05/jamaica-petrel-search.html Nathan Dias - Charleston, South Carolina, USA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Another Black Capped Petrel - Eastern Atlantic From: John Brodie-Good <john.brodiegood AT btinternet.com> Date: Mon, 10 May 2010 18:22:19 +0100 Hi all, Pete Fraser has had a text from Duncan and Michelle Walbridge on saturday aboard a cruise ship...... >> >> >> Mish has found a Black-capped Petrel this afternoon at 35:49.9 N 14:45.7 W c. 200 nm NE Madeira, seen at least twice at the bow of the cruise-ship. Dunc hasn’t got pictures yet, though. >> >> >> >> >> > Cheers John Brodie-Good -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Amazing record - Gray Whale in the Mediterranean From: Tony Pym <tony_pym AT hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 10 May 2010 17:02:15 +0100 First record in the Atlantic/Med. since 18th century? See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8672000/8672970.stm Regards Tony _________________________________________________________________ http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/197222280/direct/01/ We want to hear all your funny, exciting and crazy Hotmail stories. Tell us now -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: New! June 12th Santa Barbara CA Deepwater Pelagic From: Todd Mcgrath <toddamcgrath AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 9 May 2010 19:08:07 -0700 (PDT) Birders: The Cook's Petrels have returned again this year to the waters off Santa Barbara, and reports from research vessels and others indicate they are present up and down the CA coast. Last year, after seeing a few in early May, numbers along the CA coast peaked in late-July and early August, with hundreds being seen off Santa Barbara in July, and also from various points north (including many in Monterey Bay),on the legendary Shearwater Journeys Pelagics from Northern California. This year they showed up off SoCal in numbers in May with hundreds reported from research ships, and 65 from a very rough May 1 Pelagic from Santa Barbara on the Condor Express. I have no doubt that we would have seen many more with better weather. This trip also recorded Murphy's Petrel, and again based on research ship and other reports, it seems that Murphy's are present in some numbers this Spring. The good folks of the Condor Express have agreed to add a birding trip Saturday June 12th, to give us an additional opportunity to get out in the deepwater. Who know how long the Cook's will last, but I know they will not be present in these numbers every year. We are adding this trip to give as many folks as possible a chance to share in this rare opprtunity. This is also the tail end of the normal window for Murphy's Petrel, and an excellent time of year to look for other rarities like Hawaiian Petrel, Parakeet Auklet (also reported offshore this year, as well as a sighting from Piedras Blancas Lighthouse a day or so ago). This is a great time for other species such as Black-footed Albatross, and Laysan Albatrosses from the breeding colonies in Mexico often wander north to SoCal waters in the late spring and early summer. The regular species like Black and Ashy storm-petrel, Xantus's Murrelets, as well as Cassin's Auklets, and various shearwater species should give us plenty to look at while we search for rarities. These deepwater trips on the Condor Express (a big,fast,and comfortable catamaran) cover 250+ miles in 13-14 hours, and are the only single day trips that can take you to the edge of the Continental Shelf and beyond. They have posted excellent results including such rarities as Murphy's Cook's and Hawaiian Petrels, Parakeet Auklets, Horned and Tufted Puffins, Tristam's Storm-petrel, as well as all the expected species. The Condor Express will be staffed with the usual assortment of excellent leaders, and leader Wes Fritz will be on hand to bring those petrels to the boat, as he did on May 1. I hope you can join us for what is sure to be a fun trip offshore. While there are never any guarantees, I think the chances of seeing Cook's Petrels are quite good, given the numbers present up and down the coast. The cost of the trip is $195. Call the SeaLanding at 888-77WHALE to sign up. Please don't wait to make your reservation. June is a very busy time for the boat, and we need to get the trip subscribed in short order to be able to run it. Please e-mail me with any questions and I hope to see you onboard. Todd McGrath SKUA AT MSN.COM Calabasas CA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: (no subject) From: MSTENELLA AT aol.com Date: Sun, 9 May 2010 00:09:27 EDT -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Re: Possible Gray-headed Albatross in Lima, Peru From: Gunnar Engblom <kolibriexp AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 7 May 2010 13:44:41 -0500 Thanks Alvaro But what about the juveniles Gray-headed? It is depicted with a two colored bill in Onley - Scofield. Where is your record from in Chile? Gunnar Gunnar Engblom-Lima, Peru. Gunnar's Blog - updated frequently. http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/ Follow me on www.twitter.com/kolibrix http://www.facebook.com/Gunnar.Engblom/ On Fri, May 7, 2010 at 1:35 PM, Alvaro Jaramillo wrote: > Gunnar, > > > > This is a young Black-browed. Grey-headed will be much darker headed, > with a restricted white throat and cheek area that stands out. They have all > dark bills, not the bicolored darker tipped look of young Black-brows. Here > is a photo of the northernmost confirmed record we have yet from Chile: > > > > > http://fieldguides.smugmug.com/NEW-PHOTOS-add-all-photos-here/chi09-Alvaro-Jaramillo/10928463_WtZ3n#763318947_rU2ff > > > > I hope you don’t need a password to see that, I think I set it up so its > open. There is a flight photo and a sitting photo. > > > > Alvaro > > > > Alvaro Jaramillo > > chucao AT coastside.net > > Half Moon Bay, California > > > > Field Guides - Birding Tours Worldwide > > www.fieldguides.com > ------------------------------ > > *From:* seabird-news AT googlegroups.com [mailto: > seabird-news AT googlegroups.com] *On Behalf Of *Gunnar Engblom > *Sent:* Friday, May 07, 2010 10:34 AM > *To:* Seabird News; pelagics AT yahoogroups.com > *Subject:* [Seabird-News:1217] Possible Gray-headed Albatross in Lima, > Peru > > > > Hi seabirders > > With the risk of making a fool of myself...Could this be a Grey-headed > Albatross? > > > http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/index.php/mystery-albatross-on-lima-pelagic/ > > Sorry, I mistakenly uploaded a fairly small format of the pics. Let me know > if anyone needs larger format. > But > I am aware that there are no proven records of Grey-headed ALbatross this > far north, and that Jaramillo and others hold it to be a truly cold water > species. But the gray head and big black spot in front of the eye seems > consistent wtih Grey-headed Albatross from what I can see. > > We also saw Salvin's, Chatham Island (third time on Lima pelagics and > possibly overlooked), Black-browed (with complete collar and white head) and > Wave Albatrosses. > Not bad for a May pelagic....Pics on our Facebook page. > > > Saludos > > Gunnar Engblom > > > Gunnar Engblom-Lima, Peru. > Gunnar's Blog - updated frequently. > http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/ > Follow me on www.twitter.com/kolibrix > http://www.facebook.com/Gunnar.Engblom/ > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Seabird News" group. > To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Re: [Seabird-News:1217] Possible Gray-headed Albatross in Lima, Peru From: Gunnar Engblom <kolibriexp AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 7 May 2010 13:44:41 -0500 Thanks Alvaro But what about the juveniles Gray-headed? It is depicted with a two colored bill in Onley - Scofield. Where is your record from in Chile? Gunnar Gunnar Engblom-Lima, Peru. Gunnar's Blog - updated frequently. http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/ Follow me on www.twitter.com/kolibrix http://www.facebook.com/Gunnar.Engblom/ On Fri, May 7, 2010 at 1:35 PM, Alvaro Jaramillo wrote: > Gunnar, > > > > This is a young Black-browed. Grey-headed will be much darker headed, > with a restricted white throat and cheek area that stands out. They have all > dark bills, not the bicolored darker tipped look of young Black-brows. Here > is a photo of the northernmost confirmed record we have yet from Chile: > > > > > http://fieldguides.smugmug.com/NEW-PHOTOS-add-all-photos-here/chi09-Alvaro-Jaramillo/10928463_WtZ3n#763318947_rU2ff > > > > I hope you don’t need a password to see that, I think I set it up so its > open. There is a flight photo and a sitting photo. > > > > Alvaro > > > > Alvaro Jaramillo > > chucao AT coastside.net > > Half Moon Bay, California > > > > Field Guides - Birding Tours Worldwide > > www.fieldguides.com > ------------------------------ > > *From:* seabird-news AT googlegroups.com [mailto: > seabird-news AT googlegroups.com] *On Behalf Of *Gunnar Engblom > *Sent:* Friday, May 07, 2010 10:34 AM > *To:* Seabird News; pelagics AT yahoogroups.com > *Subject:* [Seabird-News:1217] Possible Gray-headed Albatross in Lima, > Peru > > > > Hi seabirders > > With the risk of making a fool of myself...Could this be a Grey-headed > Albatross? > > > http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/index.php/mystery-albatross-on-lima-pelagic/ > > Sorry, I mistakenly uploaded a fairly small format of the pics. Let me know > if anyone needs larger format. > But > I am aware that there are no proven records of Grey-headed ALbatross this > far north, and that Jaramillo and others hold it to be a truly cold water > species. But the gray head and big black spot in front of the eye seems > consistent wtih Grey-headed Albatross from what I can see. > > We also saw Salvin's, Chatham Island (third time on Lima pelagics and > possibly overlooked), Black-browed (with complete collar and white head) and > Wave Albatrosses. > Not bad for a May pelagic....Pics on our Facebook page. > > > Saludos > > Gunnar Engblom > > > Gunnar Engblom-Lima, Peru. > Gunnar's Blog - updated frequently. > http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/ > Follow me on www.twitter.com/kolibrix > http://www.facebook.com/Gunnar.Engblom/ > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Seabird News" group. > To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: RE: Possible Gray-headed Albatross in Lima, Peru From: "Alvaro Jaramillo" <chucao AT coastside.net> Date: Fri, 7 May 2010 11:35:26 -0700 Gunnar, This is a young Black-browed. Grey-headed will be much darker headed, with a restricted white throat and cheek area that stands out. They have all dark bills, not the bicolored darker tipped look of young Black-brows. Here is a photo of the northernmost confirmed record we have yet from Chile: http://fieldguides.smugmug.com/NEW-PHOTOS-add-all-photos-here/chi09-Alvaro-J aramillo/10928463_WtZ3n#763318947_rU2ff I hope you don't need a password to see that, I think I set it up so its open. There is a flight photo and a sitting photo. Alvaro Alvaro Jaramillo chucao AT coastside.net Half Moon Bay, California Field Guides - Birding Tours Worldwide www.fieldguides.com _____ From: seabird-news AT googlegroups.com [mailto:seabird-news AT googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Gunnar Engblom Sent: Friday, May 07, 2010 10:34 AM To: Seabird News; pelagics AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [Seabird-News:1217] Possible Gray-headed Albatross in Lima, Peru Hi seabirders With the risk of making a fool of myself...Could this be a Grey-headed Albatross? http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/index.php/mystery-albatro ss-on-lima-pelagic/ Sorry, I mistakenly uploaded a fairly small format of the pics. Let me know if anyone needs larger format. But I am aware that there are no proven records of Grey-headed ALbatross this far north, and that Jaramillo and others hold it to be a truly cold water species. But the gray head and big black spot in front of the eye seems consistent wtih Grey-headed Albatross from what I can see. We also saw Salvin's, Chatham Island (third time on Lima pelagics and possibly overlooked), Black-browed (with complete collar and white head) and Wave Albatrosses. Not bad for a May pelagic....Pics on our Facebook page. Saludos Gunnar Engblom Gunnar Engblom-Lima, Peru. Gunnar's Blog - updated frequently. http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/ Follow me on www.twitter.com/kolibrix http://www.facebook.com/Gunnar.Engblom/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: RE: [Seabird-News:1217] Possible Gray-headed Albatross in Lima, Peru From: "Alvaro Jaramillo" <chucao AT coastside.net> Date: Fri, 7 May 2010 11:35:26 -0700 Gunnar, This is a young Black-browed. Grey-headed will be much darker headed, with a restricted white throat and cheek area that stands out. They have all dark bills, not the bicolored darker tipped look of young Black-brows. Here is a photo of the northernmost confirmed record we have yet from Chile: http://fieldguides.smugmug.com/NEW-PHOTOS-add-all-photos-here/chi09-Alvaro-J aramillo/10928463_WtZ3n#763318947_rU2ff I hope you don't need a password to see that, I think I set it up so its open. There is a flight photo and a sitting photo. Alvaro Alvaro Jaramillo chucao AT coastside.net Half Moon Bay, California Field Guides - Birding Tours Worldwide www.fieldguides.com _____ From: seabird-news AT googlegroups.com [mailto:seabird-news AT googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Gunnar Engblom Sent: Friday, May 07, 2010 10:34 AM To: Seabird News; pelagics AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [Seabird-News:1217] Possible Gray-headed Albatross in Lima, Peru Hi seabirders With the risk of making a fool of myself...Could this be a Grey-headed Albatross? http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/index.php/mystery-albatro ss-on-lima-pelagic/ Sorry, I mistakenly uploaded a fairly small format of the pics. Let me know if anyone needs larger format. But I am aware that there are no proven records of Grey-headed ALbatross this far north, and that Jaramillo and others hold it to be a truly cold water species. But the gray head and big black spot in front of the eye seems consistent wtih Grey-headed Albatross from what I can see. We also saw Salvin's, Chatham Island (third time on Lima pelagics and possibly overlooked), Black-browed (with complete collar and white head) and Wave Albatrosses. Not bad for a May pelagic....Pics on our Facebook page. Saludos Gunnar Engblom Gunnar Engblom-Lima, Peru. Gunnar's Blog - updated frequently. http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/ Follow me on www.twitter.com/kolibrix http://www.facebook.com/Gunnar.Engblom/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Possible Gray-headed Albatross in Lima, Peru From: Gunnar Engblom <kolibriexp AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 7 May 2010 12:33:45 -0500 Hi seabirders With the risk of making a fool of myself...Could this be a Grey-headed Albatross? http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/index.php/mystery-albatross-on-lima-pelagic/ Sorry, I mistakenly uploaded a fairly small format of the pics. Let me know if anyone needs larger format. But I am aware that there are no proven records of Grey-headed ALbatross this far north, and that Jaramillo and others hold it to be a truly cold water species. But the gray head and big black spot in front of the eye seems consistent wtih Grey-headed Albatross from what I can see. We also saw Salvin's, Chatham Island (third time on Lima pelagics and possibly overlooked), Black-browed (with complete collar and white head) and Wave Albatrosses. Not bad for a May pelagic....Pics on our Facebook page. Saludos Gunnar Engblom Gunnar Engblom-Lima, Peru. Gunnar's Blog - updated frequently. http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/ Follow me on www.twitter.com/kolibrix http://www.facebook.com/Gunnar.Engblom/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Possible Gray-headed Albatross in Lima, Peru From: Gunnar Engblom <kolibriexp AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 7 May 2010 12:33:45 -0500 Hi seabirders With the risk of making a fool of myself...Could this be a Grey-headed Albatross? http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/index.php/mystery-albatross-on-lima-pelagic/ Sorry, I mistakenly uploaded a fairly small format of the pics. Let me know if anyone needs larger format. But I am aware that there are no proven records of Grey-headed ALbatross this far north, and that Jaramillo and others hold it to be a truly cold water species. But the gray head and big black spot in front of the eye seems consistent wtih Grey-headed Albatross from what I can see. We also saw Salvin's, Chatham Island (third time on Lima pelagics and possibly overlooked), Black-browed (with complete collar and white head) and Wave Albatrosses. Not bad for a May pelagic....Pics on our Facebook page. Saludos Gunnar Engblom Gunnar Engblom-Lima, Peru. Gunnar's Blog - updated frequently. http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/ Follow me on www.twitter.com/kolibrix http://www.facebook.com/Gunnar.Engblom/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Cape Petrel - seen from oil rig, North Sea From: Tony Pym <tony_pym AT hotmail.com> Date: Thu, 6 May 2010 11:22:34 +0100 Another record of seabird vagrancy. A Cape Petrel was seen, and photographed, yesterday from a Norwegian oil rig in the North Sea. The photo comes from the cook aboard. and was taken through a pair of hand-held binoculars. Here's the link: http://www.feltornitologene.no/index.htm Regards Tony Pym _________________________________________________________________ http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/197222280/direct/01/ Do you have a story that started on Hotmail? Tell us now -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: SoCal Murphy’s and Cook’s Petrels From: thunefeld <thunefeld AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 4 May 2010 19:50:25 -0700 (PDT) Greetings, A fantastic day of Los Angeles Audubon Society deep-water seabirding from Santa Barbara on Saturday, May 1, 2010 was headlined with an incredible 63 COOK’S PETRELS – but the show-stealer was a well photographed and well seen MURPHY'S PETREL that came screaming down the starboard side of the mighty Condor Express. The seas and wind were big – the perfect pterodroma day – and it did not disappoint. The trip report video, photos, report and eBird Official Trip List are now posted for your viewing pleasure: Visit: http://www.socalbirding.com/tripreports/santabarbaramay12010.html Coupled with last year’s plethora of Cook’s Petrel sightings, it looks like this may be another great year for these winged racers. We know Cookilaria are out there beyond 200 miles from the mainland annually, but for some reason they are much closer to shore this season than they’ve been in more than a decade – within reach of pelagic charters. Currents? Food supply? Whatever the reason, this is the year and season to take advantage of this event – there’s no telling how long it will last. With the May 1 Condor Express sightings plus news of sightings of Cook’s, Murphy’s Stejneger’s and Hawaiian Petrels from research ships and cruise ship repositioning trips off of California over the past two weeks, we are all now all on pins and needles anticipating the May 15-17 deep water adventure aboard Grande from San Diego. We’ve extended our “48-hour Double Overnighter” by 8 hours (to 56 hours) to allow us the time to spend from DAWN TIL DUSK on Sunday in the deep water between the Patton Escarpment and the San Juan Seamount where these winged racers roam. Weekend double-overnight trips have but one purpose: to get out to the deep water beyond the edge of the continental shelf where rare pterodroma are usually found only by research ships because no day trips other than the Condor Express venture out this far. Details: http://www.socalbirding.com/trips/sandiegomay15172010.html The early bird price of $285 is good through 5:00 p.m. May 6. On May 7 the regular price of $325 goes into effect which is still a heck of a deal when you consider the fact that we’re at sea for three days in deeper waters – home of tropicbirds, pterodroma petrels and albatrosses. Peace on earth. W. Terry Hunefeld, Encinitas Life is short. Seabird often. In memory of Luke Cole “Come on out with us to see what’s out there.” Southern California Seabirding Trips by: Buena Vista Audubon Society http://www.SoCalBirding.com Los Coronados Islands & Nine Mile Bank all the way to the edge of the Continental Shelf -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: JFP comments From: John Brodie-Good <john.brodiegood AT btinternet.com> Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:01:15 +0100 Hi all, No more pics yet, a number of the passengers disembark tomorrow at Ascension....in the meantime they've seen True's Beaked Whale too! some comments from Simon Cook onboard.... >> >> >> 2) the Juan Fernandez Petrel - reading between the lines, I guess people are saying it might be a White-necked, hence the request for underwing pix. >> However, no-one who saw it doubts that it is anything other than JF. The picture sent to you by the Dutch birder was low-res, which may suggest that the >> bird had a white collar. In fact, the (grey) nape feathers were scalloped. Re. pix of underwing, both pax who photographed the bird are about to depart and >> their priorities lie elsewhere. When they get home things may be different, of course! Graham Speight has written a full account of the sighting. I didn't >> see the bird at all! >> Meanwhile the WPO gang are now heading north from Chukk towards Japan. They had a Bristle-thighed Curlew fly past the ship! Reminds of the Little Whimbrel we had on the 2007 voyage. Full update on our website in the next few days cheers John Brodie-Good WildWings / UK -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: 17 April Trip Report & Upcoming San Diego & Santa Barbara Pelagics From: thunefeld <thunefeld AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:58:01 -0700 (PDT) Greetings, The Buena Vista Audubon Society spring pelagic seabirding trip from San Diego featured gentle swells, 2 SAN DIEGO BROWN BOOBIES, 38 BROWN BOOBIES for the day, a baby booby on Los Coronados Island, a lingering LONG-TAILED DUCK and lots of close up XANTUS'S MURRELETS. We enjoyed Oystercatchers, Cassin's Auklets running across the ocean, plenty of sunshine, California Sea Lions, herds of Common Dolphin, Rhino Auklets, hundreds of Sooty Shearwaters and 50 “Pinkies”, ELEPHANT SEALS in the ocean and lounging on the beach and inquisitive Risso's Dolphins coming right up to the boat. See the 17 April 2010 trip report, GPS trip track, species list, photos and video at: http://www.socalbirding.com/tripreports/sandiegoapr172010.html Our next SoCal Pelagic Trip is May 1, 2010 from Santa Barbara aboard the Condor Express. http://www.socalbirding.com/trips/santabarbaramay12010.html Then we’ll spend 3 days at sea aboard Grande out of San Diego in search of pterodromas, albatrosses and tropicbirds on 15-17 May. http://www.socalbirding.com/trips/sandiegomay15172010.html Then Searcher departs San Diego on May 29 – 31 on to hunt seabirds and whales in the luxury of an all-inclusive live-aboard. http://www.socalbirding.com/trips/searchermay29312010.html Cook’s Petrels are already being seen off SoCal this spring from research ships. We’re going deep to look for them and whatever other uncommon tubenoses may be out there with them. For example: 66 Murphy’s Petrels were seen from Searcher on 18-20 April 2003 and another 25 on 25-27 Apr 2003. 9 Murphy’s Petrels were seen on 15 April 2005 from Searcher just northwest of San Miguel Island and one on 16 Apr 2005 from Searcher between San Nicholas Island and the Tanner Bank. http://www.socalbirding.com/seabirdreference/petrels.html This is also a great time to find Flesh-footed Shearwater: http://www.socalbirding.com/seabirdreference/shearwaters.html Peace on earth. Terry --- W. Terry Hunefeld, Encinitas Life is short. Seabird often. In memory of Luke Cole “Come on out with us to see what’s out there.” Southern California Seabirding Trips by: Buena Vista Audubon Society http://www.SoCalBirding.com Los Coronados Islands & Nine Mile Bank all the way to the edge of the Continental Shelf -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Re: J F Petrel photo From: Force <pagodroma AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2010 08:57:15 -0700 (PDT) Hi all, I'd have to agree with Ross. An underwing shot would be useful. The white collar isn't unusual for Juan Fernandez Petrel. What looks odd to me is the bill. At first glance I thought it looked a little long and thin. Then again, subtle id clues in photos can be very misleading. I assume Barau's Petrel was promptly eliminated from consideration. I've seen a few tens of thousands of Juans in the eastern tropical Pacific but only a handful of Barau's. I'm not sure if that species can show a white collar. happy seabirding, Michael Lake Country, BC Canada On Apr 19, 4:11 am, Ross Wanless wrote: > Hi John > Thanks for sending that through. It would be great to see the > underwing pattern. There's a few consistent differences between this > bird and all the images I have, taken in early 2009 at the JF islands > - like none had such a clear pale collar extending onto the neck, and > all had more white on the forehead. But I don't pretend to know enough > about the variation in the species and the first impression from the > photo you posted was definitely of a JF petrel. I'll happily provide > comparative jpegs for the site if you wanted. > Cheers > Ross > > On Mon, Apr 19, 2010 at 8:42 AM, John Brodie-Good > > > > > > wrote: > > Hi all, > > Ive posted the only one we have received from the ship so far, a slightly > > weird angle however, Ive asked for a clear underwing shot too. > > Cheers > > JBG > > >http://www.wildwings.co.uk/jfp.html > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > "Seabird News" group. > > To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. > > For more options, visit this group at > >http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. > > -- > Ross Wanless > +27 73 675 3267 > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. > To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: The Other Side Pelagic - 15 May, New Smyrna Beach FL From: Robert Wallace <chnuts AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2010 06:23:42 -0700 (PDT) ‘THE OTHER SIDE’ Pelagic Birding Trip Saturday, May 15, 2010 Sponsored by the Friends of the Marine Science Center Join us for the third public exploration offered off the east coast of Florida that will explore the entire width of the Gulf Stream and the 3000’ deep canyons 100 miles offshore. Experienced leaders include: Michael Brothers, Bob Wallace, Andy Kratter, Bruce Anderson, David Simpson, Wes Biggs, Mitchell Harris, John Hintermister, Roberto Torres, and Murray Gardler. “The Pastime Princess”is a 100-foot, all-aluminum boat with excellent observation areas on the upper deck and bow and even a nice stern seating area. The cabin can also accommodate 30-40 in air-conditioned comfort. Meetfor this exciting trip at 4:00 a.m. (yes, 4 a.m. – we have a long way to go) at the Dolphin View Restaurant and Marina on Riverside Drive near Canal Street in downtown New Smyrna Beach (phone 386-427- 5393) Captain Mike and crew plan a 4:30 a.m. departure; the boat will not wait for anyone who is late. Return is at 9pm. The tripleaves from the New Smyrna side of Ponce Inlet, travels out over 100 miles, crosses the entire Gulf Stream, past the east wall of the Gulf Stream into the area known as the “Tuna Grounds.” This trip holds highprobability of encountering numerous pelagic species. We will be in the Gulf Stream at the perfecttime – middle spring migration – to see to have multiple sightings of Black-capped Petrel. In addition, migrants such as Sooty and Audubon’s Shearwaters, all three Storm-Petrels (Leach’s, Wilson’s and Band-rumped), both Tropicbirds, Long-tailed Jaeger and Arctic Tern are possiblities. Previous explorations of this area at this time of year have gotten Black-caps every trip. Last year, we found a South Polar Skua on this trip as well as a White-tailed Tropicbird. There is a remote chance that we may even find the first state record of an extreme rarity. Potential Species include (* indicates good probability): Black-capped Petrel * Cory’s Shearwater * Greater Shearwater * Sooty Shearwater Audubon’s Shearwater * Manx Shearwater Wilson’s Storm Petrel * Leach’s Storm-Petrel * Band-rumped Storm-Petrel * Northern Gannet Brown Booby Masked Booby Red-footed Booby White-tailed Tropicbird Red-billed Tropicbird Red-necked Phalarope* Pomarine Jaeger * Parasitic Jaeger* Long-tailed Jaeger Arctic Tern Common Tern* Roseate Tern Black Tern* Sooty Tern* Bridled Tern * Brown Noddy Participants should bring:food and beverages, seasickness medicine, sunscreen and personal items. Food service will be available on the boat for breakfast, lunch and dinner at moderate prices. COST: $185/person. Maximum 75 = (minimum of 40people for the trip to go) Call or email NOW to reserve your space. Additional information, maps and available accommodations will be forwarded to participants. DON’T MISS this exceedingly rare opportunity to bird in almost unexplored state waters, with the chance at seeing some of the rarest birds in Florida! For more information, contact: Michael Brothers Marine Science Center, 100 Lighthouse Drive, Ponce Inlet FL 32127 386-304-5543 mbrothers AT co.volusia.fl.us -- R.D. Wallace 352-219-5825 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Re: J F Petrel photo From: Ross Wanless <rosswanless AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:11:33 +0200 Hi John Thanks for sending that through. It would be great to see the underwing pattern. There's a few consistent differences between this bird and all the images I have, taken in early 2009 at the JF islands - like none had such a clear pale collar extending onto the neck, and all had more white on the forehead. But I don't pretend to know enough about the variation in the species and the first impression from the photo you posted was definitely of a JF petrel. I'll happily provide comparative jpegs for the site if you wanted. Cheers Ross On Mon, Apr 19, 2010 at 8:42 AM, John Brodie-Good wrote: > Hi all, > Ive posted the only one we have received from the ship so far, a slightly > weird angle however, Ive asked for a clear underwing shot too. > Cheers > JBG > > > > http://www.wildwings.co.uk/jfp.html > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Seabird News" group. > To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. > -- Ross Wanless +27 73 675 3267 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: J F Petrel photo From: John Brodie-Good <john.brodiegood AT btinternet.com> Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 07:42:13 +0100 Hi all, Ive posted the only one we have received from the ship so far, a slightly weird angle however, Ive asked for a clear underwing shot too. Cheers JBG > > http://www.wildwings.co.uk/jfp.html > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: More Western Pacific and Atlantic Odyssey goodies From: John Brodie-Good <john.brodiegood AT btinternet.com> Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2010 13:28:28 +0100 Hi all, Our website contains the 4th update from the Pacific, it includes the 10 Heinroth's seen around Kolombangara, a species not seen further west this year including our traditional hotspot! Up to 6 Beck's Petrels were seen off the coast of New Ireland on April 15th. Simon and co in the Atlantic meanwhile, have enjoyed 5 hours of Trinidade Petrels!, on April 13th, halfway between Tristan and St Helena. A maximum of 3 birds seen at one time. All the best John Brodie-Good www.wildwings.co.uk -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Re: Some Weddell Sea sightings From: Stan Howe <SHoweMBOU AT aol.com> Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2010 04:59:45 -0700 (PDT) Sea Swallow has published several Great Shearwater records of AR Louch from RRS Discovery [sse South Orkney and in Weddell Sea (N)] (c. 63:30S) in 1985. 14, 2:03�pm, Hugh Venables wrote: > Currently at 64S 29W, the most southerly point of the current RRS James > Clark Ross research cruise. Most interesting sightings have been a Sooty > Albatross and Great Shearwater both south of 61S. There are tracking > data showing Sooty Albatrosses reaching the area but good to actually > see one down here. Would be interested to hear about Great Shearwater > records this far south. Three Cattle Egrets on the ship a few days ago > when just south-west of South Sandwich Islands - a regular occurrence at > this time of year as they disperse from South America - and more > sensibly some Sheathbills and Kelp Gulls going the other way. Down to > just Snow and Antarctic Petrels now with sea temperatures of -1.7C and > ice cover imminent. > > Cetacean sightings have been good - Southern Right Whale Dolphin between > Montevideo and Falklands, Sei Whales around the Falklands as usual for > time of year, large numbers of Fin Whales near South Orkneys (again, a > regular occurrence) and close encounters with Southern Right and > Humpback Whales off the afterdeck. Some photos onhttp://hughvenables.blogspot.com > > Hugh Venables > British Antarctic Survey -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en. Subject: Juan Fernandez Petrel at Gough Island. From: William Bourne <wrpbourne AT yahoo.co.uk> Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2010 18:40:14 +0000 (GMT) With regard to John Brodie-Good's report of a Juan Fernandez Petrel at Gough Island, there is a specimen in the (British) Natural History Museum said to have been collected at Tristan in 1919. It was described by Gregory Mathews as a race Pterodroma externa tristani , but it looks like normal P.externa to me. Presumably birds that wander into the Southern Ocean are liable to visit places like Tristan and Gough Islands. Bill Bourne -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group. To post to this group, send email to seabird-news AT googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news+unsubscribe AT googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en.