Pterodroma, Parakeets, Albatross, Orca, Giant Squid. ORCA & GIANT SQUID???

[thunefeld]

Pterodroma, Albatross, Alcids, Orca, Giant Squid. ORCA & SQUID???

It’s getting to be that time of year when there’s no telling what
you’ll find out in the Pacific Ocean. Last June I was with Dave Povey
and Pete Ginsburg about 6 miles offshore when we spotted an enormous
feeding frenzy of gulls and terns. We motored over to find an amazing
spectacle: several acres of suction-cupped tentacles protruding 18 –
24 inches above the surface of the sea, waving back and forth,
surfacing for 2 seconds then submerging, only to reappear a second
later – a surreal Alice In Wonderland spectacle of hundreds of reddish-
brown "tentacle bushes" waving in the wind.

Neither Dave nor Pete had ever witnessed such an event in their
combined 50 years at sea. These were probably Humboldt Squid – also
known as Flying Squid – that typically inhabit depths of 2,000 feet
but had evidently driven/followed a school of bait fish to the surface
– and the birds were having a field day. These are the types of mind-
boggling scenes you find only by being “OUT THERE.”

Four exciting pelagic trips are upcoming in SoCal, three of them
originating right here in San Diego:

Sat, May 3. Deep water trip to the San Juan Seamount.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CALBIRDS/message/7166

Sat, May 10. 3/4 day trip to the Nine-mile bank and Coronados
Islands
http://www.socalbirding.com/may_10_2008_booby_adventure_34_day

Sat, Sun, May 10 & 11. 1.5 day trip to deep water
http://www.socalbirding.com/may_10-12_continental_shelf_deep_water

And, the deep water Granddaddy of them all: The Searcher 5 day
expedition June 2 – 6. A week of birding the Channel Islands and the
deep waters of the Continental Shelf.
http://www.socalbirding.com/june_2-6_2008_searcher_5-day_expedition

WHAT'S OUT THERE?

The Southern California Bight is brimming with life. The 3 deep water
pelagic trips will explore submarine trenches and canyons along the
Continental Shelf – some or all will strike it rich. Last year
everyone on the May Condor Express trip witnessed amazing spectacles:
a thousand SABINE'S GULLS, a pod of ORCA, seven PARAKEET AUKLETS.
During the first two weeks of April on the NOAA ship Miller Freeman
off the coast of Washington and Oregon I saw dozens of PARAKEET
AUKLETS. Will they be in SoCal in May? We won’t know till we go.

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS is frequent in May and June, and we should see
LAYSAN’S on most or all deep water trips. MURPHY’S PETREL is a rare
but routine spring visitor in these waters over the continental shelf
mid-April through early June. 11 of 14 accepted state records for
HAWAIIAN PETREL are June-September, the remaining 3 records are spring
– April & May. Dozens of COOK’S PETRELS were seen by Searcher crew on
fishing trips in June 2007 in deep water off the Baja and San Diego
Coast.

The endemic ASHY STORM-PETREL, one of the rarest storm-petrels in the
world, are fairly common this time of year, mostly in the northern
Channel Islands, where The Condor Express and Searcher explore. BLACK
STORM-PETRELS are common in June. We have great odds at seeing both
white-rumped and dark-rumped LEACH’S STORM-PETRELS.

All deep water trips will be in RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD waters, e.g. one
seen 19 May 2007 near San Clemente Island. We’ll most likely see SOUTH
POLAR SKUA, POMARINE JAEGERS, PARASITIC JAEGERS and SABINE’S GULL.
XANTUS’S MURRELETS will be plentiful. A TUFTED PUFFIN was seen in the
Channel Islands May, 2002 and a HORNED PUFFIN was seen 17 May 2007
between Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Islands.

4 trips. 4 adventures. What will we find? We don’t know, but it
will be something good. Like Dave Povey says about seabirding, “It’s
like prospecting for gold. Sometimes you come up with nothing, but
then you strike it rich. The thrill is in the anticipation.”

W. Terry Hunefeld
Life is short.
Bird often.

http://www.SoCalBirding.com
Pelagic Seabirding Trips From San Diego to:
9-mile Bank
Los Coronados Islands
Cortes & Tanner Banks
Channel Islands