Each pelagic trip this year was been fun and interesting, and the October 8 pelagic was no exception. The day before this trip was scheduled to go out, a worsening weather report made us wonder if we would even be going out. Fortunately the incoming heavy weather slowed its approach, and we started the day with very decent ocean conditions. Once again on Misty with Skipper Rob, we followed our usual routine of birding the bay, looking for Marbled Murrelets (successfully) and other nearshore birds, then heading offshore searching for fishing boats and flocks of birds. Guides Dave Irons and David Mandell did their usual outstanding pointing out and identifying birds and other sealife for the passengers.
While we did see many of our target birds, including the always-popular Black-footed Albatross, two jaeger species, Sabine's Gulls, Red and Red-necked Phalaropes, three species of shearwaters, Cassin's and Rhinoceros Auklets, and much more, marine mammals stole the show, We saw three species of whales, including two incredible BLUE WHALES, which hung around our boat for almost 20 amazing minutes. This species is very rare on the continental shelf of Oregon. (Gray and humpback whales were also seen on the trip.) Dall's Porpoises around the boat and riding the bow wave added to the excitement of the trip, and for a little while took our minds off of now bouncy ride home.
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