This is a video of a pelagic birding trip in and around the Channel Islands via the Santa Barbara Channel. In particular, a number of alcids were seen on that day, as well as some other interesting birds.
What a wonderful collection of birds! I did a similar one in Monterey but was unlucky in terms of birds, only saw a dozen I guess. You seem to have seen over 20 different species! Kudos
Enjoyed the video. Some questions. How long did it take you to get to Santa Cruz Islands? What is the difference between the different plumages? I can't believe you saw a puffin! Were people feeding the fish? It looked like it was getting a little rough when you saw the murrelets.
It is hard to say exactly how long it takes to get to the islands - it is about 35 miles per Google, so say 90 min to two hours directly. Of course, on a pelagic trip it is not direct, we are stopping for birds, so that is highly variable. If I recall correctly, we left at 8 and reached the islands shortly after noon. One could call Island Packers directly for a better answer. Most trips in the channel are not pelagic trips, there are only about 3 or 4 pelagics leaving from Ventura every year. No one was feeding fish on our trip, athough the gulls got a few pieces of popcorn or other loose food. I always take dramamine before the trips and eat ginger cookies during the trip, because even calm days such as this have swells which can bother me. The best birding trips I have had have been on the roughest waters, so I just take it as it comes. I describe the differences in the Craveri's/Scripps murrelet plumage during the video (pause it to read the slide better). The are VERY similar. Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
