Nice job Gene. Thanks. Bill
Bill Tweit
On Wed, Jun 23, 2021 at 2:03 PM Gene Revelas <
grevelas at integral-corp.com>
wrote:
>
Hi Tweets,
>
>
>
>
We enjoyed another fun day on the water with Westport Seabirds last
>
Saturday, June 19th. We had NW wind at the marina so we knew that we would
>
have a bumpy ride out across the bar and nearshore. However, the forecast
>
called for nicer conditions offshore, so we put our trust in the forecast
>
(and Captain Phil Anderson) and headed out at 5:30 am in full, summer
>
solstice daylight. We had a nice mix of 18 birders onboard, about half of
>
them from Washington, and the others from South Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio,
>
and Idaho. The seas were bumpy and confused from the harbor mouth to about
>
the 50-fathom line so the birding was physically challenging but the birds
>
were there. In the harbor and along the inshore transit, we recorded
>
Pigeon Guillemots, a couple of Heerman's Gulls, Brown Pelicans, the three
>
Cormorant species, one Pacific Loon, many California and
>
Western/Glaucous-winged hybrid Gulls (most in heavy molt), Common Murres
>
(low numbers all day), many Rhinoceros Auklets, the first of two flyby
>
Tufted Puffins, Sooty Shearwaters, a Northern Fulmar (surprisingly far
>
inshore), and four, spouting Gray Whales.
>
>
>
>
Further offshore and to the Grays Canyon edge, the seas and our ride did
>
improve. We added the first of many (161) Cassin's Auklets for the day,
>
and our expected tubenose species; Black-footed Albatross, Pink-footed
>
Shearwaters, and Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels. We got an all too brief look
>
at one "Comic" Tern that was likely an Arctic, but Common could not be
>
ruled out. During a quiet stretch, three Ancient Murrelets appeared right
>
next to the boat. It was an adult and two, cute, still-flightless chicks
>
swimming as hard as they could. I personally could not recall seeing ANMU
>
chicks previously on a Westport trip. We also added two of the 12 Humpback
>
Whales we would for the day, including a half dozen repeatedly breaching
>
and tail and flipper slapping at a distance.
>
>
>
>
In deep water over the canyon, we added more Black-footed Albatross and
>
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels, and our first of four Leach's Storm-Petrels, two
>
of which cooperatively came into our chum and provided great comparison
>
with the Fork-tails and close photo ops. About 40 crowd-pleasing Pacific
>
White-sided Dolphins joined us at one point, riding our bow wave and wake
>
for a bit. A very large, not-so-cute, Ocean Sunfish was also a
>
spectacle. When we turned east to head home, the ride improved further
>
with the following sea, the skies were cloudy but bright, and the marine
>
mammal show continued. We saw the six, active humpbacks noted above, two
>
Minke Whales (not annual on Westport trips) that surfaced only twice but
>
were seen and photographed by the folks looking their way, and some more
>
White-sided Dolphins.
>
>
>
>
We did not add any more seabird species on the return trip, but we did add
>
Harbor Porpoise and Stellers Sea Lion to the mammal list. Finally, an
>
adult Peregrine Falcon sitting with the gulls on the top of Westport Jetty
>
was a nice ending to a great day. As always, the Monte Carlo was crewed
>
expertly by Phil and Chris Anderson, the spotters were Bill Tweit, Bruce
>
LaBar, and Gene Revelas. Our 2021 season continues into October and
>
openings are getting scarce, so please visit the Westport Seabirds website (
>
westportseabirds.com) soon for trip schedules, information, and
>
availability if you are interested in joining us this year.
>
>
>
>
Happy and safe birding!
>
>
Gene Revelas
>
Olympia, WA
>
>
*Gene Revelas*
>
Tel: 360.939.9618 | Cell: 360.870.4950
>
*INTEGRAL CONSULTING INC.*
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <
http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20210623/c422ef2d/attachment.html>