November 16

Great SUSC day! The morning crew, Catherine, Kai, John, and Ashley, had to battle driving rains for most of the morning. Even with reduced visibility, there were nice views of thousands of Surf Scoters (SUSC) leaving the bay. Amanda, Karen, and Fred took over at noon, getting the opportunity to put their rain gear to the test as well. The SUSCs continued to go by in big numbers, but an Ashy Storm-Petrel and a few very close groups of Brant geese in lovely golden light when the rain slackened was an afternoon highlight. We had nice company in the late afternoon when the rain finally ended, with some morning counters returning plus our awesome CSUMB buddy, Abraham, there for good conversation. We got to show the enormous raft of Southern Sea Otters to a group that came to the coast specifically so that one person could see otters in the wild and they were just about in tears at seeing all of the cute otters. Folks walking by were intrigued and/or confused by our excited cheering when the last few massive SUSC flocks came by in the dimming light. What a sight! Another glorious day at Point Pinos.

- Amanda

eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/tripreport/433302