So Cal Pelagic Birding
a service of the Buena Vista Audubon Society
Pelagic Trips And Deep Water Expeditions
July 19-21 Edge Of The Continental Shelf
Deep Water Mega-Rarity Expedition
Board Grande at 10 p.m. Saturday. Enjoy a snack. Sleep.
Wake at the edge of the continental shelf. Bird 15 hours - dawn to sunset - for rare albatrosses, pterodomas, tropicbirds and mega-rarities. Sleep. Wake Monday at the dock in San Diego.
Deep Water Mega-Rarity Expedition
Wake at the edge of the continental shelf. Bird 15 hours - dawn to sunset - for rare albatrosses, pterodomas, tropicbirds and mega-rarities. Sleep. Wake Monday at the dock in San Diego.
Red-tailed Tropicbird (c) Bill Scholtz
If this trip is sold out, it will not appear on the website. As of March 28 we had only 3 spaces left. On March 29 we added an August trip.
Click here for the reservation page.THE QUEST FOR RARITIES
Target mega-rarities (we will be fortunate to see any one of these, that's why they're called "mega-rarities)
Red-billed Tropicbird, Stejneger's Petrel, Cook's Petrel, Hawaiian Petrel, Wedge-rumped Storm-petrel, Craveri's Murrelet.Read more about rarities, their status and distribution.
The secret to finding rarities (like Laysan and Short-tailed Albatross, Red-billed Tropicbird, Cook’s and Murphy's Petrel, Flesh-footed Shearwater) and mega-rarities (Shy and Light-mantled Albatross; Hawaiian, Bulwer’s and Murphy’s Petrel, Red-tailed Tropicbird) is to be out there, in a deep water life-zone, chumming, watching, waiting....
This SoCal 2-day deep-water rarity expedition from San Diego - led by Todd McGrath - will depart Saturday at 10 p.m. We'll enjoy a snack or a beer or two and go to sleep in our invidual bunks. We'll wake Sunday morning more than one hundred miles offshore at the edge of the Continental Shelf - about as far south and west as you can go in the ABA area.
This trip has but one purpose: to explore life zones in deep waters where southern hemisphere birds are usually found only by research ships – because no day trips venture this far. We’re hunting mega-rarities, birds with fewer than 10 accepted records in all of California - the birds that people whisper about.
We’ll spend all 15 hours of daylight Sunday - from dawn to dusk - in the albatross/pterodroma/tropicbird zone, have dinner, celebrate our sightings, go to sleep and wake up at sunrise Monday morning back in San Diego.
Cooks Petrel (c) Todd McGrathThe Boat: We'll sail on Grande, a comfortable 85-foot live-aboard with a roomy lounge area, licensed to carry 120 fisherman by day. The trip is limited to 38 passengers plus leaders to allow plenty of room.
$225 if reserved by June 1.
$245 if reserved by July 1.
$265 after July 1.
The price is a tad higher on this trip because it's peak fishing season. The possibilities for rarities and mega-rarities is higher on this trip than on any other because it's mid-winter in the southern hemisphere and this is when they're most likely to be seen up here. This is the time of year when our waters are warm and days at their longest.MAKE YOUR RESERVATION TODAY
Reserve by check, telephone or website.
Click here to reserve your spot.Finding Rarities and Mega-rarities:
Expert spotters/leaders and a crew that understands how and why birding is different than fishing greatly increase the odds of finding great birds and ensuring all participants see the birds.Leaders/Spotters: Todd McGrath, Paul Lehman, Jon Feenstra and Dave Pereksta
Jon Feenstra is a native of Appalachian New Jersey and a life-long outdoors enthusiast. He moved to Los Angeles in 2000 to continue his education and holds a PhD in chemical physics from Caltech. However, since birds are his true passion, he works as a freelance environmental consultant so he can spend every day outside. His is a co-author, along with Todd McGrath, of the foundational articles in Los Angeles Audubon's journal outlining the current knowledge of seabird distribution in the Southern California Bight. If there's a boat out looking for birds off Southern California, Jon is on it.
Paul Lehman has traveled extensively throughout virtually every nook and cranny on the continent, and has written many articles and papers on North American bird distribution and identification. Paul gew up in the suburbs of New York City, where he started birding at the age of nine. He then moved to California where he lived for 20 years before moving back to the east coast in 1994 to Cape May, New Jersey, where he continues to reside. Paul was past editor of Birding magazine for nine years, from 1989-1997. He was also chief editor of the recently published ABA/Lane birdfinding guide to North America’s major metropolitan regions and has been a principal consultant on several popular field guides, most recently as senior range-map researcher and consultant for the new editions of Roger Tory Peterson’s Field Guide to the Birds (East), the National Geographic Society’s Field Guide to the Birds of North America and their Complete Birds of North America, and the two-volume Sibley East and West field guides. He is currently updating the maps and entire text for the Peterson Western Field Guide.
Black-footed Albatross. Photo by Todd McGrathPARKING - There is plenty of parking at Point Loma Sportsfishing for $5 a day.
Departure point:
Point Loma Sportfishing
1403 Scott Street
San Diego, CA 92106
Phone: 619-223-1627FULL SERVICE GALLEY - Breakfast, lunch and dinners are available on board for purchase.
MAKE A RESERVATION
Reserve by check, telephone or website.
Click here to find out how.The Trip
PARKING - There is plenty of parking at Point Loma Sportsfishing for $5 a day.
Departure point:
Point Loma Sportfishing
1403 Scott Street
San Diego, CA 92106
Phone: 619-223-1627SLEEPING: Bunk-house style in one co-ed bunkhouse. Your private bunk is 6' 3" long, 2 feet wide, and comes with a mattress, pillow with fresh pillowcase and one heavy wool blanket. Grande has 2 bathrooms, each with a shower. Some folks bring a sleeping bag, but most just kick off their shoes, lay down in their beds fully clothed, and wake up ready for coffee at 5:00 a.m.
PERSONAL HYGIENE: You may wish to bring a towel. There are 2 heads, one male, one female. Each has wash basins with soap dispensers and paper towel. On the May 10 trip I didn't see one person take a shower (it is a VERY small shower) so take comfort in the fact that we all look and smell the same. It's great fun.
DAY OF DEPARTURE - Arrive at Point Loma Sportsfishing at 9:00 p.m. Park, pick up your boarding pass at the ticket office and be ready to board the boat at 9:30 p.m. for a 10:00 p.m. departure. Coast Guard security procedures requires an official I.D to board the boat. It takes 30 minutes from the time everyone is on the boat to get clearance from the Coast Guard to depart. Please don't be the person to hold up the departure.
FUEL - Prices for this trip were calculated on fuel charges at $3.00 per gallon. In the event that fuel exceeds $3.00 a gallon, there may be a surcharge when boarding the boat, not to exceed $10 per person.
CANCELLATIONS Only the landing can process cancellations. Their refund and substitution policy is described in the reservations link FULL SERVICE GALLEY Breakfast, pastries, coffee, burgers, sandwiches and beverages are available in the Grande galley for purchase.
Mega-Rarity Expedition
Our goal is to help you have FUN, see lots of seabirds and understand the birds you see. To that end, experienced pelagic leaders will be stationed around the boat. You will recognize them by their name tags. They are on board for one reason: to HELP YOU SEE BIRD AND HAVE FUN. Ask them lots of questions. This is your opportunity to tap their knowledge and increase your knowledge of seabirds.
STORAGE: Please don’t store gear, coolers or clothing on the floor, tables or benches in the salon – leave that space for people. Please store your bags & packs in the bunkhouse on the unused bunks or outside the salon in the tackle racks.
BACKPACKS: Please don’t wear a backpack on the boat because it makes it very difficult for others to maneuver around you.
SEASICKNESS: Coffee, water, snacks, pastries, sandwiches and soft drinks are available for sale in the galley. Eat and drink fluids. A full stomach is less likely to betray you.
MOTION MEDICATION: If you have a motion-pill or a patch, take it BEFORE departure. If you wait until you feel queasy, it’s too late. If you find that you must offer up your breakfast to the chum-gods, please do so on the stern, at the very back of the boat, over the back rail.
COASTGUARD requirements state that all passengers remain on the main deck or below. Two leaders are allowed up top to spot birds.
CIGARETTES are allowed only at the back rail at the stern, and only if nobody complains.
IF YOU SEE A BIRD OR MAMMAL you don’t recognize, call it out! Call loudly. A leader will immediately help with an I.D. Not only will you learn, others around you will benefit. If you spot what turns out to be a rare bird or mammal, the leader will radio the sighting to the bridge so it can be announced over the P.A. system and everybody on the boat benefits.
BIRD LOCATIONS We use the “clock” method of describing the location of birds. The bow (front) of the boat is 12 o’clock. The starboard (right) side of the boat is 3 o’clock. The stern (back) of the boat is 6 o’clock, and so on. We’ll also call out if the bird is low to the water, how distant it is, and the direction it’s flying. The more you can incorporate this description into your sighting, the faster a leader will help you identify the bird. For example: “There’s a small dark bird on the water at 8 o’clock at about 100 yards!” will help everyone know where to look. Or, “White bird at 4 o’clock flying right about 200 yards from the boat at the horizon!”
Rare and Mega-Rarity Target Birds
Laysan Albatross
Red-Billed Tropicbird
Red-tailed Tropicbird
Short-tailed Albatross
Shy Albatross
Cook's Petrel
Stejneger's Petrel
Murphy's Petrel
Hawaiian Petrel
Flesh-footed Shearwater
Ringed Storm-petrel
Tristram's Storm-petrel
Craveri's Murrelet
Expected Birds
Cook's Petrel
Black-footed Albatross
Pink-footed Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Black Storm-petrel
Leach's Storm-petrel
Xantus' Murrelet
Cassin's Auklet
Rhinoceros Auklet
Possible Birds
Northern Fulmar
Black-vented Shearwater
Ashy Storm-petrel
Leach's Storm Petrel
Least Storm-petrel
South Polar Skua
Pomarine Jaeger
Parasitic Jaeger
Long-tailed Jaeger
Sabine's Gull
Arctic Tern
Common Murre
Pigeon Guillemot
Red Phalarope
Red-necked Phalarope
Marine Life
We always inevitably encounter a wide variety of marine life (all which have been seen in these waters over the past few years):
Orca (Killer Whale)
Mako Shark
Blue Shark
Blue Whale
Fin Whale
Humpback Whale
Sei Whale
Sperm Whale
Baird's Beaked Whale White-sided Dolphin Northern Right-whale Dolphin, Risso's Dolphin Northern Fur Seal Guadalupe Fur Seal Bottlenose Dolphin
Common Dolphin
White-sided Dolphin
California Sea Lion Harbor Seal
Mola Mola
Caveat
Like any pelagic trip, you may see everything or nothing... there is no way to tell until you are out there.
Old Native Saying
You will see more rare seabirds on this trip than you will from your living room.
