Hi Tweets,

Alan Knue writes:

>I have seen this species twice when one individual was feeding briefly near
>shore before heading off to places unknown. I have read that it is typically
>a deeper water species which is almost never encountered singly, but in pairs
>or small parties
(snip)
>
>Marbled Murrelet is the near shore rip-tide specialist in WA state and
>elsewhere, and is the species I see most regularly very close to shore, along
>with Rhinoceros Auklet, and to a lesser extent, Common Murre. Apparently
>Ancient Murrelet will also utilize near shore rip zones as well. Have other
>birders in the state had similar experiences with this species?

The reason I queried was the remark in Alan's previous post about it being
just offshore. Several years ago, also in October, another birder and myself
were birding from the Locarno Crab-fishing Pier just W of Jericho Park in
Vancouver BC and found a pair of ANMU diving around the pilings of the pier
about twenty feet out from shore, at dead slack on a very high tide. Unusual
location (I believe this remains the only record for Burrard Inlet), and one
where no Marbled Murrelet would be likely to be found--too close to shore in
very shallow water. Normally, the only place to see ANMU in the Gr.
Vancouver (BC) Checklist Area is off Point Roberts WA from late October to
mid-March, almost 50 km S of Vcr, where they're usually in small fly-by
flocks, and the tidal conditions described by Alan in his above remarks obtain.

Michael Price We aren't flying...we're falling with style!
Vancouver BC Canada -Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story
mprice at mindlink.net