Seawatch Report - Nov 10, 2026

What a fun day at the Seawatch! Though the morning flight was fairly quiet in terms of volume, things got exciting in mid-morning when Joan spotted a booby flying around the buoy. The good news: it was easy enough to identify as a Nazca/Masked. The bad news: it was a subadult, a very tricky age to make a definitive call to the species level. Though I did not identify it to species, there were two features in favor of Masked over Nazca: a bird with plumage as advanced as this bird would be expected to have some orange or pink hues in its bill, and our bird had an entirely dull blue-gray bill; the retrices were entirely black. Ah, well, I had a reason to read Pyle's Nazca/Masked identification article once again -- a Pinos Seawatch tradition...

An hour or so later, I happened to look up at the right time to see a landbird coming over the cypress with jaunty flight and flashy white wingpatches. I knew before I even put binoculars on it that it was a CLARK'S NUTCRACKER. After the booby (and four full seasons of good birds whose IDs are anything but straightforward), it was a relief and a joy to have a good bird so recognizable, so unmistakable. The nutcracker flew out over the ocean, made it to about the kelp-line, and had a decisive change of heart. It flew back to shore and went inland; I lost it around the lighthouse -- but not before I had the opportunity to see a Clark's Nutcracker and a Brown Pelican in the same field of view. AHHHHHHH A SEAWATCH NUTCRACKER!!! This was a first Pt. Pinos record. Because this fall nutcrackers have been doing some impressive wandering, it was on my radar (and my wishlist) for the Point, but I didn't think it would happen. Is a Pinyon Jay next?!

Other sightings:

-3 Brant

-A slow day for Surf Scoters, just 180

-3 Red Phalarope--this species seems to really have left the bay

-1 Parasitic and 6 Pomarine Jaegers

-1 Rhinoceros Auklet, 4 Cassin's Auklets, 3 Marbled Murrelets, and 301 Common Murres

-21 Elegant and 3 Royal Terns

-90 Red-throated, 202 Pacific, and 4 Common Loons

-5 Northern Fulmar, 2 Pink-footed Shearwaters (the first this seawatch season!), 2 Short-tailed Shearwaters, 268 Black-vented Shearwaters

-The Tropical Kingbird and a Red Crossbill for landbird highlights

Weather: Wind at sunrise at the outer buoy was 9.6 knots from the north, building to 15.5 knots N at 8AM, and going NNW at 11AM, staying there more or less till sunset. Pressure was 30.16 at sunrise and had dropped to 30.11 at sunset. Visibility was fair, the swell was moderate, and it was mostly sunny. The water was 68 degrees. -Alison Vilag

See the full trip report here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/594012