This is a reminder that The Captain Lou Fleet is partnering with Paulagics to
run a 12-hour (that means deeper water than the winter trips run in NYS last
few years) pelagic trip out of Freeport, Long Island (Nassau County, near Jones
Beach) on March 2 (two Saturdays from now).
We should be getting out to water that is hospitable for numbers of Dovekie,
and hopefully for other warm-water Alcids and winter birds.
Given Tom Johnson's recent report of over 100 Common Murres (and an Atlantic
Puffin) within 30 miles of shore, there are clearly plenty of birds out there
right now, and we should be transiting through "Murre zone" on the way out to
(and back from) the deeper water we'll be targeting. Winter pelagic trips out
of NY the last couple of years have been very successful despite the fact that
they've been 8 hour trips that haven't gone out to the warm waters that this
trip will allow us to get to.
The trip will be quite similar to Paul Guris' Paulagics-run trips that many
people on this list are familiar with, as a regular staff of experienced
leaders is being provided for the trip, as with all of Paul's. We will be
chumming behind the boat to attract gulls, with the hope of finding some of the
more unusual species and possibly attracting other birds like Fulmars or
Jaegers.
Below is a primer on what one might expect to see, written for previous 12-hour
winter Paulagics trips that have gone into similar water depths:
In addition to more expected species, some of the specialties to hope
for on this trip are Northern Fulmar*, Northern Gannet, Razorbill, Common
Murre, Thick-billed Murre, Dovekie, Atlantic Puffin, Pomarine Jaeger*, Great
Skua*, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Iceland Gull, Glaucous Gull, and
Black-legged Kittiwake. There is almost no way we'll see ALL these birds, but
these are the birds we would expect to see if we went out several times
in winter. Some are virtually guaranteed (e.g. Herring Gull) and others are
much less expected (marked with *).
The trip is $185 per participant.
You can make reservations by calling: (516) 623-5823
or by E-Mailing: [email protected]
The sooner you sign up the better, as the trip will be capped at 50
participants for comfort and ease of mobility and getting on birds, despite the
fact that the boat (The Starstream VIII) can hold 150.
Hope to see you aboard!
-Doug Gochfeld. Brooklyn, NY.
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