November 30

Checking in with the morning crew as I arrived a little before noon, everyone was bundled up in puffy jackets with hoods pulled tight. Gloves were donned and rainpants were deflecting the wind. The morning crew had been treated to a chilly morning with a southeast wind - the opposite of what we want for a Seawatch shift! A cold wind blowing birds further away or keeping them down on the water, doesn't necessarily set one up for high counts or rare species. But spirits were cheerful of course, as there are no bad days at Point Pinos, and information about species composition and potential clicker configurations were shared with the afternoon crew. They also told us that they had been seeing little Mola molas (the oddball ocean sunfish species) breaching out of the water at random times when they were scanning with spotting scopes--a fun thing to look out for! But a female Painted Bunting had been found over in Marina by friend of MAS, Steve Rovell, so people wanted to get a move on a go find that lime-green lady. Thanks to the kind homeowners for reporting that bird then allowing us goofy birders to stand around in their driveway! What neighborly and tolerant folks. So grateful.

Luckily for the afternoon team, the winds shifted around to our classic northwest configuration and we were treated to continuing good views of Northern Fulmars, a handful of Black-vented Shearwaters, and another sprinkling of Short-tailed Shearwaters. The show stealer, however, was a massive, shifting seagull scrum that was a constant presence in the nearshore zone, diving and chasing and fighting over anchovies near the surface. Altering from west then east of the Point Pinos rocks then back again, this gull grouping consisted of primarily Heermann's Gulls and Western Gulls, with heaps of California Gulls, a few tens of Short-billed Gulls and Bonaparte's Gulls, as well as a few singles Iceland Gulls, American Herring Gulls and Glaucous-winged Gulls mixed in for good measure. It was an eight-gull afternoon! The curtain of foraging gulls made it hard to pick out our sparsely flying loons and alcids (Common Murre, Rhinoceros Auklet, Marbled Murrelet, and Ancient Murrelet all made low-to-the-water flybies at various points of the afternoon). Sneaky Surf Scoters picked up the pace for the last two checklists of the day--some were streaming past behind the counters and way up high in the sky, heading southwest over the golf course! We then had to watch our backs as well as the front.

Overall another excellent day counting birds at Point Pinos and chatting with folks walking by and sharing the splendor of The Point. Thanks to all who came out to keep us company and show support. Alison's back on duty tomorrow!

- Amanda Preece

eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/tripreport/437595