Natalie and I took a late afternoon trip to Dash Point to see if the
Ancient Murrelets were still around, and aside from seeing 16 or more
Ancient Murrelet feeding and then congregation 150-200 yards south of the
pier we were happy to finally meet and talk a bit with Charlie Wright and
his father Gordon.

The murrelet were feeding along with a group of gulls straight out from
the point at Dash Point. Other birds in the area included a few Horned
Grebe including one that kept calling along the north side of the pier,
quite a few Common Murre out in the channel between the pier and Maury
Island, a single Brandt's Cormorant as well as Pelagic and Double-
crested. Female Surf Scoters, a fly-by of three Barrows' Goldeneye, and a
single Sanderling spotted by Gordon along the shore were other highlights.

Natalie and I went to Browns Point after leaving Dash Point, and from
here we saw a few more Ancient Murrelet, as well as two pair of Marbled
Murrelet very close to the shore near the lighthouse. The most impressive
sight from Brown's Point was a large group of 200 or so Common Murre that
were intermittently feeding and flying between Point Defiance and the
entrance to Quartermaster Harbor.

As always, it is nice to see good birding so close to home!

Speaking of birds at home, we have been enjoying at least three Anna's
Hummingbirds in our yard over the last couple of weeks, including a male
that first showed up Wednesday. This morning a Coopers' Hawk was circling
to the south of the house, doing a soaring flap-and-glide flight. Bird
numbers were down in our yard overall today once the weather cleared up
this afternoon, and without the bait birds present, I didn't see the
Merlin that has been making a daily visit to our yard. Maybe tomorrow...

Rob McNair-Huff ---------- mailto:rob at whiterabbits.com
White Rabbit Publishing -- http://www.whiterabbits.com
Mac Net Journal ---------- http://www.whiterabbits.com/MacNetJournal/
The Equinox Project ------ http://www.whiterabbits.com/weblog.html