Visitors from the South Pacific

  

I finally found a few minutes to look through my Murphy's Petrel (Pterodroma ultima) photos from the offshore boat trip last weekend (7 May 2023).  These aren't stellar shots, but they're the best I have from the day, and I think they're still helpful for learning about different field marks for this species.  Murphy's Petrels are generally rare on day trips from shore, but on this day we observed over 40 individuals.  It was quite a show!

Some individuals were close enough to see the combination of brown and gray feathers on the back and upper wings.  The patterning of silver highlights on the back appeared to be unique to an individual.  (Sometimes it was hard to tell whether some individuals made multiple passes by the boat, but looking at feather patterns in the photos I could distinguish different individuals.)

 

 

Although the lighting was tough for photos and I ended up with a lot of silhouettes, you could still see the pale panels under the wings, and some of the white mottling/frosting on the chin:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Murphy's Petrels are active flyers and although there wasn't much wind this day, they would still arc high above the horizon:

 

 

 
And sometimes bank at strong angles:

 

 

 

It was a good day for learning overall shape — note the relatively large head and thick bill (especially if you are comparing them to a Sooty Shearwater):

 

 

 

Murphy's Petrels are visitors from the tropical south-central Pacific.  Although in the northeast Pacific during their non-breeding season, they'll return to nest on islands in the South Pacific, e.g., Austral, Tuamotu, Pitcairn islands. 

Wish them luck on their journey!

'Ua'u!

  

A beautiful Hawaiian Petrel (Pterodroma sandwichensis) flyby during the offshore boat trip on 7 May 2023.  It was a little distant for my lens, but I think you'll still be able to appreciate this handsome species.

Here's a view as it banked away from the boat:

 

 

 

And one more (below), this time as the petrel approached low over the water.  You can probably tell that there wasn't much wind at the time.  Petrels are often easier to find when winds are stronger, but the calm conditions allowed us to go farther offshore (30-35 miles?) which probably increased our chances of finding petrels.

 

 

 

If you're interested, there's a little more about this endangered species in the post called "With aloha" on 25 May 2021.  And there's a helpful species account at this U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service web page.

 

A day at sea

  

A bit of a sneak peek — Murphy's Petrel (Pterodroma ultima) from an offshore boat trip on 7 May 2023.  More photos from the pelagic trip will be coming this week!

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!