yesterday my partner laura and i (recently moved to lummi island, off
the coast of bellingham) went out to enjoy the strong north wind that
usually brings a kind of surf to the north end of the island - and this
was no exception - waves 1-2 feet high during a very low tide broke on
the shore and on the rocks just of point migley where nearly a hundred
harbor seals basked. i scanned the strait of georgia and rosario for
orcas - saw none - the rocks with all the seals (dont know what the
locals call these rocks but because they have a shape of a swimmer's
head emerging from the sea we call it head island) also had shorebirds
by the many - distance too far to identify - sandpiper shaped with very
dark backs and white bellies - about the half the size of the
oystercatchers nearby.

while enjoying the general overwhelming beauty - suddenly into view
flew a brown pelican - thrilling!!!!
i've never seen a pelican in washington - even though as a lurker here
on the tweeters list i have noted that BRPE are observed in this area -
for instance a quick search of the summer's posts and i see several
sightings at the tsawwassen ferry terminal in BC, which i can see
plainly from point migley. so - didnt make it to the coast this summer
and thought i had missed out on these guys - apparently its been an
excellent year for pelican breeding success - which is some small
amount of good news in the face of most west coast bird stories these
days -

but a pelican on lummi island - YABBA DABBA DO!!!!!




monte merrick
wildlife rehabilitator/oiled bird care specialist
lummi island washington
montemerrick at speakeasy.net