10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2015

But, I did take many photos, and used the book, in spurts during the trip and more closely afterward, to identify three seabird species, two expected (Sooty and Black-vented Shearwaters) and one a surprise. It does not include near-shore, coastal species, like Brown Pelican, Elegant Tern, and Harbor Seal.

Dolphins 162

Dolphins Porpoises Whales Whaling 162

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

Come September most of the summer seabird people had left, but there were a small number of seabirds still breeding and so I stayed behind for three years to continue their monitoring and do the migrant landbird surveys, as well as the Great White Shark surveys. California Sea Lions porpoised through the clear water.

Whales 157

Whales Whaling Sharks Bats 157

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2011

As far as I can tell it is the most northern breeding record for the species. The bird rears up, calls and splashes, it thrashes around on the surface and dives and porpoises about. I was making my way towards a Pacific Loon nest that I have been monitoring when the Baird’s Sandpiper appeared. Splish Splash.

Porpoises 180

Porpoises Eggs Family Breeding 180

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2012

It was a Benguela Nino year, and pelagic seabirds were in super-abundance in the south eastern Atlantic, with the total of species by variety and number exceeding all expectations for the birders on the inaugural trip as we pitched and wallowed about in the rolling swells on our way out to the trawling grounds.

Albatross 180

Albatross Penguins Dolphins Whaling 180