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.
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.
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.
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.
Hey Nick,
ReplyDeleteI hope to be bassin Monday AM with my nephew Ken,
It's big boy time in LIS!