Today was a memorable day at Point Pinos. The morning flight was lively, dynamic, and punctuated by noteworthy rarities. We had a strong showing of MAS counters and docents who enjoyed the day, counted thousands of birds, and engaged with many dozens of visitors.
The clear and cold early morning hours provided our highest counts of loons and alcids. While alcids dropped off precipitously in the late morning, the loon flight remained steady throughout the day. In the morning, Pacific and Red-throated Loons would appear in small flocks anywhere in the sky, requiring constant scanning to pick out 7 here, 12 there, and, oh, wow, 5 over there. Pacific Loons dominated the morning, and after a lull in the early afternoon, Red-throated Loons were in the majority, primarily on a westbound flight line above the distant Santa Cruz hills.
During the morning alcid flight we tallied a nice count of 25 Ancient Murrelets. We also had a thrill when Kai spotted and got everyone on a/the very rarely recorded fully dark Common Murre. The day's scoter and tubenose numbers were modest.
The unforgettable highlight came suddenly when an exceptionally rare vagrant White Wagtail appeared in front of us for a few moments and bounded away to the east, calling. We were thrilled to find we had managed documentation photos. It is the first record for Point Pinos, the Monterey Peninsula, and for this millennium in Monterey County (last was 1998). See inline notes and photos.
Winds and waves were much milder than previous days with mostly clear skies and generally very high visibility. A king tide was very much in evidence throughout the day with an exceptionally low tide near sunset. Tidepool enthusiasts were able to enjoy a variety of showy nudibranchs, including the bright pink Hopkins' Rose Nudibranch (Ceratodoris rosacea). Marine mammals were cooperative today with Humpback Whales rarely out of sight. Risso's Dolphins were spotted in the distance and Orcas were reported on the Bay but not seen from Pinos. California Sea Lions and Pacific Harbor Seal were seen active and close to shore. Two of the many local Southern Sea Otters lounged on nearby rocks, allowing passersby to enjoy particularly good scope views.
- Bill Hubick
See the full checklist here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/293637
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