Greetings, Ken Gale! I hope you enjoy your visit to Tweeterland.

> ...I saw a lot of alcids in the distance, just barely
>out of binocular ID range. I'd call them a small scattered flock of mixed
>Common Murres and something else that was much smaller, especially less
>long-bodied. ... I'm wondering if the "something
>else" in the distance was Ancient Murrelet.
[snip]
> The birds in the distance tended to lift
>themselves half out of the water every once in a while and flap their
>wings. The Marbled Murrelets didn't do this. Is that part of the
>Ancients' jizz (like the tail movement of a Phoebe)?

Sorry, Ken, but no. It's something I've seen done by virtually every alcid
species I've observed, and they do it pretty often.

>I know the Ancient
>Murrelet has a dark throat and the Marbled doesn't, but they were so far
>away I couldn't be sure if the darkness I was seeing was plumage, shadow,
>blur or wishful thinking.

Actually, I think the dark throat is a pretty good field mark - it's
probably the first thing I notice, even in a bird flying rapidly away. I
used to think the white scapulars of Marbleds (winter plumage is assumed in
this discussion) would be a good separation point, but I've seen tons of
Marbled Murrelets flying without seeing the scapulars.

I think Alan Knue has provided some good identification hints. Lately I
have seen both Marbled Murrelets and Ancients, so if you're out here for a
while you may still have excellent chances to see either or both. Flocks or
rafts of alcids can be pretty spotty, depending on a host of marine factors
and the current location of their favored food supply. And while it's true
that Ancients tend to be found in larger groups more often, compared to the
pairs/singles/trios favored by Marbleds, the latter are at times found in
larger groups -- and yesterday I found a *solo* Ancient Murrelet in Port
Townsend Bay, with not a companion in sight.

Good luck!

-- Janet Hardin
(ancient student of Marbled Murrelets)
Port Townsend, WA
wings at olympus.net