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| A one, an' a two... ♪ Happy Birthday to you! ♪ |
Hey birdie! Turn around when you sing to me! Oh well. Today was a nice calm day on the ocean out of Half Moon Bay. Lots of good birds, and including the photo opt for Tufted Puffins I've ever had.
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My favorite sea birds though are Storm Petrels and today there three species seen. I only glimpsed an Ashy Storm Petrel but these were good looks of these other two species.
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| Black Storm Petrel |
There were a few Black Storm Petrels that have deep wing beats - which I'm starting to recognize but I need to see another few hundred of them for say... a month or two before I get it down pat.
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| Wilson's Storm Petrel |
This Wilson's Storm Petrel was far enough out I couldn't see it's white rump band through my binoculars, but it did show up in the photos I took. You can even see the pale secondaries.
The boat found a fishing boat that was surrounded by flocks of Sooty & Pink-footed Shearwaters, Black-footed Albatrosses and one lone Laysan Albatross.
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| The Laysan had true 'Betty Davis' eyes |
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| Check out those beautiful long wings |
I took it as a happy birthday treat that I got a sweet little 'Dall' for my birthday.
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| A genuine Dall - a Dall's Porpoise: one of a small group that shot by |
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| We passed a few Northern Fur Seals, out airing their flippers |
So it was an uneventful-ish pelagic trip but it was fun. Don and I made friends with a fellow birder named Anne on board. She too was on yesterday's and today's trip and I'm hoping we run across her in future again as I need all the birding buds I can get. Oh! And I always show the birds and mammals of these trips, but not often the others. Here's a Mola Mola - an ocean sunfish which are cool because they like to wave to everyone on the boat.
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| Waving Mola Mola fin |
Here is a video of some Mola Mola fish that look as though they were designed by
Terry Gilliam.
Today was a lovely Birthday. After the trip I drove back south to Barbara's house for another couple of days of totally unnecessary R&R. Why not? It's my birthday!
