SAN JUAN SEAMOUNT CONDOR EXPRESS - Santa Barbara Sponsored By: Los Angeles Audubon Society Saturday, July 25, 2009
Flying over the Pacific Ocean at 30 knots aboard the Condor Express on March 1, 2009 in flat calm conditions with blue skies and golden seas stretching for miles in all directions - pure heaven on earth. Life is short. Seabird often. Video by: W. Terry "Tuna" Hunefeld. Best viewed full screen by clicking the icon near the lower right hand corner of the video beneath the "you" in YOU TUBE. Enjoy!
The Pacific Ocean is a vast, virtually unexplored frontier, enormous beyond comprehension, replete with seldom seen and little understood birds. The secret to finding rarities and mega-rarities is to be out there, in deep water life-zones, with knowledgeable leaders who know where and when to look, following temperature and current breaks, chumming, watching, waiting.
A TRISTRAM'S STORM-PETREL was captured and photographed on Southeast Farallon Island 22 April 2006. One was seen by Steve N.G. Howell and several leaders and participants from The Condor Express on July 21, 2007. The only way to have seen this super-mega-rarity was to be on the Condor Express that day.
From the LAAS Pelagics Trip Page: This trip departs from the Santa Barbara Harbor on the fast catamaran Condor Express at 7:00 a.m. and will return approximately by 8:00 p.m. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are available in the spacious galley. ADVANCE RESERVATIONS: Advance reservations are $195 IMPORTANT DETAILS: Click for important logistic information about the boat, the landing, driving directions, maps, lodging, weather, refund and cancellation policies, on-board facilities, meals and snacks,
HOW TO PREPARE: Click for tips on how to prepare, what to wear, what to bring and when to arrive.
EXPECTED SPECIES: What we see depends on the season, the itinerary and how far from shore we venture. Learn more about what species we will probably see and what species might be seen. Birds often seen from the Condor Express in July: Black-footed Albatross; Northern Fulmar; Pink-footed and Sooty shearwaters; South Polar Skua; Pomarine Jaeger; Black, Ashy and Leach’s storm-petrels; Pigeon Guillemot; Common Murre: Xantus Murrelet; Cassin’s and Rhinoceros aukJets. This time of year Cook’s Petrel and Red-billed Troplcbirds have been seen in the area. Mega-rarlties to be looked for are Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Dark-rumped (Hawaiian) Petrel, Stejneger’s Petrel and Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrels.
Cook's Petrel (c) Todd McGrath
And now a word from our fearless leader. . . . .
We will head to the deep water past the edge of the continental shelf. At this time of year potential rarities include Cook's Petrel and Hawaiian Petrel. Red-billed Tropicbirds are uncommon at this season, but seen regularly. Our July 2007 trip found a Tristam's Storm-petrel, highlighting the opportunity for rarities that exisit at this time of year. This is also an excellent time to study various subspecies of Leach's Storm-Petrel, including the summer breeders from Guadalupe Island, which are a good candidate for a split. The southern race of Xantus's Murrelet as well as Craveri's Murrelet are possible on this trip. We have run only one trip on the Condor Express in July, and due to the boat's poularity for whale watching charters, it is difficult to run trips. I don't believe we will be able to run this trip annually, so if you are interested, this is the year.
Over the last couple of years there has been a tendency for particpants to delay signing-up until a few weeks before the trip. Please try and sign-up as early as possible, as it is difficult for LA Audubon to risk the financial loss of failing to cover the costs of a trip. These trips are priced close to break-even, so we need a good showing early to be confident of filling the boat.
Please contact me if you have any questions about the trips or would like additional information. Each trip is $195, which is quite reasonable to cover the 250 mile round trip to the san Juan Seamount. I hope to see you on board!
NEW! FOUR WAYS TO MAKE A LOS ANGELES AUDUBON PELAGIC RESERVATION
Los Angeles Audubon Pelagic Reservation Instructions 2009 Option 1 MAIL A CHECK OR CREDIT CARD INFO: Mail your check or Credit Card information and a SASE (for trip confirmation and information flyer) for each trip requested to: Los Angeles Audubon - Pelagics P.O. Box 931057 Los Angeles, CA 90093-1057 Option 2 TELEPHONE WITH CREDIT CARD: Call Los Angeles Audubon at (323) 876-0202 (Mon. - Thur.) 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Option 3 EMAIL WITH CREDIT CARD: E-Mail reservation request to: peltrip@laaudubon.org Option 4 FAX WITH CREDIT CARD: Fax reservation request to: (323) 876-7609
CREDIT CARD USE: You may now use Mastercard, Visa or Discover to charge your trip. A small credit card processing fee will be added. Please be sure to include the trip you wish to reserve and provide the cardholder?s billing name, card number, expiration date, and the last 3 numbers (security code) from the reverse of your card. Also, provide the name(s), mailing address, contact telephone number, and email address (if used) for each person requesting a reservation. If you have any questions, please telephone the Los Angeles Audubon at (323) 876-0202 (Mon. - Thur.) 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
CANCELLATION POLICY: Trips on this website are sponsored by different organizations using different boats departing from different landings and harbors. As such, policies vary from trip to trip. Prior to registering, please familiarize yourself with your trip's policies regarding reservations, cancellations, refunds and substitutions as well as reviewing driving directions, check-in times, procedures and equipment allowed on the boats.
Before setting out on any Los Angeles Audubon pelagic trip, please call (323) 874-1318, #4 for a recorded announcement of last moment changes.
WOW! An army of short-beaked "Saddleback" dolphins comes over to investivate Grande on Sunday's March, 8, 2009 San Diego Bird Festival Pelagic Trip. Seen in this movie: Todd McGrath, Steve N.G. Howell, Thomas Blackman. Photographer: W. Terry "Tuna" Hunefeld. Best viewed full screen by clicking the icon near the lower right hand corner of the video beneath the "you" in YOU TUBE. Enjoy!
(c) Todd McGrath and Jon Feenstra
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