More than 70 seabirders spent a fun-filled weekend offshore San Diegoon May 10 and 11 on Grande, an 85 foot live-aboard boat. This is their story. A complete trip list follows this account.
Photos http://tinyurl.com/5jee9b
The first trip of our weekend "double-header" pulled out of Point Loma Sportfishing marina at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday. Our destinations: the 9-Mile Bank and the Coronados Islands.
We were seeing Sooty Shearwaters before 8:00 a.m. and Black Storm-petrels by 8:30. Our first Pink-footed Shearwater was seen at 8:49,followed shortly by 4 Xantus Murrelets. The rest of the morning was filled with fulmars, murrelets, auklets, jaegers, Shearwaters,phalaropes, loons, terns, and, in Mexican waters, a BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS, 19 BROWN BOOBIES and 6 ELEPHANT SEALS.
We pulled into the marina at 3:30 p.m. to drop off some of our passengers and pick up a few more. Many of us enjoyed fresh, hot delicious seafood dinners at the outdoor picnic tables of Point Loma Seafoods while the crew cleaned the boat before heading out on the "double-overnighter" portion of our double-header at 4:30 p.m.
Aa we approached the 9-mile bank for the second time, we were surprised to find an ANCIENT MURRELET and, a few minutes later, an early, close-to-shore (about ten miles west of Point Loma) SOUTH POLAR SKUA. We arrived at the 9-mile Bank in the early evening, surrounded by dozens of Sooty Shearwaters and clouds of HUNDREDS of BLACK STORM-PETRELS. We stayed on the 9-mile until dark and were treated to the grand prize of the evening: a San Diego County BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS. 3 Sabine's Gulls flew by at sunset, and, just before dark we were treated to another SOUTH POLAR SKUA before heading to our bunks after a VERY full day at sea.
We awoke Sunday morning near the Tanner Bank (about 100 miles west of Point Loma) to find Yellow, Townsend's and Wilson's Warblers about the boat along with cowbirds and doves.
We spent all Sunday in deep-water, finding rich diversity, including RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD, Lesser Nighthawk, FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER, Greater Yellowlegs, PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER, 4 Townsend's Warblers, 25 NORTHERN FULMAR, 2 Mourning Doves, 2 LAYSAN ALBATROSSES, a Common Yellowthroat, 2 ARCTIC TERNS, an Orange-crowned Warbler, 2 Fin Whales, 4 Wilson's Warblers, a rare Cubier Whale, Xantus's Murrelets and a Bullock's Oriole.
More Sabine's Gulls flew by at sunset. We enjoyed a great dinner (and beers) in Grande's spacious salon, then were treated to dozens (hundreds by morning) of Red Phalaropes attracted to Grande's lights before heading to our bunks. We awoke at 4:30 a.m. Monday morning to the beautiful lights of Point Loma, arriving at the dock at 5:00.
There really is nothing like being at sea overnight. You get to witness sunrise and sunset `out there' where it's all happening. No email, no TV, no computers, no cell phones, no traffic. Just you, a couple dozen other Seabirders, and the sea. It's magical.
|