[CINC] September 17

[Bernardo Alps]

Hi all.

On Tuesday, a birding trip aboard the Searcher out of San Diego fond a White-chinned Petrel in the mouth of the Santa Barbara Channel. White-chinned Petrels breed mainly on subantarctic islands and this is only the fourth time one has been seen off North America; it is a mega rarity. Here is some video of the bird http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDathWSjSxo.

On Saturday, September 17, the Condor Express will visit the same waters where the bird was seen. Of course, there are no guarantees, but you never know what you will find when you go out. More importantly, this trip has been especially designed as a training trip for CINC naturalists. Many of you have expressed interest in learning more about sea birds and Captain Mat has organized this trip with you in mind. There will be many excellent leaders on board, including Todd McGrath who found the White-chinned Petrel and Dave Pereksta, who will give blow-by-blow tutorials on how to identify the species we see in our area, even the more common ones. And you have the chance to get plenty of personal attention, there will be leaders walking around to answer questions throughout the trip. Since we are likely to make it outside the channel, there is also an excellent chance that we will see both long-beaked and short-beaked common dolphins on the trip and we will be able to examine ID points for the two species.

I am Mr. Beach Cleanup and I am bummed that the trip falls on Coastal Cleanup Day but we have to show appreciation to Captain Mat and the Condor Express for organizing this trip for us and pricing it well below their normal rate. If you have not already done so, please call SEA Landing, 888-77WHALE, and sign up for what promises to be a great adventure. See you on the 17th.

Take care,

Bernardo