ISummer-FallOffshore Pacific 2005.Hig.hlights JustAnother in Year PETERPYLE ß INSTITUTEFOR BIRD POPULATIONS ß RO. BOX 1346 ß POINTREYES STATION, CALIFORNIA 94956 ß (EMAIL:[email protected])

IncreasingOur Knowledge ofOcean wasthat seabird productivity had been average morea questionof badtiming than of whole- Events,One Year at a Time towell above average in theperiod 1999-2004. sale disaster. By earlyfall, the wordhad spread:2005 was For a burgeonedpopulation of younger Seabirdpopulation sizes and productivity an unusualyear for seab•rdsoff the Pacific coast seabirds,this was a firstreal test of theirforag- provideexcellent barometers of the stateof of NorthAmerica. But was it that unusual? ing abilities,and it is neithersurprising nor ourmarine ecosystems, helping us keep a fin- Manyyears ago, David Ainley concluded that unhealthy(at thepopulation level) that a die- geron negativeanthropogenic effects such as therewas no suchthing as a "normal"year in off shouldhave ensued. Furthermore, offshore climatechange, oil contamination,and over- the California Current, and it would fishing.But we mustbe patientto follow that theremay not be "un- ß '=•,--L• CSCAPE2005 understandsuch large-scale process- usual"years either. Rather, seabird es. For these reasons,the National dynamicsin the PacificOcean are • "•C'13 r/•ie Co3sr NMS Oceanicand Atmospheric Adminis- Washin,on bestexplained interms of overlap- tration(NOAA) is increasingsup- pingclimatological and oceaniccy- Le• d•es portfor a widevariety of long-term cles,which influencecomplex ma- •a: 06•I13 lb: 07•5•7•4 ocean-monitoringprograms for rineecosystems and result in chaotic • 2:08•1•8/17 seabirds,marine mammals,and oth- andsomewhat unpredictable patchi- J •' 3: •121• er organismsoff the PacificCoast nessin prey resources.Distribution 4: •12•1• Theseinclude several programs con- of theseresources has everything to N42ø 5:101•-10•23 ducted within National Marine Sanc- do with interannual variation in 6:10•9-11/13 tuaries(NMS): Winds-to-Whalesop- seabirdproductivity and dispersal, eratedin MontereyBay NMS by the

andour understanding of it all is as Co•ell 8• NMS Centerfor IntegratedMarine Tech- yet too meagerto characterizeany nologyand the University of Califor- one seasonwith such generalized •' Fore• NMS niaat SantaCruz; OCPS (see the Fig- terms as "normal" or "unusual." urecaptions for full programtitles) To be sure.productivity of breed- • Mo•y•yN• in theOl•qnpic Coast NMS; CBOMP ing seabirds, such as those in ,. Califo[n,a in the Cordell Bank NMS; and SFAS colonies on the Farallon Islands off in the Gulf of the Farallones NMS. SanFrancisco, was below average in Researchprograms conducted at 2005,and for some species--notably broaderspatial scales include sur- PelagicCormorant (Phalacrocorax Pac•hc veys during annualrockfish (Se- pelagicus)and Cassin'sAuklet (Ply- N :32ø Ocean bastesspp.) cruises off centralCali- choramphusaleulicus)--it bordered fornia and intermittentsurveys of on completefailure. Spring north- HecetaBank, Oregon, by H. T. Har- westerliesand accompanyingup- vey& Associates;quarterly CalCOFI welling were late, resulting in crumesoff southern (and now cen- warmer,less-productive waters and tral) Californiaby the ScrippsInsti- wi34 o w13o o w126 o vV122o Wit8 o reducedprey (especially krill) when tutionof Oceanographyand PRBO adultsneeded to feedchicks in May ConservationScience; and periodic Figure1. Planned(dashed line) and completed (colored solid lines) transects andJune. By late summer, dead Com- surveyedduring the Collaborative Survey ofCetacean Abundance andthe (onceevery 3-5 years)assessments of marine mammal stocks and mon Murres(Uria aalge)and cor- PelagicEcosystem (CSCAPE) Cruise, undertaken bythe Southwest Fishedes Sci- morantswere washing up on Pacific enceCenter and the National Maline Sanctuary Prog[am aboard NOAA research seabirddislribution along the U.S. Coast beaches in substantial numbers vesselsinJune-Decembe[ 2005.Fine-scale t[ansects were su[veyed inthe Pacificcoast by the SouthwestFish- (North AmericanBirds 59: 645, 651), OlympicCoast, Cordell Bank, Gulf of the Farallones, andMonterey Bay National eries Science Center (SWFSC) of leadingto muchspeculation on the MarineSanctuaries, eachof which conduct year-round surveys aswell. Stars in- NOAA I wasfortunate Io takepart decliningstate of our oceans."Un- dieatelocations ofhigh productivity, from north to south: off Cape Blanco, over in this last project in 2005, the usuallywarm conditions off theWest Perpetua/HecetaBank,the outer reaches ofthe Mendocino Escarpment, and CSCAPE cruise, which covered Pa- Coast this year are hammering CordellBank (see also Figure 2). These cruises occu[ once eve[y three to five cific watersout to 552 km (300 nau- wildlife, and scientistsdon't know years.For more information onCSCAPE, including weekly summaries ofbiolog- tical miles [nmi]) off Washington, why---orwhat it bodesfor the fu- icaland oceanographic observations aswell as photographic highlights, see Oregon,and California(Figure 1). ture,"began a storyin the 23 July . This research program takes an 2005 SanJose Mercmy News. This ecosystemapproach, attempting not and similararticles predicted long-term de- monitoringprograms (see below) found ex- only to monitorvertebrate populations but clinesand gave the impression that global cli- ceptionalfish prey and marinemammal and alsoto correlatetheir temporal and spatial dy- matechange had begunin earnestin 2005. seabirdabundance off Californiain July-Au- namicswith thoseof prey communitiesand What thesereports failed to note, however, gust,indicating that the poor productivity was the physicaland biologicaloceanography of

4 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS OFFSHOREPACIFICHIGHLIGHTS INSUMMER-FALL 2005

theregion. over these features, internal It has been tempting to • tides and waves create oceanic equate warmer ocean tempera- flux, invectingcold, nutrient- tureswith increasesin thc ap- rich water to the surface and cre- pearanceof unusualseabirds. atingbiological "hotspots" (see Certainly,2005 was a banner x0.00Figure 2). Thanksto the yearfor observations of pelagic CSCAPEcruise, a 25-yeardream rarities:as manyas threenew of mine was realized this fall, to seabird species[or North obtain a glimpseof a hotspot Americaand California, up to over the outer reaches of the [our new state records for Ore- L•0 MendocinoRidge. gon,as well asgood numbers On 8 August2005, the NOAA anddiversity o[ theelusive and shipDavid Star• Jordan covered enigmaticPtoodroma petrels about 212 km (115 nmi) in a were detected. But I would north-northeasterlydirection, questionany suggestionthat 0.10 from positionsabout 394 km 2005 was an unusuallygood (214 nmi) southwest of Point yearfor vagrants,or that the Garda, California, to 313 km newrecords necessarily related (170 nmi) westof CapeMendo- to this season's oceanic anom- cino,directly above the Mendo- alies,which actually were clos- cino Ridge. For 12 hours, we • 0.01 er to "average"for mostof the staredat seeminglylifeless seas, fall. Rather, I believe that in- with few fluctuations in the Figure2. Satelliteimagery showing levels of chlorophyll-a, on21 June 2001, indicating con- creasingreports of vagrant centrationsofphytoplankton andproductive waters. Note the upwelling plumes off Cape 18.3ø C temperature,as is typical seabirds has more to do with Blanco,Cape Mendocino, Point Arena, and Point Reyes, and the counter-clockwise eddiesex- of offshorewaters, recording increasedcoverage, enhanced tending westward from each plume. These whorls ofproductivity appear tobe created via the roughlytwo birds per hour, pri- knowledgeof seabirdidentifi- bisectionofthe California Current bysubsurface features (e.g., Heceta Bank, Gorda Escarp- marily Leach'sStorm-Petrels cation criteria, and recent ad- ment,and Cordell Bank), attracting pelagic species such as gadfly petrels totheir westward ( Oceanodroma leucorhoa) and vances in digital imagery, reaches.Forgood discussions ofthis and related topics, see and.Imagecourtesy ofRaphael Kudela, University ofCalifornia Santa Cruz. the day,the surfacetemperature mation.Although several un- Originaldata from the SeaWiFS Prolea (NASA) and ¸ Orbimage,Inc. dropped to 16.2ø C, and the usualspecies were observed horizon bas suddenlydotted during the CSCAPEcruise in 200% these Perpetua,Heceta, and Cordell Banks further with albatrosses,petrels, phalaropes, and recordswere made during 145+ full dayso[ swizzle the waters,giving us spectacular jaegers,all milling over scatteredblows of sampling,which included near-constant scan- oceanproductivity that attracts marine mam- SpermWhales (Physeter macrocephalus). We ningof the horizonwith 25-power,mounted mals and seabirds from both near and far. campedon the ridgefor the nightand the binoculars;on thevast majority of thesedays, Theclosest point of U.S.land to thesouthern next morningwere treated to moreof the nothingunusual was noted. In additionto ex- andtropical Pacific Ocean is notin southern same:Sperm Whales and birds lined the pandedcoverage by trainedobservers aboard California,as one might expect,but Cape ridgefrom the westernto the easternhori- scientific cruises, there has also been an in- Mendocinoin HumboldtCounty, which pro- zon. As we continued on our course, the ac- creasein the frequencyof pelagictrips for trudes over 166 km (90 nmi) farther west tivity quicklyvanished, and we were back birders,as well as an increasein theexpertise than San Francisco and 607 km (330 nmi) into 18ø C waterswith emptyhorizons. But of thosewho operate and lead them. fartherwest than San Diego. About 25 years ago,I wasexamining a marinechart and no- UpwellingCenters, Subsurface Features, ticedthe GardaEscarpment and Mendocino CounterclockwiseEddies, and Biological Ridge,a faultzone of upthrustedcrust, up Hotspots to 3000 m in height,that extends about 1 havelong been lured by pelagicwaters off 368km (200nmi) west of CapeMendo- northernCalifornia and Oregon,where the cinoto a protuberancecalled the Steel CaliforniaCurrent and upwelling centers are Vender's Seamaunt As the south- clearlydefined, and wheresuch features as bound California Current passes

Figure3. CommonMurre adult with recently fledged chick, 3.7 km (2 nmJ) north of Point Reyes, Cali- fornia,in the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, 19July 2005. Unlike many specialist seabirdsthat breed off the West Coast, Common Murres have a PlanB: when the rockfish do not spawnearly enough toprovide food for chicks (as happened in2005), they head for the coast to dineon Northern Anchovies (Engraulismordax), whichmigrate northward inlarger numbers duringwarmer-water years. Fathers and offspring leap off of breeding cliffs when the chicks arejust 21-25 days old and swim up to 55 km (30 nmi) or more to molt and find food. PhotographbyPeter Pyle ¸ ProtectedResources Dtvtston, Southwest Ftsheries Science Center, LaJolla, California (hereafter PRO, SWFSC; see).

VOLUME 60 (2006) NUMBER 1 5 IOFFSHOREPACIFICHIGHLIGHTS INSUMMER-FALL 2005

in the briefthree hours of daylightabove the marinemammal hotspots (see Figure 2), and andcrews of theNOAA ships David Starr Jor- ridge,we had recordedfive Cooks Petrels, bein a betterposition, for instance,to recom- danand McArthurfor beinggreat shipmates; threeMurphy's Petrels (Pterodroma ultima), mendtheir inclusion within marine protected TerryWahl, Mike Force,Rich Rowlett, Guy two Galapagos/HawaiianPetrels (P phaeopy- areas. McCaskie, Scott Terrill, Debi Shearwater, gia/sandwichensis),and one probableSolan- GregGillson, and SteveMlodinow for infor- der'sPetrel (P solandri). Ackn0wledõments mation;David Ainley, Lisa Ballance, Steve N. An unusual concentration of rarities? Al- I thank Lisa Ballanceand Karin Forneyof G. Howell,and Karin Forneyfor reviewsof mostcertainly not. Further study of Mendoci- SWFSCand Jan Rolettoof Gulf of the Fatal- the manuscript;all of the photographersfor no Ridgewaters needed? Most definitely. lonesNMS for invitationsto participatein the use of their images;Karin Forheyfor help Onceenough data have been collected by pro- 2005 C_SCAPECruise; Rich Pageh,Thomas with the graphicsfor Figure1; and Raphael gramssuch as CSCAPE,we will be ableto Staudt,Gary Friedrichsen, Sophie Webb, the Kudelafor help with and permissionto use look at the causal factors for such seabird and marine mammal observers,and the officers theimage in Figure2.

Figure4. Cook'sPetrels, 425 km (231 nmi; upper left) and 412 km (224 nmi; upper right) west-southwest ofCape Mendocino, 28August 2005; over Bodega Canyon, 37km (20 nmi) westof Bodega Bay, California, 16September 2005 (lower left); and 147 km (80 nmi) west of Cape Sebastian, Oregon, 20October 2005 (lower right). Over 239 Cook's Petrels were ob- servedinand just outside ofCalifornia and Oregon waters during August-November 2005(with a peak of 55 on 19 October, 166 km [90 nmi] off Punta Gorda, CA), leading some ob- serverstospeculate that this was a"big year'for this species. However, 94% of these were observed during the CSCAPE cruise inrelatively unstudied offshore waters, and up to 300 wereobserved from NOAA ships off southern California during a much shorter time period, 2-16 July 1992 L4merican Birds 46:1117), indicating that similar numbers tothose ob- servedin2005 may occur annually but remain undetected. Theleft-hand bird in the upper-left image appears smaller, longer-tailed, anddarker-backed, characters suggesting the verysimilar Pycroft's Petrel (Pterodromapycroftt), whichmigrates tothe central Pacific and could occur off California. Butfurther enlargement ofthe image suggests thatthese may justbe effects oflighting and angle on an otherwise typical Cook's Petrel. The lower-right image represents thefirst confirmed record from Oregon waters (H. Nehls, pets. comm.). PhotographsbyConelia Oedekoven ¸ PRD, SWFSC (upper left and right), ¸ DonDoolittle (lower left), and Peter Pyle ¸ PRD,SWFSC (lower right).

6 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS OFFSHOREPACIFIC HIGHLIGHTS IN SUMMER-FALL2005

Figure5. Xantus'sMurrelet (Synthlit•orarnphus h.hypoleucus), 326 km(177 nmi) west-southwest ofCape Mendocino, California, 1 September2005. Synthliborarnphus murrelets were observed on theCSCAPE cruise north to Washington waters, where 6 individuals observed283-298 km (154-162 nmJ) off Cape Disappointment, 16 August2005, appeared tobe CraverJ's Murrelets (S.cravenS. At- temptsto obtain photographs failed, however, and thus these po- tentialfirst records forWashington were not conclusively identified. Anotherpair of murrelets observed 166 km (c)O nmJ) off Coos Bay, Oregon,7July 2005 had completely white faces and were tenta- tivelyidentified asone-year-old KittlJtz's Murrelets (Brachyrarnphus t•revirastris).It ispossible that these inconspicuous murrelet species Figure6. Ga•yFriedrichsen with25 x 150mounted binoculars used by marine mammal and seabird survey- aremore regular than we think in these offshore waters, where lit- orsaboard NOAA vessels. Aptly referred toas"big eyes;'these binoculars seem to result in 2-3 times the tleprevious bird surveying hasbeen conducted inappropriate sea- powerand illumination ofa single 2Sx telescope, allowing the identification ofmammals upto 9 km(S sons.Photograph byCornelia Oedekoven ¸ PRD, SWFSC. nmi)away and birds up to 3.7 km (2 nmi) away. Photograph byœe•er P,vle ¸ Pti'D,SWFSC.

Figure7. Black-footedAlbatross (œ1•oebastria nJgripes), Astoria Canyon, Oregon, 18August 2005 (left) and light-morph Northern Fulmar (Fulrnarus glacialis), Perpetua Bank, Oregon, 19November 2005 (right), observed during offshore pelagic trips operated byGreg Gillson and the Bird Guide Inc. (). Oregon'spelagic waters cansupport some ofthe most spectacular concentrations ofseabirds inthe world. On 22 October 2005, the CSCAPE cruise transited along the Oregon coastal slope and recorded an estimated3000 Black-footed Albatrosses and45,000 Northern Fulmars (not to mention a Parkinson's Petrel) during a 10-hoor period. Photographsby ¸ TrayGuy.

VOLUME 60 (2006) NUMBER 1 7 IOFFSHOREPACIFICHIGHLIGHTS INSUMMER-FALL 2005

Figure8. Galapagos/HawaiianPetrel, 30.4krn (16.5 nrni) west of Point Reyes Lighthouse(over the southeastern cor- nerof Cordell Bank), California, 9 Au- gust2005. This individual, oneof an unprecedented10found in and just outsideof NorthAmerican waters in 2005,was recorded aspart of the CordellBank Ocean Monitoring Pro- gram(CBOMP). At-sea distributional patternsdocumented fromNOAA sur- veysin the eastern Pacific Ocean sug- gestthat the birds observed off Californiamay be Hawaiian Petrels, but thefield identification ofthese species hasnot beenworked out. When com- paringthe original specimens ofthese species,the nineteenth-century or- nithologistOsbert Salv,n stated that the twowere"as alike as any [...] speci- mensof the same species ofpetrel that I everexamined" (S. B. Wilson and A. H. Evans.1899. AvesI-lawaiiensis. R. H. Porter,London). Thus, it willlikely take DNAanalysis toconfirm which species occursoff North America. Photograph by¸ SteveIV. G. Howell

Figure9. Juvenile Long-tailed Jaegers (Stercorarius Iongicaudus) 388km (211 nrni) west-southwest ofthe Farallon Islands, California, 3 September2005 (upper left) and 325.7 krn (177 nrni) west-southwest ofCape Blanco, Oregon, 23August 2005 (upper right); and ArcticTerns 149 km (81 nrni) west of Cape Mearns, Oregon, 16August 2005 (lower left) and 445 krn (242 nmi) west of Cape Mendo- cino,California, 18September 2005 (lower right). Long-tailed isunique among jaegers inbeing rnonornorphic asadults (light morph only)but polyrnorphic asjuveniles (light morph right, dark morph left). Observations during the CSCAPE cruise indicated that these twospecies (along with adult Red Phalaropes [Phalaropus fulicarius]) mayhave migrated farther off shore than usual during 2005. For example,45adult Long-tailed Jaegers were observed flying south near the President Jackson Seamount, 340krn (185 nrni) off Cape Blanco,Oregon, 13August 2005; 500 juvenile and subadult Long-tailed Jaegers were observed 92-212 krn (50-115 nrni) off northern Californiaandsouthern Oregon, 19-21 October 2005; and 150 Arctic Terns (Sternaparadisaea) wererecorded 110-147 krn (60-80 nrni) offCape Lookout, Oregon, 16August 2005. During 29Shearwater Journeys trips closer tothe Central California coast inJuly-October 2005,by contrast, fewer Long-tailed Jaegers than usual were observed and no Arctic Terns were recorded forthe first time in Debi Shearwater's30-year history ofleading trips in this region. Oceanographic andbiological data from the CSCAPE cruise and other sur- veyswill hopefully help us explain such inter-annual variation inmigratory routes. Photogrophs byScott Mills (upperleft), Annie Dou- g/es(upper right), Peter Pyle (lower left), end Cornelia Oedekoven (lower right), ell ¸ PRO,SWFSC.

8 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS OFFSHOREPACIFICHIGHLIGHTS INSUMMER-FALL 2005

Figure11. Northern Right Whale Dolphin (Lissodelphis borealis), 83km (45 nmi) south- westof Cape Johnson, Washington, 6 June 2005 (top) and Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) flip- Figure10. Short-tailed Albatross (Phoebostria albotrus), 16.6 km (9 nmi) west of pinga NorthernElephant Seal (Mirounga angustirosttis), 9.2km (5 nmi) southwest of MiddleFarallon Island, California, 26July 2005 (top), in Monterey Bay, California, 12 SoutheastFarallon Island, California, 7 August 2005 (bottom). The dolphin was observed August2005 (center), and of specimen found dead near Morro Bay, California, 24Au- aspart of the Olympic Coast Pelagic Survey (OœPS) conducted each year in the Olympic gust2005 and deposited into the Natural Histon/Museum ofLos Angeles County CoastNational Marine Sanctuary. Theimpetus for the CSCAPE cruise isto assess marine (LACM114937; bottom). Feather-by-feather analysis indicates that this was the same mammalstocks inWest Coast waters, but the ultimate goal is to correlate allphysical and individual,recorded from both a NOAAresearch vessel (top) and from one of many of biologicaloceanic activity using an ecosystem approach. Thus, all associations ofseabirds ShearwaterJourneys' birding trips (center) organized each year by Debi Shearwater andmarine mammals are recorded. Mixed schools ofNorthem Right Whale Dolphins and (), thatthen perished asit proceededtothe PacificWhite-sided Dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) areoften accompanied by south(bottom). Other individuals were recorded near Santa Cruz Island, California, 6 Pink-footedShearwaters (Puftfnus creatopus) andother seabirds, while attacks on seals by July2005, from a researchvessel just outside ofHeceta Bank, Oregon, 12July 2005, KillerWhales and White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharius) create slicks that can attract andfound dead near Bandon, Oregon, 3 September 2005. Study ofmolt and plumage legionsofgulls and tubenoses. Photographs byJim Cotton ¸ PRO, SWFSC (top) and ¸ indicatesthat the depicted bird was a one-year-oldundergoing thesecond prebasic BethBranthayer (bottom). molt;some individuals ofthis age do not attain any white featbering (except for a smallcrescent under the eye) during this molt and thus appear like juveniles during theirsecond year of life. As the population ofthis species increases, wemay expect morerecords offthe Pacific coast ofNorth American. Photographs by¸ Ben Saenz (top),¸ l)onOoo/ittle (center), and ¸ KimballGarrett (bottom).

VOLUME 60 (2006) NUMBER 1 9 IOFFSHOREPACIFIC HIGFILIGHTS INSUMMER-FALL 2005

Figure12. Probable Solander's Petrel, 313 km (170 nmJ) off Cape Men- docino,California, 8 August 2005, one of four gadfly petrel species recordedinthe vicinity ofthe Mendocino Ridge during three hours of observation8-9August 2005. The large-winged posture, long- and Figure13. Murphy's Petrels, 178.5 km (97 nmi) west-northwest ofCape Mendocino, California, 9July high-arcingflight, strong hooded effect from both above and below, 2005(left) and 296 km (161 nmi) west of Cape Foulweather, Oregon, 31October 2005 (right). This extentof white above the bill, and pale bases of the primary coverts ar- specieswas known to be regular (if not common) inNorth American waters in April-June butnot during gueagainst it being a Murphy•Petrel (Figure 12); however, some fea- thefall. During the CSCAPE cruise, they were observed inoffshore waters through 11 August off north- turesof this individualdo not conformto characteristicsof Solander's ernCalifornia, 31Oetober-2 I•ovember, when 13 were observed offOregon, and 21 I•ovember 2005, Petrelsobserved near the breeding grounds. Thus, it mayrepresent a whenasingle individual was observed 355km (193 nmi) off Point Sur, California. They are fresh in first-yearindividual, which (if typical of other procellariids) remains spring,having a grayish sheen to the plumage and a well-definedwhite throat. By fall, they appeared awayfrom the breeding grounds forits first 1-3 years of life and thus brownishand show more extensive pale around the bill. Specimen examination confirms that the feath- haslittle-known molts and plumages. This would represent thefirst ersaround the bill and throat are white with dark tips, such that the amount of visible white in this area documentedrecord for North America, ifconfirmed, although several increasesasthe feathers wear, similar to what happens inother dark gadfly petrel species and in first- othersight observations fromAlaska, Washington, andOregon waters yearBlack-footed Albatross (IVorrh American Birds 56:131-138). Compared to5olander's Petrel (Figure havebeen recorded from NOAA research vessels byTerry Wahl, Richard 11),Murphy's has a smallerbill, proportionally larger head, shorter wings, and typically flies with Rowlett,and Michael Force. Photographs byPeter P),le ¸ PRD,SWFSC. shorter,shallower arcs. Photographs byPeter P,vle (left) and Rich Pageh (right) ¸ PRD,SWF$C.

Figure14. Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus oter), 436 km (237 nmi) southwest ofCape Disappointment, Washington, 14August 2005 (left) and Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis), 200.6km (109 nmi) west-northwest ofCape Arago, Oregon, 21October 2005 (right). NOAA ships often provide the only place to land for (sometimes surprisingly) off-course mi- grantlandbirds The egret was the only one of its species recorded inthe Oregon &Washington region in fall 2005. Photographs b)'Peter P),le ¸ PRD,SWFSC.

10 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS OFFSHOREPACIFICHIGHLIGHTS INSUMMER-FALL 2005

Figure15. Sooty Shearwaters (Pu•nus griseus), 46km (25 nmi) west-southwest ofPoint Sur, California, inthe Mon- tereyBay NMS, 13 July 2005. Large numbers ofthis species travel from breeding grounds offChile and New Zealand to thePacific North American coast to molt. Flocks ofup to 500,000 birds were recorded JnMonterey Bay during July-Au- gust2005. Photograph byAnnie Douglas ¸ PœD, SWFSC.

Figure16. Stejneger's Petrels (Pterodroma Ion•irostris), eastof O'ahu, Hawaii, 20 September 2005 (top) and 167.4 km(91 nmJ) off Fort Bragg, California, lBOctober 2005 (bottom).Up to 20 individuals were observed inHawaiian waterson 20 September, representing onlyabout the tenthstate record and indicating how little is known of thedistribution ofpelagic seabirds inthese waters. South- westFishedes Science Center isalso assessing marine mammalstocks and seabirddistribution in Hawaiianwa- tersduring HICEAS cruises, conducted every five years, the firstof which was undertaken inJuly-November 2002. TheCalifornia bird, representing theseventh accepted staterecord and first since 1992, traveled alongside the researchvessel for 5-6 km andwas recorded Jn both Men- docinoand Humboldt county waters according toclosest pointof land. Photographs byHndororn Sh•Yihai, ¸ forth- comingAlbatrosses, Petrels, and Shearwaters ofthe World, A& C Black, London, and Princeton University Press (left), andPeter lye ¸ PœD,SWFSC (right).

Figure17. By-the-wind-sailors (Velellavelella) 202 km (110 nmi) west of Cape Blanco, Oregon,21October 2005 (top) and the ctenophore Bero• abyssicola, 177km (96 nmi) offCape Blanco, Oregon, 20October 2005 (left). Over the period 6-8 August 2005, from 322-414(175-225 nmJ) off the northern California coast, By-the-wind-sailors dottedthe ocean,evenly spaced, from horizon tohorizon for three straight days of transectJng. We estimated1.5 individuals persq m and 2-3 billion per day, within our 16 x 120km sur- veystrip. Bird densities Jnthis area were very low, perhaps because these chon- drophoresfeed on pelagic organisms, including young fish, caught by stinging cells on theirtentacles, leaving nothing for the birds to eat. By October, they had dumped up intohuge rafts, as shown Jnthe image above. Bero•abyssicola, a predator ofother ma- rineinvertebrates, hasbackward-projectJng"teeth" onthe inside of its mouth to help it holdon to prey. This individual was captured Jnone of the nightly net tows that occur as partof CSCAPE, tocorrelate invertebrate species and densities with bird and mammal distribution.Phot•raphs byPeter lye (•op)and Candice Hall (left) ¸ PœD,SWFSC.

VOLUME 60 (2006) NUMBER 1 11 1OFFSHOREPACIFICHIGHLIGHTS I•'SUMMER-FALL 2005

Figure18. Mottled Petrel (Pterodromainexpectata), 300 km(163 nmJ) west of YaquJna Head,Oregon, 1 November 2005.During the CSCAPE cruise,31 MottledPetrels were recordedoffOregon and Cali- fornia31 October-1 December 200S,with peak numbers ob- servedoff northern Oregon duringthe first week of No- vember.This species may be movingsouthward from Alaskanwaters at thistime. PhotographsbyLaura Morse ¸ PœD,SWFSC

Figure19. Ashy Storm-Petrel (Oceanor/roma homochroa), SBC(now AT&T) Park, San Francisco,California, 15September 200S. This endemic tothe California Current isvery skittishatthe approach ofboats and is thus dJf•cult tophotograph atsea, perhaps one reasonthat it hasremained unconfirmed fromOregon waters, despite being common attimes off Humboldt County (e.g., 600 on 9 September2001). During CSCAPE, nine AshyStorm-Petrels wereobserved offDel Notre County, California, asclose as 14.7 km (8nmi) from Oregon waters, 20October 2005, and one was observed (but not pho- tographed)115 nmi west of Cape Lookout, Oregon, on16 August 2005. The individual inthis image was attracted tothe bright lights of the baseball stadium ona night whenthe San Francisco Giants were playing the rival Los Angeles Dodgers, including ex-GiantJeff Kent (in background). Photographs by¸ I•on LeValley.

Figure20. Parkinson's Petrel(Procellaria parkinson,S, 32.4km (17.6 nmi) northwest ofthe PointBeyes Lighthouse, Califomia, 1October 2005. This first confirmed record forNorth Amencanorth of Mexico was spotted and identified byBich Stallcup during one of his regu- larlyscheduled summer and fall trips to the Cordell Bank from Bodega Bay (see article, this issue).This was quickly followed bya second sight record during the CSCAPE cruise on22 Oc- tober2005, 64.4 km (35 nmi) off the Takenitch Creek Estuary, Oregon, and 11 km (6 nmi) southof the Heceta Bank. In 1974, Joe Jehl postulated thatobservers inthe Pacific may haveoverlooked Parkinson's Petrels due to their similarity toHesh-footed Shearwaters (Auk 91:687689). Indeed, the depicted individual wasthought tobe a Hesh-footed Shearwater untilittook wing, revealing itsdiagnostic long-winged profile and black legs and feet. In ad- Figure21. South Polar Skuas (Stercorarius maccormick•, 88km (48 nmi) west of Cape ditionto having amuch more graceful and buoyant flight than Flesh-footed Shearwater, Alava,Washington, inthe Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, 11June 200S. Both Parkinson'sPetrelhas a thickerand greener bill. Fhe Oregon bird was also observing chasing theCSCAPE surveys and single-day pelagic trips recorded skuas inhigh numbers offthe andkleptoparasJtJzJng gulls,fulmars, and shearwaters, inthe manner ofa jaeger orskua, PacificCoast insummer and fall 2005, including juveniles observed aslate as 30 No- butunlike Flesh-footed Shearwater. Photograph by¸ Martin Myers. vemberoffsouthern California. Photographs byCornelia Oedekoven ¸ PRD, SWFSC

12 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS OFFSHOREPACIFICHIGHLIGHTS INSUMMER-FALL 2005

Figure77. Red-tailed Tropicbirds (,øhaethon rubricauda), 443km (241 nroJ) west-south- westof Cape Mendocino, California, 29August 2005 (top); 480 kro (261 nroJ) west-north- westof Cape Blanco, Oregon, 26August 2005 (center); and 454.5 kro (247 nroJ) west-southwestofthe Farallon Islands, California, 3 Septomber 2005 (bottoro). Atleast 42 Red-tailedTropJd•irds wererecorded onthe CSCAPE auJse Jn 2005, all but 7 ofwhich were within184 kro (100 nroJ) outside ofNorth AroerJcan waters (as defined bythe 368-kro [200-nroJ]Exclusive EconofDic Zone). [ropJcbJrds observed 344 kro (187 nroJ) off Cape Figure23. Juan Fernandez Petrel (Pterodroma externa) at18.1 øN, 164.5ø W, 2 Blancoon 16 Septerober 2005 and 201 kro (109 nroJ) west-northwest ofCape Arago on 21 September2005 (top) and Black-winged Petrel (P. nigripennis) at16.0 øN, 164.7 ø October2001 were airDost certainly Red-taileds butwere too distant toconfirro asOre- W,20 October 2005 (bottom), both in the central tropical Pacific. Sight records gon'sfirst records. Red-tailed Tropicbird isregular,n outer North Aroerican waters inat fromexperienced observers exist in North American waters for both Juan Fernan- leastJuly-January butis considered a rarity--based onthe distribution ofobservers dezPetrel (off Oregon by David Ainley) and I•ack-winged Petrel (off Alaska by ratherthan that of tropicbirds. Photographs bySusan Chivers (top), Laura Morse (center), TerryWahl and Richard Rowlett). These and other tropical and southern Pacific andAnnie Douglas (bottom) ¸ PRO, SWFSC. speciesshould be looked for in the future. Photographs by¸ Sophie Webb.

VOLUME 60 (2006) ß NUMBER 1 13