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Reports | Brielle, NJ Dec 2001 Search |Help | Comments | Site Map

Brielle, NJ Pelagic
December 1, 2001

It was a good day for Fulmars. Video photo by Karl Lukens and used with his permission. Photo remains the property of the photographer..

This annual trip was sponsored by FONT. Weather was unusually warm for December and there was almost no wind. Swells in the early morning kept the upper deck closed for some time and made a few people ill. By 10 AM the sea was relatively quiet as you can see from the photographs on this page. We traveled to Hudson Canyon and Chicken Canyon some 50 miles offshore and were in both NY and NJ waters. The major target for New England birders was Great Skua which unfortunately was not seen on this day. Cost was $85 per person.

We left the dock at 5:30 AM in the dark and returned about 7 PM with a full moon over the water. We only saw one other boat all day long.

The Birds
Good numbers of Northern Fulmars and adult Kittiwakes were the highlights of this trip. Everyone who was awake should have had good looks at these birds. The numbers of Red Phalaropes was also good although these birds were usually pretty far from the boat. Two Manx Shearwaters were unusual for this time of the year. Perhaps this was related to the unusual numbers sighted on Stellwagen Bank this summer. I was unable to get on the one Puffin and I think perhaps this was a disappointed for many others.

Most of the Kittiwakes seen early in the trip were mature birds. In the afternoon we ran into large flocks of immature birds as in this photograph by Karl LukensAll photos remains the property of the photographer. Immature Kittiwake
Adult Northern Gannet Some Northern Gannet were full adults with considerable color on the head as in this Karl Lukes photo. Thanks for sharing these photos with New England Seabirds.
Two large pods of Common Dolphin approached the boat at different times leaping above the water.Video photo by Karl Lukens. Common Dolphin by Karl Lukens
Common Loon 4
Red-throated Loon 2
Northern Fulmar 52
Manx Shearwater 2
Northern Gannet 134
Red Phalarope 451
Pomarine Jaeger 19
Parasitic Jaeger 1
Bonapart's Gull 128
Laughing Gull 4
Lesser Black-backed Gull 4
Black-legged Kittiwake 1259
Thick-billed Murre 1
Razorbill 3
Atlantic Puffin 1
Common Dolphin 180
Herring Gull
Greater Black-backed Gull		 Not Counted numerous

Some Information For Those Wanting To Take The Trip Next Year
The following is intended to set expectations and help those considering taking this trip in the future. All opinions are those of the author. This trip is recommended for experienced New England pelagic birders who want to add Great Skua to their life list. Brielle is a 7 hour drive from Nashua, NH. Subtract an hour and fifteen minutes if you are in Marlboro.

Leaders
Armas Hill was the trip leader and stationed in wheelhouse with the microphone. There were several experienced leaders with FRS radios in different parts of the boat in communication with the leader. They made an effort to help people get on birds and answered questions. On this boat not all people can hear the loudspeaker. The leader did a good job of giving location, water temperature, depth and distance from shore.

The Boat

The Atlantis is a large party fishing boat with a top speed of 13 knots. The inside cabin is quite large with a large picnic table at one end and seating in benches along the sides. The lower deck has seating along both sides and ample rail space. There is little space in the bow and no seating. At the stern there is a good deal of standing space.
 Atlantis at the dock in Brielle

The upper deck is not as spacious as most whale watching boats and there is very little seating. Passengers can stand forward of the wheel house, but you cannot stand at the very back of the upper deck. There were 65 birders on this trip and that was a comfortable number. I would not like to be on this boat with more than 80.

There are two heads and food service. The biggest problem is the noise and the inability to hear the microphone in all parts of the boat. The crew is very friendly to birders and there was no time wasted fishing. There is ample parking at the dock and a diner at the dock was serving breakfast at 4 AM. If you really want breakfast get there early as there was only a cook and one server. Suggestion for future trips would be to warn the diner that a large group is coming.

According to Armas Hill this is a sturdy boat and the trip is rarely cancelled for weather conditions The captain warns that if conditions are bad, the boat may not make it out to the canyon.

Directions and Hotel Information
The instructions provided for participants had directions which were not quite accurate. For printer friendly directions, a map, and hotel information see

Page author: Emmalee Tarry