Trip results: Perpetua Bank, October 2, 2010

http://thebirdguide.com/pelagics/archive/10022010.htm

Saturday, October 2, 2010
11 hours Perpetua Bank trip
From Newport, Oregon, offshore to 32 miles, south 10 miles to Perpetua Bank chum stop, then port

Seas: Fair; mild winds.

Boat: Misty
Captain Robert Waddell
Newport Tradewinds Charter

The Bird Guide, Inc.
http://thebirdguide.com/

Guides: Greg Gillson, Tim Shelmerdine, Russ Namitz

We had a fun trip offshore from Newport this past Saturday. This was the final pelagic trip of the year.

Highlights include a couple of ANCIENT MURRELETS nearshore on both outgoing and returning segments of our trip. For the second trip in a row, we've had FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATERS come into our chum slick. On this day, one bird to each slick, about 15 miles (and over an hour) apart. Four SOUTH POLAR SKUAS and a flock of about 400 FORK-TAILED STORM-PETRELS were nice.

My photos of this trip are at: http://www.pbase.com/gregbirder/20101002_pelagic

There aren't too many bird photos; 5 of the 11 photos are breaching HUMPBACK WHALES! Skies were overcast for most of the day, making viewing conditions excellent in all directions, but making for dull photography...

Species list:

Northern Pintail 20
Green-winged Teal 2
Greater Scaup 1
Surf Scoter 139
White-winged Scoter 33
Red-breasted Merganser 3
Red-throated Loon 1
Pacific Loon 3
Common Loon 18
Red-necked Grebe 1 (bay)
Western Grebe 10
Black-footed Albatross 39
Northern Fulmar 37
Pink-footed Shearwater 111
Flesh-footed Shearwater 2
Buller's Shearwater 21
Sooty Shearwater 50
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel 400
Brown Pelican 36
Brandt's Cormorant 46
Double-crested Cormorant 35 (bay)
Pelagic Cormorant 72
Red-necked Phalarope 99
Red Phalarope 16
Sabine's Gull 21
Heermann's Gull 4
Mew Gull 2 (bay)
Western Gull 48
California Gull 155
Herring Gull 6
Glaucous-winged Gull 3 (bay)
Common Tern 1
South Polar Skua 4
Pomarine Jaeger 12
Parasitic Jaeger 16
Common Murre 60
Pigeon Guillemot 6
Marbled Murrelet 4
Ancient Murrelet 5
Cassin's Auklet 60
Rhinoceros Auklet 40
Tufted Puffin 2

Ocean Sunfish 10
Humpback Whale 4
Gray Whale 1
Harbor Porpoise 1
Dall's Porpoise 8
Pacific White-sided Dolphin 8
Steller's Sea Lion 8
California Sea Lion 10 (plus 100+ on breakwater in bay)
Harbor Seal 3 (bay)
Northern Fur Seal 1