Tweeters,

I spent a couple of hours at Dash Point and Browns Point Municipal Parks this morning after the
tide peaked. Ancient Murrelets were hard to come by. Periodically, as I scanned the water's
surface with a spotting scope, I found 2 at one point, 3 at another. I watched one fly by at
a distance and, briefly, a single bird was within 100 yards of the dock. I watched an adult
Bald Eagle chase a juvenile gull. It was a pretty lengthy chase and the gull must have worn
out, setting down on the water as the eagle swung around and came back over and over at least
half a dozen times. It seemed that the eagle could have picked it off well before it finally
did. Once the eagle snatched the young gull off the surface of the water, it flew around the
corner in the vicinity of Brown's Point, other gulls protesting as it flew in. I've watched
alot of eagles but there was something about this big bird, looking boldly black and
immaculate white, banking and wheeling on the tail of the panicked gull... it was simply
inspiring.

At Brown's Point Municipal Park, there were at least 5 Pigeon Guillemots and 2 Marbled
Murrelets.

I saw Jack Stephen's message about Ancient Murrelet plumage. Now, I'm dying to get back
out to try to get a better look at the birds' throats. Murrelet watchers might also pay
attention to birds in flight, looking for the white underwings of the Ancient Murrelets
as compared to the dark underwings of Marbled Murrelets.

Kelly McAllister
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Olympia, Washington
Reply to: mcallkrm at dfw.wa.gov