Alex and I had planned on going on a pelagic trip while on the coast, but the one we wanted to go on was over-booked, and we were put on a waiting list. Instead we decided to go on a whale watching tour, where we knew we'd see at least a few pelagic birds!
We started the trip with over 400 common dolphins!
They surrounded the boat, and rode in its wake while jumping and even swimming upside down!
While the boat sped out to see at what felt like 400 miles an hour, Alex and I stayed out on deck to catch a glimpse of any bird we could see.
Sooty Shearwaters were the most common bird.
A few Pink-footed Shearwaters were floating on the water when the boat flushed them.
I didn't get any photos since I was hanging on for my life, but we managed to see Red-necked Phalaropes, Pigeon Guillemots, Leaches Storm Petrels, and Alex was able to photograph a Cassin's Auklet! See his photos here.
Out near San Miguel Island, we finally made it to where the blue wales were surfacing. We saw 6 total, 2 of which were calves! They were all HUGE!
blue wale spout
the back of a blue wale
This wale surfaced right next to the boat! Look how enormous its blow hole is!
A few times, the blue wales showed us their tails, which is uncommon for blues to
do. We were also looking for humpback wales, but didn't see any.
One of the wales had two calves! One took interest in the boat and floated
on its back, showing us its tail a few times, while the other stayed close to mom.
When we were about to leave, Alex and I spotted this bird off the bow of the boat. It
was a dark moprh Northern Fulmar! I've seen these birds on Skomer Island in Wales,
but only the light morphs, which are more common.
On our way back, Alex and I rode on the top deck of the boat for a different view. We saw a dark bird approaching, and got our cameras ready, thinking we were about to photograph some kind of dark gull. Instead, this Parasitic Jaeger cruised right by us, only about 20 feet above us!
Parasitic Jaeger as seen from the Condor Express
Even though we missed the official pelagic trip, we managed to see some great pelagic birds! The official trip had a great bird list! Hopefully we can do it next time we are in the area.
