Subject: Protection Island Sunday, 29 June
Date: Jun 29 23:18:13 2003
From: Geopandion at aol.com - Geopandion at aol.com


Tweeters,

Sunday, 29 June was my annual trip to Protection Island aboard "My
Girl". It was a beautiful day: overcast with little wind and calm seas. A pair
of Purple Martins started our day. They were calling and soaring over the
abandoned piers just west of the marina. The breeding season is over for some
species, namely Heerman's Gulls. There were 50+ Heerman's Gulls near Pt. Wilson
Lighthouse, a mixture of adults and juveniles. Thousands of Rhinoceros
Auklets were expected, but the 40+ Marbled Murrelets represented a high count from
my experience at this time of the year. More unexpected were the two adult
Parasitic Jaegers seen well about 1/2 mile from the east end of Protection
Island about 11:00 am. We all watched intently as one of the Jaegers put on an
aerial show chasing an immature California Gull. Other highlights included a
high count of 34 Tufted Puffins, 24 Bald Eagles, 450+ Harbor Seals, several
Harbor Porpoises, and 1 large, male Elephant Seal. All in all a good day. Thanks
again to Eleanor Stopps and the multitude of others who made the salvation of
Protection Island possible.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughful, committed citizens can
change the world; indeed it's the only thing that ever does." Margaret Mead

George Gerdts
geopandion at aol.com
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
206-842-8138