Subject: Piedras Blancas, CA (mega loon flights, etc.) --long
Date: Apr 28 12:46:14 1998
From: PAGODROMA - PAGODROMA at aol.com


To coastal birders, Monterey, Pigeon Point, and all points north (OR/WA/BC
too):
**Massive Pacific Loon flight headed your way**

Here's a couple day's entries from my daily journal... i.e., 'ho hum... just
another day in the life' of a marine mammal (and seabird) observer at Point
Piedras Blancas, San Luis Obispo Co., California:
------------------------------------

Sunday --26 April 1998

weather: 100% sunny but filtered through haze with visibility never better
than 3-4 nmiles; wind light & variable 0-5 kts (am), NNW 0-5kts (to mid-pm)
and NNW 10-12kts (late pm); outside offshore seas B1-2 (am), B2-3/4 (late pm);
air temp. 50-60F; sea temp.11.0C.

summary: Sunday; no formal research effort today. Never-the-less, I
maintained a rather thorough 'seabird' watch today during which there were 11
Gray Whale cow/calf pairs. Also seen were a group of ~40 Risso's Dolphins
(Grampus griseus) unusually in nearshore at ~0.4 nmiles swimming fast and
roostertailing generally to the NW then west. Most unexpected was a single
PILOT WHALE (Globicephala ~macrorynchus) which bobbed up only 400 meters
offshore right in the middle of my 25X field of view while I was in the throes
of counting a massive Pacific Loon northbound migration flight. This is the
first pilot whale sighting here since our gray whale surveys began in 1994.
The animal appeared to be an adult, rather large, possibly a female and
estimated to be about 5 meters in length. It seemed a bit lethargic and
possibly sick which is quite possible since this species is usually
encountered only in deep water and in recent years off the U.S. west coast has
become relatively quite scarce even there. It will be interesting to see if
there might be a stranding reported somewhere near here in the next few days.
Up to three Steller's Sea Lions (Eumetopias jubatus) continue to linger around
on the Outer Rock and PB Rocks.

Today was Brian Hatfield's annual late April 'gray whale / birthday' brunch.
It turned out also to be a really BIG migration day for PACIFIC LOONS. I put
in 14 hours today (12 hours on the 25X) and 2 hours from Brian's place with my
10X and 'clickers' monitoring the flight. All total, the count shattered all
previous day time high counts since 1994 with 56,580 Pacific Loons counted!!
Actual total may have been closer to 60,000 given the compromised effort at
Brian's. Previous high count/estimate was set last year at ~45,000. So it
seems the flood gates have burst forth. I was rather expecting such an
eruption given how slow the loon migration has been up to now (~125,000 for
all last week and cumulative total/estimate ~200,000 to date since 20 March).
The next few days now could be quite good if not spectacular as well. So look
out Monterey, Pigeon Point, and points north... they're on their way!

The day started off really slow and it looked like it was going to be a bust
for everything. Between 0600-0830hrs, there was virtually nothing moving with
little more than 500 Pacific Loons for that period, and virtually zero for
everything else (shearwaters, alcids, phalaropes, etc.). At 0830hrs, the
floodgates burst open. From 0830-1130hrs, the flight was virtually non-stop
with flow rates at times running 600-800 per minute. By noon, the 'clicker
count' was around 44,000. For the 30 or so guests just arriving for the
brunch, many were treated to a rare view of this awesome spectacle with a
mostly unbroken stream of Pacific loons all packed up in a narrow coastal
ribbon no more than 100 meters wide and stretching south to the horizon. By
noon the flight diminished into large packs which continued to about 1445hrs
after which the flight largely went dead with only an additional 3,000 or so
between 1500hrs and 2000hrs.

In the midst of the Pacific Loons streaming north appeared an immature BROWN
BOOBY gliding slowly south through it all only a few feet off the water and
less than 200 meters from shore. For once I had a corroborating witness (Mark
Lowry & wife from SD) for one of these notorious PB 'goodies' which have a
knack for suddenly appearing like apparitions out of nowhere, most of which
are all too fleeting; here and gone in a matter of seconds. This list is
slowly mounting each year, usually single observer sightings earned only by
virtue of the cumulative several thousand hours of focused attention on the
coast and ocean since 1994. It's just a little frustrating when a 'good one'
comes along for a fleeting few seconds for every 200 hours or so of effort,
and with no one to share, corroborate, or document it adequately. Oh well,
it's still good fun just the same.

Other coastal migrants of note included one Red-necked Grebe, one female or
immature Oldsquaw (first and only this season), a single male Black Scoter,
two immature Black-footed Albatross (early am), and 21 Black-legged Kittiwakes
(all after 1700hrs), and a flock of 23 Red Knots. Also of note was the
absolute abysmal showing of Sooty Shearwaters, phalaropes, and alcids, all of
which were almost non-existent. Bonaparte's Gulls were also on the unusually
light side with only 370 for the day.

There have been no further sightings of the 'greater than or equal to one'
Peregrine nestling since yesterday despite so many eyes focused on them
throughout the day today. Seemingly strange behavior these Peregrines. They
never seem to be feeding the young. They never even seem to hunt... and when
they do, they tend to fail more often than not. That 10 minute pursuit on a
single Red-necked Phalarope a few days ago was pathetic. It seems the best
that either bird can do right now is 'maybe' snag a Cliff Swallow off the
lighthouse which in my opinion is a pretty lame excuse for hunting prowess.
Perhaps these Peregrines are birds of the '90's and gone vegetarian :-) Both
male and female are often visible about the eyrie now, often with one or the
other perched on the ledge facing 'inward' into the 'cave' rather than the
usual outward which would seem to better facilitate a quick leap and pursuit
of passing potential prey. Activity should certainly perk up I'd guess in the
coming days ahead especially with growing chicks and hungry mouths to feed.

Abridged & selected migrant species list from Sunday's (4/26) full-blown 25X
coastal seabird watch with some comment:
Red-throated Loon 492
Pacific Loon 56,580 (real total probably ~60,000)
Common Loon 441 (1750 on 4/25)
Red-necked Grebe 1
Black-footed Albatross 2 (immature)
Northern Fulmar 0 (very scarce here this Spring)
Pink-footed Shearwater 3 (very scarce here so far this Spring)
Sooty Shearwater ~60 (very low; some days thousands)
Black-vented Shearwater 0 (very low! only two seen here since
3/20)
BROWN BOOBY 1 (im. at 200 meters flying south to PB
Rocks)
Brant 1,645
Oldsquaw 1
Black Scoter 1
Surf Scoter 3,340
White-winged Scoter 13
Red-breasted Merganser 16
Whimbrel 15 (low)
Red-necked Phalarope ~70 (low; hit or miss day by day)
Red Phalarope 1 (low; ditto above)
Parasitic Jaeger 1 (first sighting this spring! way
late and few!)
Bonaparte's Gull 370 (a slow day; some days thousands)
Black-legged Kittiwake 21 (all after 1700hrs; 300+ on 4/21)
Sabine's Gull 0 (season first on 4/25, one adult)
Caspian Tern 5
Forster's Tern 8
Common Murre 19 (low this year)
Cassin's Auklet 0 (none?! usually dozens to low
hundreds)
Rhinoceros Auklet 7 (very low! some days in low
hundreds)
-----------------------------------

Monday --27 April 1998

weather: Clear with hazy sunshine (am), dense coastal fog (pm); wind NNW
5-10kts (am), NNW 12-18kts; outside offshore seas B3/4; air temp. 51-56F; sea
temp.11.0C

summary: Gray Whales: only 3 cow/calf pairs today. No other cetaceans
observed. MM Effort only 5 hours (0700-1200hrs) due to afternoon fog.

An encore PACIFIC LOON flight this morning, abruptly cranking into gear at
0800hrs and running at a mean average of 400-600/min past a fixed point to
0920hrs and only gradually diminishing to a mean average of 100/min after
1040hrs 'til noon and nearly stopping in or by the fog at 1300hrs. All total,
another record setting day with ~60,000 for the period 0700-1300hrs. I have
no idea what might have been going on in the fog after 1300hrs, but given the
general tendency around here over the years, significant afternoon Pacific
Loon flights beyond the occasional to infrequent little packs of perhaps a few
hundred are rather rare. So, I'd guess the flight probably pooped out shortly
after noon. I also think they tend to put down when they encounter widespread
dense fog. At least when it is foggy, the flight shifts even more inshore and
hugs the beach. The fog this afternoon was strictly marine and only a half-
mile away and inland out on the highway (rt.1), it was clear, sunny, and warm
-- such an alien and detached seeming place here at Piedras Blancas, it seems
more like somewhere in the Aleutian Islands sometimes.

Compared to yesterday, numbers of Brant, Surf Scoters, and Bonaparte's Gulls
were way up. Some 'huge' skenes of Brant (up to 500) were seen (am total
5,000). Ditto Surf Scoters. The earlier suspected 'El Nino' die-off of Surf
Scoters may not be as significant as some reports were suggesting.

Again, no sign of the Peregrine nestling(s) this morning. Adult behavior
remains 'status quo' as yesterday. I couldn't even see the eyrie and Outer
Rock this afternoon due to the fog.
-------------------------------------

Other miscellaneous stuff:

PEREGRINE FALCON: Hatching occurred on 4/13 and the first nestling made a
brief appearance on 4/25 (1230hrs) -- downy white and all feet and looking
quite healthy. Chris, one of Brian Latta's Peregrine observers from Santa
Cruz, was on site most of the morning and closely monitoring the activity up
in the eyrie and after about 4 hours was beginning to get a little discouraged
and starting to fear the worst that the nestlings may have died. Tom & I were
just quietly sitting and talking, listening to the "OTTER" (KOTR fm94.9
Cambria) and doing our whale thing, when Chris suddenly blurts out: "CHICKS!
CHICKS! I GOT CHICKS!!" ....What!? Chicks?! Where?! Quick, call Todd on
the cell phone! ....Oh... thoooose chicks. Sorry, no sexual innuendos
intended; don't get your hackles all tangled up in a wad :-), but the moment
was rather funny. It's great to see a biologist so enthusiastic with the work
he is doing and such a nice guy too and easily excitable with regards to
everything else around here including the season's first Sabine's Gull that I
pointed out that just happened to be passing by quite close, unusually so,
nearshore

HUMMINGBIRDS: The last male Rufous was seen here on 4/20. Now it's just one
female Allen's who's nest I'm still looking for (if there even is one) and an
occasional Anna's. Hundreds of Rufous Hummingbirds passed through Piedras
Blancas during the last week of March through the first two weeks of April.
In addition, there were 5 Calliope and 4 Black-chinned, the latter a first
record and probable oversight for this isolated sometimes Aleutian-like wind
and fog swept point.

MIGRANT PASSERINES: Borrring... There have been few migrant passerines out
here for the past couple of weeks and nothing out of the ordinary which is
fairly normal for here right now. In spring, early June is best for the
occasional vagrant oddball. Late March to early April saw significantly
greater than usual numbers of Western Kingbirds along the outer coastal strip
with concentrations especially in and around San Simeon and Hearst Castle
turnoff. Almost daily, up to 20 Western Kingbirds could be counted along rt1
between Piedras Blancas and Cambria in early April. Those are mostly all gone
now to at least a few miles inland and beyond where they belong. The adjacent
slopes of the Santa Lucias are alive with song and color (Western Bluebirds,
Black-headed Grosbeaks, Lazuli Buntings, Cedar Waxwings, etc.). A few
passerines all along the outer coast here this spring have been especially
notable by their complete absence (i.e. Lincoln's and Fox Sparrow, Hermit
Thrush).

CALIFORNIA CONDOR: No recent reports locally that I'm aware and we've
detected no radio signals. Nearest reports are coming from up along the still
inaccessable area along the Big Sur coast 20-30 miles north of here. I am
fairly confident of sighting perhaps of up to 7 condors out over rt.1 on 4/18.
It had rained all morning and soon after the rain had stopped and the ridge
tops were still encased in the cloud deck the suspect birds emerged way way
WAY high out over rt.1 and heading north, too high, too far, and too late to
get the 25X on them and/or to be absolutely certain.

SAN SIMEON STATE PARK: I've been enjoying the pair of White-tailed Kites
which grace the park this Spring. I located the nest a week or so ago up in
an alder along San Simeon Creek adjacent to the sewage ponds just east and
north of the park campgrounds. The nest is currently only about the size of
a basketball as the female (I presume) sits on it with only the tail visible
protruding over the top. Meanwhile, the male (I presume) hangs around closely
nabbing frogs and insects at whim and often perches close by.

GRAY WHALE survey: This is what I'm really here for and what pays the bills
:-). The cow/calf migration continues at a record clip and started in full
force 10 days to 2 weeks earlier than in all previous seasons since 1994.
Peak week is right about now and that too is living up to tradition, so it's a
bumper crop of new born calves this year. The daytime cow/calf count stands
at 360 compared to 160 this time last year and 1997 was a record year. Our
subjective perception is that calves are smaller than usual, but analysis of
aerial photogrametry work done 10-14 days ago will best show if this is so.

The cumulative list of other marine mammal species observed from shore here so
far this Spring:
Cetaceans:
Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)
Humpback Whale (Megaptera novangliae)
Gray Whale (Eshrichtius robustus)
Killer Whale (Orcinus orca)
Pilot Whale sp (probably Globicephala macrorhynchus)
Short-beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis)
Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops sp.)
Risso's Dolphin (Grampus griseus)
Harbor Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)
Pinnipeds & sea otters:
Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris) -- 60-80 plus many pups around the point here
Northern (Steller's) Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus) -- up to 4 this season
linger on
California Sea Lion (Zalophus californicus) -- ~2,000
Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) -- ~40
No. Elephant Seal (Mirounga angustirostris) -- ~5,500 (molting pups and
females)

Finally, one interesting note about the Northern Elephant Seals around here.
So far this year, there have been 3 auto-roadkills out on rt.1, all up near
the Piedras Blancas Motel, a mile north up the road. One involving a van
towing a trailer was quite serious and resulted in serious human injury. An
elephant seal isn't exactly quite the wildlife one would expect to encounter
out on a major highway, so watch out especially if you happen to be along here
at night.

That's about all I can think of at the moment. I'm sure there's more I've
forgotten or too lazy to go back to my notes to look up. So, 'til next time,
good luck and good birding. If you're anywhere near *PIGEON POINT* (Monterey
/ S.F. Bay Area), blowing off work or school and heading out for the loon
spectacle could be quite rewarding, especially if it's NOT as *dense foggy*
where you are as it has been here all this morning so far (4/28,
0945hrs)...aarrrgh! You'll see exactly the same thing we see down here and
that site is easy and publicly accessable. Just don't drive up expecting an
epic flight in progress. It takes, time, patience, and luck, and such flights
tend to come on totally without warning and can end just as abruptly. Big
loon flights usually occur at here at Piedras Blancas during the morning hours
with ~90% of the day's total amassed by noon. That is not necessarily the
case to be expected elsewhere. Paul Lehman's data back in the '70s showed
heaviest flights at Goleta Point (Santa Barbara Co.) occuring during the windy
afternoons. It's all a matter of timing from where rafts may have gathered
during the night. The loons are strictly diurnal migrants and travel at
30-40mph. They vanish at sunset and countless hours of infrared heat sensor
data shows virtually nothing (loons, brant, scoters, or anything else) flying
by at night. After sunset, the masses of loons just alight often into huge
rafts of thousands. This doesn't necessarily mean that the 'migration'
actually stops at night. If they are not flying, they are likely 'paddling'
slowly enmass in a northerly direction. Come sunrise, they take flight, not
enmass, but one or a few at a time until the whole raft is aloft. This is why
one sees these long endless and often unbroken streams passing a fixed point
for 30 or more minutes at a time.

Due to work schedules and routine, I'm seldom online and accessing email at
this account, so please don't be put off if queries and discussions go
unanswered. Unless it's foggy like now, and for as much as I enjoy such
internet exchanges, unfortunately I just don't have the luxury of time for
such during an active field season.

Richard Rowlett (Pagodroma at aol.com)
Gray Whale Survey
Piedras Blancas Lighthouse
San Simeon, SLO Co., California
(until May 30, 1998)