Hornblower trip, July 22

An interesting trip. For much of the time as we headed out to the 9-Mile Bank, the ocean was devoid of any birds at all.
And of cetaceans.
The swell was small, but wind chop made the surface a mess. No alcids seen.

About 5 miles due west of the tip of Pt. Loma we came to our first tubenoses: a flock of 22-24 black-vented shearwaters, with 2 sooty shearwaters and 3 black storm-petrels in with them.
A couple more black storm-petrels as we headed west from that area.
Then nothing, nothing, nothing until we got out to the 9-Mile Bank.
It was still pretty birdless, but we picked up 26 pink-footed shearwaters, 8 more sooty shearwaters, and a small flock of 7-8 Leach’s storm-petrels, all but one of which were dark-rumped.

On the way back in, we found a raft of 22 pink-footed shearwaters sitting in the water about 8 miles offshore; 2 more sooties; 4 black storm-petrels, and 9 black-vented shearwaters.

This lack of birds was surprising, because a large number of shearwaters and a small number of storm-petrels, as well as hordes of common dolphins, are off of La Jolla Cove again.

Stan Walens, San Diego
July 22, 2019; 4:15 pm
Source: SanDiegoRegionBirding Latest Reports