Leach’s Storm Petrel
Leach’s Storm Petrel, Oceanodroma leucorhoa, is a widespread member of the Storm-Petrel Family. They have a dark plumage with a white rump, although there are populations which have a darker rump.
They are highly pelagic and don’t normally follow ships.
It breeds on northern hemisphere islands of the Atlantic and Pacific and only returns to the nest at night.
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Laysan Albatross
Three consecutive trips were being offered by Shearwater Journey’s, at the first of October/ 2007. This operator is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable in the world. The first two were from Monterrey Bay and the last from Bodega Bay. The initial Monterrey Bay trip stayed closer to shore and the second was longer and went further out. All were blessed with reasonable weather conditions. This mix proved helpful in producing a diversity of species. For example, while over a thousand Cassin’s Auklets were seen from the Bodega trip, none were seen on the other two.
Black-footed Albatross were present on all days in good numbers. It breeds primarily in the Hawaiian group of islands and, although found year round off the west coast, its numbers peak between June and August.
On the Bodega Bay trip, we were all excited to see Laysan Albatross , which made several close passes by the boat, a special treat for the many photographers on board.
Northern Fulmars were found on all three days but especially from Bodega Bay. The various plumage details of the rodgersii subspecies were interesting, quite different from white plumaged Atlantic glacialis and auduboni subspecies.
Pink-footed Shearwaters were common on all days, and often followed the boat when it was chumming. A Flesh-footed Shearwater did a fly by early on the Bodega trip, distinguished from the numerous Sooty Shearwaters by its darker wing linings.
The smartly patterned Buller’s Shearwater was also common. After breeding on islands off of New Zealand, it migrates into the North Pacific reaching as far as Alaska.
We caught up with Storm Petrel flocks on the first Monterrey trip and were able to compare details of the common Ashy and Black Storm-Petrels with the occasional Least and a single Wilson’s .
Multiple South Polar Skuas were seen on all trips as were Pomarine Jaegers and a smaller number of Parasitic Jaegers . Although late in the year, a couple of Sabine’s Gulls were seen.
Alcids included Common Murres , Pigeon Guillemots , and Rhinoceros Auklets were common while Cassin’s Auklets were only seen on the Bodega Bay trip. Marbled Murrelets were picked up near shore at Santa Cruz on the second day after Debi made a wise decision to look for them. A single Tufted Puffin on the Bodega Bay trip was my sole sighting contribution.
Both Red/Gray and Red-necked Phalarope were seen in small groups
Cetaceans were represented by numerous Humpback Whales including a wonderful friendly approach on the second day by a radio-tagged humpback that put on a fabulous appearance beside our boat including rubbing up against it. Minke and Blue Whale also showed as well as Pacific White-sided and Northern Right Whale Dolphins, and Dall’s Porpoise. Interesting fish were Ocean Sunfish, Blue and Salmon Shark.
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Black-footed Albatross
A 20 knot wind kicked up rough seas which made observations and photography difficult, but resulted in a good mix of birds.
Black-footed Albatross are always found from this trip and we saw about 50 on this day. There was a mix of young birds with a dark upper rump, and adult birds with a white upper rump and more extensive white on the face.
Sooty Shearwaters are one of the world’s most abundant seabirds, numbering in the millions, and they were numerous. However, at this time of year they were outnumbered by Northern Fulmar which comes in a number of plumages. In the west they are mostly dark and intermediate.
Good numbers of Pink-footed Shearwaters were present, a species which breeds on islands off the coast of Chile and migrates in great numbers throughout the Pacific. Small numbers of Buller’s Shearwater made there way past, a very elegant looking bird.
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel were seen although numbers were small, as expected at this time of year.
Jaegers commonly made passes by the boat, both Pomarine and Parasitic .
A selection of sea mammals were seen, the stars being 3 Sperm Whales. Pacific White-sided Dolphin and Harbor Porpoise came along side as well.
This trip was operated by The Bird Guide, who run a very professional operation. It was run in September/2007.
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The Common Diving-Petrel, Pelecanoides urinatrix, is one of four members of the Diving-Petrel family, all small fish eating birds found in the southern hemisphere.
It ranges widely including Australia, New Zealand, the Falklands, and the Magellanic straits of Argentina and Chile. This image was taken in the Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego.
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The Magellanic Diving-Petrel, Pelecanoides magellani, is one of four members of its family. It is similar in appearance to the Auks of the Northern Hemisphere, a case of convergent evolution fueled by the fact that both groups are ocean dwelling fish eaters.
This image was taken in the Beagle Channel, Tierra Del Fuego.
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The Laysan Albatross, Phoebastria immutabilis, is an uncommon and exciting sighting on pelagic trips from the U.S. Pacific coast. It is easily told from the darker more common, Black-footed Albatross, Phoebastria nigripes.
Click below for a view of a fledgling’s first flight
It’s main breeding area is in the Hawaiian Islands of Midway and Laysan, but has also breed on islands near Mexico and Japan.
See information on the Albatross facing extinction
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Cape Petrel, Daption capense
The Cape Petrel, Daption capense, is one of the most distinctively plumaged of the Petrel family. They have also been known as the Pintato Petrel. They breed and roam widely in the southern oceans.
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The Parasitic Jaeger, Stercorarius parasiticus, also known as the Arctic Skua in Europe, breed on tundra and moors from the high arctic down to the Orkney and Shetland Islands.
As well as following the family habit of harassing other birds for their food, they also prey on lemmings and other rodents.
They come in different color morphs, and generally, pairs are of different morphs as they pair show above.
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