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Subject: Chatham pelagic - 7/8 morning
From: Blair Nikula <odenews AT odenews.org>
Date: Sun, 08 Jul 2012 21:33:48 -0400
We had another successful pelagic trip out of Chatham this morning, highlighted by a 1st year Sabine's Gull that put on an excellent show as we were heading back in.. The weather was great with a gentle north breeze and light seas. As soon as we headed out the south inlet, we started seeing Wilson's Storm-Petrels and they were nearly omnipresent throughout the morning. We headed ENE from Chatham Light as the captain had reports of bird and whale activity a bit to the north. Shearwaters initially were few and far between, but we eventually found a concentration around a slug of tuna fishing boats and several Humpbacks about 8 miles east of the Chatham/Orleans line. As usual, chumming with a fish liver slurry brought some of the birds almost into the boat, providing spectacular views and photo-ops. As we were heading back, about 3 miles offshore, the captain spotted a bird on the water just ahead of us that proved to be a 1st year Sabine's Gull. The bird flushed just as we realized what it was, but circled the boat then landed behind us, allowing us to slowly circle back and get more great looks at the bird on the water. A great end to another beautiful morning on the water! 12 Cory's Shearwaters (much scarcer today than on previous trips) 300 Great Shearwaters 350 Sooty Shearwaters 15 Manx Shearwaters 500 Wilson's Storm-Petrels 1 N. Gannet 1 SABINE'S GULL (1cy) 200 Herring Gulls 75 Great Black-backed Gulls 1 Roseate Tern 100 Common Terns Blair Nikula
An Outer Cape Cod photo of this 7/8/2012 first Sabine's Gull of the season....
IMG_9168 Sabine's Gull in flight(fixed) | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
