Brown Boobys were among the seabirds observed by all participants of the three San Diego Bird Festival pelagic birding trips.

During the recent San Diego Bird Festival, birders found an exciting mix of seabirds during three pelagic birding trips. One of the highlights was a Tufted Puffin sighted during the first trip, but many exciting species were observed. Numbers of each species sighted during the three trips were Pink-footed Shearwaters 1, 3, 0; Black-vented Shearwaters 4550, 1250, 10,000 (estimates); Brown Boobys 10, 9, 3; Red Phalaropes 0, 0, 2; Pomarine Jaegers 3, 1, 6; Parasitic Jaegers 2, 3, 2; Scripps's Murrelets 20, 19, 35; Cassin's Auklets 0, 16, 2; Rhinoceros Auklets 46, 19, 37; Royal Terns 10, 3, 5; Bonaparte's Gulls 20, 33, 36; Glaucous-winged Gull 1, 0, 0; Red-throated Loons 0, 0, 2; Pacific Loons 3, 0, 1; and Common Loons 3, 3, 4.

This species list only includes offshore species, as reported by Paul Lehman at http://birding.aba.org/message.php?mesid=1530029&MLID=CA11&MLNM=CA%20-%20San%20Diego%20Region%20Birding

The San Diego Bird Festival has long been a favorite on a national scale, so be sure to keep it on your radar for next March. If you’re not a seabirding fan, there are plenty of land-based field trips to participate in, and the birders and landscapes in the San Diego area are impressive and enjoyable – as are the birds. For more info on the festival, see http://www.cvent.com/events/san-diego-bird-festival/event-summary-f13df7d70cc2428a84786ad5d7bc6a6b.aspx