Greetings all -
We had a great pelagic trip on Sunday off Westport with Westport Seabirds,
Here is the trip Summary, by Bill Tweit:
Westport Seabirds finds ways to beat the heat! The Sunday, August 5, Westport Seabirds pelagic trip enjoyed temperatures in the 50s and 60s, and gray skies, while the rest of the state endured record breaking or near record breaking temperatures and blazing sunshine! We also had some great looks at good birds. It did come at a bit of a cost, with foggy conditions for several hours and a pesky south wind that created some mixed ocean conditions. Birds were fairly well distributed though, so there was always something to look at. And, we found Humpback Whales and a large Ocean Sunfish. Bird of the day was a very cooperative Manx Shearwater with a large flock of Sooties on the water not too far off the jetties on the way back in.
Other highlights were great views of storm-petrels, the days tally was 48 Leach's and 293 Fork-tailed. A couple of Tufted Puffins made themselves conspicuous by circling the boat several times. Although we only saw 5 Sabine's Gulls, they were close and both adults and immatures. Five skuas, three Pomarine Jaegers, 29 Red Phalaropes all contributed to the day.
Our next trips are August 11, 18 and 25; so if you are looking for a way to beat the heat, join us for a day on the ocean!
www.westportseabirds.com
Ryan ShawTacoma, WArtshaw80 at hotmail.com