Subject: Wesr Coast Vancouver Island, June 18-21
Date: Jun 28 20:34:00 1998
From: SCRBJAY at aol.com - SCRBJAY at aol.com


Tweets,

Sorry for the late report, but times are hectic.

Took my annual fishing trip to Ucluelet last week and as usual I saw some
interesting birds. Good thing, because I didn't catch a single salmon or
halibut in the 4 days I fished. Oh well, good for conservation, I guess.

As usual there were lots of BALD EAGLES and SOOTY SHEARWATERS in the area.
Plenty of GLOUCOUS-WINGED GULLS with a couple of RING-BILLED GULLS around. I
didn't see the BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS as I did last year, but there were a few
NORTHER FULMARS around.

The SHEARWATERS looked like a mixture of birds to me, with color variations
from almost pure black to almost gull-colored gray on some of them. Rockin' in
6 to 10 foot swells in a 26 foot boat is not the best platform to ID passing
birds. All the birds, including the FULMARS, exhibited classic pelagic bird
behavior: flap, flap, long slow glide just above the water, rising and falling
over the swells. Really beautiful to watch. My guess is there may have been
some FLESH-FOOTED and BULLER'S SHEARWATERS in the area, but I wouldn't bet my
paycheck on it.

Now if only the fish were there.......

Phil Kelley
Lacey, WA
scrbjay at aol.com