Among those actively foraging flocks just a hundred or so yards off Pt. Sur were:

MANX SHEARWATER (1). This was found about 0900 after spending an hour scoping the flocks. There was one large glut of Black-vents sitting on the water, apparently satiated, as many others were swarming over the feeding frenzy. There were probably 100+ sitting in a tight homogeneous flock. The broad variation in Black-vented Shearwater was easily apparent in the flock: there were many typical Black-vents, some darker birds showing heavy mottling to breast, and some paler birds. All the Black-vents, though, looked “smudgy” (as they do) at the demarcation areas between dark brownish upperparts and white underparts. In particular, the faces and necks were smudgy. There were at least two “white-vented” Black-vented Shearwaters in the flock. It was easy to pick them out because the dark vents of 99% + of the birds were apparent on the water. These “white-vented” Black-vents were overall rather pale, being decidedly paler-faced than most, and showing more white along the waterline: which explains the whitish undertail coverts. Like all the other Black-vents, the demarcation lines were smudgy and mottled and the whitish undertail coverts, although not dark, didn't seem completely clean white.
    But then there was the Manx. In contrast to all the others, this bird was crisply black-and-white with clean, crisp demarcation between blackish upperparts and clean white underparts. In particular, the undertail coverts were bright, clean white (without any hint of smudginess) and contrasted starkly with the short black tail. The white undertail coverts almost reached the end of the tail (and the tail was held slightly cocked-up at rest, as is typical in this group). The entire underparts above waterline were also white except for an obvious blackish thigh patch which extended down through the white flanks very conspicuously. The neck and facial demarcations also looked crisp. The distance, though, was slightly too much to determine any further details of facial patterns. The bill was dark and rather short, and looked similar in size & shape to all the Black-venteds. In overall size and shape, the bird was like the many adjacent Black-vents, to wit, a small, short-tailed, squat shearwater.
 I got out my walkie-talkie to call Rita who was birding for landbirds elsewhere on the point. She arrived perhaps 5 minutes later, and during that time I was able to reconfirm all the points and refind the Manx easily was it sat with the flock. But, alas, just as Rita arrived to take up the scope, a dark-morph Pomarine Jaeger started working the shearwater flock, and many of the birds scattered while others took off in flight. I was not at the scope to watch the Manx take off — we were changing positions on the bench — and Rita did not see the Manx. I never refound it. Within minutes, the Pom had scattered this whole sitting group of shearwaters.
 I was looking northwest during the entire time, in flat calm conditions and with the sun to my back: I have never seen viewing conditions here so excellent. I was using my 25X60 zoom on a Leica Trinovid, and views were best at about 35-40X.

FERRUGINOUS HAWK: an adult (e.g., much rufous to thighs) was watched both in flight and perched on a telephone pole. A large pale-headed Buteo with much rufous to upperwings, a pale and mostly whitish tail washed a bit with rusty on the dingy subterminal band, and large whitish patches at base of primaries when the upperwings were viewed in flight. Underparts very white except for rusty things and few flank spots; bill and eye yellow.