Greetings Birders.
I'm a birdwatcher from Nevada. My friend and I just got back from a
conference in Blaine, WA. On our way up to Blaine, from Seattle, we stopped
off at Deception Pass. Thinking we might just be there for a minute we
neglected to take along our field guide and instead left it in the car.
While scanning the water we noticed a small black/dark ocean bird. We
immediately recognized it as a new bird for us, but being from Nevada, many
ocean birds are new to us. Anyway, we tried to get as many field marks as we
could. Black, small, fairly prominent white eye line and a great big orange
bill. The bill reminded me of a clown's bill. It just stuck out like a sore
thumb and gave me the impression that it was slightly upturned. And, there
were two birds. When we got back to the car and checked the field guide, I
felt it looked like a parakeet auklet. However, I don't recall seeing much
white on it. My friend remembered seeing two white lines on the side of its
face, perhaps it might be a rhinoceros auklet.
We ran back out to the point to see if it was still around. We did not see
the dark bird with the big orange/red bill and single eyeline. We did
however, see many birds that we felt comfortable identifying as rhinoceros
auklets. My friend thought she might have gotten her glasses on one of these
when she recalled seeing the two white markings.
So, does a parakeet auklet seem like a good possibility in this area this
time of year? It was Sunday, April 10th.
Also seen at Deception Pass:
Common Loon
Harlequin duck
Bald eagle
Red-necked grebe
Double-crested cormorant
Pelagic cormorant
Black oystercatcher
White crowned sparrow
Varied thrush (up the road)
Rhinoceros auklet
My friend and I enjoyed our time in Washington and hope to make it back
soon.
Good birding,
Ali Chaney
Reno, NV
Achaney at heritage.nv.gov





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