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