Gail and Barry saw 10 pelagic species on their Baltimore-Bermuda-Baltimore 
cruise.
__________________

And now another side of the Baltimore-Bermuda-Baltimore cruise story ---

Marcia Watson and I attempted a 5-night roundtrip Baltimore to Bermuda 
cruise that started on May 21, 2006 aboard the Royal Caribbean Grandeur of 
the Sea.  We also had high hopes of seeing pelagic species.

5/21: The ship left Baltimore at 5PM and sailed down the Chesapeake Bay 
reaching the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel after dark.  The ship crossed the 
western wall of the Gulf Stream overnight.  (pelagic species seen: 0)
5/22: The entire day was spent at sea crossing the Gulf Stream desert. 
Marcia and I were on the upper foredeck with a spotting scope the majority 
of the time.  (pelagic species seen: 0)
5/23: Marcia and I were on the upper foredeck with a spotting scope at 
sunrise.  The ship docked at Bermuda at 9AM.  White-tailed Tropicbirds were 
common near Bermuda.  (pelagic species seen: 1)
5/24: The day was spent land birding on Bermuda.  Interesting species: Great 
Kiskadee, "Bermuda" White-eyed Vireo, European Goldfinch.  The ship left 
Bermuda at 4PM.
5/25: The entire day was spent at sea crossing the Gulf Stream desert. 
Marcia and I were on the upper foredeck with a spotting scope the majority 
of the time.  (pelagic species seen: 0)
5/26: The ship crossed the western wall of the Gulf Stream overnight.  The 
ship traveled up the Chesapeake Bay and arrived in Baltimore at 7AM. 
(pelagic species seen: 0)

Bottom Line:  Gail and Barry had a much more successful pelagic cruise than 
Marcia and I had.  Was the difference due to the 10-day difference in the 
sailing dates?  Was the difference in the number of pelagic species seen 
just normal variation?  More birders are needed to try the 
Baltimore-Bermuda-Baltimore cruise to see which of our two results is the 
norm, or whether the two trips demonstrated the extreme endpoints.

Gene

Gene Scarpulla
Millers Island, Maryland



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gail Mackiernan" <>
To: <>
Sent: Saturday, June 20, 2009 3:47 PM
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Baltimore-Bermuda Cruise results

In all we recorded ten species of sea birds on the cruise
Black-capped Petrel
Bermuda Petrel
Cory's Shearwater
Greater Shearwater
Manx Shearwater
Audubon's Shearwater
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
Leach's Storm-Petrel
White-tailed Tropicbird
Long-tailed Jaeger