FYI, this was a fantastic trip.If you're coming to the cape, getting out on Blair's mini pelagic is a must do! Tina Green Wellfleet MA Westport CT Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: > Subject: Chatham pelagic, 7/5 - South Polar Skua` > Reply-To: Blair Nikula <odenews@odenews.org> > > The second Chatham pelagic of the year left the fish pier at 8:00 this morning with a group of Connecticut birders (organized by Tina Green). The trip came within a whisker of getting cancelled last night due to persistent fog the past week, but we took a chance and were surprised to find fog-free conditions and light seas this morning. And once again, the birding was superb. > > We found a large concentration of birds just 5-6 miles out, highlighted by a spectacular show put on by a South Polar Skua chasing gulls, occasionally at point-blank range (photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stercorarius/9220175522/). Also present were large numbers of shearwaters, including the first Cory's of the season, Wilson's Storm-Petrels, gulls, and terns. Masses of sand launce were responsible for the masses of birds, which were so satiated that our one chumming session had limited success - not that it mattered. > > The complete list is at: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14579784); highlights (as usual the numbers are mostly ballpark, conservative estimates): > > 4 Common Loons > 5 Cory's Shearwaters > 300 Great Shearwaters (substantial increase from 2 weeks ago) > 1500 Sooty Shearwaters (could have been twice this number) > 3 Manx Shearwaters (surprisingly few) > 1200 Wilson's Storm-Petrels (none 2 weeks ago!) > 5 N. Gannets > 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull > 400 Common Terns > 1 SOUTH POLAR SKUA > 1-2 jaeger sp (3-4 distant sightings of dark birds that may all have involved the same individual) > > The next trip is scheduled for next Tuesday, 7/9, at 7:00 a.m. There are still a couple of spots left, so if interested, contact me a.s.a.p. > > Blair Nikula > > -- > 2 Gilbert Lane > Harwich Port, MA 02646 > http://www.odenews.org/ > http://www.capecodbirds.org/ > > You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus - Mark Twain >