Hi Tweets,

A hard northwester blowing at the Iona South Jetty.

Highlights:
--a Puffinus-type *shearwater* (a bird for which I've spent a couple of
thousand hours of seawatching at Iona) heading south-to-north across the
wind, long glides alternating with high arcs over the water;
--eight Parasitic Jaegers Stercorarius parasiticus, seven in a line working
a tern feeding melee and an eighth entering stage left;
--several hundred Common Terns Sterna hirundo and a *gazillion* small
Sterna-type terns offshore along the drop-off about 2 km beyond the jetty-tip;
--three juv Wandering Tattlers Heteroscelus icanus in a three-meter stretch
of rocks along the N side of the South Jetty at the tip;
--several juv Horned Grebes Podiceps auritus and Red-necked Grebes P. grisegena.

Conditions: temp: 20 degrees C; wind: NW 60-70 kph; barom: dropping; sea:
heavy NW chop, incoming tide.

Pacific Loon 2
Common Loon 19
Horned Grebe 7 4ad 3jv
Red-necked Grebe 3 2ad 1jv
SHEARWATER SP. 1
Double-crested Cormorant 56
Pelagic Cormorant 6
Great Blue Heron 7
Black Brant 1 (sick?) juv on rocks at tip
Surf Scoter ~400
White-winged Scoter 5
Wandering Tattler 3 all jv
Sanderling 5 all jv
Western Sandpiper ~50
Parasitic Jaeger 8 2 dk jvs, 4 light ads, 2 intermed.
jaeger sp. 2
Bonaparte's Gull ~40 incl ads and juvs
Heermann's Gull 5
Ring-billed Gull 16
California Gull 25
Glaucous-winged Gull ~30
small gull sp. ~30
Caspian Tern 12
Common Tern ~300
Sterna sp. ~600
Marbled Murrelet 1
Rhinoceros Auklet 6
Savannah Sparrow 2

Michael Price A brave world, Sir,
Vancouver BC Canada full of religion, knavery and change;
mprice at mindlink.net we shall shortly see better days.
Aphra Behn (1640-1689)