Subject: Pt. Brown Jetty Watch 8/1/97
Date: Aug 1 23:13:37 1997
From: "S. Downes" - sdownes at u.washington.edu


Tweets,
The numbers were about average in species and birds however that is
misleading and when you get to look at the actual numbers many species
were way down and it was pretty quite out there today. Heermanns Gull, the
few Sooties seen, all the pelicans and the two Jaegers were all trailing
a trawler that was headed out of the bay. Murre numbers continue to be low
but a couple of nice suprises included 3 new species today. I saw a bright
alternate plumaged Red-necked Grebe, a GB Heron flyby and finally a
Elegant Tern on the watch.
Numbers are as follow:
Place: Pt. Brown Jetty, Ocean Shores, WA; 1/2 distance from end
Date: 8-1-97
Start Time: 9:30 Am
Weather: Bright clear sky, slight breeze, ~5 Mph (N), ~60 degrees, an
incoming tide.
Equipment used: Swift 10x42 binocs and Kowa TSN-4 20x60 zoom.

Species Flyby Ocean Rocks Beach Total
Pacific Loon 1 4 5
Red-necked Grebe 1 1
Sooty Shearwater 25 5 30
Brown Pelican 11 11
Double-crested Cormorant 7 3 10
Brandts Cormorant 1 1
Pelagic Cormorant 22 3 1 26
Great Blue Heron 1 1
Surf Scoter 3 3
White-winged Scoter 3 3
Black Turnstone 1 1
Surfbird 3 3
Red-necked Phalarope 5 5
Parasitic Jaeger 2 2
Heermanns Gull 547 32 38 90 707
California Gull 3 3
Western Gull 4 2 5 11
Glacous-winged Gull 1 1 1 3
GW x W Gull 76 2 2 3 83
Caspian Tern 22 22
Elegant Tern 1 1
Common Murre 157 66 223
Pigeon Guillemont 7 5 12
Cassins Auklet 1 1
Rhinocerous Auklet 184 23 207

Totals: 1075 154 44 104 1377

The last important note is that the Ocean numbers went up dramatically.
Partly it might have been the tide, but most were alcids and other factors
may be affecting this as the birds were not sitting in the areas were rip
tides were occurring.

Scott Downes
sdownes at u.washington.edu
Seattle WA