While way in the other corner of the state from SWLA, the birds seen on the trip are all possible from SWLA waves or, I fear to say, as hurricane waifs here.
This was the most unusual pelagic I've ever been on, producing unheard of numbers of birds of many species. A few birds of a few species is the norm; this went well past that. It's possible that some of that bounty was due to the passage of Hurricane Idalia passing through the eastern Gulf not long prior. That would explain the presence of large numbers of Sooty Terns among others.
The trip went far beyond land in water deeper than 6000 feet, a feat possible only due to the speed of the boat we were in, Calcutta Gold's Genesis. Unlike many past trips where a big crew of birders loaded onto slow "head boats" and chugged out at 15 mph into the Gulf, the Genesis was able to cruise at 40 mph, getting us into deep blue water early in the morning. That meant instead of hitting deep water only to have to turn around and head back, we were able to stay a while and spend time looking for birds.
The size of the boat limited the number of birders--and it wasn't cheap--but given the final bird tally, it was worth it. Among the finds was a Brown Noddy which was new for all of our state lists, and a surprising lifer for Mac Myers.
Van Remsen posted a summary of the trip at https://ebird.org/tripreport/157019 for anyone that wants to see the breakdown. Below, I'll just post some photos.
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