[Tweeters] September 14 Westport Seabirds trip report

[Jim Danzenbaker via Tweeters]

Hi Tweeters,

Ordinarily, when you hear somebody say at the end of a birding day "its
quality over quantity", you can take it in two ways:  they are trying to
put a silver lining on an otherwise lackluster day or you saw some really
great birds and it didn't matter if the total species number was less than
average.  We went with option B on last Saturday's trip.  In addition to
the surprisingly good conditions (with a brief shower or two), we enjoyed
fairly calm seas and a parade of new birds throughout the entire day.  No
sleeping without fear of missing something on this trip!

After clearing the mouth of the jetties, we soon encountered the commoner
species of the inshore waters including Sooty Shearwater (647), Common
Murre (276 with 37 chicks), Rhinoceros Auklet (18), and Red-necked
Phalarope (59).  As with other trips, emphasis on knowing the behavior,
flight style, and plumage of the more abundant birds makes picking out the
more sought after species easier for everyone.  Soon, Sooty Shearwaters
from Australia and New Zealand were joined by their slightly heavier flying
cousins, the Pink-footed Shearwaters (147)  from Chile.  Nothing like a
side by side comparison to drive home the detailed differences!  A few
striking Buller's Shearwaters (6), also from New Zealand, soared by to the
cheering of those on board.  I've never met anybody who doesn't appreciate
them!

It wasn't long after the Buller's flyby that we encountered the age old
question of .... what do you do when the day's first perfectly plumaged
Short-tailed Shearwater (11) wings by, the first Tufted Puffin (1) pops up,
and a Humpback Whale (15) is spouting not far off all at the same time?
Answer, concentrate on the shearwater as it won't be in view for long,
relocate the Tufted Puffin and marvel at the size and color of its bill,
and then soak in the whale experience! After this wonderful trifecta, it
didn't take long before we saw a Long-tailed Jaeger (2) fly over
(surprisingly our first jaeger of the day). Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels (96)
became more common in all directions so all on board were able to get soul
satisfying views.  Cassin's Auklet (25) balls bounced away upon the *Monte
Carlo*'s approach, showing that they had very successful feeding forays.  A
Sabine's Gull (23) or two drifted by on their way to the Humboldt Current
and a few Pomarine Jaegers (5) kept the building number of California Gulls
on high alert.

We approached a shrimp boat close to the edge of the continental shelf but,
much to our chagrin, this boat wasn't doing anything so no clouds of birds
and, unfortunately, no albatrosses!  A bit concerned, our next plan was to
chum over deep water and hope for the best.  This was a good plan as the
birds started to respond almost immediately.   California Gulls were joined
by several Northern Fulmars (11), Pink-footed Shearwaters (147), the most
cooperative, pristine Short-tailed Shearwaters (11) that have ever existed,
more Fork-tailed Stormies and Sabine's Gulls, a Red Phalarope (7) or two, a
flyby Arctic Tern (7), and an uncooperative distant jaeger.  And
Black-footed Albatrosses (15) too!  They sailed in on their massive 7 foot
wingspan much to the delight of all on board.  I always appreciate every
albatross I see and today was no different.

On all pelagic trips, surprises often come in the way of non pelagic
birds.  Although not graced with lost passerines, we were treated to at
least 6-8 flocks of southbound dabbling ducks and two large goose flocks.
Photos showed that the ducks were the expected Northern Pintails (270) with
a few Green-winged Teal (6) thrown in for size comparison and two large
flocks of geese (140 - so distant that even the best photos couldn't
identify them for sure) which were probably Greater White-fronted Geese.
We surmised that these birds *may* have been making the Alaska to southern
Oregon run, a long way for us but probably nothing to them.

Humpback Whales (15) were scattered throughout the trip including a few
pectoral flipper flapping individuals.  Some were definitely giving off the
vibes of a happy whale (see https://happywhale.com/home for a library of
whale photos and useful facts).  Only one Dall's Porpoise (1) today along
with a few Harbor Porpoise (3).  A fur seal looked on nonchalantly as we
motored by and Mola Molas (10) were in evidence with some very large
individuals as well as little dinner plate sized ones.  We saw several
jumping dinner plates (a site not often seen).  The question of why mola
molas jump out of the water was never sufficiently addressed.

Just as we thought we wouldn't get our coveted skua slam (all three jaegers
and South Polar Skua), the call of SKUA (2) came from the bow and
everyone looked up to see a South Polar Skua fly overhead before veering
away in search of a gull/shearwater to harass for a quick meal.  Every day
with a skua is a good day!  With the Parasitic Jaeger (2) that we had
recorded about 40 minutes before, we had our skua slam and another round of
happy faces!

Brown Pelicans, the trifecta of cormorants and numerous gulls from
Heermann's to Western and 2 Surfbirds greeted us as we motored between the
jetties.  Our mooring in the Westport marina was under the watchful eyes of
bobbing Harbor Seal heads and the Marbled Godwit (600) flock.

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, bright
smiles, and ginger cookies! Also, a big thanks to our guides Scott Mills,
Gene Revelas, and your trip reporter.

Even though the Westport Seabirds schedule (
http://westportseabirds.com/2023-schedule/) shows all trips as full, it's
always a good idea to think of pelagic opportunities for this year (last
minute openings happen) and next year!

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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