So Cal Pelagic Birding
Pelagic Trips And Deep Water Expeditions
August 25-27 Edge Of The Continental Shelf
Deep Water Tubenose Expedition
Board Grande at 3 p.m. Monday and depart 4 p.m for the 9-Mile Bank. Bird til sunset. Dinner. Beer. Tall Tales. Sleep. Wake Tuesday morning at the edge of the continental shelf. Bird 15 hours for albatrosses, pterodomas, tropicbirds. Dinner. Beer. Sleep. Wake at dawn Wednesday at the dock.
Red-tailed Tropicbird (c) Bill Scholtz
The August Tubenose Expedition:
A New Addition To Our Lineup
With the July Deep-Water trip sold out by the end of March, we added another trip. Late August is one of the best times of year to find both Cook's and Hawaiian Petrel (11 of 14 accepted records of Hawaiian Petrel in the state are June - September, and one was seen from Searcher in these waters 6 Sep 2006). This is also the time of year that Ringed and Wedge-rumped Storm-petrels have been seen in these waters. The only North American record for Ringed Storm-petrel was photographed on 2 Aug 2005, 40 km ssw of Santa Rosa Island. Least Storm-petrels show up in August. Late summer is the "sweet spot" for Craveri's Murrelet as well as the hypoleucas sub-species of Xantus's. 6 of the 9 records for Cal of Greater Shearwater are from Aug-Sep. Mega-rarties? A Streaked Shearwater was seen in SoCal waters near Santa Cruz Island on September 7, 2002. Most Cal Wedge-tailed Shearwater sightings are from August - December. A Tristram's Storm-petrel was seen in SoCal deep water last summer on July 21, 2007. Ten records of Red-footed Boobies have been accepted in SoCal, most from July - Oct.
THE QUEST FOR RARITIES CONTINUES
Like July, we'll focus on finding good birds. Red-billed and Red-tailed Tropicbirds have been seen out here in August. Long-tailed Jaegers show up in August chasing Arctic Terns.
Read more about rarities, their status and distribution.
The secret to finding rarities (like Laysan and Short-tailed Albatross, Red-billed Tropicbird, Cook’s and Murphy's Petrel, Flesh-footed Shearwater) and mega-rarities (Shy and Light-mantled Albatross; Hawaiian, Bulwer’s and Murphy’s Petrel, Red-tailed Tropicbird) is to be out there, in a deep water life-zone, chumming, watching, waiting....
This SoCal 2-day deep-water rarity expedition from San Diego will depart Tuesday at at 4 p.m. We'll have several hours of daylight to bird the life-zones of the Nine-mile Bank before dinner, beers and bed. We'll wake early Wednesday morning more than one hundred miles offshore at the edge of the Continental Shelf - about as far south and west as you can go in the ABA area.
This trip has but one purpose: to explore life zones in deep waters where southern hemisphere birds are usually found only by research ships – because no day trips venture this far. We’re hunting mega-rarities, birds with fewer than 10 accepted records in all of California - the birds that people whisper about.
We’ll spend all 15 hours of daylight Wednesday - from dawn to dusk - in the albatross/pterodroma/tropicbird zone, have dinner, celebrate our sightings, go to sleep and wake up at sunrise Thursday morning back in San Diego.
Click here to make a reservation.
Cook's Petrel (c) Todd McGrathThe Boat: We'll sail on Grande, a comfortable 85-foot live-aboard with a roomy lounge area, licensed to carry 120 fisherman by day. The trip is limited to 38 passengers plus leaders to allow plenty of room.
$225 if reserved by June 1.
$245 if reserved by July 1.
$265 after July 1.
The price is a tad higher than the May and October trips because it's peak fishing season. The possibilities for rarities and mega-rarities is higher on this trip than on any other because it's mid-winter in the southern hemisphere and this is when they're most likely to be seen up here. This is the time of year when our waters are warm and days at their longest.MAKE YOUR RESERVATION TODAY
Reserve by check, telephone or website.
Click here to make a reservation.Finding Rarities and Mega-rarities:
Expert spotters/leaders and a crew that understands how and why birding is different than fishing greatly increase the odds of finding great birds and ensuring all participants see the birds.PARKING - There is plenty of parking at Point Loma Sportsfishing for $5 a day.
Departure point:
Point Loma Sportfishing
1403 Scott Street
San Diego, CA 92106
Phone: 619-223-1627FULL SERVICE GALLEY - Breakfast, lunch and dinners are available on board for purchase.
MAKE A RESERVATION
Click here to make a reservation.The Trip
PARKING - There is plenty of parking at Point Loma Sportsfishing for $5 a day.Departure point:
Point Loma Sportfishing
1403 Scott Street
San Diego, CA 92106
Phone: 619-223-1627SLEEPING: Bunk-house style in one co-ed bunkhouse. Your private bunk is 6' 3" long, 2 feet wide, and comes with a mattress, pillow with fresh pillowcase and one heavy wool blanket. Grande has 2 bathrooms, each with a shower.
DAY OF DEPARTURE - Arrive at Point Loma Sportsfishing between 9:00 and 9:10 p.m. Park, pick up your boarding pass at the ticket office and be ready to board the boat at 9:30 p.m. for a 10:00 p.m. departure. Coast Guard security procedures requires an official I.D to board the boat. It takes 30 minutes from the time everyone is on the boat to get clearance from the Coast Guard to depart. Please don't be the person to hold up the departure.
FUEL - Prices for this trip were calculated on fuel charges at $3.00 per gallon. In the event that fuel exceeds $3.00 a gallon, there may be a surcharge when boarding the boat, not to exceed $10 per person.
CANCELLATIONS Only the landing can process cancellations. Their refund and substitution policy is described in the reservations link
FULL SERVICE GALLEY Breakfast, pastries, coffee, burgers, sandwiches and beverages are available in the Grande galley for purchase.
FUEL Prices for this trip were calculated on fuel charges in December, 2007. In the event that fuel exceeds $3.50 a gallon, there may be a small surcharge when boarding the boat, not to exceed $5 per person.
Leaders
Dave Povey has been birding on the Pacific Ocean since he was a young boy. Both an avid fisherman and birder, Dave can be found “out there” on his boat several times a month, 12 months a year. He has been the “pelagic” eyes for both the San Diego and Oceanside Christmas Bird Counts for more than 30 years, since the mid 1970’s – more than 60 pelagic Christmas Bird Counts in all. He is the only human being to ever have seen a Cory’s Shearwater in San Diego waters (4 Sep 2007). He’s seen Wilson's Storm Petrel 6 miles off Point Loma and Red-billed Tropicbird just 12 miles out. Other San Diego birds on Dave’s list include Pigeon Guillemot, Marbled Murrelet, Craveri's Murrelet and 72 Common Murres on a Christmas Bird Count. Just south of the border he has seen Laysan Albatross near the Tanner Bank and Buller's Shearwater on the 60 Mile bank and again on the lower Nine Mile bank. Dave will tell you that these birds are out there, and that the only way to see them is to be there!
