Call It A Comeback

Though many birds continue to decline (like Marbled Murrelets, above), some species that were on the brink of disappearing a few decades ago are coming back strong.

It's Extinction Week over at 10,000 Birds. The Great Ornithologist Felonious Jive covers some imperiled U.S. birds that, luckily, are making a recovery and are still with us today....but they easily could have gone the way of the buffalo. Read the post!

Pelagics Are Coming (And So Is El Niño?)

Long-tailed Jaeger. Late summer and early fall boat trips generally encounter the highest number of this fan-favorite as they migrate south. Photographed off Bodega Bay, CA.

There are a few ways of looking at birding this time of year in the Lower 48. Those of us who live in shorebird-inhabited areas know that the first southbound migrants of the year are already starting to trickle in, and it will be a very short matter of time before the first Siberian pops up somewhere (and we do love Siberians). However, those bird addicts who don't live in shorebird-inhabited areas are languishing in a deep, mid-summer depression...chicks are fledging, but birdsong is dying down and nothing is really oscar mike yet. But then there are those who can go to the beach, look west at the horizon, and shamelessly drool about the birds that can be found offshore.

Right...there are more than plovers and sandpipers to look forward to, for July is also the beginning of pelagic season. And this year, something different is in the water.

A widely and wildly-celebrated rarity in most states, Sabine's Gulls are expected on California pelagic trips. Southbound migrants begin moving through in July and are consistently found through October. Photographed off Bodega Bay.

It's not unusual to find sizeable flocks of them. However usual this may be, it never gets old. Photographed off Bodega Bay.

What is new for 2014 you ask? There are many signs that El Niño is taking hold, and seabird behavior in multiple countries indicates it is well on its way. Now, if you are not from California (the U.S. state that is typically most directly impacted by this phenomenon), you may not know what this means at all. Basically (very basically), ocean temperatures in the eastern Pacific lie within a certain temperature range, regulated by consistent wind patterns that cause upwelling of cold water. In El Niño years, there is a marked decrease in the amount of wind, and so there is less upwelling, and the eastern Pacific heats up.

The average California nonbirder knows that the warmer ocean temperatures El Niño brings increased precipitation, which is fantastic for us land-dwelling creatures that have been enduring a multiple-year drought. So that is good news. However, warm ocean water is not as productive as cooler waters, and this can (and does) cause the collapse of marine food chains. This means entire seabird colonies can fail to breed, and adults may not be able to fine enough food for themselves. Basically, it's a disaster.

A Flesh-footed Shearwater (left) and a Northern Fulmar crest a swell. Out of all the tubenoses that grace California, fulmars seem to be the most prone to wrecking on shore when oceanic conditions do not suit them...hopefully we don't see any significant die-offs this year. Photographed off Bodega Bay.

2013 was a very good year for Flesh-footed Shearwater (same bird as above) off central and northern California. This popular target bird for out-of-state birders typically do not become regular on trips until early September.

Disaster aside, certain seabird species prefer certain water temperatures and are well-suited to them. El Niño brings the high possibility of bringing southern, warm water loving birds northward into U.S. waters, and some birders (myself included) are trembling with the anticipation of what may come. While NOAA has not officially proclaimed El Niño to have settled in, they are giving it a high probability. Only time will tell for sure.

Recent previous El Niño events occurred in 2009-2010, 2006-2007, 2002-2003, and 1997-1998, with the 1997-1998 event being the strongest El Niño ever recorded. This year, Craveri's Murrelets have already been recorded twice in California waters (this is exceptionally early in the year for them, and many years they are not recorded at all). A putative Nazca Booby was recently photographed a few miles off of the Los Angeles County coast. 2009-2010 saw large numbers of Cook's Petrel recorded off California, with impressive numbers being recorded offshore with some regularity. It's impossible to predict what pelagic rarities will be found this year, but there are many disgusting possibilities. I hope to see you on a boat this year; I will again be a leader for Shearwater Journeys, and it's always nice to have some familiar faces on board.

If you want to find Short-tailed Shearwaters right now, you may want to be on a boat somewhere off the coast of Alaska. However, by late fall they make their way down to California where they are a good possibility on late-season boats. Photographed off Bodega Bay.

Same bird as above. Short-taileds have a habit (luckily for birders) of enthusiastically following boats that are chumming for birds, which is how Brian Patteson picked this one out last year. Sooties are not shy about making close passes by the boat, but they are not usually enthusiastic about getting in the chumline.

Many birders see their first albatross (of any kind) off central/northern California, and it's usually a Black-footed. Most boats from Monterey north to Humboldt encounter this loveable goony in summer and fall. Photographed off Bodega Bay.

Albatross employ all sorts of bizarre molt strategies. It's pretty easy to see what's new and what's old on this heavily-worn bird. Photographed off Bodega Bay.

You never know when a Laysan Albatross is going to show up! I suspect this is a juvenile bird, fledged only a few months previous. Note how there is no gray in the face, just a black eyepatch. Photographed off Bodega Bay.

Here is an adult, or at least a bird that is not a juvenile (Laysans generally do not begin breeding until they are 8 years old). There is a lot more gray in the face, which lends it a softer and far sexier look than the albajuveniles. As far as I know, there is no way in the field to tell apart a Laysan that is 2 years old and a Laysan that is 20. Photographed off Bodega Bay.

I guess I should show you a better look at an albaface. See? It is a lovely face. Older birds also have that 1/4 of a white eye-ring. #economyofstyle Photographed at Midway Atoll.

Brown Boobies always have multiple tails and wings, which give them a distinct "turboprop" look in flight. Photographed off Bodega Bay.

Well, maybe not always.

We had pleasant numbers of Scripps's Murrelets off of Half Moon Bay last year, where this pair was photographed. They are annual in small numbers in this part of the state, where they drift north after breeding is wrapped up off the coast of SoCal and Mexico. This is definitely a species more prone to occurring in warmer water.

I highly recommend studying Craveri's vs. Scripps's Murrelets before you get on a California boat this fall, or you may find yourself too slow on the draw. This is another Scripps's, photographed off Half Moon Bay.

Unlike the other pelagics pictured today, Marbled Murrelets stay quite close to shore (not to mention nesting in trees). While El Niño may help bring birders good birds from afar, many local breeders like this one don't stand to gain much if their food source goes north in search of cooler waters. By the way, if you are hoping to snag Marbled Murrelet on a pelagic, Half Moon Bay is consistently the best place to do it. Photographed in Half Moon Bay.

Yes! There are whales. Last year there was no shortage of Humpbacks (above) and Blues offshore. Photographed off Bodega Bay.

Could this be the year I pick up Red-tailed Tropicbird in my home state? I highly doubt it, but I really hope so...you just never know what is lurking offshore until you get there. Photographed at Midway Atoll.

Another Half Moon Bay Pelagic

Nothing cuts a profile like a Black-footed Albatross. Albatross are good luck to the ancient mariner and dedicated seabirder alike.

In early October I got a surprise invitation to go on a Shearwater Journeys boat out of Half Moon Bay, CA, which I gladly accepted. This was my third and final boat trip of the year (a November trip got cancelled due to weather) that started out slow, but got a lot more interesting as we approached the Farrallon Islands. No gannet detour was made (bummer), but it was a good day even without the celebrity sulid. No real rarities, but lifer Leatherback Sea Turtle, hundreds of Buller's Shearwaters and hearing a Marbled Murrelet call for the first time in years were definite highlights. If I am free next fall (which is usually the case), I hope to make it on a lot more bird boats.

Here's the first batch of photos, more to come.

Double-crested Cormorants, Brown Pelican, Brandt's Cormorant. These are some of the most noticeable harbor-loving birds on the California coast. Note the lefthand cormorant, which is sporting a white gular fringe in the style of a Neotropic Cormorant.

Brandt's Cormorant. Their eyes stand out like sore thumbs...beautiful, emerald blue sore thumbs.

Marbled Murrelets are dependable on boat trips out of Half Moon Bay. There are usually a couple pairs on the water just south of the harbor, and on this day I watched a (calling!) bird fly into Pillar Point Harbor as well.

Like storm-petrels, Marbled Murrelets aren't big fans of big boats, and being Endangered, we don't get too close to them on the water.

A Black-footed albatross buzzes a little shearwater flock. Rafting behind it are Pink-footed and Buller's Shearwaters, and a Heerman's Gull doing its best Flesh-footed Shearwater impression. Considering their penchant for impersonating jaegers, Heerman's Gulls are really versatile birds.

After the albatross cruised by, a small parade of Pacific White-sided Dolphins made a pass by the shearwaters.

Pacific White-sided Dolphins are easy to identify, with their strongly curved dorsal fins and lack of the typical dolphin snout. They look more like porpoises.

Pacific white-sided Dolphins are one of the more animated cetaceans found in California waters. Like most dolphins, they really like being dolphins.

Buller's Shearwater (year bird). I finally managed to get some shots with their signature back pattern. On my previous pelagic trip out of Monterey Bay, we saw about 4. On this day, we saw hundreds! Whole flocks of them! That will dilate the pupils any day.

It's been a warm water year off of California, with big numbers of Black-vented Shearwaters making it all the way up to northern California for much of the fall. This isn't a bird to expect this far north most years. 

Pacific Loons are not hard to see from shore, but its pretty rare to get very close to them. Boats off California encounter many in late fall and winter. Note the good posture on this bird, Red-throated Loons slouch their necks. Lazy bastards.

A Tufted Puffin (year bird) in its infrequently-seen basic plumage. This one still sports a big orange bill, but has dropped its tufts and white facial patch. From a distance, it reminded me of a male Surf Scoter.

Wait. I Thought We Weren't Supposed To Go On Pelagic Trips.

Rhinoceros Auklet. Not a Whiskered Auklet, despite the whiskers. But that's ok, because I have seen hundreds of Whiskered Auklets. No big deal.

Last month I had the opportunity to go on another pelagic with Debi Shearwater, out of Half Moon Bay, California. A big storm was coming in out of the north so we did not get as far offshore as planned, but we still managed to find a lot of the pelagic birds that one could reasonably hope for this time of year.

I'll post some more shots later. Today I'm going out to Point Reyes again to stare at a Dickcissel, amongst other things. Picture me birding.

Bonaparte's Gulls are stylish.

Red Phalaropes were seen on and off throughout the trip. They are too well-camouflaged for the brain of my autofocus, and this is one of the very few usable shots I ended up with.

A Sooty Shearwater impersonates a Black-footed Albatross, in order to mock all the birders on the boat hoping to see a Black-footed Albatross that day (we saw none).

Not tack-sharp, but otherwise I'm pretty happy with this Short-tailed Shearwater shot. They're not easy birds to accurately identify, let alone photograph.

Another Sooty Shearwater for comparison.

We saw a few Marbled Murrelets, including this rather "confiding" bird.

Northern Fulmars were often just a few feet off the stern of the boat. All the better to study their grunginess. For any nonbirders reading this, that strange apparatus on its beak is part of the bird's salt filtration system...they can drink salt water all day, no problem.

Pacific Loon. Economy of style.

The rarely seen cruise-missile flight mode of the Pelagic Cormorant. The pelican exploded a second after this photograph was taken.

Pelagic Part Deuce: We Look For Signs In Nothing

Long-tailed Jaeger juvenile. Long-tailed Jaegers are widely regarded as the best jaegers...they make your eyeballs pop.

Black-footed Albatross, the B-52 of Californian seabirds. 

Common Murres raft just offshore from Half Moon Bay.

Marbled Murrelets, an endangered species (an end species? an angered species?), are uncommon and local off central and northern California. Looking for them on the water is far less complicated than looking for them in the old growth redwoods where they nest, albeit more expensive.

A California Gull is outclassed by a juvenile Parasitic Jaeger.

This Northern Fur Seal is lounging in classic weird fur seal position.

Sabine's Gulls have won the hearts and minds of many a birder....they are true Winners. 

Sooty Shearwater in water-shearing position.

This immature Western Gull doesn't know what to think about this little Mola Mola pile that it came across. Weird fish are weird fish.