Pelagic Trip to Wilkinson's Basin aboard UNH Research Boat

[Steve Mirick]

Yesterday, on 11/15/22, I was an invited guest aboard the UNH research
vessel "Gulf Challenger".   Graduate students from UNH were aboard to
take ocean water samples from two locations.  One location was just
north of the Isles of Shoals and the 2nd location was in about 800' of
water at Wilkinson's Basin, an offshore area just east of Jeffrey's
Ledge and in Massachusetts waters.  Except for these two stops, the boat
was in transit the entire time at high speed as it crossed Jeffrey's
Ledge.  The boat traveled through ME, NH, MA, and again in NH waters on
return. Sunny and clouding over with light northerly winds.  Seas mostly
1-2 feet.

Birds were active at Wilkinson's Basin with some surface action (tuna?)
and lots of Fulmar and many of the "good" birds for the trip.  Crossing
Jeffrey's Ledge resulted in a few birds, but not many alcids yet.  A
good numbers of kittiwakes in area of feeding dolphins.   Separate eBird
checklists were submitted for offshore in Maine, NH, and MA waters.  An
eBird trip report can be found here:

https://ebird.org/tripreport/85086

Offshore Birds Only
----------------------------
Canada Goose    6 migrating.
Common Eider    16 moving east?
Surf Scoter    1 migrating.
scoter sp.    14 migrating
Long-tailed Duck    14 moving north!?!?
Pomarine Jaeger    2 including one being chased by GBBG at Wilkinson's
Basin.
https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/504084271
https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/504084261
PARASITIC JAEGER    1 chasing kittiwakes at Wilkinson's Basin.
https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/504083991
https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/504084011
jaeger sp.    1
DOVEKIE 5 flybys at Wilkinson's Basin.
https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/504084431
Razorbill    5
https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/504085321
large alcid sp.    2
Black Guillemot    1 inshore waters.
ATLANTIC PUFFIN    1 flyby at Wilkinson's Basin.
https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/504084511
Black-legged Kittiwake    77 scattered with group of 20 around feeding
Dolphins.  No juveniles noted.
https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/504086041
Ring-billed Gull    3 inshore area.
Herring Gull    23
Great Black-backed Gull    32
Red-throated Loon    21 migrating.
Common Loon    14 migrating.
loon sp.    7 migrating.
NORTHERN FULMAR    61.  Relatively high count.  At least 15 dark morph
with one speckled intermediate.  High count of 31 together on water
hoping for scraps from our boat as we were sampling.
Northern Gannet    4

Also,

Atlantic White-sided Dolphin - Pod of 20+ (didn't have time to estimate
accurate number).

Steve Mirick
Bradford, MA