Natalie and I just returned home from some sundown birding at Point No
Point. While the gull and tern numbers were nowhere as impressive as
those noted by some others earlier in the week and over last weekend, we
did see at least four Parasitic Jaegers in hot pursuit of Common Terns as
they made repeated dives for dinner before rushing off in a flock.
Otherwise, here is a short tally of what we saw out there tonight as the
tide rose and the sun slipped behind the Olympic Mountains:

- Osprey
- Gold Finch
- Bald Eagle (on arrival it flew overhead and south over the lighthouse
area and across the marsh/grassy area)
- Mallard
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Lots of immature Crows
- Small flock of 10-15 unidentified peeps (Possibly Sanderling - all
white below with a black trailing edge on their wings and flying just
over the tops of the turbulent water)
- White Crowned Sparrow
- Fox Sparrow
- Savannah Sparrow
- Song Sparrow
- Mew Gull
- Glaucous Winged Gull
- Bonaparte's Gull
- Heerman's Gull
- Western Gull
- 5 Parasitic Jaeger
- 40 Common Tern
- House Finch

Back at home in Tacoma and before setting out for Hansville we watched a
Sharp-shinned Hawk hunting in our neighborhood. Didn't see it strike
anything, but it was sure being hassled and trying to keep a low profile.

A great night for bird watching!

--
Rob McNair-Huff <mailto:rob at whiterabbits.com>
White Rabbit Publishing <http://www.whiterabbits.com>
Publisher of Mac Net Journal <http://www.whiterabbits.com/MacNetJournal>
The Equinox Project <http://www.whiterabbits.com/weblog.html>
Co-author of Insiders Guide to the Olympic Peninsula