This report was mailed for Wayne Weber by http://birdnotes.net

Date: September 24, 2003
Location: Point Roberts, Whatcom County, Washington

Low temperature: 60 degrees fahrenheit High temperature: 70 degrees fahrenheit
Wind direction: SE
Prevailing wind speed: < 1 km/h gusting to: 6-11 km/h
Percentage of sky covered by clouds: 30%
Precipitation: none

The following birds were observed by Wayne Weber at Point Roberts,
Washington on September 24, 2003 between 10:30 AM and 4:00 PM.

The weather was mostly clear, becoming partly cloudy in the
afternoon. Winds were calm during most of my visit, increasing to SE
10-12 km/hr by mid-afternoon. The tide was low (3.9 feet) at 11:00,
increasing to a high of 14.4 feet at 5:50 PM.

Areas visited were Lily Point, Pauls Road, Lighthouse Marine Park,
Edwards Drive, and the west end of Gulf Road.

At Lighthouse Marine Park, there was a large school of fish (salmon?)
close to shore, and hundreds of GLAUCOUS-WINGED, CALIFORNIA, MEW and
BONAPARTE'S GULLS were present, along with smaller numbers of
cormorants and alcids (COMMON MURRES and PIGEON GUILLEMOTS). At least
4 HARBOR PORPOISES were seen close to shore, apparently feeding on
the fish.

In addition to the HARBOR PORPOISES, at least 6 HARBOR SEALS, 3
DOUGLAS SQUIRRELS, and one EASTERN GRAY SQUIRREL were observed during
the day.



Birds seen (in taxonomic order):

Red-throated Loon 4 [1]
Common Loon 50
Horned Grebe 20
Red-necked Grebe 100 [2]
Western Grebe 10
Double-crested Cormorant 100
Pelagic Cormorant 60
Great Blue Heron 4
Turkey Vulture 1
Mallard 10
Green-Winged Teal 1
Harlequin Duck 12
Surf Scoter 200
White-winged Scoter 25
Black Scoter 6 [3]
Red-breasted Merganser 1
American Kestrel 1 [4]
Black-bellied Plover 2 [5]
Black Turnstone 10
Sanderling 150 [6]
Western Sandpiper 200
Dunlin 2 [7]
Parasitic Jaeger 1 [8]
Bonaparte's Gull 130
Mew Gull 100
California Gull 250
Glaucous-winged Gull 250
Glaucous-winged x Western Gull 1
Caspian Tern 1 [9]
Common Murre 30 [10]
Pigeon Guillemot 2
Rock Dove 3
Red-breasted Sapsucker 1 [11]
Downy Woodpecker 1
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 3
Hutton's Vireo 1 [12]
Northwestern Crow 60
Barn Swallow 10
Black-capped Chickadee 8
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 20
Red-breasted Nuthatch 5
Brown Creeper 1
Bewick's Wren 1
Winter Wren 4
Golden-crowned Kinglet 15
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5
American Robin 10
European Starling 250
Yellow-rumped Warbler 8
Spotted Towhee 4
Fox Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 10
Brewer's Blackbird 10
House Finch 20
American Goldfinch 6
House Sparrow 6

Footnotes:

[1] Red-t. Loon-- off Gulf Road (2 on water, 2 flying)
[2] Red-n. Grebe-- large flock off Lily Point
[3] Black Scoters-- off Lily Point; at least 10 days earlier than
normal
[4] Am. Kestrel-- at foot of Pauls Road; rare migrant on the Point
[5] Black-b. Plover-- 2 with turnstones at Lighthouse Marine Park;
rare on the Point
[6] Sanderlings-- roosting in mixed flock with Western Sandpipers,
Lighthouse Marine Park
[7] Dunlin-- 2 birds (early arrivals?) in with Sanderling/Western
Sandpiper flock
[8] Parasitic Jaeger-- one off west side of Lighthouse Marine Park
[9] Caspian Tern-- one adult (late) flying off Lily Point
[10] Common Murre-- many birds, mostly juv., off Lighthouse Marine
Park
[11] Red-br. Sapsucker-- one (early arrival) at Lily Point
[12] Hutton's Vireo-- one singing (!) in woods at Pauls Road

Total number of species seen: 57