This is the first of two Fall 2022 pelagic birding trips for RROS with Captain Rick Powers aboard the New Sea Angler out of Bodega Bay Harbor to Bodega Canyon/Cordell Banks:

The birds offshore need our attention, if only to verify their continued existence. Two dates have been reserved this fall for offshore birding trips from Bodega Harbor aboard the 65-foot New Sea Angler, two Sundays, the first, September 18, and the second, October 16, peak times for offshore migrants and whale encounters. The standard route departs Bodega Harbor heading west to Bodega Canyon and the continental shelf, then turning south and east across the Cordell Banks.

What might we see? We should expect to encounter the usual suspects: Black-footed [and maybe Laysan] Albatross, Northern Fulmar, Pink-footed, Buller’s, and Sooty Shearwaters, Fork-tailed and Ashy [and maybe Black, Wilson’s and/or Leach’s] Storm-Petrels. We might hope for Flesh-footed and Short-tailed Shearwaters, though they are rare and can be difficult to spot. Also likely are Sabine’s Gull, Common and Arctic Terns, South-Polar Skua, Long-tailed, Parasitic, and Pomarine Jaegers, Red-necked and Red Phalaropes, Common Murre [Pigeon Guillemot near shore], Cassin’s and Rhinoceros Auklets, and maybe a Tufted Puffin or a Scripps or Guadalupe Murrelet]. In short, you never know what might turn up. Cetaceans may be conspicuous, with numbers of Humpback and often Blue Whales [largest animal in the world] and perhaps a Fin Whale plus a variety of dolphins, porpoises, and pinnipeds.

Be at Porto Bodega by 6:30am to check in; departure at 7 AM.

To break even with this charter each participant will contribute $170 ($100 if a student). This adds a diesel-fuel/Ukraine War surcharge to the traditional $150 fee.

To reserve a spot on one or the other or both trips, send a post-dated check for the appropriate amount (dated Sept 18 for trip 1 and/or Oct 16 for trip 2) made payable to the New Sea Angler (Bodega Bay Sportfishing Center). Mail them to Gene Hunn at 1504 Smokey Mtn. Dr., Petaluma, CA 94954. I will hold on to them until we sail. In case of cancellation by the Captain due to Covid retrenchment or terrible weather, your check will be returned.

- Gene Hunn, RROS Pelagic Trip Coordinator
(enhunn323@comcast.net; 206-450-0570)