The Condor Express, shown here in a web photo, was our marine transportation out of Santa Barbara. It's a fast catamaran with good stability. I really enjoyed the trip, but I could have used some warmer clothes. The boat has an onboard galley that fixes a variety of edibles so you don't have to bring food unless you want to. I spent most of the time near the bow. It was a full boat so at times it could be crowded. The course we followed was one that went to the Rodriguez Seamount and then to other seamounts where pelagic species are found. We left the dock at 7:00am and got back after 9:00pm, so it was a long day. I managed to see five new birds for the year: Ashy, Black and Least Storm-Petrels, Buller's Shearwater, and a Cook's Petrel. In the weeks prior to this trip hundreds of Cook's Petrels had been sighted. But today there were only a few. I missed the earliest sighting by going to the back of the boat where the bird had been spotted only to find that if I'd stayed where I had been, the bird would have flown right by me. Oh well! A bit later two more were seen from the back of the boat and I managed to see one of those, which was ABA bird #757. After we got back to shore, I headed on down Route 101 and found a Motel 6 that had a room available. Tomorrow will be a leisurely day since there are no nearby birds to chase. The total now stands at 684.
I no longer wish to receive your blog postings in my inbox, but cannot figure out how to unsubscribe. Bob, can you help me? Thanks very much.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Mary Jo Ballator
2mjb@mindspring.com
There is, of course, the Yellow Rail that has been reported regularly (including 7/30/10) for the last month at Willow Lake in Plumas County, about 9 hrs north of where you are.
ReplyDeleteHow long will it take to get 16 more birds? Renee
ReplyDeleteMary Jo Ballator:
ReplyDeleteIf you are logged into Blogger (as you would be in order to post a comment,) you can unsubscribe from email notifications of new postings on this blog by going to an individual posting (this one for example - The Condor Express.) At the bottom right of the "Post a Comment" section where you might respond to a post, there should be an "Unsubscribe by email" link. Click that and you should get a message that says you are now unsubscribed and the link will now say "Subscribe by email".
Hope that helps!
Up hwy 101 by Soledad Ca., in the Salinas Valley, is Pinnacles National Monument, which is one of the release sites for the California Condor. When I was there, there were 8 of them soaring around the Pinnacles. They are also seen by the mouth of the Carmel River by Big Sur.
ReplyDeleteHey Bob, nice to have birded with you on the Condor. One question, you say you saw Least Storm-Petrel. When was that? I don't recall those being seen on this trip.
ReplyDelete