PORT O'CONNOR
PELAGIC TRIP REPORT IV - September 24, 1994 Aboard the Chip XI
Report Transcribed from 1995 Texas Deepwater Pelagic Trips Newsletter
Copyrighted By: Dwight Peake and Mark Elwonger
Offshore Outing Does Good Terns
The forecast was for 3-ft seas as a full load of birders met at Clark's Marina
at 4AM on Sept. 24. As the Chip XI neared the continental shelf towards mid-morning,
the winds died and seas levelled to under two feet, providing great viewing
opportunities for the storm-petrels which are adept at evading detection in the wave troughs.
A juvenile Masked Booby sought our company for nearly an hour as we approached
the shelf. Unlike the last two trips, sargassum weed-lines were evident at
regular intervals both on and off the shelf. As a result, we began to
encounter Bridled Terns and later, a large flock of Sooty Terns which
finally offered a close approach to nail down their identifying field-marks.
Not easy to distinguish from Bridled Terns for those with little experience
with either!
Also flushed from a weed-line was a single Red-necked Phalarope, and a pod
of shy dolphins were believed to be Clymene. This time, the Cory's and
Audubon's Shearwaters were found in deeper water instead of on the shelf.
The force of the norther’ that blew through on Thursday must explain why an
exhausted Savannah Sparrow evidently overshot the coast and sought to hitch
a ride back to shore. An American Coot was also noted far out from shore.
Reluctantly, we returned to Clark's under a night sky clouded only
by the Milky Way and punctuated with falling stars.
