San Diego pelagic trip, 4 Oct: TWO Red-footed Boobies, 9 Brown Boobies, light N. Fulmar

The Sunday, 4 October, San Diego pelagic trip aboard "Legacy" out of Mission Bay, and sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon Society, had very comfortable sea conditions but we "lost" almost three hours in the AM due to dense fog. The highlights were TWO different RED-FOOTED BOOBIES which both performed superbly circling the boat repeatedly (see photos in upcoming eBird reports), a good count of 9 Brown Boobies, a very light Northern Fulmar, and a somewhat early, adult Herring Gull. Totals for all species seen offshore (beyond two miles) were:

Red-necked Phalarope: 35

Red Phalarope: 8

Pomarine Jaeger: 1

Cassin's Auklet: 8

Sabine's Gull: 1

Heermann's Gull: 5

California Gull: 2

Western Gull: 185

HERRING GULL: 1 (adult; 9-Mile Bank; an early arrival)

Elegant Tern: 12

Royal Tern: 3

Leach's Storm-Petrel: 8 (all Chapman's-types)

Black Storm-Petrel: 27

Northern Fulmar: 1 (light morph; San Diego Trough)

Pink-footed Shearwater: 25

Sooty Shearwater: 1

Black-vented Shearwater: 240

Brown Booby: 9

RED-FOOTED BOOBY: 2 (both were cafe-au-lait colored, but clearly separate birds by plumage details, wing molt, and bill color; 31.5 mi W of Point Loma, 19.2 mi WSW of Point Loma)

Double-crested Cormorant: 2

Brown Pelican: 2

Also, on the Mission Bay jetties:

BLACK OYSTERCATCHER: 1 (continuing)

Surfbird: 6

This was our last scheduled trip of 2020. Hope to see you on board in 2021! See sandiegopelagics.com for details on future sailings, when those trips are finalized in the months ahead.

–Paul Lehman, Dave Povey, Bruce Rideout, et al., San Diego
Source: SanDiegoRegionBirding Latest Reports