August 24, 2007
Back on the ocean
After a_VERY_cosy night spent in a tiny room in Mendocino, Alison, Marcel and I headed out on another Shearwater Journeys pelagic out of Fort Bragg. This trip offers one of the best chances of finding seabirds rarely recorded from the waters close to the CA coast (we had amazing views of a Hawaiian Petrel last year), and while this year didn't come up with a bird of that calibre, we did have some great views of many marine birds and mammals, in excellent company.
We spent much of the morning in dense fog, which made spotting bird flocks difficult. Nevertheless, we did have good close views of Common Murres...
Northern Fulmar...
... and Black-footed Albatross.
Humpback Whales were entertaining as ever.
I finally managed a photo of Northern Fur Seal which was more than just a pair of skyward-pointing flippers.
The fog eventually lifted and we were all relieved to be out in the warming sunshine. A pod of Risso's Dolphins just off the bow was a delight to watch.
One of them had a floppy dorsal fin, often observed in Orcas.
A couple of Dall's Porpoises rode the bow for a few minutes.
Avian highlight for me was a smart adult Sabine's Gull that allowed closer approach than usual, perhaps because it was undergoing wing moult.
A Rhino Auklet was hanging around just outside of the harbour.
On the drive back, we bumped into some Tule Elk close to Clear Lake, inlcuding this bellowing male.
