Kay and I took off for Southern California on Thursday Oct 9^th with plans to visit Santa Cruz Island the next morning, followed by a visit with family and me sneaking away for a pelagic trip out of San Diego on the Sunday of the weekend.  It worked out about as well as we could have hoped, with great weather, obliging target species and calm seas.

Santa Cruz Island Fox

We flew to LAX and met Kay’s brother Keith and sister Mary and took off for Ventura where the Island Packer’s boat ride for Santa Cruz Island was scheduled to leave at 9AM the next morning.  We checked ahead to assure that we would leave, given that much of the traffic on the boat trip usually go to the National Park on Santa Cruz Island which was closed due to the government shut-down.  Fortunately Prisoner’s Cove where the endemic Santa Cruz scrub jay is most easily found, and where we were booked to land is on Nature Conservancy land and the trip was still on.  Even better without the extra stops the boat captain obligingly extended the ride to cruise past Anacapa Island where Blue-footed boobies were roosting regularly on the cliffs.  On the trip over we got to see lots of Black-vented shearwaters, good numbers of Pink-footed shearwaters but no murrelets. We were thrilled to find 16 immature BFBO on the cliffs with lots of cormorants, pelicans and gulls.  At least two were mature enough to have blue feet giving great looks to all of us.

On to Santa Cruz Island, where the Santa Cruz Scrub Jays were easily found, studied and photographed.

Island Scrub Jay

We had about 3 hours on the island and due to the National Park closure the usual hike on their land was inaccessible.  Graciously the Nature Conservancy agreed to allow us to hike onto their property, usually off-limits, and we had chances to see the endemic subspecies of Santa Cruz bewick’s wren, song sparrow, and fox.  The fox was especially obliging.  It is a tiny fox, just 6 lbs, and was not bashful at all, seeming very habituated to visitors.

Keith joined me Sunday on the San Diego 12 hour deep water pelagic trip. You would never confuse this with a Westport deep water trip.  Skies were sunny, seas 2-3 foot swells, and nary a single passenger added to the steady stream of popcorn chum off the stern.  The price of $60 was also wonderfully low.  The Sea and Sage Audubon Society sponsored the trip, and did a great job.  We traveled through several habitats, and found lots to see all day long.  On the way out well within sight of shore Black-vented shearwaters dominated, with Red-necked phalaropes common and Western Gulls adult and all ages along with Heermann’s gulls the dominant larids.  At the 9 mile bank, about 12.3 miles out of San Diego (why not 12 mile bank?) we had good numbers of Pink-footed shearwaters and the Black-vented thinned out.  The only alcids were numerous Cassin’s Aucklets.  On the 2 hour ride out to the 30 mile bank we were busy looking at less frequent Pink-footed shearwaters, lots of Northern Fulmars of all color morphs, and in incredible number of Pomerine Jaegers. I estimated 70+ for the day.  One Parasitic Jaeger was seen early in the trip, before getting to the 9-mile bank if I remember correctly.

Light Morph Northern Fulmar

Shortly prior to the 30 mile bank the trip leader got us on a white bird on the water, which was flushed up by a Pomerine Jaeger.  It was an adult Red-billed Tropicbird and put on a great show being harassed for several minutes by the jaeger.  It flew in front of the boat, away into the distance ahead and high into the sky, then circled back directly in front of us and past the bow again, all the while in aerial acrobatics.  Later on the 30 mile bank we had distant looks at small numbers of Black Storm-petrels and Least Storm-petrels at a feeding flock on some floating dead fish material.

Lot’s of fulmars and Pink-footed shearwaters were joining the flock. On the ride in we had the only  Black-footed Albatross fly past the boat, and then in the San Diego trough had the jackpot of the trip, the first Great Shearwater record in S California waters.  This bird gave us great looks and photographs by all.

Black Storm-petrels

After a good night sleep Kay and I celebrated our 29^th anniversary on Monday by going out to a nice breakfast at Huntington Beach Central Park, before we ventured out to add Nutmeg Mannikin to our ABA list since it was added to the listable birds last month.

Nutmeg Mannikin Huntington Beach Central Park

A great trip with 7 lifers for me.