I Wish it Weren’t So-2

Tragedy sometimes occurs unexpectedly when adventuring, just as in life in general.

            I wish it weren’t so.

Part 2-The Humboldt Current

The next morning, we were up at the crack of dawn and on our way to the  port of Callao.

There we boarded a boat similar to the one shown in below.

We needed a good-sized boat because three birding groups had come together for this trip.  There were at least 30 birders I our group plus our tour leaders plus the supporting staff.  There were probably about 50 people onboard.

Our goal for the day was to get out into the Humboldt current which was about 35 nautical miles offshore.

The current carries with it an abundance of sea life.  That concentration of sea life attracts an abundance of pelagic birds.  Many of these birds can’t be seen closer to shore.

We boarded the boat and were off.   There were sights to see along the way and folks got their binoculars out immediately. Not far from the port we came upon a colony of Humboldt Penguins.

After that most folks were up on their feet seeing what they could see.  The sights were many and  varied, including cormorants, gulls, terns, boobies, and even some sea lions.

When land was behind us, everyone sat and relaxed as the captain motored us out to sea.  It was a few hours with not much happening. Old friends chatted with each other.  New acquaintances spent time getting to know each other.  The weather was perfect, and the tour operator offered light snacks and soft drinks.  Guys like me made sure their sunblock was liberally applied, as no shade was to be had.

At last, we were to the Humboldt current.  The deck crew brought out the buckets of chopped up fish and began tossing them in the water (chumming).  It was not long before the birds began to appear.  In they came, gulls, terns, albatrosses, petrels of various varieties, shearwaters, diving-petrels and storm  petrels.  I saw a total of 36 species that day, almost all of them out at sea and all of them only possible along the coast.  Everybody was thrilled, including me. 

Of the 36 species I observed, two were species I had never seen before (Lifers).  These two birds were the reason I was interested in this day of the trip.  Sought and found-Ringed Storm-Petrel and Markham’s Storm-Petrel.  The next figure is Ringed Storm-Petrel.

A grand time was had by all on the Humboldt current.  The birds were plentiful.  People were busy and excited as new species were logged. By the afternoon pretty much everyone had had their fill and were ready to head back for land.

We never would have guessed what came next. I wish it weren’t so.