La Jolla Cove, March 25-28

There is still a large congregation of birds about 1.5 miles offshore from Pt. La Jolla.
Mostly gulls, pelicans and cormorants.
They start arriving around 7:00, from the south.
Not as many birds as 3 weeks ago, but still impressive. Maybe 4000 total.
Sometimes portions of the flock come close to shore, if the wind is onshore.
Especially so when it switches to onshore in the afternoon.

Bonaparte’s gulls are the most common species, numbering about 2000-2500.
Still hundreds of black-vented shearwaters.
A few boobies join the flock every morning.

Numbers of elegant terns migrating north have increased exponentially in the past few days.

In non-avian news, since a number of cetacean biologists are on this listserv:
There is a large dead whale of undetermined species, quite ripe-looking and covered with gulls, floating about 2 miles offshore at the outer edge of La Jolla Canyon.
From my bench, it was more or less in line with the 2-mile buoy to the north.

Stan Walens, San Diego
March 28, 2019; 8:20 am
Source: SanDiegoRegionBirding Latest Reports