NH Audubon Pelagic Trip - 9/2/25

[Steve Mirick]

Ben Griffith and I led an all day pelagic trip yesterday aboard the
"Granite State" out of Rye Harbor, NH.  The trip was sponsored by the
Seacoast Chapter of NH Audubon.

https://ebird.org/tripreport/408173

With flat calm seas, we decided to head directly offshore toward Old
Scantum where there had been recent whale activity. Once there, we were
happy to find the Humpback "Owl". This whale has been seen off of the
New Hampshire coast every year for over 30 years!! More interesting,
however, was the presence of large rafts of storm-petrels and gulls
flying around in random directions and wide spread. Upon closer
examination, we could see floating bits of what appeared to be blubber
on the surface. Presumed to be from a submerged dead animal, perhaps a
whale. After working these birds for a while, we headed further offshore
toward Jeffrey's Ledge. We cruised north and south, covering a large
area of Jeffrey's Ledge searching for any birds. But the ocean was flat
and vacant for birds. The glassy seas, however, created a unique
experience for observing underwater wildlife.

We then cut across to the "inside" of Jeffrey's and found a huge group
of Humpback whales and a nice pod of Atlantic White-sided Dolphins. We
finished the day with a beautiful quick tour of the Isles of Shoals.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevemirick/54762991323/

The trip started out looking good with the huge numbers of Wilson's
Storm-Petrels, a few flocks of Red-necked Phalaropes, and a Black Tern
on Old Scantum; however, beyond that, the birds were scarce. We had to
really work to BARELY get a look at a Cory's Shearwater. There appeared
to be plenty of bait, so we're hoping the birds were just elsewhere.

The real highlight of the trip were the ocean fish and mammals. The
glassy seas for much of the day provided for stunning views of Ocean
Sunfish and a spectacular full body view of a Basking Shark. The
highlight for most on board, thanks to the keen eyes of Jonathan, was
only the 2nd ever (in the long history of the boat) record of an 8' long
BROADBILL SWORDFISH. We were able to approach this beautiful and rarely
encountered fish to within inches of the boat! Full body photos were
obtained by people with their phones!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevemirick/54762051467/in/photostream/lightbox/

Thanks to Holly Bauer for organizing this trip through the Seacoast
Chapter and to Captain Pete Reynolds and crew for helping to spot whales
and birds!

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunny, seasonable, and dry.
Calm winds all morning and into the early afternoon. Then light
southerly winds in the mid to late afternoon. GLASSY SEAS for the first
part of the day. Seas 1 to 2 feet.

Birds
-----------
American Black Duck    2
dabbling duck sp.    12
Common Eider    16
White-winged Scoter    1
Mourning Dove    1
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER    4
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE    71
Greater Yellowlegs    12
Ruddy Turnstone    3
Least Sandpiper    1
Semipalmated Sandpiper    1
Black Guillemot    4
Bonaparte's Gull    2
Laughing Gull    5
Ring-billed Gull    1
American Herring Gull    48
Great Black-backed Gull    139
Lesser Black-backed Gull    1
CASPIAN TERN    3
BLACK TERN    1
Common Tern    15
Common Loon    1
Wilson's Storm-Petrel    878
CORY'S SHEARWATER    2
Northern Gannet    7
Great Cormorant    6
Double-crested Cormorant    52
Osprey    1
Bald Eagle    1
Common Grackle    1

Marine Life
------------------
Humpback Whale - 10+ (Owl, Decimal, Valley, Pinball, Spoon, Fan, Solo,
Pixar, and Ravine)
Fin Whale - 4
Minke Whale - 1
Atlantic White-sided Dolphin - 31. A rare SINGLE individual, and later a
beautiful pod of 30!
Harbor Porpoise - 12
Harbor Seal
Gray Seal

Mola Mola (Ocean sunfish) - 10 to 15
Basking Shark - 10 to 15
Blue Shark - 10 to 15
BROADBILL SWORDFISH!!! - 1. INCREDIBLE views of an individual that came
right up to the boat. Twice! The Broadbill Swordfish is the only member
of its family and is not related to other fish. It is highly migratory
and found in all tropical and temperate seas around the world. Although
widespread around the world, it is rarely encountered off New England.