Subject: 7 August Pelagic trip off Westport WA
Date: Aug 9 17:34:37 1999
From: Andy Stepniewski - steppie at wolfenet.com


Tweeters,

Denny Granstrand and I joined the 7 August pelagic trip off Westport was a
good trip indeed. On the way out, a Laysan Albatross was briefly noted as
it sailed into view out of the fog and then disappeared. The first Buller's
Shearwater of the season was also seen on the outbound journey.

A memorable hour chumming at the edge on the continental shelf (over the
mouth of Grays Canyon) at 125 degrees West brought in the following (my
estimate of numbers):

Black-footed Albatross - ~ 40
Northern Fulmar - ~ 35
Pink-footed Shearwater - ~ 10
Sooty Shearwater - ~ 25
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel - 3
Leach's Storm-Petrel - ~ 100, great views of this seldom-seen species (at
least from Washington pelagics)
South Polar Skua - 1
Pomarine Jaeger - 2 stunning adults at close range!
Parasitic Jaeger - 2+ immature (?) birds harassing Sabine's Gulls
Long-tailed Jaeger - great views of 2+ adults and several immature birds, a
real crowd pleaser!
Sabine's Gull - 3+ adults and an immature
Arctic Tern - 4+
Tufted Puffin - 1

Overall, numbers of Sooty Shearwaters and California Gulls seemed very
low.

The entrance waters to Grays Harbor was swarming with Brown Pelicans,
Heermann's Gulls, Common Murres, Rhinoceros Auklets and lesser numbers of
Pigeon Guillemots. The jetty had Ruddy and Black Turnstone, and Surfbird.

We didn't have the luck everyone else seemed to be having with Bar-tailed
Godwits reported at Tokeland, perhaps the tide was wrong.

Andy Stepniewski
Wapato WA