Hi Tweets,
Nancy Taylor and I went over to Lummi Island this afternoon for an annual
May Day celebration and saw a spectacle worth passing on here. While waiting
for the ferry we scoped a large concentration of gulls and waterfowl feeding
in a tide rip about a mile north of Gooseberry Point in Hale's Passage.
After crossing to the island, we drove along the east side up to a vantage
point for a closer look. About a good half mile of this tidal line appeared
to be boiling with a feeding frenzy. We speculate there may have been a
large concentration of herring moving through (what else could it have been,
you fishers?). While it was impossible to get an accurate count, we
estimated upwards of 2,000 birds were feeding in this tide rip. Most of them
appeared to be loons, including Common, Pacific, and Red-throated, most in
alternate plumage. There were also 5 different Bald Eagles fishing from the
sky, whirling and diving close to the surface among the gulls, trying to
snag fish with their talons. Nancy thought she saw something dolphin like
come out of the water, too. Also had many Pigeon Guillemots, Surf Scoters,
Western, Horned, and Eared Grebes, and a Harlequin pair in close. Just after
sunset, from the celebration site, a flight of 5 Turkey Vultures went
gliding up the west side of the island on the steady southwest wind with
nary a wingbeat, an exclamation mark on our day.

Joe Mackie
jmackie at cc.wwu.edu
Bellingham