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Memorial Day Pelagics; Space on June 3, 4



Dear Carolinabirders,

I know that many of you are keen to know how the pelagic trips from the
Outer Banks went over Memorial Day Weekend, so here=92s a brief account of
the highlights and a list of birds seen on the FOUR trips that my group
ran.  Please note that the trip from Hatteras on Monday was NOT
weathered out as some thought.

We began on Friday, May 26 with a trip from Oregon Inlet (departing
Pirate=92s Cove) on the Country Girl with Capt. Allan Foreman. The weather
on this day and the following two days was beautiful. In addition to a
seeing a good number and diversity of pelagics on Friday we found and
photographed a Bermuda Petrel.  This was our third spring sighting of
this species, which numbers just over 200 individuals, and it was the
best study yet of one at sea. The bird on Friday showed no fear of the
boat, and we followed it at a leisurely 15 knots for several minutes.
Saturday=92s trip on the Miss Hatteras with Capt. Spurgeon Stowe was very
productive for gadfly petrels. We found two Herald (Trinidade) Petrels,
each of which we approached closely as they rested on the water in about
1000 fathoms, and we then had brief views of both a Fea=92s Petrel and
another Bermuda Petrel in about 100 fathoms. Unfortunately these birds
were moving by with a pulse of Black-capped Petrels and did not stay
around long enough for more than a few people to see them.  We also saw
a Fea=92s Petrel which buzzed by distantly on Sunday=92s trip from
Hatteras.  Monday=92s trip didn=92t feature any rarities but we did have a
spectacular seabird show in the 20-25 knot winds that day. We left the
dock at 0630 and by 1030 we had seen nearly 150 Black-capped Petrels,
over 250 Wilson=92s Storm-Petrels, and over 300 Audubon=92s Shearwaters. T=
he
wind forced us to return a bit early that day, but it didn=92t get really
windy south of Cape Hatteras until the afternoon.

In addition to the pelagic seabirds listed below, we saw a handful of
other bird species way offshore including Barn Swallows(daily), Great
Blue Herons (5 one day!), an Osprey, a Northern Waterthrush, and a
Mourning Warbler, among others. We saw several Sperm Whales on Friday=92s
trip, and we also saw Bottlenose Dolphins, Pilot Whales, and a handful
of beaked whales.

Mike Tove=92s trip from Oregon Inlet on Sunday found one Bermuda Petrel
and one Herald Petrel, each seen briefly, but fairly close to the boat.
Thus the tally for the weekend was two Bermuda Petrels and one Herald
Petrel for Oregon Inlet trips and one Bermuda Petrel, two Fea=92s Petrels,
and two Herald Petrels for Hatteras trips, with three trips run from
each port. Unfortunately, only about a third of these birds were well
seen by all of the participants, but that the way it goes with these
fast flying Pterodromas.

Black-capped Petrel- 165/ 148/ 91/ 199
BERMUDA PETREL- one seen well by all on May 26, one seen by a few on May
27
FEA=92S PETREL- one each seen by a few on May 27 and 28
HERALD PETREL- two seen well by all on May 27
Cory's Shearwater- 24/ 37/ 57/ 85
Greater Shearwater- 3/ 0/ 1/ 1
Sooty Shearwater- 1/ 2/ 1/ 1
Manx Shearwater- 0/ 0/ 2/ 4
Audubon's Shearwater- 338/ 259/ 87/ 370
Wilson's Storm-Petrel- 314/ 246/ 157/ 297
Leach=92s Storm-Petrel- 10/ 45/ 2/ 0
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel- 8/ 51/ 5/ 1
Red-n. Phalarope- 0/ 3/ 0/ 3
Pomarine Jaeger- 2/ 2/ 0/ 5
Long-tailed Jaeger- one first summer on May 26
Bridled Tern- 3/ 0/ 5/ 0
Sooty Tern- 0/ 0/ 32/ 19
Arctic Tern- 2/ 1/ 3/ 0

Our trip this Friday from Oregon Inlet is full, but we still have room
on both of our trips from Hatteras this weekend. The Hatteras trips
leave from Oden=92s Dock at 0630 and usually return around 1700-1730. Each
trip is $85 per person. Participants should arrive no later than 0615.
More information about these trips and others can be found on our
website- http://www.patteson.com/. At this point we still have room on
all of our summer and fall trips.

I hope to see many of you this weekend or later in the season.

Brian Patteson
Hatteras, NC
Brian@Patteson.com
(252) 986-1363