[texbirds] South Padre Island pelagic trip report, 27 July 2013
- From: "bradmckinney@xxxxxxxx" <bradmckinney@xxxxxxxx>
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 28 Jul 2013 23:03:34 GMT
Good afternoon, Yesterday morning, 32 adventurous birders headed out to
deepwater off South Padre island in search of seabirds and other marine life.
With a steady south wind and seas running about 3-4 feet we watched coastal
terns (Royal, Sandwich, Black, and Least) feeding in the sargassum laden waters
on the way out. We saw the first of several Masked Boobies at 9:00 am flying
fast across the bow. An hour later we were in oceanic blue waters with flying
fish everywhere. At 10:20 am, we had two more Masked Boobies, including another
adult bird. The pair made three close passes by the boat providing fantastic
looks. We reached the deepwater curve shortly after 11:00 am and immediately
had a Cory’s Shearwater, which stayed 100 yards in front of the boat for
a couple of minutes before disappearing from view. Unfortunately this would be
the only shearwater of the day. (In the western Gulf of Mexico, Shearwater
numbers peak in September). Just minutes after the shearwater, we saw our
first Band-rumped Storm-Petrel gliding low over the swells. At 60 miles out, we
began a fish oil drip and continued heading due east toward the Colt 45 reef.
After retracing our fish oil path we came across several Band-rumped
Storm-Petrels, three of which were very cooperative, providing extended looks
at close range. By early afternoon, we came across three more Masked Boobies,
with one adult bird resting calmly just 50 feet from the boat. The booby made
two close passes by the boat before soaring away. On the way back in birders
were treated to bow-riding pelagic bottlenose and Atlantic spotted dolphins.
One of the spotted dolphins was a real show off- bow riding upside down for
20-30 second stretches just inches underneath another bow-riding dolphin.
Around 3:00 pm, the captain and crew spotted a large blue marlin lounging near
the surface. As we passed by several shrimp boats, a sharp-eyed birder spotted
a distant Magnificent Frigatebird, bringing our seabird count to four species.
We came across our last Masked Booby about 20 miles out, capping off a fine day
on the open gulf. Although the number of seabird species was lower than what
we'd hoped for, none of the leaders could ever recall having such wonderful
looks at Band-rumped Storm-Petrels and Masked Boobies. On behalf of all the
trip leaders thanks to all for supporting Texas pelagic trips, and we hope to
see many of you on future trips. Special thanks to Eric Carpenter for
organizing another great trip. Thanks to trip leaders Eric Carpenter, Mary
Gustafson, John O’Brien, and Randy Pinkston for a job well done. The
following is a list of seabird species: Cory’s Shearwater
(1)Band-rumped Storm-Petrel (9-12) At least nine individuals, possibly as many
as 12.Masked Booby (5-8) At least five individuals, possibly as many as
eight.Magnificent Frigatebird (1) Below is a link to a few photos of Masked
Booby and Band-rumped
Storm-Petrel.http://s1090.photobucket.com/user/bradmckinney/media/SPI%20pelagic%2027%20July%202013/MABO1127July2013_zps6f485ec8.jpg.htmlFor
information on Texas seabirding, please check out Gary Hodne's website:
www.texaspelagics.com Good seabirding!Brad McKinney, Rancho Viejo
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