November 26

Weather: This morning began, like yesterday, with a stiff wind from the northeast. For several hours, I conducted the count from the lee side of the green concrete structure, to diminish tripod shake and to enhance comfort. This is the first time this season I've had to do that, and I'm glad it's taken this long--in 2022 & 2023, I recall spending quite a bit of time on the lee side of the green concrete... by late morning, it was fairly calm, and the wind did not pick up for the remainder of the day. It was clear, visibility was good, and the swell was minimal. At the outer buoy, wind at sunrise was NNE at 15.5 knots; it switched to WNW 8 knots at 1500; pressure at sunrise was 30.16; it rose to 30.22 at 0900, then dropped to 30.13 at the count's end.

Birds: It was a quiet day, which is not surprising given the wind speed and direction. On the waterfowl front, 2 Greater White-fronted Geese, our season's first, were a fun flyby; we had just 293 Surf Scoters today. (Our season total for Surf Scoter is now over 53,000--well within the range of what's expected!). For alcids, we had 23 Rhinoceros Auklets, 510 Common Murres, and 2 Ancient Murrelets. For loons, 277 Red-throats and 1629 Pacifics. Fulmar numbers are dwindling, but we did have our first Pink-footed Shearwater in a few days...

2 late Barn Swallows were, perhaps, the most interesting non-seabird.

I think the loon flight is going to pick up considerably over the next few days. To me, there's no obvious day the peak will fall on, but I do think we'll have some nice thousand+ hours on Friday and Saturday mornings. Peak loon migration is one of the best parts of seawatching at Pt. Pinos; it's definitely worth getting up for :)

-Alison Vilag

eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/tripreport/436191

November 25

Weather: The wind was brisk and from the NE at Pt. Pinos at dawn, dropping off somewhat over the course of the day. It was clear, visibility was quite good, and the swell was moderate. At the outer buoy, it was blowing NNE 13.6 at dawn; it switched to W, 8 knots, at 1300, and continue to come from the west until sunset. Pressure at sunrise was 30.20 and remained fairly even; at sunset it was 30.17.

Birds: NE winds are not good for Seawatch (nor for human comfort at Seawatch!), so today was quiet, especially considering that this is the window when we start expecting Pacific Loons to peak.

We had our season's first Cackling Geese - 2, flying towards Santa Cruz - and a flock of 7 Snow Geese, also flying towards Santa Cruz. We tallied 803 Surf Scoters today (and had 2 White-wings and 2 Black Scoters). A big Band-tailed Pigeon flock made a low foray over the Point this morning as they contemplated the bay crossing - delightful to see. For alcids, we had just 15 Rhinoceros Auklets, 526 Common Murres, and 9 Ancient Murrelets. We had 428 Red-throated Loons, 1317 Pacific Loons, and 4 Common Loons. Madison spotted our day's only kittiwake, ensuring the kittiwake streak (which began Nov 17) continues. We hope it keeps going; kittiwakes are great!

-Alison Vilag

eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/tripreport/436023

November 24

eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/tripreport/436022