I am late getting this note out regarding the June 20-22
Texas pelagic from Freeport, but you are not too late to sign-up
for the last trip this year on September 12-14!
Several spots are available. If you have been hesitating about
going on a TEXAS pelagic trip, please try to go on this one.
The trips are being run on the premise that if a trip is
canceled due to lack of participants, the preceding one will
have been the last public TX pelagic trip for the foreseeable future.
Considering the enormous amount of sargassum present in the
western Gulf, I would have expected more birds, especially
Bridled Terns. Perhaps the birds had so much habitat that
they were spread out more than usual. The total of 4 definite
pelagic bird species is below average, but good numbers of
Band-rumped Storm-Petrels were present. We had a chance to
test the M/V Fling in rough waters and she did quite
well-it is so nice to stay dry!
Dwight Peake
Results of June 20-22 Texas pelagic trip:
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel: 14 sightings of 34 birds; the water
depth where the birds were sighted ranged from 75-1282 meters
with an average of 843 meters. The 75 meter depth is the most
shallow water sighting in 6 seasons of these trips.
Leach's Storm-Petrel: 1 sighting of 1 bird
Probable Leach's Storm-Petrel: 1 sighting of 1 bird
Possible Leach's Storm-Petrel: 1 sighting of 1 bird
unidentified Storm-Petrel: 2 sightings of 2 individuals
Possible Tropicbird: one sighting. "You should have seen the one that got away"
Masked Booby: 3 sightings of 3 individuals seen in 450 to 992 meter water depth. Very cooperative.
Bridled Tern: 4 sightings of 6 birds at sites with bottom depth 378 to 856 meters average 811meters.
Very good looks close-up of basic and alternate plumaged birds.
Royal Tern 1
