Kona Coast Pelagic trip summary on 9.14.2018
Lance Tanino
Aloha, Birders,
9/14/2018 - Kona Coast Pelagic, Hawai'i (16 pax)
8:30am - 2:00pm
Trip Leaders: Lance Tanino and Drew Weber
The weather and ocean conditions throughout the day were spectacularly beautiful and very warm with mostly blue skies and intense sun and quite flat ocean conditions. We went as far as possibly 15 miles at the most offshore to the southwest of Kailua-Kona.
Pelagic Highlights:
South Polar Skua (2) - One of the largest members of a predatory seabird family
White-tailed Tropicbird (5) - very close approach as they rested on the water
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel (3) - One of the smallest members of seabirds; nest near 10,000’ elevation on Mauna Loa and in Waimea Canyon on Kauai.
Juan Fernandez Petrel (3) - Nests in Chile, South America
Buller’s Shearwater (1) - Nests in New Zealand
Boobies On A Buoy - How many boobies can you fit on a FAD Buoy? Apparently, at least five or six. All three species in the Hawaiian Islands were found resting on a buoy. Quite unusual. Brown Boobies are usually the most frequently seen resting on them.
Pantropical Spotted Dolphins - a large pod with newborns
Short-finned Pilot Whales - Large pod sleeping at the surface