Hi Tweets,

Since there has been a report on the Saturday Viking Tours birding trip,
I'll add the PTMSC Protection Island trip on the Glacier Spirit. It's a
comfortable motor cruiser with a good crew. Staff from the Marine Science
Center were on board to assist with wildlife identification and the geology
of Protection Island. As with the Viking Tours we didn't see any unusual
birds. The water was flat enough that I was able to handhold a 65 mm
Swarovski scope. Even with that I only spotted one RHINOCEROS AUKLET.
There were hundreds of BRANTS along the spit on the west side of the island
along with more than a hundred harbor seals. No elephant seals were spotted
yesterday although we did note one deer on the island. We saw a fair number
of HARLEQUINS, both male and female, and two breeding pairs of LONG-TAILED
DUCKS. There were also lots of PIGEON GUILLEMOTS, most in summer plumage
and a number still in transition. There were a number of mature and
juvenile BALD EAGLES and both COMMON and PACIFIC LOONS. We got all three
of our CORMORANTS (BRANDT'S, PELAGIC, and D-C), a few CANADA GEESE, many
RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, and RED-NECKED and HORNED GREBES. There were lots
of SURF SCOTERS and BUFFLEHEADS. There were lots of GLAUCUS-WINGED GULLS,
some COMMON GOLDENEYES, and a few CROWS. Somewhere along the way we got a
GREAT BLUE HERON. This tour ends with poking around Rat Island near the
north end of Marrowstone. We didn't see any shorebirds and Mew Gulls were
absent.

Carol Riddell
Edmonds