John got to Norfolk, Va, fine, but got a bit lost driving down to Cape Hatteras, so got there after dark. I got a couple calls from him while he tried to find his lodging in Hatteras Village. I was hoping he would get there early enough to find the dock for his pelagic the next morning.
5 AM June 10th, John had to find the dock in the dark, checked in with the captain, Brian Petteson, and then ran over to the store to get food for his breakfast and lunch. The sea was a bit choppy. The boat had to speed out to the continental shelf. There were no birds on the way but plenty once the boat got to the feeding grounds. New bird for the year, Wilson's Storm Petral, new birds and life ABA birds, Black-Capped Petral, Greater Shearwater, Cory's Shearwater, and Band-Rumped Storm Petral. They only saw one Black-Capped, the captain said they usually see 10 to 40 each trip. Well, one is all John needed. I think he is over 530.
The next morning, July 11th, John started back to Norfolk and planned to spend some time in the Dismal Swamp on the way. I called him there to tell him about a boat trip he could take July 12th out of New Harbor, Maine around Eastern Egg Island. The target bird would be the Roseate Tern, 150 pairs amongst thousands of other terns. It is nice to be able to contact him instead of waiting a week or more for him to be in cell phone range. It is also nice to give him the phone numbers and let him do the booking.
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