Hyannis to Hydrographer/Veatch Canyon pelagic (General), Nantucket, Massachusetts, US
Aug 20, 2016 6:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
140.0 mile(s)
Comments: First day of BBC Extreme Pelagic to the Continental Shelf edge. We cruised through the Nantucket Shoals towards Hydrographer Canyon, headed east from there, through Dogbody Canyon and towards Welker. We hit cooler, greener water on our way to Welker, so we turned around and headed into deeper, warmer water for our dusk chum session.
40 species (+3 other taxa)
Mallard 15 in Hyannis Harbor
Common Loon 2 Nantucket Shoals
Black-capped Petrel 1 *Rare but regular here; passed down the port side at dusk; brief and rather distant views for only some passengers.
Cory’s Shearwater 911 Most on Nantucket Shoals; carefully estimated and counted
Cory’s Shearwater (Scopoli’s) 1 At least one photographed
Great Shearwater 186
Sooty Shearwater 58 Great views on Nantucket Shoals
Manx Shearwater 10 Great views on Nantucket Shoals
Audubon’s Shearwater 2 Regular in these warm waters up on the shelf; small shearwater with relatively long tail, dark undertail, fluttering wingbeats.
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel 1383 Carefully counted throughout the day; mostly concentrated around our couple chum sessions.
White-faced Storm-Petrel 2 One bird gave all passengers great close views; another was leader-only. Regular here.
Leach’s Storm-Petrel 30 *Exact count; large, long-winged, brown storm-petrel with obvious buffy carpal bar, forked tail. Regular in small numbers in these waters.
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel 3 *Rare but regular in these warm deep waters. One near dusk gave us several nice close passes; otherwise quick and distant views. Large storm-petrel similar to Leach’s but generally colder brown with less distinct carpal bar, more squared-off tail, and different flight style – more shearing, less erratic and bounding, with glides on smoothly bowed wings.
Double-crested Cormorant 14
Osprey 2 Hyannis Harbor
Whimbrel 45 Estimate. Close flyby flock during our dusk chumming (!!!); always amazing to see shorebirds migrating so far offshore.
Hudsonian Godwit 5 Exact count; all visible in photo. With Whimbrel flock; flyby at dusk (!!!). Always amazing to see shorebirds migrating so far offshore.
Red-necked Phalarope 81 Exact count; most on Nantucket Shoals, where regular in decent numbers.
Red Phalarope 10 Exact count. Larger and paler than Red Phalarope; seems more buoyant and sits higher on the water.
Pomarine Jaeger 2 Great jaeger show over the Nantucket Shoals; at least two bulky Poms, but views were rather distant.
Parasitic Jaeger 2 Great jaeger show over the Nantucket Shoals; at least two Parasitics but views were rather distant.
Long-tailed Jaeger 6 Great jaeger show over the Nantucket Shoals was highlighted by great numbers of Long-tails. Mix of ages including at least one fresh scalloped juv, one third-summer type, and a few first-summers.
jaeger sp. 5 distant birds
Bonaparte’s Gull 1
Laughing Gull 10
Herring Gull 78
Lesser Black-backed Gull 7 Regular over Nantucket Shoals. Mix of ages, mostly first and second-summers. At least one was close to adult, and one juv.
Great Black-backed Gull 44
Least Tern 4
Black Tern 1
Roseate Tern 41 Many calling adults and juvs with Common Terns over Nantucket Shoals; see photos.
Common Tern 562
Forster’s Tern 1
Sterna sp. 30
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 50
American Crow 6
Tree Swallow 1 Flying around with Wilson’s Storm-Petrels in our slick at dusk! Our first offshore record, I believe.
American Robin 8 dawn flyovers
European Starling 60
Cedar Waxwing 22 dawn flyovers
Common Grackle 165 dawn flyovers
House Finch 12
House Sparrow 25
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/
Hyannis to Hydrographer/Veatch Canyon pelagic (General), Nantucket, Massachusetts, US
Aug 21, 2016 5:30 AM – 5:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
140.0 mile(s)
Comments: Day two of BBC Extreme Pelagic. We drifted overnight towards Hydrographer Canyon, and spent much of the morning slowly cruising along the shelf edge west of there. We headed back up through Veatch’s Canyon and back over the Nantucket Shoals before heading in to Hyannis
19 species (+2 other taxa)
Cory’s Shearwater 221 Exact count; most on Nantucket Shoals
Great Shearwater 36
Sooty Shearwater 3
Manx Shearwater 2
Audubon’s Shearwater 3 Regular in the warm shelf waters
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel 221
White-faced Storm-Petrel 4 Along the shelf edge between Hydro and Veatch’s, including close views of one sitting on water.
Leach’s Storm-Petrel 21 Regular here
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel 3 A few quick flybys in the shelf waters
Pectoral Sandpiper 2 Flyover pair; photographed.
peep sp. 1 maybe Sanderling
Red-necked Phalarope 2
Parasitic Jaeger 1
Long-tailed Jaeger 4 Over Nantucket Shoals; regular here. At least two definitely first-summers. Photos:
jaeger sp. 1
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1 juv on Nantucket Shoals
Great Black-backed Gull 3
Black Tern 3 with tern masses on Nantucket Shoals
Roseate Tern 12 with tern masses on Nantucket Shoals
Common Tern 725
Forster’s Tern 1 with tern masses on Nantucket Shoals
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/
And the Winner Is…
And the Winner Is... Congratulations to Kate McHugh, who has won the Migration Madness Membership Drive! Kate will receive their choice of a pair of binoculars or two tickets for one of our summer water [...]
Member Webinar August 13: The Art and Craft of Shorebird Identification with Lisa Schibley
Member Webinar August 13: The Art and Craft of Shorebird Identification with Lisa Schibley Shorebirds are among the most fascinating and diverse groups of birds, but identifying them can sometimes feel overwhelming. What key field [...]
Member Webinar September 16: Birds at Rest: The Behavior and Ecology of Avian Sleep with Roger Pasquier
Member Webinar September 16: Birds at Rest: The Behavior and Ecology of Avian Sleep with Roger Pasquier Everybody enjoys watching birds during the daytime, but what do they do at night, when they seem to [...]
Federal Bird Banding Lab Needs Support Now
Federal Bird Banding Lab Needs Support Now Find contact information for your senators and representative. The following is from a letter from author Scott Weidensaul received on May 22: As some of you may be [...]
Threats to Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Endangered Species Act
Responding to Threats to Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Endangered Species Act John Nelson, chair of the BBC's Conservation Committee, recently sent an eloquent letter to Representative Seth Moulton and Massachusetts Senators Edward Markey and [...]
BBC Programming Committee Seeks Volunteers
BBC Programming Committee Seeks Volunteers Do you have ideas for BBC webinar speakers? Would you like to be involved in planning club events such as our annual meeting, fall speaker, and winter member's meeting? Interested [...]
And the Winner Is…
And the Winner Is... Congratulations to Kate McHugh, who has won the Migration Madness Membership Drive! Kate will receive their choice of a pair of binoculars or two tickets for one of our summer water [...]
Member Webinar August 13: The Art and Craft of Shorebird Identification with Lisa Schibley
Member Webinar August 13: The Art and Craft of Shorebird Identification with Lisa Schibley Shorebirds are among the most fascinating and diverse groups of birds, but identifying them can sometimes feel overwhelming. What key field [...]
Member Webinar September 16: Birds at Rest: The Behavior and Ecology of Avian Sleep with Roger Pasquier
Member Webinar September 16: Birds at Rest: The Behavior and Ecology of Avian Sleep with Roger Pasquier Everybody enjoys watching birds during the daytime, but what do they do at night, when they seem to [...]
Federal Bird Banding Lab Needs Support Now
Federal Bird Banding Lab Needs Support Now Find contact information for your senators and representative. The following is from a letter from author Scott Weidensaul received on May 22: As some of you may be [...]
Threats to Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Endangered Species Act
Responding to Threats to Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Endangered Species Act John Nelson, chair of the BBC's Conservation Committee, recently sent an eloquent letter to Representative Seth Moulton and Massachusetts Senators Edward Markey and [...]
BBC Programming Committee Seeks Volunteers
BBC Programming Committee Seeks Volunteers Do you have ideas for BBC webinar speakers? Would you like to be involved in planning club events such as our annual meeting, fall speaker, and winter member's meeting? Interested [...]
And the Winner Is…
And the Winner Is... Congratulations to Kate McHugh, who has won the Migration Madness Membership Drive! Kate will receive their choice of a pair of binoculars or two tickets for one of our summer water [...]
Member Webinar August 13: The Art and Craft of Shorebird Identification with Lisa Schibley
Member Webinar August 13: The Art and Craft of Shorebird Identification with Lisa Schibley Shorebirds are among the most fascinating and diverse groups of birds, but identifying them can sometimes feel overwhelming. What key field [...]
Member Webinar September 16: Birds at Rest: The Behavior and Ecology of Avian Sleep with Roger Pasquier
Member Webinar September 16: Birds at Rest: The Behavior and Ecology of Avian Sleep with Roger Pasquier Everybody enjoys watching birds during the daytime, but what do they do at night, when they seem to [...]
Federal Bird Banding Lab Needs Support Now
Federal Bird Banding Lab Needs Support Now Find contact information for your senators and representative. The following is from a letter from author Scott Weidensaul received on May 22: As some of you may be [...]
Threats to Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Endangered Species Act
Responding to Threats to Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Endangered Species Act John Nelson, chair of the BBC's Conservation Committee, recently sent an eloquent letter to Representative Seth Moulton and Massachusetts Senators Edward Markey and [...]
BBC Programming Committee Seeks Volunteers
BBC Programming Committee Seeks Volunteers Do you have ideas for BBC webinar speakers? Would you like to be involved in planning club events such as our annual meeting, fall speaker, and winter member's meeting? Interested [...]
News Categories
Upcoming Field Trips
Ashby & Townsend
We will explore for nesting warblers, juncos, sapsuckers, and probably butterflies and dragonflies, possibly continuing into the afternoon. We will start in Willard Brook State Forest and probably continue to Townsend State Forest, Mt. Watatic, or the Squannacook River WMA. Some trails are steep and moderately uneven.
Belle Isle Marsh and Vicinity
East Boston - Belle Isle Parking Lot 1399 Bennington Street, Boston, MA, United StatesLed by DCR staff. We will search on foot up to one mile on flat, easy terrain, for migrating or resident songbirds, raptors, shorebirds, and marsh birds at this birding hotspot and state park. This is a traveling program by car or bike. Prepare for ticks and mosquitoes. Ages: Adults and kids 8 years+ with [...]
Summer Solstice Saunter
Leader's ChoiceCelebrate the beginning of summer by birding favorite patches, locally and beyond. Contact leader for details. Call or email no later than June 19.
Maine – Rangeley Lakes
Maine - Rangeley Lakes 2459 Main St, Rangeley, ME, United StatesJoin us for a seven-day exploration of mountains and lakes of western Maine! As always, this trip will concentrate on Maine’s boreal specialties including Spruce Grouse, Black-backed Woodpecker, Olive-sided and Yellow-bellied flycatchers, Philadelphia Vireo, Gray Jay, Boreal Chickadee, Bicknell’s Thrush and 20+ species of warbler. We also observe and enjoy flora and fauna along way. [...]
Bobolinks at Farm Meadow, Lincoln
Lincoln - Farm Meadow Lincoln Road, Lincoln, MA, United StatesAn opportunity to see Bobolinks, a declining and unique species, displaying and singing in their breeding habitat, possibly with fledglings! In addition to Bobolinks, possible species include Indigo Bunting, Wood Thrush, Pileated Woodpecker, and maybe an Alder Flycatcher if we're lucky! This is about a 1.5 mile walk circling the hayfield where the Bobolinks breed, and up [...]