PELAGIC PASTIME

On the recommendation of a trusted ally, I finally decided to try my hand at some pelagic birding this year.  On the second to last day of September I embarked on my first pelagic birding expedition with an intrepid crew of some of Gainesville's finest birders.  6 of us crammed into a vehicle, making it seem like the prototypical clown car, and headed out to Ponce Inlet in Volusia County.

We decided to stop at a couple of spots the day before to make a little trip of it.  Our first stop was at the sod fields south of SR 100, along CR 305 in Flagler County.  The rainy weather on the drive out was a bit discouraging, but what ended up being a bit more discouraging was the long re-route we were forced to take down rickety, washboard dirt roads to reach our destination because the bridge had flooded and construction crews were working on repairs.  When we finally reached the sod fields, we found them fairly empty, save for some killdeer, sandhill cranes, american kestrels, palm warblers, a northern waterthrush, and a lone black-bellied plover.  We knew it was unlikely there may be an upland or buff-breasted sandpiper still lingering, but we thought we'd give it a shot anyhow.  You never know if you don't try.

Brown pelican with ruddy turnstone at Ponce Inlet

After the sod fields, we decided to check out the Ponce Inlet jetty as it was getting a bit late in the day.  We figured we may encounter some interesting shorebirds coming in for the night, or possibly the brown booby which had been seen for a few days earlier in the week.  We certainly were not disappointed.  We saw numerous brown pelicans, laughing gulls, sanderlings, snowy egrets, ruddy turnstones, western willets, lesser black-backed gulls, black skimmers, common tern, forster's terns, caspian terns, royal terns, sandwich terns, and a lone peregrine falcon which rained terror on all the gulls, terns, and shorebirds who were packed along Disappearing Island.  Did I mention the cory's shearwater?  I can't forget about this one!  The lone scope we had brought along helped ID not one, but two cory's fairly close to shore.  Most of us got distant, but reliable views, and it was really just a precursor of what was to follow the next day.

Snowy egrets and another ruddy turnstone at Ponce Inlet

Immature herring gull

1st cycle (?) ring-billed gull and laughing gulls

Easily the funniest part of the day occurred at dinner.  We had finished our meal and were enjoying the last beer of the evening before retiring early for the long day ahead.  All of a sudden we all heard a whip-poor-will calling from nearby.  All 6 of us craned our heads toward the call...only to find out it was the cellphone ringtone coming from the family eating at the table behind us.  The wife's ringtone fooled every single one of us, and it made everyone laugh pretty well.  I don't know if I've ever seen a more hilarious situation where so many experienced birders (sans myself) were fooled at the same time.  Kudos!

2:40am was our wake-up call.  2:40 am.  The voyage left port at 4am, which meant we had to arrive no later than 3:30am.  We arrived at the port on time and checked in.  Everyone on the expedition was treated to close-up views of a successfully rehabilitated white-tailed tropicbird, along with some juvenile loggerhead and green sea turtles.  All of these creatures were set to be released near the gulf stream on our trip.  What a treat!  It may be the closest looks I ever get of a white-tailed tropicbird unless one lands on my binoculars on another pelagic outing.  It was simply beautiful and chirping up a storm, something our trip leader announced he had never heard in all his years rehabbing this species.

Everyone boarded our vessel, the Pastime Princess, and we shoved off.  A few warblers were heard calling over head as we set to leave, and a few black-crowned night herons were observed on our way out of the inlet.  The constellation-filled night sky was absolutely breathtaking, as the slightly greater than half moon further illuminated our path.  Once we left the inlet, the seas became a bit choppier, and stayed that way until we hit the gulfstream.  Once daylight broke, we started seeing some singleton cory's shearwaters, which turned into larger numbers as the dawn progressed.  Audubon's shearwaters soon followed, along with more cory's.  A small flock of 5 red-necked phalaropes flew close to the boat, giving everyone pretty solid looks.

Cory's shearwaters soaring over the ocean waves

On our way out to the gulf stream, we encountered loads more cory's, a few audubon's, a pair of black terns, some unidentified "tropical terns" (which were likely bridled terns), a small flock of great egrets and great blue herons (migrating southwards), two pomarine jaegers, a parasitic jaeger, a palm warbler, and a black-and-white warbler.  Fittingly as we emerged at the edge of the gulf stream, we encountered our first of numerous black-capped petrels.  Throughout our excursion into the gulf stream, we ended up spotting 41 of these petrels.  This represented the second highest ever total of this species in the state.  What a beautiful bird to set the eyes on.  It was amazing watching them glide and cartwheel effortlessly along the crests and troughs of the waves, arcing and sweeping up along the waves.  It was a treat just to watch them fly around.

Photo above and below of the beautiful black-capped petrel (wish I had done it better justice)

 

We were also treated to loads more cory's and audubon's shearwaters, especially on our return back to port.  But before we left the gulf stream, we released the tropicbird, watching it fly off into the horizon without a second thought.  It was the first successful rehab and release of a white-tailed tropicbird in the state.  An amazing sight to behold indeed.  Perhaps even the best part of the journey.  We also watched the juvenile sea turtles be released into the largest patches of sargassum weed we could find and the little tykes were left on their own to defend their lives against predators and hide in the sargassum.  Good luck guys!

The way back to port was just as exciting as the way out, if not even better.  We encountered large feeding flocks of cory's and audubon's shearwaters.  A great shearwater was finally found in one of the large flocks, as well as a manx shearwater (a real rarity in Florida waters).  A couple band-rumped storm petrels were also seen by a few people, but the real highlight was encountering a long-tailed jaeger.  It's another fairly rare species for Florida, and one which was hoped for by many present.  It was likely the most photographed long-tailed jaeger alive.  It was so kind as to give everyone outstandingly close views of it for several minutes as it foraged around the open seas.  It was probably the best look at one I'll ever see in the state.  Our group also ran into some large flocks of terns, mostly comprised of black and common terns.  However, a few bridled terns were positively ID'd, and someone thought they observed an arctic tern in one of the groups.

Photos series below is a long-tailed jaeger:

When all was said and done, it was a tremendously successful expedition.  Good company and times were shared by most, and I have to say I certainly had a blast out there.  It's a grueling trip to reach the gulf stream and back, but so well worth it.  It was a trial by fire for me on pelagic species, but there's not a better way to do it than with some of the most experienced birders in the state on board to help point out the subtle nuances of all the species to allow you to fully appreciate what you're seeing and to learn to identify them easier and quicker.  I owe many thanks (and likely a few beers or fingers of scotch) to all those who made the experience so enjoyable and educational.  Well, don't take my word for it.  Get out there and sign up for a pelagic expedition if you haven't yet.  Even if you have, go sign up for another, because there are loads of interesting birds to encounter out there in the wild blue.

Actively foraging flock of cory's and audubon's shearwaters