Seabirds & Marine Mammals Tour Pelagic Trip Report:
Sunday, September 8, 2002
Newport, Lincoln Co., Oregon, nearshore
3-hours
Our nearshore Seabirds & Marine Mammals pelagic trip from Newport on Sunday enjoyed sunny skies and mirror-like seas. It was perfect for a nearshore pelagic trip and we recorded 70 HARBOR PORPOISES and numerous breeding and winter plumaged PIGEON GUILLEMOTS and MARBLED MURRELETS that are difficult to see in any kind of windy conditions that stir up the water. We encountered 2 GRAY WHALES, though the first disappeared near the Yaquina Head rocks and we couldn't find it again. We did see a pair of STELLER'S SEA LIONS there near Yaquina Head, though, so we saw all the expected nearshore marine mammals. One unique aspect of the calm conditions was idling the boat right at the end of the south jetty to observe 7 WANDERING TATTLERS, as well as SURFBIRDS and BLACK TURNSTONES.
Sunday, September 8, 2002 Seabirds & Marine Mammals tour Glassy seas 12:30-4:00 PM Common Loon 4 Red-throated Loon 3 Pacific Loon 1 Sooty Shearwater 35 Brown Pelican 3 Brandt's Cormorant 300 Pelagic Cormorant 100 Double-crested Cormorant 40 Harlequin Duck 2 Surf Scoter 60 White-winged Scoter 5 Black Turnstone 15 Surfbird 4 Wandering Tattler 7 Red-necked Phalarope 35 Bonaparte's Gull 1 Heermann's Gull 7 Mew Gull 4 California Gull 65 Western Gull 45 Glaucous-winged Gull 2 Common Murre 450 Pigeon Guillemot 45 Marbled Murrelet 35 Rhinoceros Auklet 7 Rock Dove 90 Gray Whale 2 Harbor Porpoise 70 Harbor Seal 6 California Sea Lion 70 Steller's Sea Lion 2back