[CINC] CX, 8/13/13

[Mr Zalophus]

Colleagues,

I've posted a seabird congregation photo or two at
http://www.condorexpressphotos.com/Other/2013-08-13-SB-Channel
It is a bad time to be an anchovy.

best regards
Bob Perry
CX


On Tue, Aug 13, 2013 at 10:28 PM, John Kuizenga <kuzzi738 at gmail.com> wrote:

>  *Cetaceans:
> *2 - Humpbacks
> 2,500 - Common Dolphins in multiple large and small groupings
> 1 - Minke
> 5 - MN’s reported by Mat, all out of close observation range, with
> dwindling time
>
> *Birds:
>
> *8-10,000 Shearwaters, mostly Black-vented and Sooty’s with a sprinkling
> of Pink-footed
> Elegant Tern
> Double-Crested Cormorants
> Assorted Gulls and Pelicans
>
> Captains Mat and David reported Humpbacks had been observed the previous
> day in an area East of  Rincon Oil Island and three to four miles off the
> coast, so we ventured forth.
> In route to this area we happened on a group of over twelve hundred Common
> Dolphins spread out over a large area, making the grouping appear even
> larger than it was. Throughout the day we encountered other groups of DC’s,
> some large, some small, either scouting and/or nursery groups, with many
> football size little ones in the mix.
> Once arriving in the area we located a single Humpback and followed it at
> an appropriate distance for nearly an hour.  However, reciprocity wasn’t
> happening, thus no friendly approaches or muggings. This whale was busy
> busy surface feeding, displaying a minimum of behaviors, but did cooperate
> for many PID opportunities, with short down times and frequent fluking.
> When we approached this whale Capt Dave thought it could be a whale that
> performs a unique behavior similar to one in “Ropes” repertoire, where upon
> surfacing “Rope” takes water in the blow hole and splash guard and then
> spits it out in spasmodic pulses of water with a great gurgling commotion.
>  Today however this whale performed no such behavior.
>
> After an hour, it was time to investigate another nearby school of
> dolphins, a relatively small nursery grouping with many babies.  Following
> a brief visit we were off again, at which point Capt. Mat spotted a distant
> Humpback performing repeated tail throws, so we ventured in for a closer
> look and Mat thought we had happened upon our initial MN sighting once
> again, but it turned out to be a new sighting, a thinner, smaller whale and
> PID images confirmed a similar but slightly different fluke print.
>
> Many of you have reported seeing large #’s of Shearwater in recent days
> and today was no exception, with thousands of sightings, some in clusters,
> not unlike a smarm of bees. (Bob may have a posting of this) The CX brain
> trust estimated there may have been as many as 10,000 molting Shearwater in
> this group alone and we’d been seeing them spread out all day as well.
>
> *Note:*  Speaking of Shearwaters, CX photographer extraordinaire Bob
> Perry mentioned a fact I wasn’t aware of and that is, only the Sooty
> Shearwater migrated to New Zealand. Capt Matt added that”Pink-footed end
> their migration in Mexican Waters and the Black Vented S. migration
> terminates is Chile”  Incidentally, check out Bob’s laminate in the
> wheelhouse: “Sooty Shearwater Migration Routes”, it’s very interesting.
>
> Over one hundred passengers aboard today from many foreign countries,
> including: France, Belgium, the Netherlands and UK.  My partner today was
> the affable Rae Emmett, who I believe made contact with every single
> passenger.
>
> Rae Emmett, Naturalist and John Kuizenga, PID
>
>
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