Pelagic trip wrap-up, 2003

Cold weather pushing alcids further South than usual got 2003 off to an early start.  Giff Beaton put together an impromptu trip for February 21 with the hope of finding  Razorbill in Georgia waters. By 7:45 all 12 people on board had found the target bird, and  by the end of the day we had 36 of this species as well as 6 Manx Shearwater and almost 1000 Red Phalarope.  We recorded 16 species overall on this trip, including Peregrine Falcon on the R7 tower, 53 Northern Gannets, almost 70 Bonaparte's Gull, Red-throated Loon and Black Scoter among others.

Another targeted trip went out May 30 specifically for Sooty Shearwater.  I think we were late for this species migrating past Georgia, as I have since learned it has been seen off the Outer Banks in early May, and I have at least one anecdotal report of Sooty in Florida in late April.  Our solace on this trip was a new late date for Northern Gannet. Among pelagics we also recorded 4 Wilson's Storm-Petrel, and 4 Sooty Terns. 

August is the time of year when we expect to find the largest number of species at sea, so we had two full boats running that month.  On these two trips we headed for the 200 meter depth in the Gulf Stream.  On August 23 calm seas and huge amounts of Sargassum greeted us in the stream along with Cory's and Audubon's Shearwater, Sooty and Bridled Tern (79).  We also had  Wilson Storm-Petrel, Red-necked Phalarope, and 7 other species of birds as well as Loggerhead and Leatherbacked Sea Turtles and many Atlantic Spotted Dolphin.

The final trip of the season on August 29, certainly produced the best bird of the summer season in Brown Noddy, a lifer for many of the participants, and a species which had already been seen off the North Carolina coast this summer.  This trip also produced 13 other species, including Cory's and Audubon's  Shearwater, Wilson's Storm-Petrel, Pomarine Jaeger, Red-necked Phalarope and the three more typical pelagic terns, Black, Bridled and Sooty.