Oregon Pelagic
Tours 2016 Spring Deepwater Pelagic started with flocks of shorebirds migrating past us as we headed out Yaquina Bay. Rough ocean conditions, required a top speed of 6.5 kts, making us wonder if we would even get out to deep water. Conditions improved, and we eventually ended up just over 50 miles from shore. We made two chum stops, one at 33 miles out (Laysan Albatross), and the other 50 miles out (1000 fathoms -- HAWAIIAN PETREL). A couple of participants had poor views of a Parakeet Auklet. Below is a compilation of all species and total
numbers, from the dock until about 5 miles from shore on the return.
Please remember that no one, including the guides, sees every species
on a typical pelagic. The ocean conditions limited our alcid
sightings on the way out, and none of the alcids were chaseable. Mammal sightings include a northern fur seal, Pacific white-sided dolphin, northern right whale dolphin, and an unindentified distant whale (large spout -- probable blue or fin whale). Interesting misses: no jaegers, Sabine's Gull, Leach's Storm-Petrel.
Harlequin Duck 1
Surf Scoter 3
Redb-breasted Merganser 3
Red-throated Loon 1
Pacific Loon 8
Common, Loon 10
Laysan Albatross 1
Black-footed Albatross 74
Northern Fulmar 6
HAWAIIAN PETREL 1
Pink-footed Shearwater 12
Sooty Shearwater 212
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel 51
Brandt's Cormorant 21
Double-crested Cormorant 45
Pelagic Cormorant 40
Brown Pelican 2
Black-bellied Plover 40
Wandering Tattler 3 (on north jetty)
Whimbrel 8
Red Knot 2
Surfbird 1
Sanderling 1
Dunlin 30
Western Sandpiper 1300
dowitcher (sp?) 10
Red-necked Phalarope 2
phalarope (sp?) 2
shorebird (sp?) 15
Common Murre 199
Pigeon Gullemot 60
Marbled Murrelet 1
Cassin's Auklet 1
Parakeet Auklet 1 (seen by 2)
Rhinoceros Auklet 18
Tufted Puffin 1
alcid (sp.? – 1 probable Parakeet
Auklet) 3
Bonaparte's Gull 1
Western Gull 90
California Gull 29
Herring Gull 5
Thayer's Gull 2 (seen by few)
Glaucous-winged Gull 11
gull (sp.?) 61
Caspian Tern 3
Rock Pigeon 4