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Space On Sept. 16 VA Pelagic and Fall NC Trips



Dear Carolinabirders,

It may be of interst ot some that we still have space on a trip from
Virginia Beach, Va. on Sunday Sept. 16. While it won't be a true Gulf
Stream trip like those off Cape Hatteras, it is usually a good trip for
warm water species, with the exception of Black-capped Petrel. It also
offers a better chance at White-faced Storm-Petrel than a regular NC
trip, and after the recent sightings off Mass. and Jersey, we are
hopeful. The trip leaves shortly after 0500 Sunday morning aboard a fast
55 foot catamaran, the Bluewater Bullet. This should get us out to the
shelf break much faster than the boat that we have been using there in
recent years.  September is an excellent time to see good numbers of
shearwaters off the Va. Capes, and is the time when the largest counts
of Cory's and Audubon's Shearwaters have been made. It is also a good
time to see Bridled Tern and Long-tailed Jaeger. Other likely species
include Greater Shearwater, Wilson's Storm-Petrel, Red-necked Phalarope,
and Pomarine and Parasitic Jaegers. In 1998 we saw a beautiful juvenile
Sabine's Gull on this trip, and last year we saw South Polar Skuas,
Sooty Terns, and several Manx Shearwaters. In 1995 we saw a Fea's
Petrel, and in 1991 we saw a Herald (Trinidade) Petrel. Other
possibilities that might appear with a good Gulf Stream eddy include
Black-capped Petrel, White-tailed or Red-billed Tropicbird, and Masked
Booby, all of which are at least annual on trips from the Outer Banks.
The cost per person on this all day trip is $100. This covers your
passage on the boat and access to experienced leadership (hundreds of
pelagic birding trips and hundreds more fishing). This does not include
any food or drink, which is available for sale on the boat, nor a tip
for the crew of the Bullet.

Due to a cancellation, we also have a couple of spaces left on our Sept.
17 (Monday) trip from Pirates Cove on the Country Girl. This should
produce sightings of much the same species as the Va. Beach trip plus
Black-capped Petrel and a better chance for other gadfly petrels species
and or tropicbirds. This one is also $100/person.

We also have space on trips from Hatteras on October 13 and November 3.
These should be good for Black-capped Petrels and most of the
shearwaters plus a chance for some cold water species like kittiwake,
fulmar, Red Phalarope, and Manx Shearwater, which has also made a good
showing this summer. October is when the White-chinned Petrel was seen
from a squid boat off the Outer Banks, and these times are largely
un-birded offshore, so I look at these dates as exploratory trips. I
should also mention that the Miss Hatteras is being re-powered as I
write this and should pick up an addtional 400 horsepower in the
process. She won't be as fast as the Country Girl, but she won't be far
behind. Thse trips are each $90/person.

If you would like to see sign up or make inquiries about any of these
trips, please call me at (252) 986-1363.  If you send e-mail,please
include a phone number where we can reach you in your message. More
information about this and other trips is on our website-
http://www.patteson.com/.

Thanks,

Brian Patteson
Hatteras, NC
Brian@Patteson.com