Forwarded from Bill Tweit -
The August 17 Westport Seabirds trip enjoyed calm seas, and generally good weather, and a great mix of birds and mammals. The couple of hours of sunshine offshore more than made up for a drizzly and chilly start to the day. Signs that fall is well on the way included very high numbers of migrant Red Phalaropes (320!) with only 3 Red-necked Phalaropes for comparison, the best numbers of jaegers and Arctic Terns yet, and lots of Sabine's Gulls. Also multiple Buller's Shearwaters ensured that everyone got good looks at the most elegant of shearwaters. Repeated encounters with Risso's Dolphins, including a large pod of 15 that also held 3 Northern Right Whale Dolphins, provided another highlight. And, when we found the offshore water at the edge of the shelf, the albacore tuna were evident, swirling at the surface and sometimes even coming out of the water.
Last weeks wave of South Polar Skuas seemed to have moved on through, we could only find one and it wasn't very cooperative. But the adult Long-tailed Jaeger with full tail streamers provided a lot of consolation as it flew right next to the boat while we were chumming. Nine Pomarine Jaegers and 4 Parasitics also provided good looks. And 56 Sabine's Gulls and 25 Arctic Terns also livened up the offshore scene. Join us for some of our remaining fall trips this year.
Bill Tweit

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Ryan Shawrtshaw80 at hotmail.com