Observations

1. Common Murre

   Number observed: 6

   Details: I originally reported these in the Ventura County checklist entered before this one, but after looking at the timestamp from the photo and checking the pelagic county boundaries I believe this observation was just barely in Santa Barbara County, so I've moved it here. (The observation was made essentially as I was ending the previous Ventura County list and beginning this one.) The observation was made at 9:08 a.m., within a few hundred yards of (34.097831, -119.467209). It looks to me from the photos like these are six Common Murres. I at first reported them as a "family group" with two adults (the two birds on the right) and four smaller immature birds (the other four birds). A helpful commenter has pointed out some relevant aspects of Common Murre life history: each clutch consists of a single egg, and the male parent (only) accompanies the chick at sea. Looking at the photos (and several other fuzzier photos of the same group) with a critical eye, I'm no longer convinced that any of the birds are noticeably smaller than the others. I think the apparent size differences I thought I saw in the photos could be artifacts of the birds' relative positions, postures, and the poor quality of the photos.

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2. Pigeon Guillemot

   Number observed: 5

3. Scripps's Murrelet

   Number observed: 12

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4. Cassin's Auklet

   Number observed: 1

   Details: Originally reported in the previous list, in Ventura County, but after checking the timestamp on the photo I realize I saw this bird after crossing into Santa Barbara County waters.

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5. Western Gull

   Number observed: 1

6. Brown Pelican

   Number observed: 10