Dear Tweeters and Inland Birders,

Most of you probably don't subscribe to OBOL (Oregon Birders On
Line). Recently, one of the most intriguing features of OBOL has been
the regular series of seawatches conducted by Phil Pickering at Boiler
Bay State Wayside. Boiler Bay is located about halfway between Lincoln
City and Newport on the northern Oregon coast, and is well described
in "Birder's Guide to Oregon" (1990) by the late Joseph Evanich.
Boiler Bay is well-known as a good spot for seeing alcids, and
frequently tubenoses, from land. It is the only place I've ever seen
Cassin's Auklets from shore. However, Thursday's 3-hour seawatch was,
in my books, a jaw-dropper. Five species of tubenoses, including 300
N. Fulmars, 6 Buller's, and 5 Short-tailed Shearwaters? 35 Kittiwakes
and a Sabine's Gull? Never mind the huge movements of Pacific Loons
and scoters, which have been going on most of the fall. Sheesh!
I don't know a spot anywhere on the Washington coast (never mind
Idaho!!) that comes close to Boiler Bay for seeing pelagic species
from shore, or for seeing mass movements of marine birds. For those of
you that haven't birded the Oregon coast often, make Boiler Bay a
"must" on your itinerary. Summer is apparently the "slow" season, but
any other time of year can be rewarding. Where else could you see 300
Fulmars without running the risk of seasickness?
Phil, your Boiler Bay counts are fascinating, and they deserve a
wider distribution. Keep up the good work!

Wayne Weber
Kamloops, B.C.
wayne_weber at bc.sympatico.ca


-----Original Message-----
From: Phil Pickering <philliplc at HARBORSIDE.COM>
To: Multiple recipients of list OBOL <OBOL at BOBO.NWS.ORST.EDU>
Date: Thursday, October 28, 1999 12:58 PM
Subject: Boiler Bay


>8:20-11:20 (10/28):
>
>Wind mostly from due south 15-40 mph, house size swells.
>The change in weather apparently triggered a Brant movement.
>
>2 Red-throated Loons
>500+ Pacific Loons
>40+ Common Loons
>4 Western Grebes
>300+ Northern Fulmars
>6 Buller's Shearwaters
>2 Pink-footed Shearwaters
>5 Short-tailed Shearwaters (plus several more possibles)
>800+ Sooty Shearwaters
>90 Brown Pelicans
>all 3 Cormorants in low numbers
>30 Canada Geese
>1200+ Brant
>1 Mallard
>2 Green-winged Teal
>15 Northern Pintail
>22 scaup sp.
>45 Black Scoters
>90 White-winged Scoters
>1000+ Surf Scoters
>1 Harlequin Duck
>3 Bufflehead
>2 merganser sp.
>1 Dunlin
>25 phalarope sp.
>1 Pomarine Jaeger
>3 Parasitic Jaegers
>3 jaeger sp.
>500+ Heermann's Gulls (bailing south - must have decided
> Baja was more fun)
>200+ Bonapartes Gulls
>6 Mew Gulls
>800+ California Gulls (one flock of over 400)
>100+ Western/Glaucous-winged Gulls
>35 Black-legged Kittiwakes (1 adult, rest 1st winter)
>1 Sabine's Gull
>25 Common Murres
>3 Pigeon Guillemots
>2 Marbled Murrelets
>4 small alcid sp.
>130 Rhinoceros Auklets
>
>One observation from today - all the tubenoses were flying
>south into the wind, and almost invariably I was able to pick
>Fulmars out instantly because they were moving at about
>1/3 the speed of shearwaters. Fulmars seemed to really be
>riding the wind, while shearwaters were cutting through it.
>
>The lack of storm-petrels and low phalarope numbers may
>indicate this storm was too much from the south to bring
>many deep water species in close (darn).
>
>Phil
>philliplc at harborside.com
>