Some ENSO news from the Farallones: Sea surface temperature hit a 30-year (since PRBO occupation) record of 19.4 C at Southeast Farallon Island off San Francisco on 28 August, although this apparently was not directly related to the upcoming ENSO. One recent theory has it that the lack of a marine layer this August is what caused the water to become so warm off California. What caused the lack of a marine layer is a big question; it may be indirectly related to the ENSO event, e.g., through shifting, Pacific-wide pressure centers. Fairly persistent northwest winds have cooled it off to about 17 C during the past week, which is still setting records for August. There have been no tropical seabirds (boobies, frigates, tropics) here yet but we're looking hard. The big news for seabirds here is the continued return of Pacific sardines, aided by (but perhaps not directly related to) warm-water events. With this year's warm water there have been more sardines than ever. Large flocks of Brandt's Cormorants (~20K), Western Gulls (~8K) and diving Brown Pelicans (~2K) have been feeding around the island continuously on sardines (as confirmed with baitfish jigs) for the past two weeks. For the first time this year I have also seen Tufted Puffins feeding near the island - on sardines - and bringing them into nest crevices. This could well be the start of a return by puffins here to abundances recorded before the sardine crash (e.g., thousands recorded by Dawson in 1911).--Peter Pyle <prbo@seismo.geo.berkeley.edu>