Hello all,
I, too, am surprised by the lack of interest in Texas pelagics this year.
What's going on?! In my limited experience (off Louisiana), July is
arguably the best month of the year offshore. Most of the true pelagic
species that spend their non-breeding season in the Gulf Stream of the
Atlantic Ocean also venture into the northern Gulf of Mexico from late
spring to summer and peak in abundance in July and August. July is an
excellent time for storm-petrels, in particular, (Wilson's in greatest
abundance in June-July off Louisiana) as well as shearwaters, specifically
Audubon's and Cory's, but also Sooty. Recently, June has been THE month for
discovering a wayward Sooty Shearwater in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Although Texas now has about 18 accepted records, many of which have
occurred in late spring-summer, Louisiana recorded its first-ever on 18
June 2014. Just last week, Colette Micallef (a Texas Pelagic veteran)
photographed this Sooty Shearwater (
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37484733) in extreme w. Florida. If
there are any guarantees to be made for seeing multiple pelagic species in
a day and enough of them to keep it interesting, it would be a mid-summer
pelagic. Migration timing and pesky frontal systems make late summer and
fall pelagics much more unpredictable. Of course, anything is possible
offshore at this season and that's what makes these trips so exciting!
I hope to see some of you out there this summer!
Good birding,
Justin Bosler
Austin, TX
On Sat, Jun 10, 2017 at 2:48 PM, Garett Hodne <garyhodne@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Registrations for this year's Texas Pelagics trips have been very slow so
far this year. I guess I need to do a lot more reminding our seabirding
enthusiasts that the time is at hand to make your plans for this summer's
Texas Pelagics trips. At this point we are however far too undersubscribed
to be able to run the July 22nd Texas Pelagic that was planned from Port
Aransas, so this trip has been cancelled. I have also decided to make the
August 26th trip from South Padre Island a 12 hour trip instead of a 16
hour
adventure.
Here is the revised 2017 schedule: If you sign-up soon the "Early Bird
Discount" is still available for the September trips.
DATE HOURS PORT and BOAT
REGULAR FARE
Saturday, August 12, 2017 16 Port Aransas
-Kingfisher $ 250
Saturday, August 26, 2017 12 South Padre Island -
OSPREY $ 200
Saturday, September 16, 2017 16 Port Aransas -Kingfisher
$ 250
Saturday, September 30, 2017 12 South Padre Island -
OSPREY
$ 200
WHY GO ON A TEXAS PELAGIC? Short answer - they are a lot of FUN!!
If you talk to any of the Texas Pelagic leaders and regulars they'll
probably tell you some of the most amazing bird and wildlife encounters
they've ever had in the state of Texas occurred on a Texas Pelagic. Our
experiences from 2015 and 2016 indicate that with more frequent coverage by
pelagic trips we are much more likely to have a few exceptional Pelagic
birding days in the season. This is probably due improving our odds of
hitting favorable current, wind and sea conditions for seabirds that occur
every so often in the deep Gulf off South Padre.
If you've never been on a Texas Pelagic this is the year you should try one
or two. If it's been a long time since you've been on a Texas Pelagic come
back this year and see how much fun they can be. If you're afraid of
seasickness try using the Transderm Scop patch (prescription needed) and
enjoy a day at sea with our great pelagic leaders and groups. These trips
are also a great way to spend a hot summer weekend out birding where it is
definitely cooler offshore than it is onshore. If you're still unconvinced
check out the testimonials from our participants and leaders here:
<http://texaspelagics.com/testimonials/>
http://texaspelagics.com/testimonials/
WHAT TO EXPECT TEXAS PELAGIC?
SEABIRDS: If you've never been on any Pelagic birding trip than you will
certainly see a few life birds. Or if you've never been on a Texas Pelagic
than you can expect to see a few new birds for your Texas Life List. The
seabirds we seek to find are typically never seen from shore and except for
their nesting grounds on remote oceanic islands, they spend their entire
lives far out at sea, usually beyond the edge of the continental shelf. For
a state with the tropical Gulf of Mexico for Pelagic Birding, Texas has
amassed a respectable list of Pelagic species over the years. Here is a
list
of the regular Pelagic Seabirds we encounter annually in good numbers
though
not necessarily all of these species on every trip.
1. Cory's (Scopoli's) Shearwater
2. Cory's (borealis) Shearwater
3. Audubon's Shearwater
4. Leach's Storm-Petrel
5. Band-rumped Storm-Petrel
6. Magnificent Frigatebird
7. Masked Booby
8. Sooty Tern
9. Bridled Tern
10. Pomarine Jaeger
11. Parasitic Jaeger
In addition we frequently see a nice seabird rarity for Texas. All of these
species in the list below, except one, have been seen on a Texas Pelagic.
1. Yellow-nosed Albatross - (once)
2. Black-capped Petrel
3. Great Shearwater - (almost annually)
4. Sooty Shearwater
5. Manx Shearwater
6. Wilson's Storm-Petrel - (not yet)
7. Red-billed Tropicbird
8. Brown Booby - (lately more than annually)
9. Northern Gannet (rare on Texas Pelagics because we don't go in the
winter)
10. Red-necked Phalarope
11. Red Phalarope
12. Black-legged Kittiwake
13. Sabine's Gull
14. Brown Noddy
15. Arctic Tern
16. South Polar Skua - (once)
17. Long-tailed Jaeger
A full rundown of the species list for Offshore Texas Pelagics can be found
at: http://texaspelagics.com/pelagic-sea-birds/tx-seabirds/ . The links
on
this page will take you to detailed report pages listing the Seasonal
Occurrence and Geographic Distribution for most of the seabirds seen in
offshore Texas
Even though the warm tropical waters of the Gulf of Mexico are not as
productive as the waters off of Cape Hatteras or California we can still on
occasion get a nice number of seabirds. Multiple trips over the last few
years have seen over one hundred seabirds of up to 10 species.
MARINE MAMMALS: In addition to the seabirds there is always the possibility
of Marine Mammals and fish to observe. It is the very rare trip that
doesn't
have some sightings of marine mammals. Dolphins of some species are seen on
nearly every trip. Whales of some species are seen on about a third of
Texas
Pelagics trips. Sperm Whales have been sighted on 4 separate trips over the
last 3 years, again on about one-third of the Texas Pelagic trips. Here is
the complete list of marine mammals encounter on Texas Pelagics over the
years.
1. Bryde's Whale
2. Atlantic Spotted Dolphin
3. Pantropical Spotted Dolphin
4. Clymene Dolphin
5. Spinner Dolphin
6. Rough-Toothed Dolphin
7. Bottlenose Dolphin - PELAGIC
8. Bottlenose Dolphin - INSHORE
9. Risso's Dolphin / Grampus
10. Short-Finned Pilot Whale
11. Melon-headed Whale
12. Sperm Whale
13. Pygmy/Dwarf Sperm Whale
14. Cuvier's Beaked Whale
WHALE SHARKS, FISH and OTHER MARINE LIFE: And if the seabirds or marine
mammals aren't enough to get you excited maybe Whale Sharks, tuna schools,
other large sharks, sea turtles, various billfish and flying fish all of
which are frequently seen would get you excited. We have had frequent
encounters with Whale Sharks, like the August 2011 trip where an absolutely
monstrous Whale Shark actually bumped into the boat. Check out the photos
of
it about half-way through the slide-show from that trip at:
<http://www.texaspelagics.com/trips/20110827/index.html>
http://www.texaspelagics.com/trips/20110827/index.html
AN IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT FARES:
These are NON-PROFIT trips that I am organizing and running. So maybe I'm
crazy, but it's a labor of love. All our leaders pay a slightly discounted
fare as well. I have struggled to break-even on these trips over the last
two years because Osprey significantly increased their charter costs and
the
charter costs from Port Aransas are even higher. In 2015 and 2016 I priced
the participant fares such that I needed to have the maximum number of
participants on all trips just to break even on the charter cost. It turned
out this was an unsustainable pricing model as I ended 2016 with almost an
$800 personal loss. I cannot afford to personally subsidize these pelagic
trips. For 2017 I am trying a different pricing model. I have priced the
participant fares so the trips will break even with about 5 participants
less than the maximum number the boat will hold. This gives me a little bit
of breathing room. If the trip gets SOLD-OUT my plan is to offer modest
refunds to all participants based on the fare they paid. People who sign-up
early and pay the discounted fares will get proportionately larger refunds.
Leaders for these trips will include Brad McKinney, Dwight Peake, Eric
Carpenter, John O'Brien, Mary Gustafson, Petra Hockey, Randy Pinkston,
Arman
Moreno and myself. Each of these leaders are passionate about Texas
Pelagics and have more experience on them than anyone else in the offshore
Texas Gulf of Mexico. They all work hard not only to find the birds but
also
to make sure everyone else gets to see them well and enjoy their time at
sea. These trips are also very educational with the excellent commentary
provided by our leaders.
More information on these trips and on Texas Pelagics (including photos
from
previous trips and what species can be expected) can be found at this
informative website:
<http://www.texaspelagics.com/> http://www.texaspelagics.com/
Also there is a Facebook page for Texas Pelagics.
<https://www.facebook.com/pages/Texas-Pelagics/173057036078295?ref=hl>
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Texas-Pelagics/173057036078295?ref=hl
And a Facebook group for Texas Pelagics.
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/219671194850690/>
https://www.facebook.com/groups/219671194850690/
Please check these out for more information as well.
I hope you'll join us.
Gary Hodne
The Woodlands, Texas
Garett 'Gary' Hodne
www.TexasPelagics.com <http://www.TexasPelagics.com>
281-684-5425
Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at
//www.freelists.org/list/texbirds
Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission
from the List Owner
