Pelagic Birding

Getting ready for tomorrow's Brookline Bird Club pelagic trip to Hydrographer's Canyon.

We've been organizing these trips for a few years now, and they are becomming increasigly popular. The boat that we hire, the Helen H. out of Hyannis, is a fast yet highly maneuverable boat with a great captain, and we've got some great spotters who know their pelagic species pretty well, and can pick out rarities - like last year's Macronesian Shearwater, a first US record! There is always a great variety of birds and mammals, everything from Humpbacked, Sperm, Fin, and Pilot Whales, to dolphins, Loggerhead Turtles and Mola Mola, and then all the birds - storm-petrels, shearwaters, jaegers, and an occassional skua or Bridled Tern.
Additional info about the BBC Pelagic trips can be found here.

We start out early (4am, so I'll be picking up my friend Jason around 1:45am!) so that we reach the warmer waters beyond the continental shelf when it is getting light and have a full day out on the ocean, getting back to the harbor around 9pm.

Here's hoping that we have good weather and great birds!