Subject: Point Roberts birds - 28 August
Date: Sep 3 19:40:30 1996
From: "Jon. Anderson and Marty Chaney" - festuca at olywa.net


Hi folks,

This report's a few days late, but thought that I'd get a blurb onto =
Tweeters about the birds I saw up at Point Roberts last Wednesday. =
Nothing rare or unusual - certainly no Skuas or such....

At 7 a.m., there were about 300 Common Terns and 75 Bonaparte's Gulls =
feeding near the beach at the Whatcom county boat ramp. Also saw 4 =
Caspian Terns, 31 White-winged Scoters in 3 flocks, 8 Rhinoceros =
Auklets, about 20 Common Murres, 4 Pigeon Guillemots, maybe 15 =
Glaucous-winged Gulls, and 1 that I'd call a Thayer's Gull (? - slight =
bill, dark wing tips, pink feet - viewed at 20 knots), 3 Great Blue =
Herons standing on drift logs, 3 Pacific Loons, 1 Common Loon, and a few =
Double-crested Cormorants. Dozens of Crows were foraging along the =
shoreline.

At noon, we ran back past the Point from the "Apex" (that triangle of US =
waters that juts west into the Strait of Georgia), and there were about =
400 Common Terns, 350 Bonaparte's Gulls, and 40 Glaucous-winged Gulls =
there. I didn't have the time to scan for the strange, rare, or exotic =
individuals in the flocks. Also saw a dozen Red-necked Phalaropes =
foraging in the tide rips.

Much of the water in the southern Strait was pretty depauperate for =
birds.... a scattered murre or Rhino auklet here and there, and only a =
few large gulls flying over. But at 1 p.m., about 4 miles west of Point =
Whitehorn there was a large mixed-species flocks of birds which were =
apparently feeding on a large "ball" of herring or other bait. Whether =
a 'normal' occurrence, or whether a predator had pushed the baitfish =
school to the surface, the fish had attracted hundreds of birds to the =
dinner table.

I estimated 800 Common Murres, and about 750 gulls - 45% Glaucous-wings, =
35% Californias, and 10% Bonaparte's. I did not see any terns or small =
alcids in the group, although there were a few Rhinoceros Auklets within =
1/4 mile of the group. =20

One thing I *did* notice was that there were several immature Common =
Murres in the flocks, which indicates that at least *some* colonies =