Mendocino Pelagics (1 Viewer)

[Mendobirder]

Ornithologist Peter Pyle is organizing offshore seabirding trips each month from April through November out of Noyo Harbor, Mendocino County. You can see the complete schedule here: Home - Noyo Pelagics
The charter operator is still working on the website but you can sign up for the upcoming April trips by going to the "Times and Directions" page, scroll down to the bottom and find the small April calendar, and click on either the 26th or 27th. Times, Directions and Parking - Noyo Pelagics

We're doing half-day and all-day trips each month. Our proximity to Noyo Canyon, a submarine feature that brings deep water in close to shore and focuses upwelling, puts offshore seabirds (Albatrosses, Shearwaters, Alcids) within an hour of the harbor. Marine mammals often congregate there as well (Humpback, Fin, and Blue Whales, four species of Dolphins, five species of Seals). It's an exciting place to visit!

 

[Mendobirder]

You can now signup and prepay for any and all scheduled trips for 2025 directly from the Calendar on the homepage.
Home - Noyo Pelagics

https://flic.kr/p/2qLrCt7

 

[OrnithologyDevotee]

Sounds like a fun trip to take! Too bad I'm over 8 hours away from Noyo Harbor. I've never gone on boats for long periods of time but will be whale watching in San Diego for the first time in a few weeks. If I don't throw my guts up on the San Diego trip I'll have to sleep on booking a full day trip In June!

 

[Mendobirder]

Sounds like a fun trip to take! Too bad I'm over 8 hours away from Noyo Harbor. I've never gone on boats for long periods of time but will be whale watching in San Diego for the first time in a few weeks. If I don't throw my guts up on the San Diego trip I'll have to sleep on booking a full day trip In June!

We scheduled some back-to-back trips just to make it worth a long journey! In early May we have two all-day trips and a half-day, so you could get out three times on one long weekend... and in the fall we have two trips with a day between for land birding (which is fantastic here, especially then).

There's a hotel within walking distance of the dock, the Harbor Lite Lodge, a favorite for birders.

I hope you keep your breakfast down and get the pelagic bug! If seasickness is a problem, try taking Bonine or Marizine the night before and again an hour before boarding. Friends who otherwise get badly seasick tell me that works for them, and they go out with us regularly.

 

[OrnithologyDevotee]

We scheduled some back-to-back trips just to make it worth a long journey! In early May we have two all-day trips and a half-day, so you could get out three times on one long weekend... and in the fall we have two trips with a day between for land birding (which is fantastic here, especially then).

There's a hotel within walking distance of the dock, the Harbor Lite Lodge, a favorite for birders.

I hope you keep your breakfast down and get the pelagic bug! If seasickness is a problem, try taking Bonine or Marizine the night before and again an hour before boarding. Friends who otherwise get badly seasick tell me that works for them, and they go out with us regularly.

Thanks for the tips! I haven't tried out any seasickness drugs before but I'll get to test them in San Diego when I go whale watching. Thanks for the hotel recommendation! I'll have to do some schedule shifting and see when I can take the drive down.

 

[TicoTyler]

I ran across this on FB yesterday and was looking into going in July. I've been back and forth on doing one this year. The only problem is the car rental from SFO to Mendo more than doubles the cost for me than going out of San Francisco with Jaramillo's operation. :/

 

[Mendobirder]

I ran across this on FB yesterday and was looking into going in July. I've been back and forth on doing one this year. The only problem is the car rental from SFO to Mendo more than doubles the cost for me than going out of San Francisco with Jaramillo's operation. :/

Yes, definitely some added expense in coming out to Mendocino. Staying overnight isn't cheap either. But the trips here are quite different from those out of SF, so it's a different kind of experience all around.

 

[Mendobirder]

Yes, definitely some added expense in coming out to Mendocino. Staying overnight isn't cheap either. But the trips here are quite different from those out of SF, so it's a different kind of experience all around.

Having said that - Alvaro does a great job and his trips are really well run. And a Farallon trip during breeding season is amazing.
It's just a long way from SF to the shelf edge, with no submarine canyons or banks to concentrate marine life.

 

[Mendobirder]

Had a three-Albatross morning at Noyo Canyon Saturday: Hundreds of Black-footed, one Laysan, and at least one Short-Tailed Albatross - life bird for me. All before 10 AM. We never got more than ten miles out, and were surrounded by Albatrosses and Shearwaters all morning. Just an amazing experience.