Birdwatcher, Pelagic Trip, California Retreat

Passmoore, Works Of Alexander & I.V.

Of all the habitats known to attract birders, the open seas must surely be the least popular. It's a bit unfortunate, considering the amount of nature conservation taking place often correlates with the visitation patterns of naturalists. The odd thing is there are so many people out to sea on any given day, via cruise ships. You'd think of the millions plying the waters, at least a fair portion belong to that ever-growing demographic of birdwatchers. But I think the answer is generally no, at least not at sea. From my experience, people take cruises to socialize and inebriate themselves. They avail themselves of the hundreds of onboard entertainments savvy cruise directors have devised. So simple a diversion as merely looking out at the sea with binoculars never even occurs to most cruise patrons. And even when the stray land-based birder happens to notice a pelagic enthusiast scanning the horizon, his ignorance of the very existence of Procellariiformes means the first question is often "seen any whales today?" I think cruise ships would do wonders for oceanic nature conservation if they learned to exploit the entertainment value of deep-sea ecology. Series Description: Pleasant diversions around California, a retreat from the rest of the states. It's no wonder CA is host to so many corporate & executive retreats, spiritual retreats, private retreats... See also Santa Monica, Malibu, and Venice Canals.