LIFERS AHOY!

Gulls and Gannets against a bright blue beats yesterday's cold gray sky

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday the air was frigid and the snow was flying. Contrarywise, today was bright and sunny - and I found my parka – on the rental car floor, where it had wickedly disguised itself to look like carpet. Aw shut up - it could have happened to you too if you had a rental car and couldn't figure out how to turn on the knobless interior lights.

It was a different day birdwise too. Whereas yesterday the birds seemed as cold and forlorn as we did, today loads of bird species were out and about, showing off. A huge flock of gulls as we maneuvered out of the harbor hid a Little Gull, a species I’ve only ever seen at the Hudson Bay in Manitoba.

The Little Gull I saw had the same
sooty underwings as this little beauty

I stared at gulls and gannets, and finally, to make my life easier, I asked a guide to point out a Lesser-blacked Back Gull when one showed up – and happily, one did. The bird didn’t look radically different from other gulls, but I know I’ll always be able to recognize them, at least in winter plumage.

My 'lifer' Lesser Black-backed Gull

There were also Greater Black-backed Gulls, which I enjoyed getting some decent shots of. These were not lifers but they certainly were handsome, dark mantled gulls.

Greater Black-backed Gull
A second lifer for the day winged its way onto my life list – when a shout went up for a Great Skua, that shot by on the horizon quickly, but not too quickly for me to get in a few 'better-than-a-poke-in-the-eye' shots. Hurrah!


Fast moving Great Skua - LIFER!
We sailed along, enjoying the winging gulls and gannets, and the captain announced we were drawing near the Gulf Stream. I thought he could tell we were near it, based on our distance from the shore or some such. As it turned out, he could see the Gulf Stream - SEE IT! I was flummoxed – off in the distance I could spot the green ocean we sailed over, abruptly changing to a deep blue on the horizon. As the boat shot along, the blue grew closer and closer.


The indigo blue marked the start of the Gulf Stream

50% Gulf Stream and 50% regular green ocean
The Captain said the point of traveling all the way to the warm Gulf Stream was it ran up against the colder ocean water. That results in an upwelling of the cold water and all the nutrients carried within. That reminded of one of the best Pelagic trips I ever made near the Farallon Islands off San Francisco. There was an upwelling of cold water there too, which meant dozens of Humpback and Blue Whales feeding on the up welling of krill, plankton and nutrients.

We were quickly rewarded for the long slodge from shore - tiny little black & white Dovkies, pelagic alcids, smaller than robins, darted up off the water surface as we approached. Yes. A lifer. WHOOO HOOOO!


At last, Dovekies!A solitary Dovkie flutters along
There were dozens of little Dovkies, in tiny groups of two or three 'working' the zone between the green Atlantic and blue Gulf Stream waters, where food was plentiful. The captain said he saw an Audubon's Shearwater too, but it was so far off in the distance I couldn't even get in a glimpse of it.

There were other surprises too, a sea turtle - and a Manta Ray, that floated just below the surface, like a shadowy ghost.

The underwater specter is a Manta Ray
It seemed we no sooner arrived at the exciting Gulf Stream, than it was time to turn about and head back to shore. I totally wish some sea captain on the Hatteras Coast could be convinced to run overnight birding trips in the manner of the Pacific San Diego's Searcher. How fun would it be to be able to just lob out the chum and relax watching the Gulf waters as dusk approaches? Oh well! Maybe some day such a trip will be offered and I'll have the energy, money and enthusiasam to enjoy it.

Before I knew it, we were headed back into the harbor. Brants, floated about, giving me one last chance for a few crap photos.

Brants, Sea Geese

Really, I could use another dozen trips off the Hatterass, and hopeful those will happen in the next year or two. Cross my fingers! The day after tomorrow it's back to Sac o' tomatoes. Bugger.

First Day off the Hatteras Coast

The weather, as I wish it was that first day off the Hatteras Coast
I've had my heart set on a Atlantic Pelagic trips for many years. So when I woke in the pre-dawn hours in my Hatteras North Carolina motel room, I was very excited. I wasn't put off by the sound of rain beating on pavement outside. I could hear the wind too, and I supposed this morning's winds were the sort that helped get the Wright brother aloft.

Still, when I stood under the awning of a small closed shop, on the dock with several other birds an hour later, I was uneasy. Everyone else was far better clothed than I was - and no wonder! I was only wearing my down parka lining. I had no clue where or what happened to my parka shell. I had spent a good 20 minutes hunting for it before leaving the motel, but my beautiful navy blue parka was nowhere to be found. For all I knew it was back in the Raleigh motel I had stayed in on my first night in North Carolina.

Wet, Cold, Bundled birders, and HAPPY to be there!
The other thing I was thinking, was "I hope today's Saturday trip is canceled". I suspect that's what most of the other shivering birders was thinking too. The reasoning was, not only was it a particularly cold, windy and rainy Saturday, but the Pattenson's game plan was for 2 scheduled birding trips taken over a span of 3 days - Saturday, Sunday and if necessary from a canceled weather canceled trip, Monday. So Monday is the 'just in case of crap weather' day. How could weather get much worse than today's overcast skies, wind and rain? If we skipped today's trip, we might just score better weather for Sunday and Monday.

Gray Skies later on that Saturday afternoon, Day I of the pelagics
No such luck! Our skipper and trip leader Pattenson said the trip was on. I suspected Pattenson wanted his Monday free, but what the heck - maybe the weather would grow worse Sunday and Monday, and today would be my only one shot at the birdy laden waters off North Carolina.

Soon we were headed out to sea. We all sat in the ensie cabin of the smallest pelagic vessel I've ever traveled on; the Stormy Petrel. The passengers stared at each other and chated from cold as much as conversation. There were no comfy dining tables as I've experienced on most of the pelagic trips I've taken - there was only a horse-shoe shaped bench with space underneath for stowing our gear. I didn't feel annoyed about the tiny space - it only made me realize how easy and spoiled we are in California. And more importantly than the size of the boat's interior was that we were not overloaded with passengers. I've been on Shearwater pelagics that were so jammed full of passengers I would often miss viewings of birds because there were so many birders we had to practically climb over each other to access a view.

I was shivering away, when I noticed whenever someone entered or left the cabin, a flurry of snow flakes blew in. It was snowing on the ocean! Well 'DUH'. I suppose I have spent my life not ever thing such a thing happens. Come on, how often are snowmen seen on the ocean?

A single, cruising Northern Gannet with gulls
Birdwise, I was cheered by the sight of hundreds and hundreds of Northern Gannets, which are snowy, showy white seabirds with goofy looking bills and a goofier squeals. They sound like airborne bathtub toys. Click on the video below to hear some mid-Atlantic birdie noise.


At one point when I dared to leave the warmth of the tiny cabin, there was a stowaway! Somehow a gannet managed to land on board. Poor little thing was rather pathetic in its over sized webbed feet. Finally a deck hand lady picked up the bird - being careful to hold that razor sharp beak shut, picked up the bird and lobbed it overboard. The bird flew away, not the worse for its ship side pelagic adventure.

The Stowaway
Gannets swarming like bees over a nearby vessel
Wet, the coldest I can ever remember being in my life, but damn it, I got one lifer for the day, a small ocean going bird with a Jimmy Durante schnoz, the Razorbill! We ran across several of the birds, and I was thrilled to see them.

a lifer species; Razorbill

Another little Razorbill
What the skies looked like on day I - as gray as the ocean waters
So day one of my 2 days of pelagic trips ended. Score one lifer bird, with a few crappy photos - the Razorbill. Will I add some lifers tomorrow? We'll see.

Proof that it snowed on that first day