SoCalBirding.com

By Terry Hunefeld 

Matthew Binns and I accompanied Dave Povey as he did his (33rd?) pelagic portion of the San Diego Christmas Bird Count.  It was a drop-dead gorgeous day, but birding twas a mite slow.  We only saw the four common gull species (WE, CA, RB, HEER). No jaegers.  No alcids. 

Of course, the count circle extends only 3 miles off shore so anything more than Black-vents is always considered a bonus in the way of tubenoses so now we are REALLY itching to get out to the Nine Mile Bank on the SDFO New Year’s Day pelagic, especially since Orca's were sighted twice in the last week off Point Loma just a bit further offshore than the limits of the CBC circle allowed us to venture.  The first sighting of the Killer Whales was on Sat Dec 12.  Then on Thursday morning, five adults plus a newborn calf were seen and photographed (photos below).  Yes, we are itching to get out there on New Year's Day. 

Back to birds.  Dave did some interesting math after getting home, comparing Saturday with his first 32 San Diego count totals.  For example, the only tubenoses we saw were 17 Black-vented Shearwaters  - the average from 1976-2008 for Black-vents is 143).  Dave’s tabulations are below. 

We DID have a bonus - not entirely unexpected but definitely nice – great close-up looks at the female Long-tailed Duck 100 meters off Ballast Point.  We saw the duck both in the early morning (6:30 a.m.) and at 2:30 p.m.  Additionally, we saw a “pretty pure” American Oystercatcher (at Ballast Point) and four Black Oystercatchers at Ballast Point and on the Zuniga Jetty.  Matthew Binns obtained photos of the AMOY and LTDU, posted below for your viewing pleasure.    

Last I heard there were still 3 or 4 spaces available for $35 for the New Year’s Day trip.  The price increases to $45 on Tuesday if any tickets still remain. 

Below are Dave’s comparisons.  More Brandt’s Cormorants and Long-tailed Ducks than average, less of many other species.  This list is not all inclusive of all the species we saw, but a good sampling of the day. 
 
Black-v Shearwater    17  vs.  136  (for the average 1976 through  2008 for San Diego CBC)
Pac Loon                49  vs  143
Western Grebe     1089 vs 1250
Brandt's Cormorant  4002  vs  718
Long-tailed Duck               1 vs 0.125  (  1-80, 1-93, 1-95, 1-98 )
Surf Scoter             1195  vs  1097
Brown Pelican        274 vs  177
N. Fulmar               0  vs   5.3
Blk Oystercatcher     4 vs  0.5
Surfbird                    2  vs  5
Wandering Tattler     0  vs  2.7
Pom Jaeger              0  vs  .05
Para Jaeger              0  vs  1.7
Herring Gull              0  vs  14
Calif Gull                 15  vs  174
Mew Gull                  0   vs   5.3
Bonaparte’s Gull        0 vs  183
Blk-lg Kittiwake         0  vs   1.1
Common Murre         0 vs   3.4
Rhino Auklet             0  vs   0.5