July 18, 2001: S Padre Island; TRIP REPORT
Aboard the Osprey II
Subject: Brownsville Birding Festival Pelagic Trip reports
Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2001 21:12:12 -0500
From: Dwight Peake
The Brownsville International Birding Festival sponsored pelagic trips from South Padre Island on July 18 (Texas only) and July 20 (Tex-Mex) on the Osprey II. The seas were excellent on July 18 and very acceptable on July 20. We traversed waters nearly 2400 feet deep on both trips. These two are the only public true pelagic trips scheduled for Texas waters this year that I am aware of.
If the eddy approaching the Texas coast arrives to about 50-75 miles offshore before late September, trips on the Scat Cat may be good for pelagics. Some can be seen now within the range of the typical Scat Cat fishing trips due to the remnants of a warm core eddy pushing oceanic blue water far closer to the coast than usual.
Dwight Peake
Houston Audubon Society
FINAL TRIP LIST :
TOTAL PELAGIC SPECIES – 7
TOTAL PELAGIC SEABIRDS – ?
Masked Booby
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel
Leach’s Storm Petrel
Red-billed Tropicbird
Sooty Tern
Bridled Tern
Magnificent Frigatebird
OCEANOGRAPHIC AND WEATHER CONDITIONS: