While out on my morning walk on the beach at Surfside I was sorting through
a large flock of Sanderlings, Semipalmated Plovers and Dowitchers when they
exploded into flight. Looking up I saw three Parasitic Jaegers, I believe
two were adults and one juvenile. They did not zoom off as usual, but
began to put on a show for me. One adult and the juvenile began to take
turns chasing each other in front of me, while the other adult flew in lazy
circles. The show lasted about 30 seconds, a long time for these birds,
before the circling adult flew south along the sand and the other two
headed out to sea. Great show!

Other birds seen on the 45 minute walk:
Sanderlings 150+ (they have taken over the beach from the Western
Sandpipers)
Semipalmated Plovers 48
Short-billed Dowitchers 16
Caspian Terns 34
California Gulls 46 (taking over as the predominate gull on the beach)
Heerman's Gulls 11
Brown Pelicans 118 ( majority heading south over the ocean - they seem to
roost on the Grassy Island area at the tip of the peninsula)
Common Murres 48 ( only small groups with no real movements as has been
noticed previously)
Sooty Shearwaters 12 (mostly singles flying north - over the last week when
I walk on the beach there has been a steady movement of birds moving south
at the average rate of 3 per minute)
Common Raven 5 (they seem to be a family group and have been scavenging on
the beach most mornings)
Double-crested Cormorants 23 ( moving north in small groups to feed?)

The following is a bit of information about the location for some you that
might not be aware of this area. I live about a 10 minute walk from the
beach in the community of Surfside, which is located at the north end of
the Long Beach Peninsula. The Long Beach Peninsula is across the Columbia
River from Astoria. Leadbetter Point is about 7 miles from my home and I
will try to provide more information about the birds seen there in the
future. The Point has been rather poor for shorebirds over the last years
due to spartina, but with the removal of the some of the spartina by
cutting and pulling the shorebirding is improving.

Mike Patterson has been posting a few of my sighting over time, but I felt
it was time I take this responsibility since I will not be traveling as
often as in the past and will have the opportunity to bird my local area.
Mike has been most helpful and patient in helping me develop some birding
identification skills. I promise in the future that my messages will be
short and to the point.

Henry Gilmore
Surfside, WA
hgilmore at willapabay.org