Murphy's Petrel, Parakeet Auklet chase trip: May 5

Today's Portland Audubon Rare Bird Alert noted:

An April 17 offshore boat trip about 45 miles off 
Central and southern Oregon found seven MURPHY'S PETRELS, 
two COOK'S PETRELS, 18 PARAKEET AUKLETS, and a HORNED 
PUFFIN among more regular species.

These species were seen from a cruise ship, as we are learning is typical far offshore from mid-April to mid-May. We already have a 10 hour pelagic trip set up for May 5th. Even with this slower charter fishing boat, we can still reach 45 miles offshore and spend over an hour there in a 10 hour trip. 

One of the Murphy's Petrels was off Lane County and one off Lincoln County in the 2 hours the cruise ship was off these counties late in the evening (eBird data). Most of the good birds from the Rare Bird Alert were seen about noon in southern Oregon, only 20 miles offshore, but still in 500 fathoms of water (3000 feet deep), as the cruise ship traveled on the 125 degree W longitude line.

Our pelagic trip is in Lincoln County quite near the Lane County border. It was originally scheduled to chum for seabirds 25 miles off Newport, then head southwest 15 miles to 32 miles off Yachats, staying on the edge of the shelf where seabirds are most abundant. However, with this report, I have decided to chase the Murphy's Petrels and Parakeet Auklets by heading 45 miles straight off Newport to 500 fathoms and spending an hour in "cruise ship lane" waters there. We still expect to see all of the species from our original schedule, except for nearshore species (we'll forgo Marbled Murrelet search near shore, for example).

No guarantees, of course, but Parakeet Auklets are probably better viewed from the smaller boat. We have been out during this time on charter boats without seeing Murphy's or Cook's Petrels or Parakeet Auklets (we have seen Horned Puffins). But usually we only go 25-30 miles offshore to the edge of the shelf at 100-200 fathoms. The cruise ships always stay pretty close to 45 miles offshore from Newport. So we don't really know how close these birds may be. We'll spend pretty close to 5 hours in slope waters of 100-500 fathoms.

I'd make this a 12 hour trip, but we only have 10 passengers right now (16 is break-even to pay for just the boat for 10 hours). But if we can get 5 more passengers I'll bump the hours up to 12. We'll still be going at a loss, but for 2 more hours of deep water birding, I think it's worth it! Cost will remain at $150 per person whether or not we decide to go for 10 or 12 hours. I have to let the charter know right away if I want to change the length, so contact me soon if you want to attend.

As always, sea conditions (wave height and spacing) play a big role on whether the trip even departs. Last week we had excellent seas. This week is a bit rough, which would probably keep us from traveling fast enough to get out as far as we wish. The forecast for next Monday (4 days ahead--as far as NOAA predicts--and mostly unreliable) looks good again.

Other species to expect: Black-footed and perhaps Laysan Albatrosses, Sooty, Pink-footed and perhaps Manx, Short-tailed, and Flesh-footed Shearwaters, Fork-tailed and perhaps Leach's Storm-Petrels, Parasitic, Pomarine, and Long-tailed Jaegers, Red and Red-necked Phalaropes, perhaps Arctic and Common Terns, Sabine's Gull, Rhinoceros and Cassin's Auklets, perhaps Tufted Puffins, perhaps Ancient Murrelets.

Again, Saturday, May 5, $150 per person, 10-12 hours departing at 7 AM from Newport Tradewinds. Sign up on The Bird Guide's pelagic page: http://thebirdguide.com/pelagics/

"Winter" pelagic trip: March 10, 2012

Winter seas off Oregon are frequently too rough for pelagic trips. Fortunately, though, winter birds continue into spring.

So, such winter specialties such as LAYSAN ALBATROSSES, SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATERS, and ANCIENT MURRELETS are regular in March, when seas average a bit calmer.

March is also the peak of abundance of BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES and RHINOCEROS AUKLETS.

Several rare species have also been found in March, including SHORT-TAILED ALBATROSSES, FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATERS, MANX SHEARWATERS, and HORNED PUFFINS.

So, our first trip of the year is a "winter" trip on Saturday, March 10, 2012.

Since 2001, we've scheduled 11 trips in March. Of those, two trips weathered-out, and one trip was shortened due to rough seas. That's a success rate of about 77%, which isn't that different from our September and October success rates.

Here are the frequencies and high numbers for the target species in March:

Species	Frequency	High number
Short-tailed Albatross	22%	1
Laysan Albatross	78%	8
Short-tailed Shearwater	78%	10
Flesh-footed Shearwater	33%	1
Manx Shearwater	22%	2
Black-legged Kittiwake	100%	225
Ancient Murrelet	67%	33
Rhinoceros Auklet	100%	500
Horned Puffin	22%	7

April has more birds overall, as migration starts up. But SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER is significantly less likely in April as compared to March. Nevertheless, you may want to consider our April 7, 2012 trip as having a good chance for several of the winter specialties, too. Visit The Bird Guide, Inc.'s web page to sign up for this pelagic trip.

ABA Pelagic Directory 2012

For many years the January/February issue of Winging It, the newsletter of the American Birding Association, was entirely dedicated to listing North American pelagic trips and schedules. In recent years they moved the pelagic directory to the ABA web site.

I received news recently that the ABA will not produce a pelagic directory in 2012. They may bring it back in 2013. So, what to do?

Well, I invite all pelagic trip providers, bird clubs, or individuals, to list their trips and contact info in the comments section below.

In addition, here are the web sites for major NA providers:

The Bird Guide Oregon--that's us!
Westport Seabirds Washington State
Shearwater Journeys Monterey and California
Monterey Seabirds Monterey
SoCalBirding.com Southern California and Baja
Seabirding North Carolina with Brian Patteson
See Life Paulagics New York, New Jersey, Delaware

What pelagic trips will you attend this year?

Our 2012 pelagic trip schedule is posted and ready for signup!

Use the seabird abundance bar chart to determine when your target birds are most likely, then choose from these pelagic trips from Oregon:

March 10, 8 hours from Newport
April 7, 8 hours from Newport
May 5, 10 hours from Newport
July 21, 8 hours from Newport
August 11, 12 hours from Newport
August 25, 5 hours from Charleston
September 15, 8 hours from Newport
October 6, 10 hours from Newport
October 20, 8 hours from Newport

Visit our web site for more details and sign up for our pelagic trips.

Oregon charter boats: fishers versus bird watchers

Recently I queried Janess Eilers about the number of charter fishing boats in Oregon. Eilers is the Registration Operations & Policy Analyst for the Oregon State Marine Board, who is responsible for licensing charter boats.

In March 2011 there were 243 licensed charter vessels in Oregon. Of these, 210 were "6 packs," smaller vessels carrying 6 or fewer people and not requiring Coast Guard inspection. That leaves 33 larger Coast Guard inspected vessels.

Birders use only 3 of the larger boats for pelagic birding on less than 10 days out of the year. That seems insignificant compared to the total number of boats available and the total number of trip days available on all those boats in a year.

According to the 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation there were 30.0 million US anglers (age 16 or over, 75% male, 92% white) of which 5.3 million (17.7%) fished salt water from boats. These salt water boat fishers averaged over 11 days fishing at sea during the year.

Of the wildlife watchers in the US, 88% watched birds. Of these, 19.9 million watched birds more than 1 mile away from their homes (age 16 or over, 54% female, 93% white).

Locally, Oregon had 483,000 fishers (16% of population). If Oregon's average is the same as the US in total, then about 85,330 fished from a boat in the ocean. At an average of 11 trips per year, charter boats carried nearly 950,000 people fishing in Oregon in 2006.

Oregon also had 675,000 away-from-home wildlife watchers. If the US average of 88% of these being bird watchers applies to Oregon, then there were approximately 594,000 bird watchers in Oregon in 2006.

So many interesting things to say about these numbers....

But for now, I want to tie it to charter boats and fishers versus pelagic birders.

The number of bird watchers joining chartered birding boat trips at sea off Oregon is no more than 250 persons per year. That includes about 20 people who take 2-3 trips each year.

So, there are about 20% more bird watchers than fishers, yet in one year, fishers take just shy of a million ocean boat fishing trips in Oregon, while birders take 250.

Obviously, there is a tremendous difference in the participation rate of going to sea in boats between the two groups (3800:1).

Why?

Seabirds from boats

Marbled Murrelet, from a boat off Newport, Oregon on 21 February, 2009 by Greg Gillson.

 

Last week's post discussed a seawatch--viewing seabirds from shore. In it, I showed views of seabirds as they would appear using binoculars and spotting scopes.

In last week's post we "magnified" a pair of Red-necked Grebes about a half mile offshore. In the magnified view--a view as would be seen with a spotting scope--we discovered another small speck of a bird that I identified as a Marbled Murrelet in flight.

Over time, a dedicated seawatcher may see many of the Pacific Northwest's oceanic birds. However, many seabirds would be just specks--even with a spotting scope. Without closer-range experience, one would not be able to learn the distinctive flight characteristics that would help identify some birds. And many seabirds rarely come near land off the Pacific NW.

The only way to see these birds better, in the Pacific Northwest, is to board a boat.

Boats do present some logistic challenges: route, instability, expense, and mal de mar (seasickness).

Unless you own your own seaworthy craft, the only way to get the boat to go bird watching is to charter it. Chartering a vessel in the Pacific NW may cost $750 for a small boat ("six-pack," which carries 6 persons on a 20-30 foot boat) or a larger Coast Guard certified vessel that may carry 20-30 passengers on a boat 40-55 feet long for a rate of about $2500 per day. Sharing the cost among the participants is a way to make such a trip affordable--but usually can't be done on the spur of the moment.

In the Pacific Northwest, the only two regular providers of seabirds watching trips by boat, or "pelagic trips," are Westport Seabirds in Washington State and The Bird Guide in Oregon. Shearwater Journeys operates out of California (primarily Monterey area) with some trips in northern California. There are a couple other providers (often Audubon Societies and dedicated individuals) that offer pelagic trips from Monterey south to San Diego.

Only the larger boats are Coast Guard certified to travel beyond 20 miles of shore--out to the albatrosses and several other more oceanic species. Thus, a dedicated group pelagic trip on a large boat is the most direct way for an individual to view seabirds. A full-day trip may cost $150 per person.

On such a trip, many birds will still be distant. But unlike on a land-based seawatch, you can get closer with the boat. A chartered pelagic birding trip is designed to go where the birds are. During the day, chances are good that you will see thousands of seabirds, many at very close range. On your first such trip you are likely to add 15-20 life birds--species you've never seen before!

Because the boat bobs on the waves, a birder on a regular pelagic trip cannot use a scope and tripod--binoculars are required. Of course, bobbing up and down looking through binoculars is not easy on your equilibrium, leading to queasiness (or worse) for some people. Despite these challenges, a pelagic trip is the best way to see seabirds. They are timed for the best birding and led by expert seabird guides intent on showing you seabirds and helping you to identify them.

 

Happy birders encounter fishing vessels trailing thousands of seabirds (albatrosses, shearwaters, fulmars, jaegers, petrels, and other birds, not to mention whales and dolphins!) on a pelagic trip off Newport, Oregon on 31 May 2003 by Greg Gillson.

 

There are a few options besides a scheduled pelagic trip. These options are less certain than a pelagic trip--you may not see any birds worth mentioning. Or worse--you see lots of birds just a few hundred feet away but the boat won't travel toward them so you can identify them, because... it is not a birding trip. More important, you'll often have to identify the birds yourself.

1) Whale watching trip: From certain ports on the West Coast, specifically at Newport and Depoe Bay on the central Oregon coast, local fishing charters lead out trips to view Gray Whales at $20 per person. These trips will often be right along shore, though in winter they may go out 5 miles. These trips last an hour or two. Gray Whales and Marbled Murrelets feed on the sandy bottom and are often seen together. You might see a Rhinoceros Auklet, Tufted Puffin, or Northern Fulmar. You may see nothing, not even a whale.

2) Bottom or salmon fishing trip: "Deep sea fishing" is not done in the deep sea. Boats rarely go out more than 3 miles for bottom fishing, often less than one mile to "inner reefs." However, if you want to join fishing friends for 4 hours, you can often get a 1/2 fare for non-fishing passenger, or about $35. These won't see any more than on a whale watch trip, but are offered from more ports. Expect lots of cormorants, murres, and Pigeon Guillemots, and probably some Marbled Murrelets and maybe some other nearshore pelagic birds and harbor porpoises.

3) Halibut or tuna fishing trip: These trips go out 20-40 miles and take you into albatross waters. However, once there you are likely either to sit in one place or troll round and round in a small area. These trips are 12-18 hours, cost about $350 per person, and usually do not allow non-fishing passengers. If you like to fish, this can be a great trip. However, there may be hours at a time with no birds whatsoever. The best birds are often seen on the trip out and back, which may be at dawn and dusk. Halibut trips such as these are offered only May and August. The tuna trips are July to early September.

4) Cruise ship repositioning trips: Lasting 3-4 days, these trips on luxury ocean liners are surprisingly affordable ($200). They travel out at 60 miles, beyond large numbers of birds, including albatrosses--out where any bird could be a mega-rare petrel or other seabird. Great whales are often spotted. A 3-day cruise will cost you far less than 3 regular one-day pelagic trips (especially if you include travel, motel, and food for 3 days). You'll have to come up with a bus ($75) or rental car from Vancouver, British Columbia and a flight from either San Francisco ($170) or Long Beach, California. So, maybe $550 per person (from Portland, Oregon), double-occupancy, in a lower-class room. Advantages of a cruise ship include a bed if you get tired, food is included in the price, and you can set up your spotting scope on the deck. You usually bird from a covered deck on about the 7th floor of the bow. In many ways, this is like a seawatch. For the past several years small groups of birders have been arranging these trips--so you may find a trip with other expert seabirders to help spot and identify birds.

This post is co-published on the Pacific NW Birder blog.

2011 ABA Pelagic Directory

The 2011 ABA Pelagic Directory is now available online as a pdf.

In years past this directory was published in the January Winging It newsletter, and mailed to all ABA members. However, for the past couple of years it has been online only.

This issue is very nice, listing 49 pelagic opportunities around North America--from Nova Scotia to Florida, and California to Alaska. It is "decorated" with some amazing seabird and marine mammal photos, along with a couple of boat photos.

One of the photos is the one above of a Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel I took on September 11, 2010 off Newport, Oregon.

Non-consumptive Ocean Recreation

Happy pelagic birders. Photographed at Perpetua Bank off Newport, Oregon May 31, 2003 by Greg Gillson.

Chris Eardley at Oregon State University is working on "non-consumptive" recreational ocean use questionnaire. This study may be used to understand pelagic birding as it relates to access to and importance of Marine Important Bird Areas or future Marine Reserves. It is likely that very few policy-makers know about pelagic birding. Here's your chance to explain its importance to such decision makers.

Chris writes:

A first-of-its-kind study in the state, Oregon State University is conducting research focusing on the “non-consumptive” ocean recreational users of Oregon-including divers, surfers, kite boarders, windsurfers, boaters/sailors, kayakers, and boat-based nature viewers. The project hopes to better understand these communities in learning about their needs, perspectives, composition, and contributions. Presently, there is a void in available information on these groups.

The information gathered will be used to create a profile of these recreational communities to potentially serve as a foundation for informing policy decisions. This project seeks to ensure that the present void in information on these “non-consumptive” recreational ocean users is filled to facilitate their representation in future decision-making regarding Oregon’s oceans.

As a stakeholder of Oregon’s ocean resources, your participation is highly valued. Participation in the study is voluntary, limited to Oregon residents over the age of 18, and will involve the completion of a mail questionnaire. Help us to serve you!

To participate please contact Chris Eardley, an Oregon State University graduate student, at ceardley@coas.oregonstate.edu. Please mention which ocean recreational group(s) you belong to and provide your mailing address for receiving the questionnaire.

All information gathered will be presented as a whole, in a summarized form. We will not seek any sensitive information, no identities will be made public, and mailing information will not be shared with third parties.

Let's work together.

New half-day pelagic trip from Newport, Oregon!

Tufted Puffin, a target species on our new half-day pelagic trips. Photographed off Newport, Oregon August 10, 2008 by Greg Gillson.

This spring we inaugurate a new half-day pelagic trip from Newport, Oregon.

The first trip is Saturday, April 3, 2010.

The second trip is Sunday, May 16, 2010.

Designated as a Manx Shearwater search trip, this exciting nearshore trip will spend time getting good looks at all of Oregon's breeding alcids, as well as swing out a few miles to study flocks of shearwaters.

Common Murres, Pigeon Guillemots, Marbled Murrelets, Cassin's Auklets, Rhinoceros Auklets, and Tufted Puffin are expected on every trip as we cruise just offshore along the scenic Oregon coast.

Marbled Murrelet, a federally threatened, but locally common, nearshore species. Photographed off Newport, Oregon February 21, 2009 by Greg Gillson.

Besides these target species we expect several loons, grebes, scoters, cormorants, and sea ducks, in season. Marine mammals should include California and Steller's sea lions, harbor seals, harbor porpoises, and gray whales. On-board guides will point out birds and explain identification and natural history of both birds and mammals.

But wait! We're not finished! After a couple of hours traveling along shore we swing out several miles in search of flocks of shearwaters. Sooty Shearwaters, Pink-footed Shearwaters, and Northern Fulmars are expected on every trip. Short-tailed Shearwaters (spring) and Buller's Shearwaters (fall) are also expected, in season. Common Terns, Pomarine and Parasitic Jaegers, and possibly Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels can be expected from time to time.

The target bird, whether along shore or a bit farther out, is the rare Manx Shearwater. This common Atlantic species has been seen along the North American West Coast the past 15-20 years. In recent years Oregon has averaged over 6 birds per year spotted from shore. We expect to have a very good chance of spotting this species by boat from April-May and September-October off the central Oregon coast. This trip spends its entire time in prime Manx Shearwater habitat.

Oregon's first photographically documented Manx Shearwater (right), and a Short-tailed Shearwater (left). Photographed off Newport, Oregon March 1, 2003 by Steve Shunk.

This trip has abundant birds in view at all times. This leisurely trip is suitable for first-time ocean birders, the budget conscious, nature photographers, and rarity searchers.

The trip departs at 7:00 a.m. and returns to port at noon. Cost is $85 per person.

Find out more and sign up on The Bird Guide's pelagic web site.

Oregon Seabirds

Black-footed Albatross.

Greetings!

Welcome to The Bird Guide Inc.'s pelagic blog on Oregon and West Coast seabirds. I have been meaning to start this blog for some months, and now unemployment has given me some free time!

The Bird Guide, Inc. started offering guided ocean birding boat trips off Oregon in 1994.

This blog will take the place of the Oregon Seabirds mailing list I created to communicate with our regular pelagic trip participants. Planned topics include trip announcements and results, of course, but also West Coast seabird status and distribution articles.

A note I received from recent trip guests Marti and Lew Ligocki requested more ID information. Of course, while we're on the boat, our guides attempt to teach ID of the birds we're seeing. The Ligocki's wished for more comparative plumage discussions in a class the night before the trip or on a CD.

Good ideas, but I thought that a blog format could accomplish the same instruction but start right away and keep on giving! It's less initial work and there's no need for it ever to end!

One other thing I wanted to add to this blog is finding certain target land birds on the central Oregon coast. Visitors are always asking about where to find Rock Sandpiper, Wandering Tattler, Harlequin Duck, Wrentit, Hermit Warbler, and other local birds from shore before and after the trip. Additionally, sometimes trips do weather-out. So having alternative land-based birding plans are always a wise precaution.