Drats, those are birds I should have seen and not read about via
Kamloops/Seattle! Oddly enough, I was yesterday lunchtime also in a
waterfront restaurant (there are not THAT many in P.R.), and I student of
mine reported that she had seen before something white reminding her of an
owl -out over the water! Could the flightpattern of a Stormpetrel be
compared to that of an owl by somebody familiar with the gulls - or was
there something else in transit???

I will try to keep my eyes on the harbour - normally, it is sheltered and
the pelagic birds don't come in, but...

Another sighting for Prince Rupert (situated 1h south of BC/Alaska border)
which I found odd - 10days ago (17/10/99) I encountered a flock of
Orange-crowned Warblers(15-20) mixed with Ruby-crowned Kinglets - isn't
that very late for them that far North?

Reto Riesen
Prince Rupert
riesenr at chem.ubc.ca

>
> Tweeters,
>
> I'd like to pass on a sighting from my brother, Robin Weber, who
> lives in Prince Rupert, B.C. While eating lunch today at a waterfront
> restaurant, Robin saw a group of at least 30 FORK-TAILED STORM-
> PETRELS flying about over the Prince Rupert harbour. He speculated
> that they had been blown in by gale-force winds which pounded the
> Queen Charlotte Islands and Prince Rupert area in the previous 24
> hours. In my experience, it is very unusual to see Storm-Petrels from
> land in B.C., and this is the first time Robin has seen them in the
> harbour in the 8 years he has been in Prince Rupert.
> This reminds me of a big influx of Fork-tails into Puget Sound-- I
> think it was in October 1997 (correct me if I'm wrong)-- also after
> some gale-force winds.
> The fall storm season is beginning, even if it hasn't quite hit
> the heart of Tweeterland (i.e., Puget Sound) yet, so keep an eye open
> for oddball birds on or over the water!
>
> Wayne Weber
> Kamloops, B.C.
> wayne_weber at bc.sympatico.ca
>
>
>
>
>