My first pelagic, so exciting and so nerve wracking at the same time. I have been out on the great lakes a few times and a bunch of times on puffin and whale watching tours. Those puffin trips out of Boothbay, Maine were on a very large double deck boat that was as smooth as silk. I knew this was going to be different. I arrive on a weds in Virginia Beach and drive down on Thursday and bird along the greater banks. Get to the hotel and the weather is not conducive to going out , very windy and the water is rough. So we spend the day birding the beaches. Its amazing but its hot!! The night before i skipped dinner thinking thats the right thing to do before going out on the ocean. Well second night i decide to have a big seafood dinner and take a chance. We get up on saturday , i immediately take my first Dramamine. Go down to the dock and its pouring, windy and miserable. Captain says it should clear we are going out. He says the channel is going to be rough and now i am getting nervous. We finally board and we all huddle in the cabin and we are off! I decide take another Dramamine and do. So far so good. The excitement in the cabin is at a fever pitch and then we hit the channel. All the giggling is done and the pale faces are showing a bit of sea sickness.I'm doing my usual chatting and joking and noticing that everyone in the cabin are stumbling out to the rail. Apparently someone named "ralph" is looking for his "buick". At this point I am feeling ok but i feel a bit of dizziness coming so I pop dramamine number 3. I am bouncing and sliding around the railings on the boat, trying to find a spot where no one was hanging on to a post or rail. Then we are out of the channel , the ocean smooths out and now its a nice smooth boat trip. The captain is amazing and the guides are so helpful calling out the many sea birds. Bottle nosed dolphins swimming along side the boat, fished for awhile it was so cool On the way back we are relaxed after a nice productive day birding and the captain starts yelling through the p.a. “Those of you on the Starboard side are on the wrong side. Move yourselves!”.! What the hell?? he was saying white faced storm petrel which is a rare bird that you cant find ,they just happen to cross your path . Pelagic birds don't come to shore , they are constantly flying and resting out on the open ocean. We approach the channel that brings you back in to the dock and now everyone is happy and smiling , a new friend Kevin hands me a beer and says lets toast to the lifer white faced petrel. All on board are feeling elated maybe both that they got great looks at so many birds and that we were about to dock on terra firma!
Wilson's Storm-Petrel Oceanites oceanicus -
Small and fluttery. Dark blackish-brown overall with even-width white rump patch and conspicuous pale wing panels. Long legs extend past the tail in flight; difficult to spot unless close. Frequently hovers and patters feet on surface of water when feeding. Most often seen in small, loose groups; sometimes feeds or rests on the water in a dense flock
White-faced Storm-Petrel Pelagodroma marina-
Striking white-bodied storm-petrel with distinctive flight style: glides on stiff wings and bounces across the sea surface with both feet, much like a hopping kangaroo. Plumage also unique; look for mostly white face with dark mask. Also note extremely long legs projecting far beyond tail and rather long, slender bill
Cory's Shearwater Calonectris diomedea -
Large, lumbering shearwater. Diagnostic yellow bill is often visible from quite a long distance. Look for warm pale brown upperparts and clean white belly and underwings
Wilson's Storm-Petrel Oceanites oceanicus -
Small and fluttery. Dark blackish-brown overall with even-width white rump patch and conspicuous pale wing panels. Long legs extend past the tail in flight
Leach's Storm-Petrel Hydrobates leucorhous -
Fairly large, long-winged storm-petrel with deeply notched tail. Complex and subtle variation across extensive range. Typical flight style similar to a nighthawk: bounding with jolting twists and turns. Plumage looks chocolatey-brown in good light; paler than Wilson's or Band-rumped Storm-Petrel and with more extensive buffy bar on upperwing.
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel Hydrobates castro -
airly large storm-petrel; overall dark blackish-brown with rather narrow white rump band that wraps around the sides. Typical flight style powerful and fairly direct, often with long glides and high, smooth arcs. Pale band on upperwing is typically faint and does not extend to the leading edge of the wing
Black-capped Petrel Pterodroma hasitata -
A long-winged, black-and-white bird that is most often found far out at sea, coming to land only to breed on remote cliffs from November into May
Cory's Shearwater Calonectris diomedea -
Large, lumbering shearwater. Diagnostic yellow bill is often visible from quite a long distance. Look for warm pale brown upperparts and clean white belly and underwings.
Great Shearwater Ardenna gravis -
Large shearwater with a crisp dark cap. Long, narrow wings are held quite straight when flying; wingbeats are stiff. Also look for messy brown patch on belly and dark markings on underwings.
Audubon's Shearwater Puffinus lherminieri -
Small black-and-white shearwater with relatively long tail and somewhat rounded wings. Usually flies low to the water with fluttering wingbeats, but in strong winds it can fly with high wheeling arcs.
