Hi Tweets,

Saw the immature male Common Eider off the end of the Iona South Jetty this
evening, about 600 meters SW of the jetty end, with about 50 Surf Scoters.
If at distance, look for an overall pale brown with patchy white (in low
evening sun) bird clearly larger than any nearby scoter. It seems to
approach the jetty in the AM, and/or at low water, likely feeding on the
mussels of the old South Jetty foundations which extend roughly W from the
end of the new jetty to the beacon about 200 meters out.

While I was there, a vocal adult Wandering Tattler in strong Alternate
plumage flew onto the rocky hook at the end of the jetty along the S side.

In the Settling Ponds earlier in the afternoon to meet with Karen Irving and
Terry Taylor who were looking at the plants of Iona, found the first
juvenile Semipalmated Sandpipers of the southbound migration (avg SESA juv
arr 7/20), while Reto Riesen and Hiroko found the first juv Lesser
Yellowlegs (avg LEYE juv arr 7/22). Also, got an adult Alternate-plumaged
Baird's Sandpiper on my past the SE pond (the southbound BASA adults seem to
be giving Vancouver BC a miss this summer). Some new Westerns &
SemiSandpipers in after that gale yesterday, in obvious pre-Basic molt
showing lots of new grey Basic scapulars. This summer's movin' right along,
now that it's finally summer.

Finally, most of the Ring-billed Gulls loafing on the logbooms along the
Causeway all summer so far have been nearly all Alternate 2 birds, but today
there was an influx of about 20 Definitive Alternate adults, all circling
very high up, which suggests migration at this site as gulls don't usually
kettle at Iona. Just a guess, but I think they'd be adults returning from
Interior breeding sites. Can juv Ring-billed, California and Herring gulls
be far behind?


Conditions: Temp: 26-28C; Wind: light S-SW; Barom: High; Cloud: cirrostratus
sheets from jet contrails; Visibility: unlimited; apparent sea/sky horizon
~15 km, heat-hazed; Tide: High, slight ebb after 6 PM; Sea: calm to light
rippled.

Iona South Jetty

Double-crested Cormorant 25 on beacon
Greater Scaup 11 all m
*Common Eider* 1 imm m
Surf Scoter 49 mostly m
scoter sp. 4
Red-breasted Merganser 1 Subad m, N side, pipe section 28
Wandering Tattler 1 Def Alt
Semipalmated Sandpiper 1 " " on rocks at end
Western Sandpiper 131 " " " " " "
Bonaparte's Gull 1
Ring-billed Gull 1 ad
California Gull 2 Alt 2
Glaucous-winged Gull 5 2 ad, 3 Alt 1
gull sp. ~25


Iona Settling Ponds

Note: there's construction on the NW pond which scares out the birds until
after the guys knock off about 4:30 PM, after which shorebirds start coming
in. The work is creating some lovely variation in shorebird habitat and
making it easier to see the birds on the NW pond. The cost is hard luck on
the birds which were nesting in the vegetation surrounding the pond: all
that veg has been back-hoed out. Most of the shorebirds this evening
were--this may be confusing--in the NW corner of the SE pond and throughout
the NW pond with a concentration in the NW corner. The yellowlegs seem to
prefer the NE corner of the SW pond, and no-one seems to like the NE pond much.


Semipalmated Plover 1
Killdeer 1 ad
Greater Yellowlegs 1 Def Alt
Spotted Sandpiper 1 " "
Semipalmated Sandpiper 11 9 ad, *2 juv*
Western Sandpiper ~500 most Alt, some pre-Basic
Least Sandpiper 12 Def Alt
Baird's Sandpiper 1 " "

Also present on the NW pond were 15 juv Northern Shovelers, eclipse-plumaged
Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teal, and a pair of Savannah Sparrows in the SE corner.

Cheers

Michael Price
Vancouver BC Canada
mprice at mindlink.net