So Cal Pelagic Birding

a service of the Buena Vista Audubon Society
Pelagic Trips And Deep Water Expeditions

Searcher Five Day Continental Shelf
Deep Water Expedition Sep 1-5, 2008  

Depart 12:00 p.m. Labor Day, Monday, Sept 1.  Return Friday at 6:30 a.m.

Cook's Petrel  by Searcher Leader Todd McGrath

Searcher expeditions explore the southwestern corner of the ABA from the Mexican border, north to the Channel Islands, then west more than 100 miles offshore to travel south to the edge of the Continental Shelf, visiting underwater seamounts, ridges and domes where nutrient-rich upwellings create life-zones attracting rare albatross, tropicbirds and pterdroma petrels.  


  • Searcher is a spacious, luxurious 95-foot live-aboard with multiple birding observation decks.  Trips are limited to 28 passengers and 4 leaders to ensure plenty of room.  Guests enjoy 4 clean bathrooms, 2 hot showers and 14 air-conditioned cabins.  Delicious meals, snacks and beverages are included. 

    Double Your Pleasure
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    Join Bob Miller For Inland Birding

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    As long as you're here in SoCal, make the most of your time with a land birding trip with the famous (infamous?) Bob Miller.  Click the zbirdtours link above to learn more. 

  • Itinerary

    The Searcher 5-day deep-water rarity expedition departs Monday at noon.  We'll bird our way north to the Channel Islands on Monday.  Tuesday we'll explore pelagic birds in the vicinity of the islands and then head to deep water at the shelf edge.  Weather, currents, seas and bird distribution determine our exact course, but we'll spend Wednesday and Thursday 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. 

    The Searcher 5-day deep-water rarity expedition from San Diego will depart Monday at noon.    We'll bird our way north to the Channel Islands on Monday.  Tuesday we'll bird the islands and then head to deep water at the shelf edge.  Weather, currents, seas and bird distribution determine our exact course, but we'll spend Wednesday and Thursday 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. 

    We'll 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 Wednesday & Thursday in the albatross/pterodroma/tropicbird zone.  Thursday evening at dinner we'll celebrate our sightings, go to sleep and wake up at sunrise Friday morning back in San Diego. 

  • Cost:  $975 includes all meals and beverages including soda, coffee, beer and wine. 

    Reserve: Visit Searcher's website or telephone boat owner Celia Condit at (619) 226-2403

    Departure point: Fisherman's Landing
    2838 Garrison St
    San Diego, CA 92106
    (619) 221-8500


    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.  Every trip has a “lifer” rarity for 95% aboard, birds like Dark-rumped (Hawaiian) Petrel, Cooks Petrel, Laysan Albatross, Murphy’s Petrel, Bulwer’s Petrel, Manx and Flesh-footed Shearwater, Fork-tailed Storm-petrel, Xantus’ and Craveri’s Murrelet, both Red-billed and Red-tailed Tropicbird.  Visit the Searcher website for bird lists of every trip since we began in 2003. 

    Leaders/Spotters:  Todd McGrath, Paul Guris and Jon Feenstra

    Paul Guris paul@paulagics.com Paul is the founder of See Life Paulagics and is a fun guy and expert leader. He is the president of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club, the oldest continually operational birding club in North America, is a member of the NJ Rare Birds Committee and is a former member of the Pennsylvania Ornithological Records Committee.  Paul's first experience on salt water was during his mother's third trimester, so he comes by his obsession honestly - he loves the ocean and has been pelagic birding from boats for 30 years (he doesn't SEEM that old!) and has been running his own trips for more than 20 years.  Paul's other interests include fishing, beer, travel, beer, other life forms (non-UFO related) and beer.  With Paul onboard, you're guaranteed to see great birds and HAVE FUN!

    Jon Feenstra feenstra@alumni.caltech.edu 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.

     

    Questions?  Email searcher@bajawhale.com

Rare and Mega-Rarity Target Birds

Laysan Albatross
Red-Billed Tropicbird
Short-tailed Albatross
Shy Albatross

Cook's Petrel
Murphy's Petrel
Hawaiian Petrel
Bulwer's Petrel

Flesh-footed Shearwater
Streaked Shearwater
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel
Wedge-rumped S.P.
Craveri's Murrelet

Expected Birds

Cook's Petrel
Red-billed Tropicbird

Black-footed Albatross
Pink-footed Shearwater
Black-vented Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Leach's Storm Petrel
Ashy Storm-Petrel
Black Storm-Petrel
Least Storm-Petrel

South Polar Skua
Pomarine Jaeger
Parasitic Jaeger
Long-tailed Jaeger
Sabine's Gull
Arctic Tern
Pigeon Guillemot
Xantus' Murrelet
Cassin's Auklet
Rhinoceros Auklet
Red Phalarope
Red-necked Phalarope
Pigeon Guillemot


         Xantus's Murrelet
           Todd McGrath

Possible Birds

Northern Fulmar
Common Murre

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. 

 

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