General Membership Meeting: Thursday, January 26, 2012, 7:00 p.m.
“Pelagic Birding off Southern California:
What You See When You Go to Sea”
by David Pereksta
The waters offshore of southern California are one of the last birding frontiers in the state. An exciting mix of local breeders, arctic nesting migrants, an austral migrants that are rarely if ever seen from land can be found at sea if you know when, where, and how to look for them. A limited number of trips, unpredictable weather, and challenging viewing conditions make pelagic birding trips an adventurous way to explore this frontier. Birders wishing to see these special birds must find some of the few scheduled trips each year, get a reservation before they sell out, and hope that the weather and birds cooperate. David Pereksta will show us what experiences southern California pelagic birding trips offer. David has spent over 100 days at sea off southern California and will describe the species that occur off our coast, where local pelagic trips go and how they operate, and how to best schedule a trip to see the birds (and marine mammals) you are looking for. Bring your soda crackers, Dramamine, and binoculars for this program that is richly illustrated with the best of the thousands of photos of birds and marine mammals David has taken at sea.
David is an Avian Biologist with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, where he studies and analyzes the effects of offshore oil and gas, and renewable energy development on birds off the Pacific coast. Throughout his career with various Federal and State agencies, he has studied several imperiled bird species including Snowy Plovers, Piping Plovers, Least Terns, Ospreys, Northern Goshawks, Brown Pelicans, Spotted Owls, and Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. An avid birder for over 30 years, he has birded throughout North America and the American tropics, including leading trips to Belize, Costa Rica, and Peru. He is also a regular pelagic trip leader for Los Angeles Audubon, Buena Vista Audubon, and Shearwater Journeys. He has seen over 1,500 species in his travels in the Americas; photographing nearly 1,000 species along the way.
See the calendar link for directions to the meeting.
