Offshore from Half Moon Bay

Many of us deal with the intense stresses of life by spending time in nature, sometimes photographing what we find, and often sharing it with others. I believe it is true for almost everyone here that the difficulties of the last year have sometimes made getting out more challenging or it can be harder to disassociate ones self from the barrage of the day when we do offer ourselves an escape.

For those reasons, I was especially delighted to spend a full day off the coast of San Mateo County on Oct. 17. Meeting at 06:30 at the Half Moon Bay Harbor, we joined about 18 other people for a masks-mandatory, half capacity trip on the Huli-Cat out to the continental shelf with Alvaro Jamarillo and Alvaro's Birding Adventures. Pelagic birding has long been one of my favorite pastimes and what made this trip exceptional was that in addition to the birds, we stopped for all the wildlife; jellies, whales. fish, and more. The Salmon Shark (which was seen through the water much better than my photos imply) and the Leatherback Sea Turtle were pure lifers. Additionally, I added three species to my inaturalist photo-lifer list - Blue Whale, Buller's Shearwater, and Marbled Murrelets.

With a thermos of hot coffee and the sun at our backs we headed offshore, and truthfully, we couldn't have asked for a better day. Harbor porpoises swam just outside the breakwater and soon we were at the edge of a large mixed species feeding flock of seabirds including multiple gulls, Pink-footed and Black-vented Shearwaters, Brown Pelicans, and Pomeraine Jaegers. Other highlights included sneaking up on a surface-resting Salmon Shark before watching it swim away and seeing a Leatherback Sea Turtle, (a species I never thought I would encounter) slowly swimming along the surface, its head and distinctly ridged back clearly visible. Around lunchtime we came across a pod of four to six Blue Whales, soon followed by 500 or more Pacific White-sided Dolphins. Additional highlights included finding several Tufted Puffins, a Short-tailed Shearwater, numerous Mola molas, and coming back into the harbor, and a pair of Marbled Murrelets, robin-sized seabirds that can be difficult to approach at sea and even harder to photograph from shore.

The ocean was smooth, the day was warm, the company enjoyable, and there was wildlife in abundance. This trip also put me at 143 species for San Mateo County, well over the halfway mark for the county and great addition to my goal of photo-documenting 250 species in each of California's 58 counties.

Posted on 03 November, 2020 22:03 by rjadams55 rjadams55

Observations

Photos / Sounds

What

Mouse Spider (Scotophaeus blackwalli)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 06:04 AM PDT

Description

Wandering male found in a hotel room. Identified by its overall color and look of soft grey pubescence on the abdomen.

Photos / Sounds

What

Painted Tiger Moth (Arachnis picta)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 06:04 AM PDT

Photos / Sounds

What

California Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis ssp. californicus)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 07:34 AM PDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Common Guillemot (Uria aalge)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 07:34 AM PDT

Description

Common Murre seen on a very productive pelagic trip out of Half Moon Bay with Alvaro's Adventures Birding Tours.

Photos / Sounds

What

Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 08:53 AM PDT

Description

Rhinoceros Auklet seen on a very productive pelagic trip out of Half Moon Bay with Alvaro's Adventures Birding Tours.

Offshore location tagged with GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Common Guillemot (Uria aalge)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 08:57 AM PDT

Description

One of many Common Murres seen on a very productive pelagic trip out of Half Moon Bay with Alvaro's Adventures Birding Tours.

Offshore location tagged with GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Black-vented Shearwater (Puffinus opisthomelas)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 2020

Place

Missing Location

Description

One of several Black-vented Shearwaters seen on a very productive pelagic trip out of Half Moon Bay with Alvaro's Adventures Birding Tours.

Offshore location tagged with GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 09:27 AM PDT

Description

One of two Tufted Puffins seen on a very productive pelagic trip out of Half Moon Bay with Alvaro's Adventures Birding Tours.

Offshore location tagged with GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Common Mola (Mola mola)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 09:45 AM PDT

Description

This Mola mola was separated from the much rarer Hoodwinker Mola (Mola tecta) by the protruding bulge near the "nose". It was seen on a very productive pelagic trip out of Half Moon Bay with Alvaro's Adventures Birding Tours.

Offshore location tagged with GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 2020

Place

Missing Location

Description

This Leatherback Sea Turtle was seen on a very productive pelagic trip out of Half Moon Bay with Alvaro's Adventures Birding Tours.

Offshore location tagged with GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 10:25 AM PDT

Description

This was the second of two Tufted Puffins seen on a very productive pelagic trip out of Half Moon Bay with Alvaro's Adventures Birding Tours.

Offshore location tagged with GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 2020

Place

Missing Location

Description

This was one member of a pod of between four and six Blue Whales feeding along the edge of the continental shelf. They were found while on a very productive pelagic trip with Alvaro's Adventures Birding Tours.

This individual was conspicuous due to the divot in its dorsal fin.

All offshore locations were tagged at the time with GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 2020

Place

Missing Location

Description

This was a second member of a pod of between four and six Blue Whales feeding along the edge of the continental shelf. They were found while on a very productive pelagic trip with Alvaro's Adventures Birding Tours.

All offshore locations were tagged at the time with GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Risso's Dolphin (Grampus griseus)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 11:17 AM PDT

Description

A pod of between 75 and 100 Risso's Dolphins were found on a very productive pelagic trip with Alvaro's Adventures Birding Tours.

All locations were recorded at the time of observation using GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 11:38 AM PDT

Description

This was one of numerous Northern Fulmars found on a very productive pelagic trip by Alvaros Adventures Birding Tours.

All locations were tagged at the time of observation using GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Salmon Shark (Lamna ditropis)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 11:50 AM PDT

Description

This shark was found off the San Mateo County coast while on a very productive pelagic trip with Alvaro's Adventures Birding Tours.

There is some discussion regarding its ID. In addition to the features visible here (color and shape of the dorsal fin, sharp, projecting upper tip to the tail), there are other features that were visible at the time but couldn't be photographed through the water's reflective surface. It was between 6 and 7 feet long with thick body (not sleek). There was a clear line of demarcation between its white belly and dark sides and back, and the undersides of its pectoral fins were white. The head appeared to mostly dark above and on the sides.

The location was tagged at the time of observation using GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 11:50 AM PDT

Description

This was one of numerous Northern Fulmars found on a very productive pelagic trip by Alvaros Adventures Birding Tours.

All locations were tagged at the time of observation using GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Cassin's Auklet (Ptychoramphus aleuticus)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 12:19 PM PDT

Description

This was one of several Cassin's Auklets found while on a very productive pelagic trip with Alvaro's Adventures Birding Tours.

The offshore location was recorded at the time of observation using GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Buller's Shearwater (Ardenna bulleri)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 12:39 PM PDT

Description

Buller's Shearwater found on a very productive pelagic trip out of Half Moon Bay by Alvaro's Adventures Birding Tours.

Exact location recorded at the time observation using GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 12:48 PM PDT

Description

This was one of several Black-footed Albatrosses found on a very productive pelagic trip out of Half Moon Bay by Alvaro's Adventures Birding Tours.

Location was recorded at the time of observation using GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 12:48 PM PDT

Description

This was one of numerous Northern Fulmars found on a very productive pelagic trip by Alvaros Adventures Birding Tours.

All locations were tagged at the time of observation using GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Buller's Shearwater (Ardenna bulleri)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 12:48 PM PDT

Description

Buller's Shearwater found on a very productive pelagic trip out of Half Moon Bay by Alvaro's Adventures Birding Tours.

Exact location recorded at the time observation using GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Pacific White-sided Dolphin (Sagmatias obliquidens)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 12:48 PM PDT

Description

While on a pelagic wildlife watching trip out of Half Moon Bay, we found a pod of 500+ Pacifioc White-sided Dolphins. Additionally there were several Northern Right Whale Dolphins mixed in the pod but I was unable to get photos of them.

Offshore location was recorded at the time of observation using GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Pink-footed Shearwater (Ardenna creatopus)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 12:48 PM PDT

Description

This flock of Pink-footed Shearwaters was found on a pelagic trip out of Half Moon Bay by Alvaro's Adventures Birding Tours.

Records of offshore locations were taken at the time of observation using GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 02:11 PM PDT

Description

Rhinoceros Auklet seen on a very productive pelagic trip out of Half Moon Bay with Alvaro's Adventures Birding Tours.

Offshore location tagged at the time of observation with GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Pacific Sea Nettle (Chrysaora fuscescens)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 02:11 PM PDT

Description

Large numbers of Pacific Sea Nettles were found above the continental plain while on a pelagic trip out of Half Moon Bay.

Offshore locations were tagged at the time of observation using GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 2020

Description

This pair of Marbled Murrelets were found several hundred yards off the shore from Half Moon Bay. They were seen while returning from a very productive all day pelagic trip run by Alvaro's Adventures Birding Tours.

The exact location was taken at the time of observation using GPS.

Photos / Sounds

What

Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

October 17, 2020 05:21 PM PDT

Comments

That sounds like a most wonderous excursion! I am so glad you got a day out and respite from the rest of 2020. Thank you for sharing. :-)

Posted by torres-grant over 3 years ago

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