Subject: [Tweeters] Westport Seabirds Trip Report Sunday August 25, 2019
Date: Wed Aug 28 18:42:51 PDT 2019
From: Jim Danzenbaker - jdanzenbaker at gmail.com

Hi Tweeters,

Westport Seabirds greeted participants from North Carolina, Alaska,
Ontario, Indiana, and closer to home in Washington for a beautiful day at
sea aboard the *Monte Carlo*. Kevin Burke brought his Ventures birding
tour group and author, photographer, and international pelagic birder Kirk
Zufelt returned for his second consecutive trip.

Having briefed all on board, we motored our way out of the harbor and were
greeted with many Brown Pelicans, large gulls (Western/Glaucous-winged
hybrids) and Heermann's Gulls as well as all three cormorants and the
comparatively diminutive Pigeon Guillemots. We spotted a fairly large
feeding frenzy just beyond the end of the south jetty which included
numerous gulls, pelicans, cormorants, Sooty Shearwaters (shearwater #1) and
a surprise Manx Shearwater (shearwater #2) which got away before all had a
chance to view it. Traversing the Continental Shelf added numerous dad and
chick Common Murres (the young are certainly growing so maybe we should
call them dad and teenager) as well as Rhinoceros Auklets and Red-necked
Phalaropes.

Since we had set the shearwater table with numerous flyby Sootys for
participants to study, we quickly had comparison views of Pink-footed
(shearwater #3) as well as the first of the days 40+ Buller's (shearwater
#4). What an elegant species and the building number of Buller's bodes
well for future trips. Cassin's Auklets were also seen along this
stretch. Several Dall's Porpoises rooster tailed their way through the
water. A single Humpback Whale wowed us all as it surfaced nearby and
eventually showed off those wonderful flukes as it sounded to pursue unseen
prey.

We eventually arrived at our target - the shrimp fleet that regularly works
the waters near the edge of the continental shelf. We certainly weren't
disappointed by the variety of attendant birds - Sabine's Gulls to the
left, right, and center, several flyby Arctic terns, a few Fork-tailed
Storm-Petrels, Northern Fulmars, and the prize bird of many a pelagic
participant, the Black-footed Albatross. Even though this albatross is one
of the small ones compared to those found in other parts of the world, they
certainly look like winged giants as they flew over the numerous
shearwaters, Northern Fulmars, and California Gulls. Closer inspection of
the Sooty Shearwaters revealed several Short-tailed (shearwater #5)
including one on the water which allowed participants to scrutinize the
subtle differences that separate this species from Sooty. The final avian
delight that the shrimp fleet provided was a Flesh-footed (shearwater #6)
that was in a flock of 50+ Pink-foots on the water. Almost everyone saw
this species, the second one of the season which followed the one bird seen
on the previous day's trip. High 5s also since 6 species of shearwaters is
quite an achievement not often recorded! Always a special treat on these
trips is listening to the squeaks of the Pink-footed Shearwaters as they
fight for apparently delectable morsels tossed by Captain Phil. If the
birds didn't scarf up the food on the surface, these shearwaters have the
wonderful ability to dive under and retrieve sinking food. I timed one
dive at about 12 seconds and, yes, it surfaced with the food!

We nudged over the edge of the shelf and laid a slick in hopes of
attracting some of the special birds found over the deep water. A single
Long-tailed Jaeger was a nice addition along with more Sabine's Gulls and
several Arctic Terns so we were rewarded by our efforts.

Phil turned the *Monte Carlo* eastward.

We neared the fleet again and immediately saw a chorus line of Pacific
White-sided Dolphins heading towards the *Monte Carlo*. Unfortunately,
this time they didn't bother to bow ride as they had on previous trips.
One can't compete with a line of dolphins which may have set their sites on
a far off food source. Several Parasitic Jaegers made passes by our boat
but didn't stick around.

The ride back to Westport allowed us to mentally digest all the species
that we had seen: albatrosses from Hawaii, shearwaters from Chile, Tasmania
and New Zealand, storm-petrels, fulmars, terns, and Sabine's Gulls from
Alaska and Alcids from closer to home. We had truly been in the company of
many impressive global travelers! Of course, just when one thinks the trip
is over, another species surfaces. This time it was a beautiful Tufted
Puffin which bobbed in the water for all to see. A spectacular species!
Wandering Tattlers and Surfbirds were found on the jetty and we were
greeted by the growing flock of 680 Marbled Godwits inside the harbor.

Thanks to spotters Bill Tweit, Ryan Merrill, and your current reporter and
our fantastic Captain Phil and ever smiling and helpful deckhand Chris who
are an amazing team to be with at sea.

Come join us on a future pelagic trip! Information at
www.westportseabirds.com.

Jim for Westport Seabirds
--
Jim Danzenbaker
Battle Ground, WA
360-702-9395
jdanzenbaker at gmail.com
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