Pelagic trip report:
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Perpetua Bank 10-hour pelagic trip
From Newport, Oregon, 40 nautical miles WSW, to 32 nautical miles offshore from Cape Perpetua.

Boat: Sea Venture I
Captain Steve

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

Guides: Greg Gillson, Tim Shelmerdine, Tom Snetsinger, Troy Guy


Marbled Murrelet. Photo by Robert Tizard

Wet, blowing fog in the morning gave way to sun about 10 miles from shore, but it was a cool, breezy, bumpy ride throughout the day.

Species variety and numbers were typical for late August, though there were no terns offshore all weekend, and Sabine's Gull numbers were very low. August specialties encountered included FORK-TAILED STORM-PETRELS, RED PHALAROPES, and LONG-TAILED JAEGERS. Alcid numbers were low, but we got the boat circled around the MARBLED MURRELETS, RHINOCEROS AUKLETS, and CASSIN'S AUKLETS for good views.

Marine mammal highlights included at least 4 HUMPBACK WHALES near the boat.

Here's the tally:

Common Loon 1
Red-throated Loon 1
Black-footed Albatross 40
Northern Fulmar 150
Pink-footed Shearwater 60
Sooty Shearwater 50
Buller's Shearwater 35
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel 15
Double-crested Cormorant 20
Brandt's Cormorant 50
Pelagic Cormorant 25
Brown Pelican 14
Osprey 2 (nest in marina)
Red-necked Phalarope 325 (about half were in the bay)
Red Phalarope 5
Pomarine Jaeger 2
Parasitic Jaeger 1
Long-tailed Jaeger 4
jaeger (sp.) 3
Heermann's Gull 20
California Gull 150
Western Gull 75
Glaucous-winged Gull 1
Sabine's Gull 4
Caspian Tern 1 (bay)
Common Murre 80
Pigeon Guillemot 25
Marbled Murrelet 4
Cassin's Auklet 15
Rhinoceros Auklet 15

Ocean Sunfish 5
California Sea Lion 250 (most on breakwater and docks in harbor)
Steller's Sea Lion 1 (onshore rock near Seal Rock)
Harbor Seal 10
Harbor Porpoise 14
Humpback Whale 4 (off Perpetua Bank)