Tweets,

Even though a person can't get very accurate species ID at 750 feet and
150 knots, I *did* get out looking at birds.

I accompanied WDFW fish biologist Tim Tynan during the aerial
effort survey for the non-treaty gill net opening in the San
Juans/Point Roberts area on Wednesday from 9:45 to 10:40 a.m. I
observed for concentrations of sea birds, to provide information to
the non-treaty fleet so that they might better avoid the incidental
take of sea birds, and to provide information to the Washington Sea
Grant/PSGA gear test study. That study is designed to determine
gear which can significantly reduce impacts to sea birds while
still catching salmon.

Few large groups of alcids were observed, and all seen were noted
in the Hein Bank, Salmon Banks or southern Rosario areas. Most
alcids observed were in mixed flocks with gulls, apparently in
areas of "bait balls". From the altitude of the aircraft during
fishing effort surveys, it is difficult to accurately determine
species identification of the alcids, but I believe that most were
common murres, although there may be some rhinoceros auklets.

Hein Bank: 5 flocks, with 15 to 50 alcids, and 0 to 180 gulls.

Salmon Banks: 2 flocks near "tide rip" near Middle Channel (south
of San Juan Channel entrance) of 40 gulls & 20
alcids and 80 gulls and 25 alcids.

Rosario: One flock of 125 gulls with 10 alcids seen, and
another group of 10 alcids near Colville Island.

Scattered (2 to 4) alcids were seen on the Salmon Banks and off
Iceberg Point (Lopez Is). No alcids were seen near Point Roberts
or along the Cherry Point area. At that elevation and speed, any
murrelets or small auklets would have certainly NOT been seen.

Most of the gulls were large, and I assume, Glaucous-winged.

Unrelated to the Fraser sockeye fishery, between 400 and 500
alcids, appearing to be mostly rhinoceros auklets, were observed in
northern Admiralty Inlet along Marrowstone Island to north of Point
Wilson. Scattered smaller groups of dark alcids were seen north
from there to about the Smith Island area - no more than 25 seen
along the flight path.

Returning from the north, we flew over the Skagit flats. There were
several thousand small gulls foraging in the fields west of Mount Vernon,
in the harvested potato fields and in fields where the farmers were doing
their fall tillage. From 1500 feet, I can only assume that they were
California/Ring-billed gulls.

Any word from the ground crews? :-)

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, WA
anderjda at dfw.wa.gov