San Diego offshore: 4 Craveri's, Sabine's, Reds, Ashies

On 11 June, Dave Povey and I ventured offshore for a half day, from Mission Bay, crossing the 9-Mile Bank and out for a quick check of the 30-Mile Bank. The largest numbers of birds were between the mainland and the inside of the 9-Mile. Four (2 pairs) Craveri's Murrelets were seen well, now seemingly regular by mid-June, but they would have seemed unthinkably early only five or so years ago. Ten of the 20 Ashy Storm-Petrels were only 1.5-2.4 nm off Mission Bay & Point Loma, in the same general "zone" as the daily several birds have been off La Jolla the past three weeks, strongly suggesting there are a bunch of Ashies this year up and down the south coast unusually very close to shore. Unseasonal for the second week of June was a Sabine's Gull and 3 basic-plumaged Red Phalaropes. Out of place for June was a Surf Scoter swimming in the ocean 5-1/2 miles out. Totals were:

Surf Scoter: 1

Red Phalarope: 3 (between 14.3 nm W Mission Bay and 20.1 nm W of Ocean Beach)

Sabine's Gull: 1 (23.7 nm W of Sunset Cliffs)

Western Gull: 10

Least Tern: 9 (all the way out to the 30-Mile Bank, as is typical)

Elegant Tern: 60

Craveri's Murrelet: 4 (2 were 11.2 nm W Mission Bay, and 2 were 20.1 nm W Ocean Beach)

murrelet sp.: 2

Cassin's Auklet: 80

Ashy Storm-Petrel: 20

Black Storm-Petrel: 85

Pink-footed Shearwater: 1 (low)

Sooty Shearwater: 280

Black-vented Shearwater: 50

Brown Booby: 1

Brown Pelican: 45

Brandt's Cormorant: 4

whales: 0

–Paul Lehman & Dave Povey, San Diegp
Source: SanDiegoRegionBirding Latest Reports