Hello Tweets,

Today my mother and I spent a few hours between 2:30pm-4:30pm in the Dash Point area,despite rather dismal viewing conditions at times. Our main highlight of the day was a CASSIN'S AUKLET approxiametely 70 yards north off the public fishing/crabbing pier at Dash Point Park with still remaining good numbers of Ancient Murrelets in the general vicinity off the Dash Point Park in variable sized groups,with the laegest flock/group of Ancient Murrelets noted at one location,being 20 birds. The Cassin's Auklet was first noted in our spotting scope resting on the water for several minutes and NO details were noted other than an overall very small dark alcid,but when the bird flew west towards Vashon Island the bird was observed in our spotting scope from three observers and the very dark gray upperparts were noted with the very pale underparts of the belly that appearded very pale gray with the limited light conditions, as the bird continued west flying very,very fast typical of a small alcid,being obviously in NO shape,coloration,or form of any other alcid species familiar to us. This is a very good record anywhere in Puget Sound and a very exceptional record from south Puget Sound and a very probable first Pierce Co. record,so perhaps more records will occur with enough searching.

We began our afternoon along S.R.509(Marine View Drive)just south of the Tyee Marina during high tide,where we encountered remaining good numbers of roosting Bonaparte's and Mew Gulls with a few Ring-billed and up to 3 California Gulls that were all noted roosting on the large rafts of logbooms. Of additional note of closer inspection amongst the gulls were 4 species of shorebirds including:

2 Killdeer
12 Least Sandpipers
15 Black Turnstones
60+ Dunlin

We alos encountered a small songbird flock from this same location,being the first gravel pulloff off of S.R.509 south of the Tyee Marina,where a single ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD was noted flying by us,then roosting in a bramble patch. Other passerines upon "pishing" included a 2 Hutton's Vireos, and a single female Townsend's Warbler with both species found amongst a small chickadee/kinglet flock. A single Yellow-rumped Warbler was also present.

We birded the public fishing/crabbing pier at Dash Point Park from 3pm-4:30pm(outgoing tide)and immediately noted our first and largest flock of Ancient Murrelets in one scoping view,of first 15 birds,then 16,then up to 20 birds foraging in a rather tight flock observed from the parking lot,as we were joined by Jan and Steve Watson on their way back from the public pier. We then walked out to the end of the pier, where up to 9 other birding parties were noted in search of Ancient Murrelets. We watched many additional groups of Ancient Murrelets of varying numbers of single birds to up 9 birds flying by or swimming in tight feeding groups in the water during our entire visit until 4:30pm. The murrelets were noted well enough within scoping range of a limited range of 100 yards offshore,despite the dismal viewing conditions from low clouds,pollution,and fog. We spent our entire time watching and counting the Ancient Murrelets and talking with Hans,who we met yesterday at this same location and he enlighted us of his past sightings from this location within the past 13 years and his overall birding knowledge. We also observed a single group of 8 Ancient Murrelets behaving in a fashion that appearded as surface feeding,where the birds would break the top of the water showing only their heads,then drop back below the surface,barely skimming the water within a 3 minute period,which of this behavior seemed unique and new to us,but we were unable to hear any Ancient Murrelets calling during our visit this afternoon. We enjoyed spotting the Ancient Murrelets for many of the observers that were at the location and they seemed thankful and rewarded by seeing them,despite the limited viewing conditions and patient is needed at times in viewing the Ancient Murrelets,as they move around so variably either flying by,or in the water in the current in search of herring balls that also attract large feeding flocks of gulls and other waterbirds. Other notable species we observed during our visit to Dash Point Park included the following:

1 Brandt's Cormorant
4 CANVASBACK(flying by east to west towards Browns Point and the Port of Tacoma)
2 adult Bald Eagles
150+ Bonaparte's Gulls
58+ Common Murres
1 Marbled Murrelet
38+ Ancient Murrelets
1 CASSIN'S AUKLET
32 Rhinoceros Auklets


Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
godwit at worldnet.att.net