[CINC] CX Deepwater Pelagic Trip Sat July 23

[Mr Zalophus]

Colleagues,

Yesterday the Condor Express ran one its 14-hour deep water pelagic bird
trips co-sponsored by LA Audubon.  We were blessed with extremely calm seas
which made the circuitous trip out to the San Juan Seamount (100 miles out
from Santa Barbara) both pleasant and productive.  The most productive spot
was along the 100 fm curve west of Richardson Rock.   I'll post up the
images of the day to www.CondorExpressPhotos.com no later than Monday
afternoon.

5 Humpbacks (surface lunge feeding)
2 Blues (also feeding on surface)
8 Fin Whales
1 Sei Whale (ID still pending review - a few fleeting looks)
100+ Risso's Dolphins (covering many acres along north face of San Miguel)
30 Pacific White-Sided Dolphins (in 3 groups)
260 Short Beaked Common Dolphins (several groups, one mixed with Lags)
50 Long Beaked Common Dolphins (mostly in the Channel)
11 Dall's Porpoise
2 Northern Fur Seals
12 Guadalupe Fur Seals
2 Elephant Seals
several large Mola mola

highlights of the bird sightings:
Red Billed Tropic Bird
Laysan's Albatross
Manx Shearwater

and numerous great looks at
Fulmars
Black Footed Albatross
S. Polar Skua
Leach's Storm Petrel
Black Storm Petrel
Pink Footed, Black Vented and Sooty Shearwaters
Xantus's
Cassin's
Pigeon Guillemots

very curious sightings:
hundreds of very young Heermann's Gulls 100 miles offshore !

best fishes and have a WHALE of a day
Bob Perry
Condor Express
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