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/checklist/S31329745

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/checklist/S31329743