Because seabirds are out there in the ocean, and we are landlubbers, we do not get to experience the full breadth of amazing behavior that these birds do. They may indeed be the most interesting birds in the world. They also are diverse, from albatross and puffins, to storm-petrels and murrelets and shearwaters and penguins. This talk is an appreciation of seabirds, with a focus on California and what makes it one of the world’s seabird hotspots. This will be a fun exploration of our offshore environment, touching on the ecology of the ocean including how there are actually different habitats out there, and how you can use all of this information to have a more fun exploration of seabirds when you next go out on a boat to see our great Pacific Ocean.

Alvaro Jaramillo, owner of Alvaro’s Adventures, was born in Chile but began birding in Toronto, where he lived as a youth. He was trained in ecology and evolution with a particular interest in bird behavior. Research forays and backpacking trips introduced Alvaro to the riches of the Neotropics, where he has traveled extensively. He is the author of the Birds of Chile, an authoritative yet portable field guide to Chile’s birds. Alvaro writes the Identify Yourself column in Bird Watcher’s Digest. Alvaro recently wrote part of the sparrow chapter for the Handbook of Birds of the World, and the new ABA Field Guide Birds of California. He was recently granted the Eisenmann Medal by the Linnaean Society of New York, it is awarded occasionally for excellence in ornithology and encouragement of the amateur. He organizes and leads international birding tours, as well as a full schedule of pelagic trips out of Morro Bay, Monterey, Bodega Bay and Half Moon Bay. Alvaro lives with his family in Half Moon Bay, California.