Pelagic Trip, 30 May 1999

On 30 May 1999, fifteen Georgia birders headed out to sea on a pelagic trip organized by Bruce Dralle on the Scat II out of Savannah, GA. The goal of this excursion (as with most other pelagic trips in Georgia waters), is to head straight to the Continental Shelf and the Gulf Stream to try to find some of the species associated with the warm current. Due to the geographical position of the state, this is usually a 3.5 hour trip. On this day, the winds were 10 -15 knots from the south east, adding at least a half hour before we reached the warmer waters. The map above can be used with the table below to determine what species were observed and where. As each bird was observed, the latitude and longitude was recorded, using a Magellan 2000 GPS. The map itself was created with DeLorme's Street Atlas USA, using these coordinates to plot the locations of each sighting, so the scale should be fairly accurate.

The population density of seabirds in Georgia waters is generally quite low, so every bird observed brings a level of excitement. The first truly pelagic species observed was a distant Pterodroma, most likely a Black-capped Petrel, one of the targets of this trip. The most common (term used loosely) species was Wilson's Storm-Petrel, with a total of 12 observed. Most of these birds, as well as the Bridled Terns, were observed along the Sargasso weed line at the shelf break.

As with most pelagic trips, part of the excitement is finding species which you do not ordinarily associate with vast stretches of open water. On this trip, an Osprey resting on a Navy Tower approximately 40 - 45 miles offshore provided the surprise of the day, especially in the company of a Wilson's Storm-Petrel. An additional surprise was a first summer Sooty Tern, still retaining much of its sooty underparts and head coloration.

Conditions	Partly - mostly sunny; temps in the 60's - 80's
No. of Species	9