A dedicated pelagic birding trip that left Hyannis on August 22 and returned on the evening of August 23 with about 60 birders aboard saw and photographed so many unusual birds that it raised the bar, so to speak, for future expeditions. There had never been a trip even close to this, and to say it was beyond all expectations would still be a very large understatement.
It was as if tropical birds left over from multiple large hurricanes were flying about where the continental shelf reaches the Gulf Stream, 100-plus miles south of Nantucket - for no apparent reason.
It was as though every rare tropical species that participants wanted to see cooperated. In fact, sea trips out of Cape Hatteras or off Florida are rarely, if ever, as productive as this trip was. Birds that a lone sighting of would have made most observers happy were seen by the hundreds. It was almost an “Alice in Wonderland” setting - except that they managed to prove, by obtaining excellent photographs of all species, that they were clearly not hallucinating but enjoying an historic pelagic trip, the likes of which may never be seen again.
For those of you familiar with pelagic birds, the following list will sound like something you have been dreaming of. For those of you who are hearing these birds’ names for the first time, just be amazed at all the ornithological diversity that is occurring on the ocean off the northeast United States. Two Black-capped Petrels, in the genus Pterodroma from the Caribbean were well seen and photographed. They are found every few years so to get good views of two on the same trip is outstanding.
An astounding 202 Audubon’s Shearwaters - another tropical species that is always way south of here. An amazing 28 White-faced Storm Petrels, one of the highest counts ever had anywhere in the world, 161 Leach’s Storm-Petrels, 23 Band-rumped Storm Petrels, and 5 Tropicbirds (as their name implies: birds of the tropics). They had 4 White-tailed Tropicbirds and a Red-billed Tropicbird - both mega rarities off the New England coast. These species are scarce off the coast of Hatteras in the summer and fall.
Other birds seen included all three jaeger species, a South Polar Skua and a Bridled Tern. This major commitment of time and money was well worth it as far as all aboard were concerned. In the annals of New England pelagic birding trips this one will live in infamy. It will be interesting to see if any of these species hang around to be seen again.
