Tuesday November 4

Weather: There is currently a BIG weather system in the north Pacific rotating counter-clockwise: strong south winds in far north CA up to Gulf of Alaska. I suspect this system is at least a reason for why Seawatch was so slow today. There was a lot of salt in the air at Seawatch today, but that aside, visibility was good--finally, not foggy. It was partly cloudy and fairly calm this morning, with winds kicking up from the south this afternoon. Swell was pretty small. At the outer buoy, winds at dawn were ~10 kt from the NE, dropping and switching to SE at 0900. By the count's end they'd built back up to ~10 kt SSE; apparently there is a gale warning from 2100-1500 tomorrow. Pressure at dawn was 30.08 and stayed fairly stable all day, dropping around sunset to 30.03

Birds: It would not surprise me if today was one of the quietest days of the season. We had just 153 Surf Scoters, 60 Red-throated Loons, 52 Pacific Loons, and 5 Common Loons. Alcid diversity was nice--we had single Cassin's Auklets, Marbled Murrelets, and Pigeon Guillemots--but murre movement was very minimal (265 for the day). We had just 13 Northern Fulmars and 2 Sooty Shearwaters for tubenoses, and also just one jaeger today, a Parasitic. The first non-Audubon's warbler of the season, a Townsend's, was a nice afternoon flyover, and while we didn't have a huge amount of Red Phalaropes today, it was fun when little rafts of them mysteriously appeared in our fields of view this afternoon. While not Pt. Pinos proper, I did have 16 Scaly-breasted Munias in the reeds at Crespi Pond today, which is only the second time I've detected this species near Seawatch. They definitely threw my Michigan ears, currently recalibrating, for a loop...

I think we all are curious what tomorrow will bring: changes in weather--even if the change is not that revered northwest gale--always bring changes in birds to the Seawatch, and, rain or shine, we'll be out there to see what might blow in.

-Alison Vilag

eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/tripreport/429542

2025 Seawatch - Nov 3

Photo by Mark Chappell - March 2024

Weather: This morning started, again, with fog--we could not see to the buoy. The fog lingered for most of the morning, though by mid-morning we were consistently seeing to the buoy and by afternoon we were able to see Loma and the stacks at Moss Landing, and it even got sunny. It was fairly calm at Pt. Pinos itself; at the outer buoy at dawn, winds were WSW at 8 knots and remained westerly and <8 knots over the course of the day. Pressure was 30.06 at dawn, rising to 30.14 at 1100, then falling to 30.05 by the count's end .

Birds: It was a fairly slow day, but thanks to a late-afternoon look at a COCOS BOOBY (a GOOD look, by Seawatch standards, and a lifer for at least one of our great volunteers!), it didn't feel like a quiet day. Crazy how just one bird can bring an adrenaline rush that becomes the dominant flavor of the day. We had 645 SURF SCOTERS and 1 BLACK SCOTER--a quiet scoter day. We had 3 RHINOCEROS AUKLETS, 1 MARBLED MURRELET, 1 PIGEON GUILLEMOT, and 227 COMMON MURRES. 2 PARASITIC JAEGERS were fun! On the loon front, we had 17 RED-THROATS, 98 PACIFICS, and 32 COMMONS. Tubenoses were sparse: 10 fulmars, 3 Sooties, 1 Short-tailed Shearwater. We had ample opportunity to laugh at the cranky Heermann's Gull flock that kept complaining about wet feet, compliments of the big full moon tide. And Kai and I heard, just once in the afternoon, an intriguing passerine high overhead that sounded wagtaily (White or possibly Gray). There was a lot of background noise, and I wouldn't put money on it, but it was very interesting.

-Alison Vilag

eBird checklist - https://ebird.org/tripreport/429313

2025 Pt. Pinos Seawatch - 2 Nov

Black Scoter drake (center left) in a flock of Surf Scoters

Weather: Slight breeze all day, strongest mid-morning as it swung around from east to west. The fog rolled in in the early afternoon and we were in pea soup for less than an hour - great visibility all day otherwise, except for a slight haze due to salt spray from the heavy swell.

Birds: Overall slightly quieter than yesterday, but with constant movement throughout the day. SURF SCOTERS steadily flew by in small flocks with 983 birds total for the day; one flock contained a BLACK SCOTER drake.

Loon numbers were slightly up, with RED-THROATED LOONS peaking in the morning and PACIFIC LOONS steady all day. Most of these birds were singles to small groups.

Tubenoses were largely absent save for a few SOOTY SHEARWATERS and NORTHERN FULMARS. COMMON MURRES were steady all day in small numbers. ELEGANT TERNS and BONAPARTE'S GULLS were present all day, peaking in the afternoon, and offering excitement as PARASITIC JAEGERS attempted to steal their lunch money.

2 small flocks and a lone individual BRANT were also a lovely sight as these sea geese make their way south from Alaska. One banded individual that was observed in Monterey two years ago turned out to be only 4 months old and fresh from Kachemak Bay, Alaska before it was spotted eating sod near Monterey Bay Park. Every year it is amazing to watch these young birds make their way south for the first time!

A MERLIN was also buzzing the Point - hopefully this small fierce falcon sticks around for the winter to take advantage of the bountiful prey, perhaps to the chagrin of passerines we observed like AMERICAN PIPIT, BARN SWALLOW, and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER...

Finally, on this beautiful Sunday we had many pleasant interactions with curious passersby, several of which turned out to be locals or even regular visitors looking forward to the start of Seawatch and Alison's return! Thank you to our volunteer relief counters Amanda Preece, Fred Hochstaedter, and Catherine Webb - it takes a village to attempt to match what Alison does every day.

See the full trip report here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/428969

- Kai Russell