Subject: Jinx Broken
Date: Apr 23 12:16:20 2000
From: Jon. Anderson and Marty Chaney - festuca at olywa.net


Hi folks,

Yesterday, I finally had my 'Laysan jinx' broken, after Lord-knows-how-
many pelagic trips - beginning in August of 1979!!

I went out with the Westport Seabirds trip out of Westport, under the
skipperage of Phil Anderson. The trip was ably led by Bill Tweit, Bruce
LeBar, et al., and was attended by birders from those on their first-time
pelagic trip to some pretty skookum birders (my skills are somewhere
in-between....).

The "Monte Carlo" left Westport at 4AM, and was well out to sea by
first light around 6. There was relatively little action en route out to
125* 30' West, about 50 miles west of Westport. Sooty shearwaters
were steady, but no big numbers of birds, except where we stopped
near a fishing boat (trawler) hauling his gear.

At the end-of-the-line at 123* 30', about 10AM, we stopped to put out
the chum (not that a few of us hadn't been doing that all along....). The
wind was from the west, with a 8-10 foot swell, and after a few minutes,
the tubenoses caught the scent, arcing over the wavetops from down-
wind. Sooty shearwaters, Fork-tailed Storm-petrels, Fulmars, and
black-footed Albatrosses streaked in and settled down for a snack.
Herring gulls, drawn by the activity, circled overhead.

After 10 minutes, out of the glare of the sunlight, came an albatross that
banked - showing the white belly and black-and-white underwings of a
Laysan Albatross!! What a handsome bird. The laysan stayed in the
area for the full 1/2 hour that we stayed at the chum, then circled the
boat for a 'good-bye' as we turned back east toward land.

It's been a while since I've seen a 'lifer', and breaking my Jinx for a
first-in-the-"millenium" new bird was pretty satisfying.

We stopped at 125 degrees west for a second chum effort, with scant
results, *but* a second Laysan Albatross had flown by just before we
stopped to chum! About 1/2 way back, we found the fishing trawler
surrounded by several thousand birds. We fell in near-by, and found
a few pink-footed shearwaters in the mix of mostly sooties and gulls.

Back near the jetties, the inshore species picked up, and we saw a
few brown pelicans (must be Spring....).

12 hours at sea after very little sleep was enough for me, so I didn't
do any shorebirding en route home to Oly, so can't give any updates -
although we saw 'peeps' at the south jetty. Hopefully someone can
post any exciting sightings from the shores and bays.

I'd recommend Westport Seabirds to anyone; you can find their web
page for schedules, etc., at http://
members.aol.com/trwahl/wsbirds/WSEABIRDS1.HTM

Next jinx to kill will have to be the Pterodromas......

Day list:

Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Red-throated Loon
Western Grebe - at the jetty
Black-footed Albatross
Laysan Albatross - 2!
Northern Fulmar - dark and light color phases
Pink-footed Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel
Brown Pelican
Pelagic Cormorant - Spring plumage w/white rump patches
Brandt's Cormorant - jetty
Double-crested Cormorants - at John's River en route home...
Great Blue Heron - Westport Harbor
Canada Goose - Cackling and Taverners at Brady Loop Rd en
route home
Black Brant - pelagic and near jetties
Mallard - Westport harbor
Harlequin Duck - drake flying along south jetty
Surf Scoter
Black Scoter - at least 1 male in with surfs...
I didn't see phalaropes, but heard that others in the group did.
'Peeps' along and near jetty
Larger un-identified shorebirds 'way out to sea...
Pomarine Jaeger - great view, right near the boat
Jaeger spp. (thin, were they long-tailed?)
Mew Gull - near jetty
Herring Gull
California Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull, Western Gull, and hybrids
Glaucous Gull
Bonaparte's Gull
Sabine's Gull
Caspian Tern - near jetty
Common Murre
Pigeon Guillemot - near jetty
Cassin's Auklet
Rhinoceros Auklet
Tufted Puffins in beautiful breeding plumage
Crows, Rock Doves, House Sparrows, etc. in port at end of day...
Bald Eagle near Johns River bridge en route home

I didn't hear if anyone saw Black-legged Kittiwake; I didn't..
I've likely left something off my list, but I'll blame it on mental fatigue
:-)

For mammals, we saw no whales, but did see Pacific White-sided
Dolphins and Dall's Porpoise, as well as a couple of Northern Fur
Seals. Of course, there were a couple of California Sea Lions in
the harbor.

What a day. I hope everyone else had as good a weekend.

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net