From all the seabird reports on the Massbird listserv over the summer, I knew it was a great year for the more common pelagics like Greater Shearwaters and Wilson's Storm Petrels (due to my lack of pelagic experience, I hadn't yet seen even those species). After a few consecutive days of strong southeasterly winds, I decided to take my first ever Massachusetts pelagic trip in the hopes of finding a lot of seabirds, maybe even some rarities. Despite choppy seas and a dreary day that eventually became rainy near the end of the trip, I wasn't disappointed once we closed in on the SW corner of Stellwagen Bank. In addition to seeing my first Greater Shearwaters and Wilson's Storm Petrels (both species in great abundance), I also saw a handful of Manx Shearwaters (another new one for me), some Sooty Shearwaters (I had seen them in California a week earlier), and at least one Cory's Shearwater (maybe 2) . The Cory's are rare outside of warmer waters off the cape, so I was undoubtedly aided by the persistent southeast winds. Unfortunately, they were too fast and distant to be even marginally photogenic under the dark clouds. The real catch of the day, though, was an adult Sabine's Gull that flew right across the bow directly in front of me. It's a tough bird to get in Massachusetts, so I felt very lucky to see it (and even get a couple of marginal photos despite the rain and chop; they at least show the forked tail, wing pattern, dark gray head, and even the yellow bill tip!). Although it was easily the rarist bird I saw on the trip, it wasn't a life bird for me oddly enough. I had been on a whale watch in Monterrey Bay (where they are a bit more reliable) the previous week and seen a handful of them. Those were all quite distant immature birds however. Of course, there were lots of Humpback Whales to be seen on the whale watch as well, although they were so close a point-and-shoot probably would have been more useful than my 400 mm lens. A few other whales (Minke and Fin) and some Basking Sharks were added treats on this trip, even though I couldn't manage any photos. All in all, a fabulous first MA pelagic trip with 4 life birds plus the gorgeous adult Sabine's.