Great Shearwaters in NY - But Still not in CT, August 2018

I’ve taken the Cross Sound Ferry out of New London, CT numerous times over the last several years in hopes of seeing various pelagic species.  The ferries travel from New London to Orient Point, NY and back, so obviously it’s important to know which state you’re in when you’re crossing.  On my first trip ever in August 2015 I had a pair of Cory’s Shearwaters but they were in NY, though just barely based on my best guess of where the state line was.  You see at the time I didn’t realize that the Apple map app would show the state line.  So ever since, that sighting has haunted me – could those Cory’s have actually been in CT and I didn’t realize it?

Since that trip I’ve accumulated a nice list of pelagics from the ferry.  In NY I’ve seen Wilson’s Storm-Petrel, Cory’s Shearwater, Parasitic and Pomarine Jaegers, and Common Murre – all 5 being new for my NY statelist.  My list of sightings in CT waters is much shorter – Wilson’s Storm-Petrel and Pomarine Jaeger, with only the Pomarine being a new statebird.  (I watched that Pomarine as it, and the ferry, passed from CT to NY adding it to both statelists.)  Hence I still need all the Shearwaters for my CT list.

Fast forward to earlier this summer - a large influx of Shearwaters made it into the Sound, with Great, Sooty, and Cory’s being spotted in both states on multiple ferries.  Unfortunately I had to stick around the home at that time and couldn’t get out.  And by the time I had a free day, pelagic sightings were once again very hit or miss – the large numbers were gone.  Undeterred, I decided to take a round-trip after all, feeling like I would be happy even if I had a single pelagic bird.  And of course finding it in CT would make me even happier.  So I researched which ships were scheduled for the next day (some boats don’t offer very good viewing), and selected that 10 AM departure on the Mary Ellen.  My plan was set.

Just before I boarded the boat I ran into a couple other birders.  They were out of NY, and had just been on the boat heading to New London.  They had a Parasitic Jaeger in NY waters, but no Shearwaters.  Later 2 other birders arrived, so 5 sets of eyes would surely increase our chances to find some good birds on the crossing.  But it was not to be – the best bird we had on the way to NY was a Roseate Tern.

But there’s always the trip back, though unfortunately I was the only birder on-board.  Thank goodness my luck improved on the trip back.  Not 5 minutes after leaving Orient Point I spotted a Shearwater sitting on the water – it was a Great.  A couple minutes later I spotted another Great in flight, then a Great on the water, and then a 4th bird in flight.  All were single birds, all east of the ship, and all in NY.  Here are a couple photos of the first Shearwater.

But this boded well for CT, right?  Unfortunately after we crossed the stateline I didn’t see any more pelagic species.  The Great Shearwater was a new bird for my NY list, #283, and finding 4 Shearwaters of any species was good for the ferry these days.  But I was still without any Shearwaters in CT.

NY was my 6th state for Great Shearwater, plus I’ve seen it in 2 Canadian provinces (see my state bird and province bird maps below).

 

One last thought on viewing pelagics from the ferry-  Virtually all my sightings of pelagics over the years have been to the east.  And on a sunny day, scanning to the east means scanning into considerable sun glare.  For instance on my 10 AM trip to NY this day the sun glare made viewing to the east very difficult.  Though on the Noon trip back to CT there was almost no glare to the east at all.  I wonder if midday or afternoon trips are the best options on a sunny day?