10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2015

Offshore Sea Life ID Guide: West Coast is designed to be a quick, handy resource for use on whale watching and one-day pelagic trips. But, I did take many photos, and used the book, in spurts during the trip and more closely afterward, to identify three seabird species, two expected (Sooty and Black-vented Shearwaters) and one a surprise.

Dolphins 162

Dolphins Whales Whaling Porpoises 162

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

Eighteen-hour trips are the rule and only about four or five hours are spent in the prime area to see the species most birders are hoping to see. But what I have long wanted to do is get out on a boat in California, the fabled land of albatrosses, murrelets, and auklets. Black-footed Albatross (LIFER!!!!!!) This one did too.

Whales 113

Whales Whaling Albatross Dolphins 113

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2013

Yes, the same Kaikoura I keep banging on about that is a great place to see albatrosses. Leaving from the harbour on boats were tours to swim with one of New Zealand’s most endangered mammal species, the Hector’s Dolphin. The routine for swimming with Hector’s Dolphins is slightly different to other species, however.

Dolphins 157

Dolphins Sharks New Zealand Albatross 157

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2012

It was a Benguela Nino year, and pelagic seabirds were in super-abundance in the south eastern Atlantic, with the total of species by variety and number exceeding all expectations for the birders on the inaugural trip as we pitched and wallowed about in the rolling swells on our way out to the trawling grounds.

Albatross 189

Albatross Penguins Dolphins Whales 189