Virginia
birders,
You may
have noticed the absence of regular pelagic trips lately in Virginia waters.
With
the high price of fuel it has been difficult for Brian Patteson to reposition
his boat up the coast at a reasonable cost. Options for small groups of birders
organizing on the fly are limited and on the expensive side – offshore sport
fishing charters can cost as much as $300 a head. That said, these trips can be
done for a reasonable cost per person if enough dedicated birders can get
organized
with enough lead time.
With this
in mind, I’m sending out this inquiry to gauge interest in a pelagic trip from
Virginia Beach in early September 09. I’ve investigated some charter options for
several dates in September, and price per person (at cost) would amount to from
$170-$200, depending on the boat and number of participants. This would be for
a full day out to Norfolk Canyon and back, roughly from 6 am to 6 pm. The trip
would be scheduled for a Saturday (Sep 5 or 12) with a Sunday weather date (Sep
6 or 13).
We should
have a number of seasoned seabirders on hand to help less experienced birders
with navigating the new pelagic terrain. Early September holds some interesting
pelagic possibilities, none guaranteed of course but among them White-faced
Storm-petrel, Sabine’s Gull, Long-tailed Jaeger, along with more expected
Cory’s and Audubon’s Shearwaters, Wilson’s Storm-petrel, Bridled Tern, jaegers
and phalaropes. This can be a good time for shearwater flocks which can include
Greater and Manx.
These
trips need to be lined up well in advance, so please consider and reply
off-list to dshoch AT hotmail.com to relay your interest and reserve a space.
Please
also let me know if you have a preference for a specific date or if you are
flexible.
It’s about
time we got back out there. Who knows what we’re missing, arcing over the waves
out over Norfolk Canyon, hopelessly beyond sight from land…
Cheers
David
Shoch
Charlottesville,
Virginia
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