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Posted by Toe on 21:40:22 09/14/08
In Reply to: Re: Pelagics off Miami - and a surprise, 9/13 posted by Trey Mitchell
OK, here's what happened. There was quite a bit of bird activity just off Cape Florida, including a Bridled Tern. This is much shallower than where we usually find Bridled. We chased down several groups of terns and at one moment were chasing a couple with the dark edges of Common Tern, but when we slowed down a Forster's Tern came up right behind the boat. There was no mistaking this one for anything but a Forster's; it had a very conspicuous dark mask over the eye. Several of us said "Forster's Tern" and let it go at that. A couple more flew up behind us, including one with the dark cap you see in the photos. These were the Common Terns Trey photographed. But, after calling the first one a Forster's, and our sights set on bigger prizes, I for one didn't pay much attention to these other terns and we moved on, while Trey snapped photos of the Common Terns you see in the photo. We can add Common Tern to the day's list.
As for the Jaeger, I made the call as Parasitic based on the flight. As we made our way slowly offshore in about 400 ft of water, the bird flew directly at us from the north, skimming the tops of the waves and occasionally banking just like a shearwater. I tried to get east of the bird to get better light, but only managed to get in its way due to the high seas. As it approached the boat very fast, it elevated and continued on south, too fast to try and chase. I only got a brief look over my shoulder, but since I was convinced it was a Parasitic due to flight, I just stuck to my initial call, although the photos show it's a Pomarine. So, I made the wrong call.
Now, you can't blame the rest of the crew either. Trey was shooting off pictures so he never got a good look. This was the first pelagic trip for Carlos, so he hadn't seen jaegers in the field so he's off the hook. Gallus was busy writing down the day's list in his little notepad, like he'd been doing since before we left the dock. And lastly, Larry was busy figuring out why his camera wouldn't work after Trey "adjusted" his settings. I'm pretty sure Larry didn't get a good look either, since he called it a Barn Swallow.
Guess the high seas got the better of all of us. I promise to run a much more disciplined trip the next time. ARRR!
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