Local experts headed offshore on February 14th for a half-day out as far as the 9-Mile Bank. Most areas were fairly quiet, with only small numbers of scattered seabirds here and there.
But quite close to shore–only 2.7 nm SSE of the tip of Point Loma or 3.5 nm W of the Silver Strand–we had a large feeding concentration of Black-vented Shearwaters (ca. 400-500), Brown Pelicans, cormorants, alcids, and Pacific Loons. With all the Black-vents was a MANX SHEARWATER, which put on a fairly good show both at rest and in flight. Otherwise, the totals for the morning were:
Northern Fulmar: 3
Black-vented Shearwater: 500
Pomarine Jaeger: 5
Parasitic Jaeger: 1
Common Murre: 14
Scripps’s Murrelet: 48
Cassin’s Auklet: 35
Rhinoceros Auklet: 54
–Paul Lehman, San Diego
