"A good time was had by all" yesterday off Virginia Beach, as one part of the
VSO weekend's trips, the pelagic trip aboard the Nancy Anne, made it all the
way out to the Norfolk Canyon and back on very calm seas.
We left the dock right on schedule, just before 0530, and steered a course
out toward the Norfolk Canyon's mouth, about 70 miles distant. As the sun
rose, we were almost 20 miles offshore, with the Chesapeake Light Tower
appearing in the distance. A few Red-throated and many Common Loons were
noted, as well as our first flyby Razorbill, and we paused to observe a small
tight flock of Common Loons well offshore. Some of these had already begun
molt of their flight feathers. Gradually, we began to see small, then larger
flocks of Bonaparte's Gulls, a good sign that small bait fish are around and
that other birds and fish may be present as well.
Sure enough, we began detecting the swirls of predatory fish below and
finally observed the enormous, ominous "roll" of feeding Bluefin Tuna, some
of them very large, surely over 500 pounds! We were to see this fish sign
all through the intermediate depths of 20 all the way through 100 fathoms,
most impressive. Also feeding in these depths were several large whales, one
of which was surely a rorqual (Minke/Fin/Sei), another probably a Humpback,
and a final one a very large rorqual (probably Fin). We never got good
second looks at these whales in order to identify them. In the general area,
we scanned and scanned, finding 4 Red-breasted Mergansers, a flock of Canada
Geese (way out offshore!), hundreds of Northern Gannets, and a passerine,
probably a junco.
Bonaparte's Gull flocks in North Carolina often hover over feeding whales,
but they also harrass feeding Razorbills (much as Herring Gulls harrass
Common Loons), and so we were on the lookout for alcids in 20-25 fathoms as
well. We found several Razorbills in flight before seeing one to outstanding
advantage just near the boat. As Brian Patteson (the trip's leader) noted,
one can see 50 Razorbills over the course of a day without seeing one so
well; they are remarkably boat-shy creatures.
Looking "under" marauding flocks of Bonaparte's, we spotted another alcid
with a dusky face, rather than the white face of a Razorbill. Closer
investigation revealed that it was not a Common Murre (which has a white face
in winter). The bird flushed and flew away as it was being tormented by the
gulls, revealing an all-white underwing, thus ruling out Atlantic Puffin
(which has a dusky face but also a dusky underwing) easily. Patteson
reasoned that it was a young Thick-billed Murre, by virtue of the white
underwing, very small bill, lack of white line near the bill, and large-alcid
shape. In flight, the bird banked once, offering momentary confusion with
some sort of shearwater, but it was clearly a large alcid, and Patteson's
tentative identification as a Thick-billed Murre kept us looking for more.
Shortly after this sighting, another murre crossed our bow, probably also a
Thick-billed, but it too kept flying! Frustrating! Though we saw several
more Razorbills during the day, we did not see more murres. We did, however,
locate many small and some large flocks (as large as 50) of basic-plumaged
Red Phalaropes, some of which provided the closest views I've ever had of the
species offshore in Virginia. The day's total of at least 180 was the most
I'd seen in a day as well. Also in the vicinity were Manx Shearwaters,
including one small group of four, which provided good views in flight. We
saw nine during the day.
As we gradually worked offshore, we lost contact with the Bonaparte's Gull
flocks but found more and more Black-legged Kittiwakes, handsome pelagic
gulls; the total for the day was under 100, but we had nice views of the
species, with a group of four adults sitting on the water. On arriving at
the Norfolk Canyon, we found it rather quiet, the puffins and fulmars having
yet to return. The low numbers of large gulls (we found 12 Laughing Gulls
but only 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls!) around the scallop fleet meant we had
little chance for Great Skua, either. But we were rewarded with superior
studies of two Ocean Sunfish in the deep water, and as we returned shoreward,
a second-calendar-year Pomarine Jaeger joined the gulls and gannets behind
the Nancy Anne for several meals of Menhaden. The jaeger put on a marvelous
show harrassing the other seabirds for a bit of fish. We returned to the
dock at Lynnhaven just after 1830, a full and tiring but rewarding day.
Signs are very good that this could be a good winter for larger alcids
(murres and Razorbills), and there will be several more winter trips offshore
next year; consult http://www.seabirding.com for more information. ;
Ned Brinkley
Cape Charles, VA
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