October on the Water

Yesterday, 10 October 2015, my friend and I took our last pelagic birding trip of the year.  This particular trip was out of Monterey.

I will update the official species to this post when it is made available.

The ultimate noteworthy sightings was a probable WEDGE-TAILED SHEARWATER (Puffinus pacificus).  Next in the noteworthy line was a Manx Shearwater (P. puffinus).

No photos, from me on the above two birds but I did manage a few photographs during the, grueling at times, boat trip.

This high count species is one that should be off the coast of southern California.  They must be about "drained" of Black-vented Shearwater (P. opisthomelas) because we had them in the thousands up here.

Black-vented Shearwater

Black-vented Shearwater

In the morning the marine layer was really socked in and we plowed through the fog. This was when we had most of our Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis)

Northern Fulmar

The further we went out, the chance of albatross was better.  Yesterday's trip we had one, this Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes).

Black-footed albatross

When you are out on Monterey Bay this time of year, you stand a good chance of seeing Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae).  Yesterday did not disappoint.

the tail and fluke of one of many Humpback Whales we encountered