Subject: PB weekly summary #8
Date: May 14 10:50:26 1996
From: PAGODROMA at aol.com - PAGODROMA at aol.com


Point Piedras Blancas, San Luis Obispo, Co., California.

Weekly Summary #8, 5/06-5/12, 1996.
(*Selected* species; i.e. in most cases including those species which are
clearly long-shore, off-shore migrants but *not* including 'common' large
migrant larid gulls, cormorants (except DCCO), most shorebirds, miscellaneous
non-sea waterfowl, and in most cases unidentified birds like alcids, terns,
jaegers, etc.)

SEARCH EFFORT - 25X = 34.7hrs.
SEARCH EFFORT - E + 10X = 37.0hrs.
TOTAL HOURS OF EFFORT = 71.7hrs.

RTLO --- 860
PALO --- 28,161 (best estimate = ~29,550)
COLO --- 733
ARLO --- 2 (basic plumage / immature -- 5/08 & 5/12)
YBLO --- 1 (basic plumage / immature -- 5/12)
CLGR --- 0
BFAL --- 6
LAAL --- 0
NOFU --- 19
PFSH --- 19
FFSH --- 0
SOSH --- 15,677+
STSH --- 0
MASH --- 3 (singles 5/06, 5/08, & 5/11)
BVSH --- 1 (5/11 -- late date)
storm petrels 0 (none this year yet)
BRPE --- ~694 (major influx continues this week)
DCCO -- 22
BRAN --- 912 (plus two _B. b. hrota_ on 5/09)
BLSC --- 5
SUSC --- 3,361
WWSC -- 86
RBME --- 9
OLDS --- 0
WHIM --- 1,121
LBCU --- 34
RNPH -- 16,645
REPH -- 108,065 (~100,000 on 5/12)
POJA --- 5
PAJA --- 9
FRGU --- 1 (alt. plumage adult, 5/09 -- season's first)
BOGU --- 504
HMGU --- 122 (slow week compared to last)
MEGU --- 0
GWGU --- 1
GLGU ---- 0
BLKI ----- 0
SAGU --- 1,039 (98% all seen each evening around sunset -- typical)
CATE ---- 7
ELTE ---- 13 (three flocks of 5, 4, & 4)
ROTE ---- 0
ARTE ---- 0
COTE ---- 20
FOTE ---- 42
BLTE --- 1 (5/10)
COMU --- 1,766 (!!! What's going on?!! never seen numbers like this
here!)
MAMU --- 4
XAMU ---- 23
ANMU --- 25
b&w murrelet sp. 17
CAAU ---- 33
RHAU ---- 170
TUPU ---- 1 (adult 5/12 -- first sighting since May 1994)

Notes & Comment:

PACIFIC LOONS:
Generally light flights all week with lowest day 5/07 (~750), but picking up
again at weeks end with another big flight 5/11 (~12,500). About 95% pass
the Point by 0900hrs. Anyway, they just keep coming and coming and coming,
like out of some bottomless pit. I was pretty excited and 100% confident
with the exceptional look at an Arctic loon on 5/12. Quite different looking
really. Maybe especially so to my eye after looking over more than 400,000
Pacific loons so far this Spring. ~20% larger than Pacific and those white
flanks that actually lap upward and *over* on the sides of the rump are quite
impressive, white and even seemingly bright. I had serious doubts that a
confident field ID of an Arctic loon at the start of the season. They are
clearly very, very, very rare, but there is the odd wayward one around
apparently. Immature yellow-billed wasn't bad either, but it's not a
significant flight year like 1994.

OTHER STUFF:
A curious flight of red phalaropes observed on 5/12. Sunday's are my full
bore and continuous effort on the 25X binoculars ('big eyes') -- morning and
evening sessions -- 10.0 hours. Watch began at first light at 0530hrs.
There were absolutely no phalaropes, flying or on the water before 0700hrs.
Sighting conditions were perfect -- flat slick calm, sun at my back. The
flight started at ~0715hrs, suddenly thousands of red phalaropes everywhere
all flying north within the one mile wide coastal corridor and just off the
beach. Peak period was from 0730-0830hrs (~90,000). Then, as sudden as it
all started, it stopped. By noon, I was back to zero again and during the
rest of the day I saw only 40 more! The systematic count was good and pretty
accurate I think.

First good genuine Spring sooty shearwater flights began on 5/11 and 5/12,
not just the usual sporadic groups that come and go. The flights were at a
steady pace and an easy one to confidently count as birds passed to the
north.

I am totally fascinated by the Sabine's gull phenomeon here. Sabine's is
easily one of my favorite of all seabirds -- flashy and gorgeous in the
evening light. The exclusively evening / sunset flights of this species has
been a source of great curiosity. Why sunset and never at sunrise or any
other time of day?! Sunset now is at 2000hrs and the peak flights are always
from about an hour before to very last light at 2030hrs. Bonaparte's are
morning birds only now, Sabine's evenings only. I think I'm beginning to
figure it out. After 1800hrs, I've seen scattered singles and loose groups
flying straight inshore from the west until they hit the longshore current
boundary (a strong green inshore / blue offshore water color line that forms
every afternoon which is created by the afternoon longshore NW 'gales', and
may be situated anywhere from 200 meters to ~1.2nm offshore. After 1900hrs,
they group and head north along this color boundary strong, fast, and with
purpose. Flocks are typically a half dozen to 80 or so. This is the one
species that doesn't seem deterred by those strong headwinds when everything
else is just about stopped cold in it's tracks.

The northbound flight of common murres is amazing. They just keep streaming
by, all day, every day, all week. The 1994 & 1995 seasons never saw more
than 5-10 in a day. The 1,766 counted during the sampling periods this week
plus the large numbers last week suggests that there was a significant
southward movement this past winter. I haven't heard whether this was so. I
know there was a heavy southward incursion of ancient murrelets all the way
down to San Diego by mid to late December (I counted 2,000+ in one day along
the Humbolt Co., CA coast in late November during harbor porpoise work on the
NOAA R/V McARTHUR), so the seemingly higher than usual numbers passing north
now are not so surprising. One slight correction to last weeks summary: I
got ANMU & XAMU totals reversed. Should have read: XAMU (4), ANMU (14). In
any case, there were increasing numbers of XAMU this week, but usually out on
the periphery of my ability to detect or identify them. It's always nice
when one decides to come in and plop down at my 'feet' 100-200 meters off the
beach.

Anomalous 'bird of the week' was a greater white fronted goose on 5/12
pretending to be a brown pelican! I almost overlooked it when I was counting
and sorting through a flock of 13 brown pelicans separating adults from
immatures. Typical lazy slow drifting flight and the goose was right in the
middle at less than 100 meters. I saw this bird so well -- too well! --and
for so long -- too long! -- in utterly perfect bright morning light and even
studied it as it made two 'figure eights' with the pelicans over the iceplant
on the West Point. It was such a good look, amazingly, I didn't even
recognize for sure what it was. I guess I've just never had an opportunity to
see absolutely every exquisite and minute detail before, or at least never
really have had the opportunity to pay this much attention. Anyway, I
enjoyed this one probably more than anything else this week. Maybe not the
'best' bird, but certainly the most 'aesthetically' pleasing. I'm probably
just jaded now by all the other stuff.

PEREGRINES:
Two of the three fledglings departed the aeiry at 1020hrs, 5/09. They kind
of just bumped each other out and awkwardly tumbled to a ledge ~20 feet
below. At week's end, the third fledgling remains in the aeiry and reluctant
to leave. It often looks like it's about to go, flapping madly and teetering
on the edge. Then at the last second, it turns around and runs back and
disappears in the dark corner for 30 minutes or more at a time. One bird is
getting to be a pretty good and accomplished flyer while the other makes
little flights from rock to rock on the Outer Rock Islet but is more of a
rock-hopper and rock-climber. Meanwhile, the third bird remains in the
aeiry. I was amazed to see one of the other fledglings actually return to
the aiery on several occasions, perhaps for brief visits to try and coax the
reluctant sibling to take the plunge. Even the female was inside there with
it for 30 minutes yesterday, the first time I've seen her *inside* the aeiry
at all since the birds became quite mobile two weeks ago. Perhaps she was
having a little 'chat' with the reluctant one. Prior to the inaugural
flight, it was fascinating watching the female intensly clearing the area of
all possible intruders and trouble. For three hours she screamed non-stop
and chased the western gulls and cormorants out of any possible flight path
or potential landing site, driving many to crash landings in the water. My
relationship with her remains fairly calm. I'd like to think that she knows
me and that I mean no harm. So far, all the activity remains confined to the
Outer Rock Islet. Any moment now, I look for the next step to independence,
when the fledglings make the critical move to fly the 100 meters to the
mainland. Then, all hell will likely break loose if the fledglings decide to
linger around the lighthouse and on the roof of our house as they did in
1994, with both the male and female screaming and stooping on any and all
intruders within a half-mile or more radius. Just have to maintain that eye
to eye contact, otherwise, there is a possibilty of getting 'beaned' from
behind.

------

ATTN *TWEETERS* -- I've been unsubscribed from *tweeters* since mid-March.
If any of these weekly reports have generated any comment or question or
even annoyance in the public forum, I don't know anything about it unless
you've responded directly. I think I only mentioned being unsubscribed in PB
Weekly Summary #1. On the other hand, perhaps I've been wasting your time
and space. PB is not exactly *Pacific Northwest*, but just thought you might
have found some of this interesting, especially if any of you have done any
OR/WA coastal sea watching this Spring. Your comments are welcome and
appreciated, BUT, I'm so busy between the gray whales and seabirds, non-stop,
week after week, 7 days a week from first light to last light, plus
priorities in entering data, and keeping up with the daily notes & sumaries.
This leaves time for only 4-5 hours of sleep each night, and little to no
time to download and read, much less respond to email. So, don't take it
personal if I don't respond. Just putting these weekly summaries together is
becoming a pain in the a** and I probably would never do such again. But
once started, I'll see it through to the end this season. Fortunately, it is
*blessedly* foggy for much of today (5/13), the first significant fog or
weather disruption since Easter Sunday, 4/07, (an incredible perfect 5-week
run) so I have a little extra time to have just said this. Sorry that this
one was so long. Do I sound a little tired? :) End.

Richard Rowlett <pagodroma at aol.com>
(Bellevue, WA)
currently: Piedras Blancas Lighthouse
San Simeon, California