June 7-8 - Hatteras Pelagic Trip

Marty & I were awake at 5 a.m. on this Friday morning, with the Chuck-Will’s-Widows calling outside our window.  We roused and I cooked scrambled cheese eggs and toast for breakfast, and we packed to go our separate ways.  Marty and Ellen were going to a cabin in the Blue Ridge mountains, and I am driving 5½ hours east to the Outer Banks.  I pretty much drove straight through, taking a room at the Breakwater Inn in Hatteras.  I enjoyed a beer at the Wreck and waited for the Stormy Petrel II to arrive, watching the kids at the dock filleting “dolphin” and blackfin tuna.  There was a boatload of Faux News listeners raising hell on the dock.

Making America Groan Again . . . loud music and loud obscenities

The folks on the Pelagic trip had a really slow day of birding, and had suffered a downpour of rain today, but they noted the light wind was out of the southwest, which isn’t all that conducive to finding Gulf Stream birds.  I ate supper at the Breakwater Inn’s restaurant, and went to bed early.

The alarm went off at 4:00 a.m., where it was 73º and mostly cloudy with a slight northeast breeze.  I was down at the marina and on board the Stormy Petrel II at 5 a.m.

Seabirding is run by Brian Patteson and is the venue for pelagic seabird trips out to the Gulf Stream in the Mid-Atlantic.  When the birders arrived, Skipper Brian gave the safety and birding briefing, and introduced us to the spotters for the trip today’s Kate Sutherland,

Phil Rusch 

and Michael Sandoz.

We left the dock around 5:30 and enjoyed the sun rise.

As we crossed the bar and into a fairly calm sea, the participants gathered at the bow, at the stern, and on the flying bridge to scan the waters for seabirds.

We were accompanied by Common Terns,

and before too long, we began seeing shearwaters.  I’d seen Great Shearwaters and Cory’s Shearwaters from a fishing boat off Moorhead City 25 years ago, but it’d been a while.  So, my rusty identification skills were subjected to a steep learning curve.

The Great Shearwaters have a dark ‘cap’ as well as a dark bill, and sport a “U”-shaped white band above their tail,

Whereas the Cory’s Shearwaters are pretty much brown above, and have a yellowish bill.

Since I was last on this Ocean, people have been paying attention to the two separate populations of Cory’s . . . the group that breeds on the Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Azores is the more common out here, and comprise the ‘borealis’ group of the two.  These birds have an extensive dark tip to the wing with little or no white on primaries 6-9, and none on p10.

The Scopoli’s group which breeds in the Mediterranean, however, shows distinct and long white tongues/inner webs on the primaries, including p10, eventually leading into dark wingtips and giving the impression of a much whiter underwing.

Whether these two groups are subspecies or species depends on which taxonomists you put your trust in, but the American Birding Association (and eBird) follows the lead of the American Ornithological Society in considering them as two distinct populations of the same species.  Perhaps one day, the AOS will “split” them and we will gain an “armchair” Life Bird species.

Not long into the trip, we began seeing good numbers of Audubon’s Shearwater, which was a new species for me, and was my ABA Life Bird No. 612.

They look and fly somewhat like the Black-vented Shearwater off the California coast

Before long, we got out into the Gulf Stream, where drifts of the Sargassum, a brown algae, provide shelter and feed for a breadth of fish, arthropods, mollusks and other creatures.

Some of the folks on shore consider this algae a nuisance when it washes up on “their” beach, but it is the foundation of the ecosystem out in the warm waters of the Atlantic, Caribbean and the Gulf Stream.

There are over 300 species of Sargassum . . .

The Stormy Petrel II drags a chum cage at the stern, where a frozen block of fish parts melts as we go, and the scent attracts the interest of the "tube-noses" (petrels and shearwaters), which have a highly-developed sense of smell.

The Gulf Stream specialties began to make their appearance.  The Black-capped Petrel (Lifer No. 613) and the Band-rumped Storm Petrel (Lifer No. 614) were new species for me, and I enjoyed getting to know these tube-noses, which are not found off the Pacific Northwest coast.

Black-capped Petrel has the black cap (uh-huh...) and white at the nape of the neck

The Wilson’s Storm-petrels are common out here, with their short tails and long legs.  The name “Petrel” is said to have been so-called from its way of flying with its feet just skimming the surface of the water, recalling Saint Peter's walk on the sea of Galilee (Matthew xiv.28-29).

Walking on the water

The Band-rumped Storm Petrel reminds me of the Leach’s Storm-Petrel that we see regularly off Westport, Washington, but flies differently; more directly than the bat-like flapping I associate with Leach’s.

Band-rumped Storm-Petrels are larger & have shorter legs than the Wilson's

We did have a Leach’s fly past, which proved to be Life Bird No. 700 for one of the birders (sorry; I’ve misplaced your name . . . if you read this, let me know and I’ll give you full recognition!).

Life Bird No. 700 - he is a happy birder!

A Sooty Tern flew over, which was a new species for several of the birders.

Then, a Fea’s Petrel came by and circled the boat and chum slick for quite a while.  This was Lifer No. 615 for me.

Fea's Petrel has no white at its nape

As we were taking in the Fea’s, we were ‘photo-bombed’ by a Masked Booby, which was pretty unexpected.  These Boobies nest in more tropical climes, and I’d only seen them before on a trip to the Dry Tortugas.

Frank Mantlik's photo shamelessly stolen from Kate's Blog page

Finally, it was time to return to port, and although we kept a ‘weather eye’ out for the birds, pretty much saw more of the same on the return trip.

The folks who’d been out yesterday said that they had a much better trip today, so my taking only one day on the Atlantic was a crap shoot that came out in my favor.  That said, the ocean changes every day, and you can’t count on the birds being there, or the ‘target’ species’ being in the same place.

Audubon's Shearwater

I guess I just need to be spending more time on the water!  Brian docked and we thanked him for a great day on the Ocean.  I returned to the motel and ate supper again at the Breakwater, and turned in early after a fantastic day in the Gulf Stream.

Kate is passionate about sea birds - especially noted when she sees a 'good' bird and screams loud enough so that everyone can get a view of it!  She maintains an excellent Blog for the Hatteras Seabirding trips.  I highly recommend your reading her account of today’s (and yesterday’s) adventure.

Kate getting great shots of the sea birds

Hatteras Pelagic eBird Checklist is Here

April 22 - Natural Bridges National Monument

The kingbirds outside the window woke me at 6 a.m., so I got up and walked around the motel on a cool 42º day, returning the birds’ “Good Morning” greetings.

Noisy birds, first thing in the morning

Raven had a his say, as well

House Finch

I packed and ate breakfast at the Kayenta Monument Valley Inn’s restaurant.  These people make good coffee here - robust and flavourful.  I saw that the General Manager of the Inn was at the front desk, so - when she had a break from the rest of the travelers checking out - I engaged her with my dilemma.  I introduced myself to Ms. Lavina Smith, and explained how I had thought I’d made a reservation for last night, only to find out that “Cancelon”, a “third-party” outfit had my reservation for the 25th.  She said that, until “Cancelon” contacted her Inn, she could do nothing, but would do what she could to “make it right” when the reservation for next Thursday was posted.  I was very impressed with Ms. Smith’s professionalism and assistance.

I was interested in adding to my “Life List” of birds by finding the Lucy’s Warbler.  This is a common bird in the Southwest, but I’d never been in the area when the species was here.  I figured that I’d go up into the Escalante National Monument to find it.  This is the most remote real estate in the lower 48, and was protected by proclamation by President Bill Clinton in 1996.  In 2017, our current Executive exceeded his Constitutional authority, as is his wont, and reduced the Monument area by nearly half!  Thank Goodness, environmental groups Brought Suit.

Leaving Kayenta, I drove north, and was intrigued by the small octagonal houses that seem to be built in the yards of almost every home in the Navajo Nation.

These appear to be the modern Hogans, which were the traditional sacred home for the Diné people who practice traditional religion.  Every family, even if they live most of the time in a newer home, has the traditional hogan for ceremonies, and to keep themselves in balance.

Hooghan baah hashne’ dooleeł                                    

Ha’ahaahdéé’ yah ajighááh. Ákwe’é nitsáhákees silá.

Shádi’ááhjigo dashdiighááh. Ákwe’é nahat’á silá.

Áádóó E’e’aahjigo dashdiighááh. Ákwe’é iiná silá.

Áádóó Nahookǫsjigo dashdiighááh. Ákwe’é sih hasin silá.

Ahéhee’.

I continued north on Highway 163, crossing into Utah and passing through Monument Valley; I was awed by the iconic landforms in the area.

Yeah, this one seems kind of 'normal'

As I continued past the water treatment facility at Halchita, I saw a pair of teal landing.  There is little water or marsh habitat in this desert, so I stopped and walked around the wastewater treatment pond to do a bit of birding.

Ducks in the Desert

Crossing the San Juan River at Mexican Hat, I eyed the willows and cottonwoods in the narrow riparian zone thinking that this looked like warbler habitat, and pulled into the parking lot for the Olde Bridge Grille.  As soon as I got out, I heard the song of a male Lucy’s Warbler, and the bird flew up to serenade me for 15 minutes!  This species was my “ABA Area” Life Bird Number 600, so this was a special stop for me.

Lucy's Warbler

Life Bird No. 600!

Finding the warbler at Mexican Hat obviated my need to travel to the remoteness of the Grand Staircase area, so I decided to visit the Natural Bridges National Monument instead, as I’d not been there, either.  Taking Highway 261, you can get some great views from the rim of Cedar Mesa.

"Go Home!  This Country Is Full"

En route, I passed yet another cattle drive.

Much of the West is Open Range

The entrance to the Monument goes through the Pinyon-Juniper habitat.

The Visitors’ Center had a small Native Plant walk, and the Rangers were very informative regarding the trails and sights to be seen in the Monument.

The Monument was the first in the State of Utah, and was designated by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908.  There are three bridges in the “park”, given Hopi names of Kachina, Owachomo, and Sipapu.  The bridges were caused through the erosion over the aeons of the White River through the sandstone formations.

Much of these formations are composed of cross-bedded sand dunes that solidified.

I drove the auto tour route, and walked out to see Kachina Bridge, and then walked down to the banks of the White River under the Sipapu span.

I was really impressed with the Puebloan ruins above the river.

The peoples who lived here had it figured out.

Build your house under the cliff so you don't get rained on . . .

Living in a place with a water view.

Up on the cliff where the nasty raiding parties can’t get to you.  Just pull the ladder up behind you.

These trails are not ADA Compliant . . .

The trails go along some pretty steep areas, and hikers are warned of potential hazards.

Much of the soil in this desert area is protected by a layer of Cryptogamic soil.  These ‘biologic soil crusts’ are composed of cyanobacteria, lichens, mosses, algae, microfungi, and bacteria, which clump to help to hold things together like a woven mat.  These crusts are important to nature, in that they help stabilize, feed and water the soil, and minimize wind and water erosion.  It only takes one wrong step to crush the crust.  This single step will take years to heal - if ever.

I left the Monument, still working my way home, and made it as far as Salina, Utah this evening, checking into the Rodeway Inn for $44.96.

Kayenta Monument Valley Inn eBird Checklist is Here

Halchita Treatment Ponds eBird Checklist is Here

Mexican Hat eBird Checklist is Here

Natural Bridges National Monument eBird Checklist is Here