[Tweeters] September 15 Westport Seabirds trip report

[Jim Danzenbaker]

Hi Tweeters,

When one arrives at the dock for a pelagic trip, one usually hopes for a
smooth ride with no sea spray, boat rocking, or temporary queasiness.  As
fate would have it, today would not be one of those days.  The *Monte Carlo*
departed Westport marina with the nocturnal flight calls of Yellow Warblers
and Swainson's Thrushes overhead and eager birders aboard from near and
far.  The Marbled Godwit flock was in the corner of the harbor but
low light prevented us from a closer inspection. We headed out to sea under
a clear sky and a few Gray Whales to our right and left and a distant Mt.
Rainier from the stern.

The waters over the Continental Shelf are fairly consistent birdwise with
Sooty Shearwaters (234), Common Murres (50), and Rhinoceros Auklets (16)
being the most common species encountered.  These were soon joined by
several flocks of Red-necked Phalaropes (39).   Pink-footed Shearwaters
(690), visitors to our area from Chile, soon became the predominant species
which dotted the sea in all directions.  Participants were able to get
comfortable with the habits of all these species which made identification
of later species easier.  Captain Phil had the *Monte Carlo* pointed in the
direction of a lone shrimp boat and we anticipated a new collection of
seabirds as we neared the boat.  A distant Pomarine Jaeger (2) cruised by,
Cassin's Auklets (8) skittered along the surface of the water,
 and, then, a surprise, a flock of three South Polar Skuas (4) took off
near the bow of the boat giving everyone a chance to view this flying tank
of a bird that passes through these waters on their way back to Antarctica.


The shrimper lived up to expectations - a few Black-footed Albatrosses (4)
searched for food amid a growing flock of Pink-footed Shearwaters, a
Buller's Shearwater (1) and Northern Fulmars.  Diminutive Fork-tailed
Storm-Petrels (86) made some very close passes which let everyone
appreciate this smallest of our locally occurring tubenoses.  A single
Long-tailed Jaeger (1) flew several circles over the shrimp boat for
everyone to see - our only one of the day.  Several sharply marked Sabine's
Gulls (4) joined the fray.

Captain Phil had an unfortunate updated weather forecast which included a
building sea with accompanying wind waves so we reluctantly started our
journey back to Westport.

Marine mammals for the day included Humpback (2) and Gray Whales (2), a few
Pacific white-sided Dolphins (7), bow riding Dall's Porpoises (8), and
several Northern Fur Seals (3) and Steller's Sea Lions (2).

The jetties extend quite a way's out and they always seem to hold something
interesting.  Today, we were glad to see two Parasitic Jaegers (2) klepto
parasitizing nuerous gulls near the tip of the south jetty.  We earned our
skua slam for the day!  Brown Pelicans and all three species of west coast
Cormorants coated the south jetty but we weren't able to locate any
rocky shorebirds.  A mixture of gulls lined the outer harbor and a Harbor
Seal (1) head bobbed to observe our entry into the marina and the end of
our trip.

Westport Seabirds thanks all of the enthusiastic participants who make
these trips a success.  Also, thanks to Captain Phil and first mate Chris
for their consummate professionalism, natural history knowledge and ginger
cookies! Also, a shout out to our guides Bruce LaBar, Gene Revelas and me.


Even though the Westport Seabirds schedule (
http://westportseabirds.com/2023-schedule/) shows all trips as full, it's
always a good idea to get on a waitlist and hope.

I hope to see you onboard!

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