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Subject: Brown Booby (and possible Manx Shearwater) at SPI jetties
Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 22:45:50
From: Brad McKkinney
The World Birding Center Friday 13th pelagic lived up to its billing, with the big excitement coming at the end of the trip.
With calm conditions throughout the day, the boat journeyed 65 miles offshore to the Colt 45 reef.
In pelagic waters, we had good lucks at:
7 Cory's Shearwaters
1 Audubon's Shearwater
3 Band-rumped Storm-Petrels
3 Masked Booby
3 Bridled Tern
migrants: Chuck-Wills-Widow, Prothonotary and Wilson's Warbler, and
Yellow-breasted Chat (2).
marine mammals:
pod of pelagic bottlenose dolphin
fish:
One 25-foot Whale Shark feeding in black fin tuna school
Heading back through the jetties at the end of the day, we were surprised to find an immature
Brown Booby sitting on the rocks amongst Brown Pelicans (about 3/4 of the way out on the jetties).
If that wasn't surprise enough, we had a shearwater buzz by right after the booby and pelicans were flushed.
Being preoccupied with the Brown Booby, the shearwater slipped away. As we were passing by the Coast Guard
station on the way in, the shearwater reappeared. Field marks suggested Manx, but the bird made only one pass
and was not relocated. It was last seen heading back in the direction of the SPI jetties (near Dolphin Cove).
Anyone birding on SPI over the weekend may want to try searching for this bird. Hopefully, it will hang around another day or two.
Brad McKinney
WBC Birding Programs
Mission, TX
OCEANOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS for Sept. 13, 2002
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