This year we are attempting to run a special type of trip that we have been running successfully out of Lewes, DE for a number of years now. We are going to attempt to do a long overnight trip to and beyond the Hudson Canyon for a small group. The trip is 22 hours long and goes beyond where the old trips of the 80's and 90's would visit. As an FYI to New York birders, all of our planned daylight birding will be countable for NY. Only the last 4-5 travel hours when we're riding home will be NJ only waters. As an FYI for New Jersey birders, the whole trip will be countable for NJ.
We'll be aboard the 80' Suzie Girl out of Belmar, NJ, a stable boat that we've used often. We will be taking roughly 15 people so there is room for everybody to sleep. The trip is not cheap at $385, but with 15 people this is still not quite a break-even for us. It is, however, a trip we'd love to run just to see what's out there. Sleeping space will be given on a first reserved, first pick basis. Participants need to provide their own food and beverages. The general planned itinerary is to leave on Sunday night, August 22 at 9:00 PM. We will cruise gently and get some sleep on the way out past the Hudson Canyon and into deep 1,000+ fathom water. We will arrive in the dark and set up a chum slick. Those of you who are interested are welcome to fish (tuna being the main target), and those who are not can bird in the lights or sleep until first light. When it's light enough to bird, we will scan the slick to see what we've brought in. Tubenoses feed at night, so we should have birds ready and waiting for us. This is one of the big advantages of an overnight trip like this. Out of Delaware, this early AM time of day is when we find LEACH's STORM-PETREL. Oddly, we don't find them later in the day. Once it's light enough and we've worked the nearby birds, we'll motor down our slick which, at this point, may be well over a mile long. After we're done with the slick, we'll work our way back in through the length of the Hudson Canyon until it's time to head for home. We expect to return around 7:00 PM. In addition to LEACH'S STORM-PETREL, other birds we've found multiple times on our half dozen Delaware overnight trips include WHITE-FACED STORM-PETREL (incl. two trips with two birds), LONG-TAILED JAEGER, BRIDLED TERN, SOUTH POLAR SKUA, and ARCTIC TERN. We have even found BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETREL and SABINE'S GULL once each. Birds we have seen more commonly include AUDUBON'S, CORY'S, and GREATER SHEARWATER, WILSON'S STORM-PETREL, POMARINE JAEGER, and RED-NECKED PHALAROPE. For those who are interested in cetaceans, we have found SPERM WHALE and CUVIER'S BEAKED WHALE out in the deep waters. See Life Paulagics is dedicated to provide an appropriate number of friendly, helpful, and approachable leaders for all of our trips. We use radios with headsets to get the word of any sightings around the boat quickly. It is important to us to get the participants on the birds and make sure they are comfortable with the IDs, not just create a big trip list. Be sure to check out our web site for information on how to sign up, and to review our policies. If you have any questions or need more information, please feel free to contact us by e-mail or phone. Hope to see you aboard! -PAG -- Paul A. Guris See Life Paulagics PO Box 161 Green Lane, PA 18054 215-234-6805 [email protected] -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
