Re: Why oh why?/MD Pelagics

MHoff36100@aol.com
Fri, 18 Sep 1998 09:23:49 EDT 

Fran --

I'll offer you my opinion on the results of the DE/MD pelagic. Compared to the
trip out of Virginia Beach you must be wondering if you shouldn't just move
south!

Prior to the trip I did a query of my Worcester data base for September
pelagic trips; there have been about 7. The results have been relatively poor.
Small numbers of Cory's Shearwaters, occasional Greaters or Audubons, Wilson's
Storm-Petrel is often missed (as it was last Sunday), several Bridled Tern
records and a smattering of jaegers and phalaropes.

I believe key the success of such trips is the presence of warm-water (e.g.
Gulf Strean eddies or their distant relatvies). These waters at least produce
good numbers of Audubon's Shearwaters and Bridled Terns. I spoke to the
captain of the boat and he said there had been warm water offshore in
Baltimore Canyon, but a recent cold front had pushed it offshore. So we were
perhaps a little late. 

Absent the warmer water, pelagics are really hit-or-miss. I remember a
September pelagic in the mid-70s when the only birds we had all day were two
Pomarine Jaegers.  I think we may be a little overly optimistic as well, as
the recent pelagics (say from 92 to 97), have been quite successful. There
were dozens of pelagic trips in the early 80s with lesser results. Baltimore
Canyon has a somewhat checker past as a place for pelagic birding, and
ultimately the destination of many of the OC trips became Washington Canyon in
VA. And clearly there is no comparision to OC/Baltimore Canyon to the true
Gulf Stream waters of NC.

Boom-or-bust is a common feature of pelagic trips as well. A pod of whales or
someother ocean event can produce an agregation of phalaropes, shearwaters,
etc. with the attendant jaegers, etc. If you miss the pod however, you get
poor results. We didn't really spend much time in the Canyon waters, as we
were hoping to catch some commerical fishing boats on the way back, but as it
turned out they took the day off.

Hope that helps. It just takes many trips to develop a complete pelagic list,
as the one or two fantastic trips can not be predicted in advance. I think I
have as complete a pelagic list as any MD birder, but that is the result of
doing probably 50+ trips over the past 25 years. Hang in there!!!

Regards, 

Mark Hoffman
Sykesville, MD
Mhoff36100@aol.com



In a message dated 98-09-16 18:49:02 EDT, Fran Saunders wrote:
> 
>  Hmmm.  Two things....  Does anyone really know why the 
>  MD/DE pelagic had poor luck this time out?  We know this 
>  trip has done well before.  Since many of us are looking for 
>  MD pelagic birds, and not necessarily lifers, I just wondered if 
>  this area was not as productive as others along the coast, and 
>  if so, why......
>  
>  Also, I am flabergasted by the number of Buffies that have 
>  been seen in the last couple of weeks.  Is there something 
>  extradordinary about this year, or was I just asleep in the 
>  past???  <grin>
>  
>  Fran
>  
>  --------------------------------
>  Fran Saunders
>  Maryland Ornithological Society
>  Baltimore, Maryland
>  State Web Site Director
>  saunderf@ari.net
>  http://www2.ari.net/saunderf/mos/mos.html
>