Trip Report - Feathers & Flukes, March 2024
Grey whale fluke, photo by Roger Adamson.
We got lucky with the weather on this one, catching a brief period of calm winds and calm seas between storm systems, and the marine life put on a great show. An out-ofseason Heermann’s Gull flew in before the Kraken had even left the dock. Heading out of Noyo Bay we soon found several Gray Whales moving north, and got some good looks as they came up for air and even did a little pectoral-fin waving at us. After that we headed farther out to look for birds, and for a time it seemed like maybe that was a mistake- the ocean was flat and blue and apparently empty, except for immense numbers of By-thewind Sailors (Velella velella), a small jellyfish.
At the upper Noyo Canyon, about eight miles offshore, things picked up. We spotted Gulls standing on a driftwood log, some of which were Black-legged Kittiwakes. These are a true “Sea Gull” in that they spend their entire lives at sea, even nesting on sea-cliffs. They let us get up close for good looks and many photographs. Nearby, an immature Glaucous-winged Gull was eating the Velella, an unusual sight.
After proceeding a couple more miles down the canyon we stopped and put out a fish-oil slick, which almost immediately drew multiple Blackfooted Albatrosses. Several of them circled the boat at close range before settling on the water to pick up our floating chum. At one point we counted nine Albatrosses in view at one time. That action in turn drew a number of Gulls, including a beautiful first-cycle Iceland (Thayer’s) Gull that posed for photos right off the stern. A distant Northern Fulmar did not come in to investigate the slick, as they usually do. Two birders spotted a very distant black-and-white Shearwater that may have been a rarity, but did not come close enough to identify.
While all that was holding our attention, our Captain spotted something breaking the surface a little farther out. That turned out to be a small pod of Pacific White-sided Dolphins. They were initially foraging but a few came over to play with the boat, riding the wave thrown off the bow, giving us a real thrill. That used up the last of our time and we ran back to the dock, where the Heermann’s Gull was still hanging around.
It was a very successful trip on a balmy day with better conditions than we had any reason to expect! Many thanks to Bob Keiffer, Roger Adamson, and Todd Easterla for helping people find and identify the birds; Sarah Grimes and Sarah Sundberg from the Noyo Center for helping us understand the mammals and other marine life; and Captain Richard Thornton for arranging the nice weather. We will continue looking for opportunities to do these kinds of trips to help people see and appreciate the wonders of our offshore marine ecosystem. To be notified of upcoming trips, email audubon@mcn.org and ask to be added to the pelagics list.
List of birds found, with many photographs, here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/208073
First published MCAS Black Oystercatcher April 2024
