Leaning forward

 

 

The distinctive forward-leaning splash (often called a "rooster tail") of a Dall's Porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli).  I felt lucky to capture one image with the porpoise somewhat visible (the dark body and the triangular dorsal fin).  A small group of porpoises approached the boat during the pelagic trip on 23 May 2021, but they didn't stay around very long.

Dall's Porpoises are very fast swimmers and create an explosive splash upon surfacing.  The splashes can look like white caps from a distance, but note there's a little more going on there:

 

 

 

Often you don't see much more than the splash itself:

 

 

 

 

But sometimes you catch a glimpse of the black bodies with contrasting white side panels:

 

 

 

 

P.S.  For a few more examples of Dall's Porpoises, you can check out the post from 12 September 2017. 

Side by side

  

Two species of storm-petrels — Ashy Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma homochroa) on the left and a Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma furcata) on the right. 

We didn't see many storm-petrels during the boat trip on 23 May 2021, but here's a fun silhouette view of two Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels:

 

 

If you're not familiar with them, storm-petrels are small seabirds.  These two species have a wingspan of ~16" — similar to that of an American Robin.

Gliding and arcing

  

Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) were in view for most of the day during the pelagic trip on 23 May 2021.  Sometimes they were in the distance, other times very close to the boat, often there were more than 15 in view at one time.  Here are a few different perspectives:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like knowing that albatross are gliding and arcing over the waves around the globe.

 

On and over the waves

 

We encountered a few nice flocks of Sabine's Gulls (Xema sabini) during the pelagic trip to Bodega Canyon and beyond on 23 May 2021.

Here are a few shots on the water, and a few shots in flight.  Be sure to look for the nice black edge to the dark gray hood, and the yellow tip on the bill.  Some birds haven't molted into breeding plumage yet, so have smudgy gray heads and dark bills.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are such pretty gulls, especially in flight when their striking upperwing pattern is visible against the waves :

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S.  For a little more information about Sabine's Gulls, you can check out the post from 3 September 2013.

Jaeger silhouettes

  

A few Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus) shots from the offshore boat trip on 23 May 2021.   

Jaegers are impressive aerialists — they're kleptoparasites, chasing other birds like terns and gulls to force them to drop their fish.  

The lighting was a little tough, dark birds against an overcast sky, but I love their silhouettes.  Enjoy!  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With aloha

  

Another special bird from our offshore pelagic trip on 23 May 2021.  This one is a Hawaiian Petrel (Pterodroma sandwichensis).  

Hawaiian Petrels, or 'Ua'u in Hawaiian, nest in burrows along the slopes of volcanoes in Hawaii.  They spend most of their time in the tropics (below 20°), but after the breeding season, some disperse northward to higher latitudes when we have a chance to see them offshore.

The genus "Pterodroma" means "fast flyer" or "wings for racing," an appropriate name for this group of seabirds that seem to rocket by, arcing above and below the horizon.  The photo above was taken by Dan Nelson, who managed a wonderful picture given the distance and speed of this bird.  I didn't get a close-up, but here's one I like, showing a Hawaiian Petrel in its open ocean habitat:

 

 P.S.  Many thanks to Dan for sharing his wonderful photo!

Murphy's, Part 2

  

Here are a few more photos of the Murphy's Petrel (Pterodroma ultima) observed ~30 miles offshore yesterday (24 May 2021).  This species nests in the south-central Pacific Ocean (e.g., Pitcairn Islands, Tuamotu Islands, Austral Islands) and then shifts north to the subtropical areas of the NE Pacific during the non-breeding season.  They're visitors to offshore waters as far north as British Columbia.  

According to the Rare Birds of California, Murphy's Petrel is a routine visitor to California, but generally occurs "offshore near the interface between warm waters of the North Pacific Gyre and cold waters of the California Current."  

Note the overall dark gray coloration, paler color around the face (especially chin/throat area), and extensive white on underside of the primaries (outer wing feathers).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a treat to see this species while aboard the New Sea Angler!  Thanks, Rick! 

Ultima!

  

I joined an offshore pelagic trip today (23 May 2021), going out beyond Bodega Canyon and crossing Cordell Bank.  It was breezy (!), but we were rewarded with an amazing sighting of Murphy's Petrel (Pterodroma ultima) — a life bird for many people on the boat, including me.  There were some other very nice sightings, so I'll be sharing some views of our offshore neighbors this week.  Stay tuned!

For the record

I had kind of an "off" day for bird photographs during the pelagic boat trip to Bodega Canyon and Cordell Bank on 6 October 2019.  I was often in the wrong place for photos, or the birds were at odd angles or just out of focus.  But for the record, here are some shots that were interesting for various reasons:

Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster), a rarity in Sonoma County:

 

Flyby Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis):

 

Flesh-footed Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes), an uncommon visitor from Australia or New Zealand:

 

A "ballet" of Buller's Shearwaters (Ardenna bulleri):

 

A Pomarine Jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus) and the moon:

 

Translucent

 

Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea), offshore near Bodega Canyon/Cordell Bank, 22 September 2019

 

Dream waves

I mentioned that the light and sea conditions were interesting on the boat trip to Bodega Canyon and Cordell Bank on 25 August 2019. Here are a few more examples.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

Dream wave:

 

Just a hint:

 

Glide (Black-footed Albatross):

 

Gray on gray (Red Phalarope):

 

Power surge

 

I didn't get a chance to finish "pelagic week," so I'll be sharing a few more photos from the boat trip to Bodega Canyon and Cordell Bank on 25 August 2019.

Tonight's post features Pacific White-sided Dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquens).

 

 

 

Not too far

 

We were lucky to encounter several Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus) offshore near Bodega Canyon/Cordell Bank on 25 August 2019.  

You can tell individual Blue Whales apart by the details of the patterning on their skin and the shape of their dorsal fins.  Here's a different individual than the one shown above:

 

Below, this is the same individual as shown in the first photo, but the view is further forward and the "splashguards" surrounding the blowhole are visible (right side).

 

It's always nice to see Blue Whales and fun to think about them feeding offshore, not too far away.

 

Just visiting

 

A few Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) images from a boat trip to Bodega Canyon/Cordell Bank on 25 August 2019.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 

 

 

P.S.  For an introduction to Laysan Albatross, see the post called "Incoming" on 2 September 2012.  (And note that they also breed on Guadalupe Island off the west coast of Baja California, Mexico, which I neglected to mention in that earlier post.)  And for some fun audio recordings of Laysan Albatross, check out "Largely silent at sea" on 9 September 2015.