>Hey tweeters!
>
>What can I expect 40 miles off Neah Bay this weekend in the way of birds?
> I'm going out to collect live halibut for a rearing study at Marrowstone.
>We'll be offshore for a day or so depending on the weather.
>
>Tracee
>tracee at iphc.washington.edu

Pelagics off the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca seem less diverse and
abundant than off Grays Harbor, but there's still a good array of them.
Unfortunately, you're going in the period between spring and fall
migration, so many migratory species you might see in May or Aug-Oct won't
be there. There might be a few very late-migrating Sabine's Gulls, Arctic
Terns or Red-necked or Red phalaropes, you never know.

The local breeding birds with pelagic foraging habits such as Fork-tailed
Storm-Petrel (don't know if you'd see Leach's in that area or not),
Cassin's Auklet and Tufted Puffin should be there, also presumably the
summer-visiting shearwaters, Sooty and Pink-footed. Black-footed Albatross
is a good possibility, perhaps summering Northern Fulmars. Anything else
is unlikely, but keep an eye out for much rarer species such as South Polar
Skua and Flesh-footed Shearwater.

Typically the birds will be where the fishing boats are, mostly on the
Swiftsure Bank in that area.

(Thanks for the card, Tracee.)

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416