Pelagic Trip Report
July 23, 2005
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Pelagic Trip Report July 23, 2005 |
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07/28/05 |
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Click on any image below to enlarge the picture. Trip Route:
Species encountered: Magnificent Frigatebird - 1 Greater Shearwater -2 Cory's Shearwater - 4 Audubon's Shearwater - 4 Sterna sp. - 1 Royal Tern - 69 Black Tern - 29 Common Tern - 1 Great Blue Heron - 1 Barn Swallow - 2 Shorebird sp. - 3
Birds Photographed: Audubon Shearwater
Greater Shearwater
Cory's Shearwater
Magnificent Frigatebird
Royal Tern
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Pelagic Trip (Tybee I., GA,
Departure)
On 23 July 2005, a pelagic trip departed from Tybee Island, GA at approximately 5:40AM. The trip was organized by Russ Wigh, and 16 birders accompanied Captain Steve Amick for a bumpy ride out to sea. The seas were between three and five feet on the ride out and the weather was cloudy and hot. At approximately 6:54AM, we encountered our first pelagic species. A MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD was seen cruising toward the boat! Not a bad start to the day, as this species is rarely seen on pelagic trips. While we laid out some fish oil and chum to draw the bird in closer and were able to get close photographs of this bird, although the lighting was still poor. Shortly after our encounter with the Magnificent Frigatebird, several other pelagic species were observed in rapid succession. There were several BLACK TERN and ROYAL TERN feeding on a bait boil. While we were slowly trolling, the first GREATER SHEARWATER of the day flew by the boat, about 200 yards of the bow. Followed quickly by an AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER a little closer to the boat. We cruised along for about an hour and at 7:40AM, found some more bait fish but only some Royal and Black Terns in the area. A distant Sterna tern was observed but could not be positively identified although there was a strong suspicion of Sooty Tern. The only passerines seen during the day flew by the boat at 8:10AM. Two BARN SWALLOW were seen winging past the boat. Just five minutes later, at 8:15AM, the first CORY'S SHEARWATER of the day was seen on the water in the company of several Royal Terns. Once again, we attempted to draw in some pelagic species with an oil slick and chum but attracted no new species. We continued our trip towards Navy Tower R6. At 9:00AM, several distant large shearwater species were seen on the horizon but a definite identification was not possible. We did find two Cory's Shearwaters as we approached R6. Once we arrived at the tower, we were some what disappointed to find only Royal Terns on the structure. An Audubon's Shearwater was seen on the water as we cruised near the tower, so we attempted another chum and oil slick but only attracted the Royal Terns close to the boat. Because of the tropical storm stationed offshore in the Atlantic shelf, Captain Steve decided it was too risky to head further out to sea so the decision was made to fore go the trip tp the gulf stream and remain within the 50 mile distance from shore. We navigated towards the Navy R7 tower and took our time along the way. Around 10:50AM, we came upon some weed line so decided to follow it for awhile. We eventually found some birdlife along the weed line, when four Black Terns, one Cory's Shearwater and two Audubon's Shearwaters were seen very close to the boat. This allowed the opportunity for some photographs and better observation than the first encounter with these species. We arrived at Navy Tower R7 around 12:20PM, and once again were disappointed when only Royal Terns and one COMMON TERN were using the structure. We attempted another oil and chum slick but once again were unable to draw in any other pelagic species. The rest of the day was going to involve cruising north east from R7 and investigating some artificial reefs. We picked up several more Black Terns along the route. The only other pelagic species encountered was another Greater Shearwater around 2:15PM. The bird was on the water within 20 yards of the boat. It never flushed from the water and was probably too weak to fly. We headed east toward Tybee at about 2:45PM and arrived back to the dock before 4:00PM. On the way in we were able to add a few inland species to the lsit for the day including Brown Pelican, Sandwich Tern and Least Tern. The results below can also be viewed in PDF format by clicking here; GA-Pelagic-trip-Report-7-23-05.pdf
These pictures were taken on 7/23/2005 while on a pelagic trip that left Tybee Island by Bob Zaremba, unless otherwise noted. Click on the thumbnail to enlarge the photograph.
Unauthorized use of these images is prohibited.
Birding Kennesaw Mountain Georgia Birding Trip Reports This site was last updated 07/28/05 |
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