June 5 - Rhode Island pelagic
Yesterday I joined about a dozen birders aboard the 'Snappa' out of Galilee, Rhode Island for a pelagic trip to Cox's Ledge.
Visibility on arrival at the dock was awful!
Once we got a bit offshore the fog began to burn off. While we had to wait a long time to see sun, we could see far enough to identify most birds. When we got to an area called the Mud Hole, we came across a few trawlers and some birds: gulls, gannets, storm-petrels, and a few shearwaters.
The best bird of the trip came while we were moving along at a good clip...someone spotted a jaeger harassing a few gulls. It turned out to be an adult Parasitic...views were decent but brief.
Otherwise, we had only common species.
Greater Shearwater
Northern Gannet
Birders aboard the Snappa
We stopped to chum at a few spots here and there, some more active than others. At one of the slower spots, a couple of us grabbed fishing poles and tried our hands at jigging at Cox's Ledge. I hooked a fish but failed to land it, but Tom Auer boated a spiny dogfish.
Not the Cod he was hoping for!
Visibility on arrival at the dock was awful!
Once we got a bit offshore the fog began to burn off. While we had to wait a long time to see sun, we could see far enough to identify most birds. When we got to an area called the Mud Hole, we came across a few trawlers and some birds: gulls, gannets, storm-petrels, and a few shearwaters.
The best bird of the trip came while we were moving along at a good clip...someone spotted a jaeger harassing a few gulls. It turned out to be an adult Parasitic...views were decent but brief.
Otherwise, we had only common species.
Greater Shearwater
Northern Gannet
Birders aboard the Snappa
We stopped to chum at a few spots here and there, some more active than others. At one of the slower spots, a couple of us grabbed fishing poles and tried our hands at jigging at Cox's Ledge. I hooked a fish but failed to land it, but Tom Auer boated a spiny dogfish.
Not the Cod he was hoping for!
Final trip list:
24 GREATER SHEARWATER
20 SOOTY SHEARWATER
11 CORY'S SHEARWATER
1 MANX SHEARWATER
214 WILSON'S STORM-PETREL
60 NORTHERN GANNET
1 COMMON TERN
1 PARASITIC JAEGER
- NB
Hey Nick,
ReplyDeleteI hope to be bassin Monday AM with my nephew Ken,
It's big boy time in LIS!