Spaces available on July 16, 2011 Brookline Bird Club (MA) Pelagic. While not covering NY waters, this is a great chance to get out and see some pelagic birds. This message is being posted with permission of the list moderator - several folks from NY have already signed up, and we hope more of you can join us.
July 16, 2011 – 4 AM to 9 PM, the Brookline Bird Club is running a pelagic trip from Hyannis, MA to the shelf edge (Hydrographer and/or nearby canyons). The trip will be led by a salty and experienced crew of pelagic birders- Marshall Iliff, Jeremiah Trimble, James P. Smith, and Steve Mirick. Our comfortable boat, the Helen H, will be steaming far off shore in search of Gulf Stream associated waters (over 70F). We will explore the continental shelf edge, a biologically rich area where the water depths drop off from a couple of hundred feet to over a mile deep. This has been a great year along the Gulf Stream – a Fea's Petrel was sighted in June near Hudson Canyon, NY; a NOAA vessel reported a remarkable 11 Herald Petrel off the coast of NC, and additionally has been reporting a large number of White-tailed Tropicbirds. It is only a matter of time until we find some of these birds in MA waters. We got a hint of the pterodroma possibilities on the July 2009 BBC trip, when all on board were treated to great views of a BLACK-CAPPED PETREL -only the 4th state record for MA. These birds may be more common than we expect, a Black-capped Petrel was seen on a Block Island pelagic last September as well. We have a good chance of seeing Band-Rumped Storm-petrels, Bridled Tern, Audubon's Shearwater and other rarities which occur only in the warmer, deeper waters. We expect to see several species of shearwaters (Sooty, Great, Cory's, Manx), Wilson's Storm-petrels, jaegers (all three are possible), andperhaps a skua. In addition we usually encounter marine mammals (Humpback, Fin, Sperm, Blue and Northern Right whales have been seenon previous trips). These are great trips, and a unique chance getsome great pelagic birds. A running tally of the birds seen on BBC Pelagic trips can be found at http://home.comcast.net/~smirick//SummaryTableofPelagics.htm A great photoset from the June 25, 2011 BBC Pelagic (compliments of Jeremiah Trimble) http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrtrimble/sets/72157626943948309/ To reserve a space, or for further information, contact Ida Giriunas at 781-929-8772 or ida8 AT verizon.net Cost: BBC Members: $130.00 Non-members: $150.00 Please be advised that because of fuel cost there may be a surcharge to cover any extra expense. Additional information can be found at http://content.brooklinebirdclub.org/2010/11/2011-pelagic-schedule.html The overnight August BBC Pelagic has already sold out - don't miss the boat! Regards, Naeem Yusuff, Cambridge MA Brookline Bird Club -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
