Subject: seabird report
Date: Dec 10 11:28:50 1995
From: PAGODROMA at aol.com - PAGODROMA at aol.com


The following excerpts were posted on the Washington Bird Box, in retrospect,
perhaps not really appropriate. My apologies.

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I have just returned from a 4-month long pelagic trip between here (Seattle)
and Mexico, only the final two days of which were in Oregon / Washington
waters. On Sunday, 03 Dec., onboard the NOAA R/V "McArthur," and getting
totally hammered with winds up to 80 knots and hellish seas, 30 Laysan and 30
black-footed albatross, 3 mottled petrels, a few fork-tailed storm petrels,
and 3 pomarine jaegers among others were seen along the shelf break between
Astoria and Grays Canyon, 35-40 miles off SW Washington. The hot bite off
Oregon was a first winter red-legged kittiwake encountered 40 miles west of
Tillamook, earlier in the day, and first I've ever seen south of Alaska.

On Monday, 04 Dec., and inbound through the Strait of Juan de Fuca, from just
off Callam Bay at first light to PMC Seattle / Lake Union, turned up 4 red
phalaropes about 1-1/2 miles off Shilshole and Golden Gardens in a scummy
tide line. Also, 3 Clarks grebes were seen among a raft of 600 western
grebes just off Shilshole. Two fork-tailed storm petrels and a single red
phalarope was seen one mile off Point No Point. Some 430 ancient murrelets
were counted with highest densities between the tip of Dungeness Spit and
Point Wilson, with fair numbers further south to the Edmonds / Kingston ferry
line. There were about 60 northern fulmars, most stacked up between
Dungeness Spit and Point Wilson, as well as a few short-tailed shearwaters,
fork-tailed storm petrels, black-leggged kittiwakes, and red phalaropes.

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Dead bird watching on the Long Beach Peninsula on 07 Dec. revealed the extent
of a significant seabird wreck in the wake of the Dec. 3rd storm. The entire
length of beach was littered with hundreds of northern fulmars, evenly
distributed at 40-60 per mile. Other seabird casualties were thinly
scattered throughout including sooty and short-tailed shearwaters,
fork-tailed storm petrel, red phalarope, black-legged kittiwake, common
murre, marbled murrelet, Cassins auklet, and others. Two Laysan Albatross
that bit the sand were salvaged for the Burke Museum.

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I am a newbie to *tweeters* and this whole internet thing for that matter,
and look forward to being a part of this community. Useful tips from others
will be appreciated. Thanks.

Richard Rowlett, Bellevue, WA <pagodroma at aol.com>