Subject: MaSh, etc. at Ocean Shores again on 8/16
Date: Aug 20 21:43:20 2001
From: georn1 - georn1 at msn.com



The following is a belated message due to email and/or operator error.
Sent: Friday, August 17, 2001 6:18 AM
Subject: Ocean Shores 8_16, MaSh

> Thursday 8/16, my brother Tim and I birded the Ocean Shores area. The
> birding was good, and viewing conditions excellent. We started the day at
> the Point Brown Jetty, and walked to the tip for sea watching. The best
> bird by far was the Manx Shearwater that has been occassionally reported
> here. The bird was observed 250 - 300 yards offshore associating with
large
> mixed species flocks consisting of mainly of Sooty Shearwaters (SoSh), but
> also RhAu, and CoMu. It was seen between 755 and 801, and again between
> 815 and 820. We remained until about 930 with no further sightings, but
> most of the shearwaters had moved much further offshore by this time. We
> estimated SoSh numbers at 3000, but the impression ofer time was that the
> numbers were much larger. Also present in the area were 1 Parisitic and 1
> Pomerine Jeager, 2 Marbled Murrelets, 3 Black Legged Kittiwake, perhpas
200
> Rhinocerous Auklets, and 50+ Common Murre, along with many gulls,
cormorants
> and ohter typical species. The day was very calm and conditons were
> excellent for viewing; overcast, swell perhaps 2-3 feet at most, no wind,
> in fact some of the best viewing conditoins I've encountered for sea
> watches.
> Shorebird numbers at the game range were pretty good. We had 4 Ruddy
> Turnstones, and 1 Surfbird at the jetty, others reported a Wandering
> Tattler. Among the expected species at the game range were 2 Bairds
> Sandpipers, and 1 Semipalmated Sandpiper. Good Birding.
> Bill Shelemrdine
> Olympia WA
> (360) 866 - 9106
> georn1 at msn.com