Pelagic Birding Trip

The Friends of the Marine Science Center Pelagic Birding Trip is one of the longest-running and most productive organised offshore pelagic birding events on the Florida coast — a 50-miles-offshore Gulf Stream expedition departing from Ponce Inlet in Volusia County aboard the Canaveral Princess, an 85-foot single-hull charter vessel with dedicated upper-deck observation platforms designed to maximise seabird watching from all angles. The trip is sponsored by the Friends of the Marine Science Center (Ponce Inlet, Volusia County), and its extraordinary commitment to offshore reach — travelling 50+ miles from shore to the centre and east wall of the Gulf Stream — sets it apart from most Florida pelagic options, which typically stay on the west wall of the stream much closer to shore.

The itinerary is deliberately long. The boat departs at approximately 3:00 am and does not return until approximately 9:00 pm, giving participants 18+ hours at sea. The outward transit crosses the blue-water threshold of the Gulf Stream proper, entering the warm Sargasso-influenced waters over the centre of the stream where conditions concentrate open-ocean tubenoses. The trip uses chumming — establishing chum slicks astern of the drifting vessel — and also seeks out working shrimp boats within the Gulf Stream, where discarded bycatch creates high-density bird aggregations.

Black-capped Petrel (Pterodroma hasitata) is the signature target. This medium-sized, critically endangered gadfly petrel breeds in Haiti and the Dominican Republic on remote mountain ridges and disperses northward into Gulf Stream waters off the US East Coast during the non-breeding season — the Florida Straits and the Gulf Stream off Cape Canaveral are among the most accessible areas to encounter it from a day-trip vessel. The Marine Science Center trip has recorded Black-capped Petrel on every May departure. Band-rumped Storm-Petrel is a consistent attendee at the chum; this Atlantic-breeding storm-petrel is one of the less common storm-petrels on the US East Coast and has been documented on multiple trips. Wilson's Storm-Petrel is regular throughout the Gulf Stream. Audubon's Shearwater — the resident Caribbean shearwater of Gulf Stream waters — is expected on every trip; Cory's Shearwater and Greater Shearwater augment the tubenose count during the May peak of their northward passage. White-tailed Tropicbird and Red-billed Tropicbird both occur in Gulf Stream waters off Florida, with May the peak season for the former. Masked Booby is present year-round over the Gulf Stream; Sooty Tern and Bridled Tern scatter north from Caribbean and Dry Tortugas colonies in May and June and are reliably encountered at this range offshore. Pomarine Jaeger, Parasitic Jaeger, and Long-tailed Jaeger are all possible during passage.

Trips are co-organised with the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival (SCBWF) for some departure dates. The Marine Science Center is located at 100 Lighthouse Drive, Ponce Inlet, FL 32127. Contact the centre directly at (386) 304-5545 or via the website for registration, current pricing, and the date of the upcoming season's trip.