Seawatching in August??? (1 Viewer)

Ever since I got into birding, I have wanted to got on a pelagic boat trip, because there just arn't any birds like shearwaters or petrels around Michigan. I might (possible) just finally have a chance to go out this August to either the east or the west coast of the U.S. From searching on the internet, I have noticed that out in the west most tours are late August through September and October. The only time I can get out there is early August, is seawatching still any good at this time? It seems like California is a bird seawatching hotspot, but I would like to be in Oregen or Washington, where seawatching tours also seem to be later. Another option would be the east coast, somewhere such as Maine, perhaps would it be better in August to go there? Last, perhaps you might know good places on either coast to go that you could tell me? I really want to get out to the ocean, and see amazing birds like the Black Footed Albatross or murrelets of some sort, so any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
Taco

Hi Taco,

In August, you want to head west to the US West Coast. The best American east coast seabirding is earlier in the year.

The reason for this is that migratory seabirds move round northern hemisphere oceans in a clockwise direction (anti-clockwise in the southern hemisphere) so as to make best use of the prevailing winds and sea currents.

So birds in the Atlantic migrate north off the American east coast in spring, move east across the 'top' of the Atlantic in mid summer, and then move south off the European coasts in late summer. By August, everything in the Atlantic is on my side of it, with good seawatching here. The same birds were off Maine in May-June.

Same applies to the Pacific: they move north past Japan in spring, east past Alaska in early summer, and then south off Oregon / Calif in August.

Michael

I spent a few hours seawatching of La Jolla in August.... one of the best days' birdng of my life.. There there thousands of birds (Shearwaters, Petrels and Auks) moving and it took me ages to get my eye in.. Fortunately I had a few familiar species to act as markers.... eg Sooty Shearwaters. Still pretty sure I saw a Streaked Shearwater... it looked bang on Corys on size and flight action!

The day coincided with a fall of Black Phoebes... which was nice and a selection of Surbirds, Black Turnstones and Wandering Tattlers


I can certainly recommend California in August!

Wow, thanks a lot Micheal, I didn't realize that it worked that way...guess I shouldn't get any tickets for the east coast this summer. Next stop...convincing parents to go to California...(o)<
Sounds like a great time Jane, wow, a Streaked Shearwater, I think those have only been sighted a few times in North America. Arghhhh! just thinking of all those great birds makes me just makes me want to get off my butt, quit school, and walk to California

Taco said:

Wow, thanks a lot Micheal, I didn't realize that it worked that way...guess I shouldn't get any tickets for the east coast this summer. Next stop...convincing parents to go to California...(o)<
Sounds like a great time Jane, wow, a Streaked Shearwater, I think those have only been sighted a few times in North America. Arghhhh! just thinking of all those great birds makes me just makes me want to get off my butt, quit school, and walk to California

Click to expand...

Check out the LA audubon society web page http://www.laaudubon.org/index.php?option=displaypage&Itemid=128&op=file&SubMenu
they have a lits of pelgaic trips.
Also this from out of Monterey http://www.shearwaterjourneys.com/

http://www.birdingamerica.com/pelagicjourneys.htm

Have fun

Hi Taco,

Taco said:

I didn't realize that it worked that way...guess I shouldn't get any tickets for the east coast this summer

Click to expand...

Here's a map showing how it works, done for Sooty Shearwaters in the Atlantic but birds in the Pacific follow the same general scheme - numbers are the months of the year (1 = Jan, etc)

Michael

hi Michael,
where do you get these maps? they are very interesting and informative

Hi Jose,

The base map is off Wikipedia (free use encyclopedia):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Maps/Map_index
I used the world map and cropped off the bits I didn't need

The migration route, I drew myself using info given in various books

Michael