[va-bird] Virginia Beach Offshore Fishing Trip, 3 December


For those curious to see what's flying around 50 miles off the Virginia Beach 
coast in early December, there will be a fishing boat going offshore at 0500 
from Rudee Inlet.   I think the boat used is the 87' new Super Sport, but it 
may depend on reservations.   The cost is $100.   To make a reservation, 
contact Rudee Inlet Charters at 757-422-5700.   There is no penalty for a 
no-show, 
but you must be there at 0430 in the morning in order to have your reservation 
honored.   They typically have food on the boat, but it's not haute cuisine.   
More information should be posted on their website: 
http://www.rudeeinletcharters.com/.   I should point out that this is a fishing 
boat and there will 
fishing going on (best not to come out if one has an aversion to fishing!).   
Also, the captain doesn't chase birds, so one has to look quickly sometimes!   
Last year, we saw near-record-high numbers (47) of Manx Shearwaters, 25 Red 
Phalaropes, 8 Greater Shearwaters, a Thayer's Gull (which stayed with the boat 
for 
several hours), a dozen Razorbills, Parasitic and Pomarine Jaegers (three 
each), 92 Black-legged Kittiwakes, along with Northern Gannets, Common Loons, 
Bonaparte's and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, etc.   In the 1990s, we've seen 
single 
Great Skua, single Atlantic Puffin, Little Gull, and a large flight of 
thousands of kittiwakes.   

I should say that Bob Ake, David Hughes, Bob Anderson and others have 
traditionally gone out on   fishing boats on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, 
and 
these trips (off about 25 or so miles) have almost always produced jaegers and 
kittiwakes.   Nowadays, the boats are going off later in the season and farther 
offshore than the 'Triangle Wrecks', so there is a possibility of seeing some 
of the deeper-water species and also larger whales.   It can be quite chilly 
offshore, so warm, waterproof clothes are a must.   Hopefully, in the mid- and 
late winter, there will be true pelagic birding tours available, and these get 
into waters more likely to produce puffin, skua, and Dovekie (which are much 
less likely to be seen in late autumn than midwinter, too).   

Ned Brinkley
Cape Charles, VA

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