San Diego Christmas Bird Count offshore San Diego
1,572 views · Published 21 December 2008 · 0:55 · Indexed 4 October 2026
Channel: W. Terry Hunefeld · 2008 · Travel & Events
Audubon Christmas Bird Count Dec 2008 - We visited the western edge of the count circle at the Whistle Buoy twice, once in the morning, once in the afternoon, chumming for tubenoses. In the afternoon, we were serenaded by a symphony of the Whistle Buoy Whistling and the sea lions in it singing one of those experiences you can only have at sea. I was so moved, I shot a quick little movie of the choir. The pelagic portion of the San Diego CBC departed Shelter Island at 6:30 a.m. Dave Povey and I spent a delightful 8.5 hours on calm seas counting loons, grebes, mergansers, shearwaters, gulls and jaegers. The day was as quiet as it was beautiful. No alcids. No Bonapartes Gulls, the best gulls being a couple Herring and a couple Glaucous-winged. The only tubenose was Black-vented Shearwater. No tattler. We did, however, enjoy a beautiful, mild, sunny San Diego day on the ocean. Highlights included three jaegers: (1) a Parasitic a mile south of the Zuniga Jetty; (2) a dark-morph Pom a couple miles further south tormenting a Black-vented Shearwater; and (3) a second Parasitic at the north end of Imperial Beach a couple miles north of the pier. We didnt see Joe Worley on the cliffs of Cabrillo, but we did see his oystercatchers. We counted five Black Oystercatchers on the Zuniga Jetty and photographed the Jehl 32-33 American Oystercatcher frequenting the jetty with them.
