Subject: Re: Swinhoe's Storm-petrels in the North Atlantic. (fwd)
Date: Jul 20 15:53:15 1995
From: Russell Rogers - rrogers


On Thu, 20 Jul 1995, Stuart MacKay wrote:
>
> "Wouldn't it be cool to see a manx shearwater on the Pacific coast ?"
> "Oh look, there's goes one now !!!!"
>
> Rare birds on demand are not that uncommon.
>
> Sometimes if you look hard enough you will find. Sometimes of you look too
> hard you will also find. There is a difference ;-)

I agree with your premise here Stuart, but in the case of the Manx
Shearwaters, this is not the case. Pelagic birding is perhaps my favorite
form of birding. I had never been on the Pacific Ocean until I moved to
Washington. I have been out on the Atlantic many times, and have seen
Manx Shearwaters many times as a result. In the dozen or so trips that I
have made with Terry, I have seen 7 Manx. I would give a arm or a leg to
see something else! I know that it is a good bird for the Pacific, but I
would be happy to trade that bird in for something else. Each one that I
have seen I have tried to turn it into a Black-vented or Townsend's, or a
Red-legged Kittywake or Xantus' Murrelet for that matter.

How are these people that creat rare birds at will, I would like to take
a boat trip with them.

Russell Rogers
4510 Glenn Way SW
Seattle, Washington 98116
(206) 935-6280
rrogers at halcyon.com