1. We wanted this site to finally answer the long-standing question which family (and some friends) keep asking us: What is a "pelagic trip", where do they go, and why do you/we keep doing them?
2. Related to that, we wanted to encourage our children and other young people to see what we see out on the ocean... the beauty of Nature and all the living things in it. We hope at least one young person gets something out of this website, perhaps a little support toward their lifelong interest in Nature and this planet Earth.... that would be the very best thing.
3. We wanted to provide birders with a convenient summary of the trip, in terms of a trip species list (scroll down to the very bottom of this long page), Keith's photos, Keith's detailed narrative, and the links to other birder's websites.
4. We love pelagic trips and wanted to try to capture the experience "in a bottle", so we could remember this trip later (next month, next year) and re-enjoy it in some detail! And also to conveniently share it with others in pictures and words.
5. We wanted to adapt Steve Mirick's methods for mapping pelagic trips, calibrating gpx tracks and showing where the birds were seen on this 98-mile round trip.
6. We wanted a place to display some of Keith's fine photographs, including some fleeting birds like the Little Gull which was very uncooperative.... but Keith captured enough on "film" to confirm the ID of others.
7. We wanted a place to list the sites/links to all the other photos take during this pelagic trip.
8. We wanted to lay some groundwork for us to learn more about the North Atlantic, more about the changing Arctic, how all this is interconnected, and perhaps noticeable in changes in the waters off New England (perhaps noticeable in offshore seabird population/distribution changes). TBD.
9. We wanted to focus on Cox Ledge because it is a potential target for a new wind farm (No Fluke: Ocean wind farms good...but at what cost?) and maybe documenting the birds/whales out there might contribute to the rational debate about the alternative decisions for that valuable area.
10. We wanted to thank Carlos Pedro (of Rhode Island) who created and organized this memorable pelagic trip, with 38 knowledgeable and lucky people on-board. This was a Rhode Island pelagic trip, although invitations were kindly extended to nearby Connecticut and Massachusetts. Thanks to Phil Rusch for helping get this on the CT radar and organizing that side of it. And thank you Carlos for everything!
OK, trying to do these ten things (for multiple audiences) with this one web page makes it a bit confusing, so please skip over any parts which are not of interest. Thank you and enjoy "the trip"... we did!!