Wednesday Jetty Count for
the South Jetty of the Columbia River, Clatsop Co., OR
6 Aug 1997 0845 to 0945

Tide:low
Weather: partly cloudy
Wind northwest at 15-200 mph; Temp 65F
visibility beyond 3km hampered by haze and heat distortion.

Method: One hour (timed) station count 100m west of "3 rocks" on
top of SJCR using 20x60 Bushnell spotting scope and 8x50 Bushnell
binoculars. Birds were sorted as to flyby, sitting on beach, sitting
on ocean or sitting on river.

flyby beach ocean river total
Pacific Loon PALO 2 1 3
RT Loon RTLO 1 1
Brandt's Cormorant BRCO 94 1 95
Pelagic Cormorant PECO 1 1
DC Cormorant DCCO 18 18
Brown Pelican BRPE 138 10 1 30 179
Surf Scoter SUSC 180 180
White-wing Scoter WWSC 1 2 3
Black Scoter BLSC 7 7
West Gull WEGU 13 13
GW Gull GWGU 1 1 2
WxGW Gull WExGW 1 1
California Gull CAGU 22 4 26
Heerman's Gull HEEG 50 50
gull sp. 15 30 45
Caspian Tern CATE 30 87 117
Lesser Yellowlegs LEYE 1 1
Common Murre COMU 785 1 786
Pigeon Guillemot PIGU 3 3
Rhinocerus Auklet RHAU 2 2
Osprey OSPR 1 1


Notes: CASPIAN TERN numbers took an impressive dive this week. It could be a
signal post breeding dispersal. BROWN PELICAN numbers are up. COMMON MURRES
are still moving by the jetty. I believe they represent birds coming from
Tillamook Head for their daily foraging expeditions. I heard one juvenile
murre and saw none. Other alcid numbers seemed low as well. All PIGEON
GUILLEMOTS and RHINOCERUS AUKLETS were seen in the last 10 minutes of the
observation period.

A running account of this and other seawatches is available at:
http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters/bird/enso/jetty.html


--
********************************* I am but mad north-north-west;
* Mike Patterson, Astoria, OR * when the wind is southerly,
* mpatters at orednet.org * I know a hawk froma handsaw.
http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters -ws