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1998 MONTEREY CONFERENCE REPORT

7-11 September 1998

Birds, birds, and more birds! Attendees at the September Regional Conference in Monterey enjoyed excellent weather and some really great birding. A grand total of 169 species were seen and/or heard during the course of the two full-day and two half-day field trips conducted on both sea and land. 

Sea birding in Monterey is always excellent but the fall of 1998 was especially rewarding. A combination of factors, probably El Nino driven, resulted in tremendous quantities of lower food-chain species being produced in the upwellings created by the underwater canyons off shore. This in turn attracted some of the largest concentrations of pelagic species seen in the Bay in many years. In addition to astounding numbers of the commoner species such as Sooty Shearwaters, many of the less common species were also present, often in far better than average numbers. The following highlights combine some of the best sightings from both Conference pelagic trips. Black-footed Albatross and Northern Fulmar were relatively common as were Pink-footed, Buller's, and Black-vented Shearwaters. Storm-Petrels were a highlight with Wilson's, Ashy, Black, and Least all being recorded. All three jaeger species were present and a very cooperative South Polar Skua sitting on the water right next to the boat added about 50 excited birders to its life list. Sabine's Gulls and both Elegant and Arctic Terns were well represented. Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, and Cassin's and Rhinoceros Auklet's were also present and both Xantus's and Craveri's Murrelets were well seen. Marine mammals are usually a bonus during Monterey Bay pelagic birding and they did not disappoint. Clearly the highlight was a pod of six Orcas (Killer Whales) seen on the Tuesday trip. Humpback Whales were also seen, along with Long-beaked Common Dolphin. 

The land birding trips were also very productive. Pinnacles Campground and Pinnacles National Monument were very birdy in the mornings and produced excellent looks at Yellow-billed Magpie, Oak Titmouse, California Thrasher, Hutton's Vireo, and Sage Sparrow, among many others. Lawrence's Goldfinches were especially cooperative with some groups seeing as many as 20 bathing and drinking in the stream at Pinnacles. The afternoon was rounded out with productive stops at the famous Moon Glow Dairy and Jetty Road where Snowy Plover and Tri-colored and Yellow-headed Blackbirds were among the highlights. Half-day field trips to the Carmel River and Big Sur also produced some interesting sightings including Peregrine Falcon and Vaux's Swift at the river and American Dipper and both Parula and Magnolia Warblers at Big Sur. Bird walks around the Asilomar grounds and near-by beaches added sightings of the western rocky shorebird quartet (Black Turnstone, Surfbird, Black Oystercatcher, and Wandering Tattler) as well as Olive-sided Flycatcher, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and Pygmy Nuthatch.

An interesting line-up of entertaining and educational programs helped enhance the Conference experience. Debra Shearwater kicked things off the first night with a tour de force on fall seabirds of Monterey. Walt Koenig enlightened us on the findings of over 20 years of research on the Acorn Woodpecker and Luis Baptista shared the insights he has gained from years of study on song dialects in birds. On Wednesday afternoon, Jim Lomax provided an informative and entertaining look at California Raptor ID and Arnold Small took us though the changes he has witnessed in California birds and birding over the past 50 years. Peter Alden provided the keynote Wednesday evening with a very interesting perspective on a relatively new concept—big days that involve teams of experts in various fields combining forces to do total species big days.

In summary, the Monterey Conference was a great sucess, providing the attendees with some great birding, an interesting line-up of speakers, and the chance for birders to make new friends and birding contacts.

– Ken Hollinga