#392 Most boring offshore trip ever! [almost]

Was on the Hornblower today. The swells were quite close together [6 seconds], making for a pretty unpleasant trip, but the wind waves were small, so it was possible to look for alcids.
Maybe the high pressure coming in will help the seas settle down; it’s been miserable out there.

There was NOTHING offshore. Once we got away from the inshore gulls, terns and pelicans, the ocean was devoid of bird life.
According to the captain, we travelled a distance of 27 miles, from Pt. Loma to off of Del Mar and back. Got 8 miles offshore.
For long periods, there was not a single bird of any kind in sight.
We came across 4 large pods of common dolphins. Plenty of terns and pelicans around them, but a grand total of 4 black-vented shearwaters and 1 sooty shearwater.
No other tubenoses the entire morning. No storm-petrels.
3 Scripps’s murrelets were the first and only alcids I’ve seen offshore on these whale-watching trips this past month.
No whales.

On the way back in, we had to detour pretty far south to get around the kelp bed and re-enter the harbor.
An adult Masked/Nazca Booby was perched on the outermost red navigation buoy, too far away to see bill color well, but looking pretty pale-billed.

Stan Walens, San Diego
July 10, 2023; 2:15 pm