Trip Report. Noyo Pelagics, 4 April, 2026
Greetings Mendobirders –
On April 4th about 25 folks, largely birders, accompanied Richard Thornton and Anchor Charters for a full day pelagic trip over and down Noyo Canyon, out about 30 miles to Vizcaino Knoll, and back. This knoll, along with Vizcaino Rock north of Westport and an important desert in Baja CA, was named for Sebastián Vizcaino who sailed up the northern California coast, in 1602, the second explorer to do so since Cabrillo in 1542, and the first to take ecological notes. Historians are unsure how far Cabrillo got, maybe only to the Russian River (wishfully as far as Point Cabrillo Lighthouse), so Vizcaino could well have been the first European to visit Mendocino but, like any disruptive invasive species, a detrimental harbinger for native populations.
Fin Whales and Blue Sharks in clear blue waters about 15 miles west of Noyo Canyon. Footage: Richard Thornton.
We were finally blessed with fine weather and sea conditions (sort of). Light NW winds at dawn quickly diminished to beautiful calm flat seas for the majority of the day and spectacular visibility to all horizons. This was only the second Noyo Pelagics trip we’ve had with such unbelievable conditions, and both have been, well, very pleasant and fun, but lacking some of the deepwater bird species we hope for. In fact, it was somewhat “dead” out there, though not as bird-less as our trip of 7 September 2025 (see our trip report here). The going soap-boxing has been that, when winds are calm, the tubenoses sit tight and we don’t see as many because they are not moving around as much. But we came up with an alternate hypothesis, that, as the circulating barometric pressure systems and accompanying winds move off, the birds go with them. Otherwise, you’d think we’d see some of these birds sitting around under such great observation conditions. The day before, healthy NW winds blew and then pushed off to the south as the high weakened and calm came in from the north. So south may have been where all the seabirds went! Follow the winds, as the sailors say.
Blue Shark and Black-footed Albatross sharing a black cod carcass in our chum net. Video: Lucas Stephenson.
Sea-surface temps leaving the harbor were a cool 53° F. We were in what we call “salmon water,” greenish to mud-colored due to a thick phytoplankton bloom. Richard pulled up his Terafin SST-View app and we could see clearer water and a temperature break about 10 miles offshore so we made a bee-line (or albatross-line) west and found beautiful blue pelagic waters of 59° F, where a couple of trip highlights occurred. We had seen 3-4 Humpbacks on the way out but they were not as cooperative as three Fin Whales we encountered in the deeper blue. Richard ascended his drone and got some incredible footage as they slowly surfaced and circled around the boat. These were adults, perhaps 70-80′ in length, second only to Blue Whales as being the largest creatures we know of…ever…on earth. The second highlight involved Blue Sharks coming up to our chum net where, somehow, they and the albatross shared a black cod carcass without detrimental interaction (if only the internet and AI could learn from this!). More cool blue video was taken of these cool blue sharks in the clear blue waters. Stay tuned for video clips when our Trip Report with photos gets posted at noyopelagics.com!
Laysan Albatross (with Black-foot), Manx Shearwater, Elegant Tern. Photos: Tim Bray and Roger Adamson
Although no Pterodroma petrels or Short-tailed Albatrosses, the trip was not without some avian highlights. Two different Laysan Albatrosses swung by, one with orange band P33 in purple lettering, probably from Mexico. We’ll report on this bird’s origin once we find out. A nice Manx Shearwater sauntered by on our way back in, as did two Elegant Terns in elegant alternate (breeding) plumage. These terns used to come up our coast only in late summer and fall but, perhaps related to global ocean warming, they are now surging north in spring, so much so that they are no longer an eBird alert species in San Francisco, and Mendocino counties in April (San Mateo and Marin, please take note!). Many Bonaparte’s Gulls, some in full alternate plumage, graced our gull flock all day, and some early northbound Sabine’s Gulls, likewise in both alternate and basic plumage, further embellished the air space. An Ancient Murrelet with Cassin’s Auklets was later discovered in photographs. The Humpbacks are definitely back, 14-16 in all today, and as usual we took many fluke shots to contribute to the Happywhale photo-ID catalogue. Also a couple of folks on board were pretty sure they saw Orca in the distance, confirmed by fisherman on the 5th who saw them in the same vicinity! Apparently the K-Pod of local animals, down from Washington, that could stick around. We ‘only’ had about 40 Black-footed Albatross, as compared to 135 at once on our March 18th half-day trip in, ahem, windy conditions. We figure now that the ‘perfect’ weather will involve low swell, moderate winds near shore, and a break or wind shear, as often occurs on a line between Cape Mendocino and Point Arena, such that we may even be able to sit in calmer waters and chum in Pterodroma petrels from gale-force NW blow on the other side of the shear. Or maybe just plain old wind everywhere, as we can slowly and rather comfortably churn 5-6 miles out to see what these winds have delivered to us (see our 24 May 2025 trip here).
Cassin’s Auklet, Northern Fulmar, Bonaparte’s Gull, Common Loon. Photos: Roger Adamson and Peter Pyle.
Our next trips are for April 19th (half-day), April 26th, and May 9th. You can sign up for these or others later in the year at our Noyo Pelagics website. This is the real good window for Short-tailed Albatrosses and Pterodroma petrels (Hawaiian and Murphy’s at least), as well as “who knows what else!” (Herald?) so please consider joining us!
Peter
Pink-footed Shearwater. Photo: Peter Pyle.
