Eileen and I, plus two of our friends, signed up for a Hillstar Nature Pelagic Trip out of Point Pleasant, NJ starting at 8:30 PM on Wednesday, September 6, 2023. Pelagic birds live their lives out in the deep ocean and rarely come close enough to land for us landlubbers to see. This would be very different birding from what we are used to!
We grabbed a quick bite to eat at the local bar and grill to fill our stomachs in preparation for the boat ride.
After boarding the Gambler, a large sports fishing boat, we secured our sleeping locations for the night. Rick and I chose to go to the bunks downstairs. When Eileen and Terri felt the heat and saw how tight the quarters were, they opted to stay in the galley area where the air conditioning worked its best to make it feel like the Arctic. Rick and I had hot beds, they had cold benches and a table. We could have slept on the deck, but that would mean we would be soaking wet from the spray and dew.
The boat set off about 9:00 PM and set a very fast pace across the relatively smooth seas. By 3:00 AM, they had covered the 120 miles to the far side of the continental shelf. As soon as the boat stopped, I was awake despite the minimal amount of sleep one can get sleeping next to the engine room (thank goodness I remembered the earplug) and on a boat where the lights never go out.
Once the boat stopped, the crew started to pour out vegetable or fish oil and throw out chum (diced up bits of seafood) in an effort to attract birds.
The crew members also cast out fishing lines to catch squid which they would either use as bait or chum.
We milled about hoping for a bird to show up and staring out into the dark ocean looking for any hint of a sunrise that was still hours away. Meanwhile the boat just drifted with the wind.
The first bird to arrive came at 4:30 AM and did so with style. Attracted and confused by the light a Wilson’s Storm-Petrel landed on the boat next to a young lady who picked it up. We would eventually see hundreds of Wilson’s Storm-Petrels. These tiny birds, hardly larger than an Eastern Bluebird, spend almost their entire life on the ocean. Many scientists consider them to be the most abundant bird on the planet.
The old sailors had several names for them, one being Mother Carey’s Chicken. I will bet my last dollar that these birds were not eaten often as their diet is very fish centric and the tiny amount of meat on this bird would be very fishy tasting. Most references believe this epithet is a mutilization of the latin for Mother Mary, to whom sailors prayed. When they saw this bird they said presaged poor weather. Not true for us, the weather was spectacular and the seas calm.
For the next 2 hours until the sun rose, the birds could only be seen if they came close to the boat flying in and out of the lights. For me, the only two potential life birds, the Band-rumped Storm-Petrel and the White-faced Storm-Petrel, flitted in and out of the light briefly denying me even a glimpse.
During that whole 2.5 hours as we waited for the sun, the boat drifted with the wind laying down a 10 mile long oil slick. (image shows the characteristics of the Continental shelf and the first half hour of drift) The logic for this behavior stemed from the action of the water. The ocean floor at this spot sat 7,000 feet below us. The water moving from the low areas to the higher floor created upflows carrying nutrients that feed the fish and in turn the birds.
It wasn’t until after the sun rose at 6:30 AM that the excitement started. A variety of birds came in to enjoy a smelly breakfast of chum. Wilson’s Storm-Petrels with their swallow like flight proved impossible for me to capture a decent picture.
Some very cooperative Great Shearwaters sat down next to the boat making photography a little easier.
Between sunrise and about 8:00 AM, we either drifted or motored slowly back along the oil slick laid down earlier. We would see more Great Shearwaters, Wilson’s Storm-Petrels, but also Cory’s Shearwaters and a distant Audubon’s Shearwater.
From 9:00 AM to just after noon, we zigzagged our way up the wall of the Continental Shelf. The water was still and inky blue with patches of Sargassum. The Sargassum holds a whole banquet of microorganisms, which in turn attract larger and larger creatures. Here we would see things like one of the target birds, a real rarity, the Bridled Tern, some distant Common Terns, and lots of Wilson’s Storm-Petrels, Great Shearwaters, and Cory’s Shearwaters. Some images below.
Bridled Terns – This is an adult and an immature bird. This species can frequently be found “resting” on any solid chunk of flotsam like this piece of wood floating within the Sargassum.
Great Shearwater – This bird is identified by the dark back and small bill and how the white on the neck comes up and around. In addition, it has a white rump.
Cory’s Shearwater – This bird is browner, heavier and has a pale bill. Both shearwaters derive their name from their pattern of flight, skimming along the surface and then rising into an arc before returning back to the surface. The Storm Petrels and Shearwaters are also called Tubenoses. That tube on the top of their bill allows them to smell their food sources, hence why the crew spread oil and chum. These birds have a special gland that filters out salt from the food and water enabling these birds to survive drinking saltwater. The excess salt dribbles out of their nostrils or from a gland by their eye.
The fun did not end with birds! Throughout the day, we would see many squid, some Mahi (which the crew caught while fishing), a Blue Shark, a green Turtle, several Loggerhead Turtles, a Mola Mola (or Ocean Sunfish), a number of Short-finned Pilot Whales, a pod of Off Shore Bottlenose Dolphins, two groups of Cuvier’s Beaked Whales, and several groupings of Risso’s Dolphins.
Some images below:
Blue Shark in very blue and calm water!
Mahi destined to be someone’s dinner.
Cuvier’s Beaked Whale breaching. Note the white face, a characteristic of this rarely seen whale.
Our first glimpse of this creature.
Which blew out a burst of bubbles as it surfaced.
Eventually sticking its head out of the water so we could confirm a Loggerhead Turtle. Its back is covered with barnacles.
A couple of Short-finned Pilot Whales
A Risso’s Dolphin also known as Grampus. These cetaceans travel in large groups. Scars cover the adults resulting from battles, from interactions with squid their favorite food and parasites like Cookiecutter Sharks.
Early in the trip, whenever the captain saw a Mylar balloon floating on the ocean, he worked the boat so the crew could scoop them up.
Shortly after noon and cresting the edge of the continental shelf, the long trip back to dock commenced. For all intent and purpose, birding stopped as the boat rushed at about 20 miles per hour back the 100 miles to the dock. We noticed a number of mylar balloons. With a deadline, the captain no longer stopped. During the first 50 miles, we counted 24 balloons. The second 50 miles added just 5. I speculate that once a mylar balloon escapes it travels at least 50 miles before losing its lift and dropping into the ocean far from shore to endanger the many creatures we enjoyed.
What an experience! I will forever be grateful for the calm seas and the great views of birds and especially the views of the turtles and cetaceans.
Pelagic Trips can, but rarely, emanate from South Carolina. The continental shelf is too far out. A great place to join such a trip is in Cape Hatteras, NC. Other East Coast trips might be found in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Delaware, Maryland, or Florida. One must join a trip coordinated by a group like Hillstar Nature, a company founded by my friend, and an incredibly knowledgeable birder, George Armistead. The trips on the east coast often require an overnight trip like we did. On the Pacific, one can find pelagic birding trips in places like Westport, Washington, Monterey and San Diego, California. These are usually a day trip as the continental shelf is often less than 20 miles from the coast.
Article and Photos by Robert Mercer
Reference:
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel – Oceanites oceanicus – Birds of the World https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/wispet/cur/introduction
meaning and origin of ‘Mother Carey’s chicken’ – word histories https://wordhistories.net/2017/08/13/mother-careys-chicken-origin/#:~:text=The%20names%20%E2%80%9CMother%20Carey%E2%80%99s%20Chickens%E2%80%9D%20and%20%E2%80%9CStormy%20Petrel%E2%80%9D,bird%20known%20to%20ornithologists%20as%20the%20Thalasidroma%20pelagica.
Risso’s Dolphin | NOAA Fisheries https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/rissos-dolphin
Cookiecutter Shark – Oceana https://oceana.org/marine-life/cookiecutter-shark/