Nov. 1, 2018 mini pelagic
Four of us did a boat tour out of Mission Bay, and out to the west then down across the Nine Mile Bank.
Still masses of birds, dolphin and small tuna on anchovies on the Nine Mile Bank. Incredible show. I'm not sure how long the
mass destruction of this much bait fish can go on. Seems to me it's been going on and off since spring. The numbers of birds
keeps increasing, though nothing out of the usual.
We did flush two murrelets among the many Cassin's Auklets on the inner edge of the San Diego Trough. Not see well
enough to I D. Likely left over Craveri's, but could not eliminate Guadalupe, or Scripps's.
Did have a Common Murre about six miles west of Mission Bay.
List of birds at sea unless noted;
Surf Scoter 60
Common Loon 9
loon sp. 3
Pink-footed Shearwater 7
Black-vented Shearwater 2000+
Brown Booby 4
Brandt's Cormorant 3
Pelagic Cormorant 1 ( Mission Bay )
Brown Pelican 35
Whimbrel 1 ( Mission Bay Jetties )
Spotted Sandpiper 2 ( Mission Bay Jetties )
Black Turnstone 4 (Mission Bay Jetty )
Surfbird 1 (Mission Bay Jetties )
Red Phalarope 5
Common Murre 1
murrelet sp. 2 ( Guadalupe/Scripps's/Craveri's )
Cassin's Auklet 107
lg. alcid sp. 1 ( very dark )
Bonaparte's Gull 10
Heermann's Gull 12
Western Gull 550
California Gull 65
Black Skimmer ( Mission Bay )
passerine sp. 2 ( one may have been junco )
Marine mammals ;
Common Dolphin
Pacific White-sided Dolphin
Risso's Dolphin
Bottle-nosed Dolphin
Harbor Seal
California Sea Lion
Dave Povey
Dulzura
Source: SanDiegoRegionBirding Latest Reports