"5000 Brown Pelicans on the lower Columbia"? Maybe the tern research guys
slipped in an extra zero? Even 500 sounds like a lot.

Paul Webster
Seattle
paul.webster at comcast.net

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Patterson" <celata at pacifier.com>
To: <menelson at JoiMail.com>; "Tweeters" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Sunday, July 18, 2004 7:14 PM
Subject: Re: Pelican like bird


> There are approximately 5000 BROWN PELICANS on the
> lower Columbia (This according to the tern research guys).
> Many of them routinely fish the estuary near the Megler
> (Astoria) Bridge.
>
> ---- original message ----
> Subject: Pelican like bird
> From: "Melissa Nelson" <menelson AT JoiMail.com>
> Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 19:00:33 -0700
>
> Tweets,
>
> I was driving over the Astoria Bridge on the mouth of the Columbia River
and
> saw a large group of feeding birds. They were quite a bit larger than
> mallard ducks I think, and had bills and throats the shape of pelicans.
> Their coloring was all dark brown and spotty. They were diving from a
> sitting position and diving while flying. I could not stop for better
> observation. As we continued driving North on 101 towards Long Beach, WA I
> continued seeing them flying in groups of 3 to 7 heading in the same
general
> direction.
>
> I looked in my Audubon book and on the internet and could not find a bird
> that matched.
>
> Could someone tell me what they think I Saw?
>
> --
> Mike Patterson
> Astoria, OR
> celata at pacifier.com
>