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Posted by Toe on 17:47:43 06/12/11
Brian, Anil, Allison, and I headed out this morning with rather calm seas, but with overnight winds out of the west-northwest I didn't expect much. Individual bird numbers were much lower than usual, but we managed a very nice species list nonetheless. At my last count, our species total outnumbered our individuals total.
We checked out the channel markers off Key Biscayne first in hopes of relocating the Red-footed Booby but didn't see it. At Fowey Rocks we had ~15 Brown Booby including a striking adult. As we ran offshore, I was concerned at the lack of current, and the lack of Sooty Terns. We quickly picked up a Black Tern and Wilson's Storm-Petrel. The Black Tern was an unexpected addition to our June Challenge.
We had to run farther than usual due to the westerly winds, which by now we out of the NW but still very gentle. We added a couple of Band-rumped Storm-Petrels, a few more Wilson's Storm-Petrel, a Bridled Tern, and at 22 miles offshore put 8 dolphin (mahi-mahi) in the box.
On the run back we added a Leach's Storm-Petrel, giving us a Storm-Petrel trifecta, and there was much rejoicing. We also added a Cory's Shearwater sitting on the water, a couple more Wilson's Storm-Petrels. Surprisingly absent were any Sooty Terns or Audubon's Shearwater.
As we headed for home we stopped at Fowey Rocks lighthouse again and there were no Brown Booby, but we found the Red-footed Booby, first seen on my last pelagic trip on May 4th! This the icing on the cake to a very enjoyable trip. We were back at the dock at 1:00pm.
Our mornings list:
Cory's Shearwater
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
Leach's Storm-Petrel
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel
Brown Booby
Red-footed Booby
Magnificent Frigatebird
Bridled Tern
Black Tern
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