Subject: Crested Caracara,Glacous Gull, and N.Fulmar in Neah Bay
Date: Jan 28 18:30:38 1998
From: "Ruth Sullivan" - GODWIT at worldnet.att.net


Hello Tweets,

My mother and I birded 2 days in Clallam Co., starting in Neah Bay on the
27th, where we observed and photographed the CRESTED CARACARA periodically
between 1pm-4pm as it was observed at 5 locations in town. It was fisrt
noted behind the Bay Motel on top of a tall fir tree,then flew north across
the highway to a group of pilings, where it snatched a dead bird away from
a gull, which had already been feeding on it. The bird fed on the prey for
about 10 min., until a imm. Bald Eagle swooped down from a nearby perch,
then landed on the same piling as the Crested Caracara, making it fly away,
then proceeded to eat the remains of what was probably a scoter. The flew
east, then returned to a dead tree in the park behind the Bay Motel, then
flew east again, after sitting for about 5 min., then returned to the
original fir tree 20 min., then flew east, then cut back towards the west
end of town, where it was later seen on top of a tall snag behing the Neah
Bay High School. The bird perched for another 8 min., then flew northwest,
and was relocated at the base of the road that leads out to Waadah Island
in a an alder tree, then quickly flew off to the south and circled 3 times
above the west end of town, before continuing south toward the Waatch River
at 4pm, when it was last seen. The weather was quite good with mostly
cloudy skies with very few showers and a little wind, until 4pm when the
weather turned to complete rain. Other birds of note in the Neah Bay area
on the 27th included:

6 Tr. Swans
1 Eur. Wigeon
1 Ruddy Duck
1 Merlin
40 Black Oystercatchers,15 Black Turnstones, and 1 Surfbird(5.5 miles east
of Neah Bay on Hwy.112 on a large group of rocks near shore)
7 C. Snipes
1 1st winter GLAUCOUS GULL(west end of Neah Bay along shoreline)

The next morning it was quite windy with rain, but I birded the causeway
out to Waadah Island anyway, where I observed 1 dark-morph NORTHERN FULMAR
flying off to the north about 100 yards offshore. We headed on our way home
after looking for the Crested Caracara, with NO luck, as the the weather
was quite bad! On our way home we checked the mouth of Elwah River, where
good numbers of Thayer's Gulls were noted, then our final stop was made at
Ediz Hook, where the following highlights were noted:

17 Brant
3 Gr. W.F. Geese
65 B. Turnstones
22 B.B. Plovers
45 Dunlin
12 Sanderling
10 W. Gulls
2 Herring Gulls

Good Birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
GODWIT at worldnet.att.net