Westport?s fourth pelagic trip of the year was met with some rain squalls but mostly good sea conditions. One of our longer trips out in Grays Canyon, we hoped to sight Leach?s Storm-Petrels. This proved to be a huge success as we tallied over 500, which may be a new record for our trips. Along our route we encountered over 1,600 Sooty Shearwaters, 333 Pink-footed Shearwaters, 41 Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels, 2 South Polar Skua and a few Northern Fulmars. At a shrimp boat and at our chum sight we recorded a few Black-footed Albatross.

Our boat captain, Phil Anderson, made the decision to head for some boats seen on the radar farther away from our chum spot. We hoped for a long-liner boat, which often attracts albatross. Indeed, this was the case as we saw and chummed over 60 Black-foots, a highlight for many of our birders on board from all over the country. Closer to shore, thousands of Brown Pelicans and hundreds of Heermann?s Gulls, having arrived from the Gulf of California, have taken over the harbor area!

The official tally and numbers will be posted soon on our website and Facebook. The next pelagic trip is scheduled for July 12 with just a few spots remaining. The August and September trips fill very fast but have some places remaining.
Visiting our website at www.westportseabirds.com for inquiries or reservations. Leaders for yesterday?s trip were Bill Tweit, Michael Donahue and me. Phil and Chris Anderson were our boat personnel and spotters as well.

Hope to see you on future pelagics!
Bruce LaBar
Tacoma, Wash.

Trip List
White-winged Scoter
Surf Scoter
Black-footed Albatross
Northern Fulmar
Pink-footed Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel
Leach?s Storm-Petrel
Brandt?s Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Brown Pelican
Red-necked Phalarope
Heermann?s Gull
Western Gull
California Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Arctic Tern-1, sub-adult, probably summering along our coast.
South Polar Skua
Common Murre
Pigeon Guillemot
Cassin?s Auklet
Rhinoceros Auklet
Tufted Puffin-1, seen by only a few.
Mammals
Humpback Whale-9
Harbor Porpoise-1
Dall?s Porpoise-5
Steller?s Sea-Lion-3
Elephant Seal-1