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Oct. 11(12) Pelagic Trip From Wanchese, North Carolina



Dear Carolinabirders,

I am sure that many of you are aware that Hatteras, North Carolina is
not currently accessible by road since hurricane Isabel washed away most
of the dunes and cut a small inlet just east of Hatteras Village.
Effforts are already underway to fill the inlet and restore Highway 12
to the village, but it remains to be seen just how long it will take to
achieve that result.  In the meantime, we will continue to operate
pelagic trips from Oregon Inlet, NC, and our October 11 outing, which
was previously planned to depart from Hatteras will now leave from
Wanchese, NC, but it will still take place aboard the Miss Hatteras.
The meeting place will be Broad Creek Marina in the Wanchese Industrial
Seafood Park.  The meeting time will be 0630, a little later than usual
to allow for Daylight Savings Time.  The cost of this trip is
$90/person, and there will be a weather date scheduled for Sunday,
October 12.

I'm excited about running the October trip from Oregon Inlet.  The
cooler water on the north side of the Gulf Stream can be interesting for
birds at that time of year, and we don't get a chance to visit that
blend of water on most of our Hatteras trips.  The Miss Hatteras is
large enough to accommodate a couple of groups that we already have
booked, and now she has the speed to give us a good long day offshore
from Oregon Inlet, despite the longer distance to run up there.  We have
not run many trips in this area in October, but my experience from tuna
fishing east of Oregon Inlet in October has convinced me that it can be
quite birdy.  These typically underbirded seasons can be full of
surprises.  Back in 1996 during mid October, an observer on a commercial
squid fishing boat photographed a White-chinned Petrel east of Oregon
Inlet along the edge of the continental shelf.   Speaking of surprises,
the last week has yielded a number of outstanding seabird reports in the
western North Atlantic.  A Fea's Petrel off South Carolina yesterday
could be a first state record, a Yellow-nosed Albatross in the Gulf of
Mexico on Friday was a great find, and Little Shearwaters seen earlier
last week off Sable Island, NS are really big news.  It could be that
this is a good year for vagrant seabirds.  We had a slow July and August
here, but our last trip from Hatteras two weeks ago found a Fea's
Petrel, and six days before that we saw two White-faced Storm-Petrels
off Va. Beach.  White-faced Storm-Petrels have been seen on a number of
trips north of the Gulf Stream this summer, and they might still be
present in October, based on records from years past.  Even if we don't
find anything rare on October 11, it will be great to get out and see
what's there.  Good possibilities include Black-capped Petrel, Northern
Fulmar, Cory's, Greater, Manx, and Audubon's Shearwaters, Wilson's
Storm-Petrel, Red-necked and Red Phalaropes, Pomarine and Parasitic
Jaegers, and Black-legged Kittiwake.  It might be a little late for
tropicbirds and Bridled and Sooty Terns, but I wouldn't rule them out
either.  There are a lot of long shot possibilities- basically almost
everything we've ever seen on our trips between May and September could
appear on this trip.  To see quality images of the birds seen on our
trips, including many from this season, please visit our website at
http://www.seabirding.com/.  There you can also find a plethora of
information about our trips, and how to prepare for them.  Though we
often have a galley available on the Miss Hatteras, participants on the
October 11(12) trip will need to bring their own food and drink.  I can
be reached by phone at (252) 986-1363 to answer any questions about this
trip.

Many of you have already asked about next season, and I hope to have
next year's trip dates up on our website soon.  Some have also asked
about Hatteras Village.  The village took the brunt of the ocean surge
during hurricane Isabel, and many homes and businesses in the eastern
part of the village were destroyed or severely damaged.  The fishing
fleet weathered the storm well, but the docks and marinas are all
currently in a state of disrepair.  Many of the homes in the village now
have electricity and telephone, but there is still no running water for
the most part.  Captain Spurgeon Stowe thought he might have to go on
unemployment, but he got a job driving the school bus to Buxton.  Until
further notice, the school bus will be the Miss Hatteras!  I myself have
been living in Frisco since April, so I now have to take a boat to get
to Hatteras Village.  Since I don't get there every day anymore, I'm now
getting my mail at Frisco.

Thanks to everyone for your interest in these trips.  I hope to see many
of you next month!

Brian Patteson
PO Box 667
Frisco, NC 27936
brian@patteson.com