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

Date: February 27, 2007
Location: Semiahmoo Spit, Whatcom County, Washington

Low temperature: 6 degrees Celsius High temperature: 8 degrees Celsius
Wind direction: NW
Prevailing wind speed: 6-11 km/h
Percentage of sky covered by clouds: 10%
Precipitation: none

The following birds were observed by Wayne Weber at
Semiahmoo Spit, on the west side of Drayton Harbor,
Blaine, Wa. Observations were made from about 5:00 to 6:15
PM on February 27, 2007. It was sunny, winds were light,
and visibility was very good, although coverage was
a bit rushed because of shortage of time. The tide was
quite low.

The best bird observed was BLACK OYSTERCATCHER,
which was on a gravel bar on the south side of the spit,
near (but not with) some BLACK TURNSTONES. This is
the first oystercatcher I've seen around Drayton Harbor
in more than 35 years of frequent visits to the area,
although Nick Page and others have seen 1 or 2 a few
times within the last year. It looks like they are
expanding their range to include this area.

I counted 95 HARBOR SEALS lounging on their favorite
habitat, the flat concrete breakwater of the
Semiahmoo Marina.

Birds seen (in taxonomic order):

Brant 300 [1]
American Wigeon 15
Mallard 50
Northern Pintail 200
Greater Scaup 1000
Harlequin Duck 12
Surf Scoter 100
White-winged Scoter 50
Bufflehead 15
Common Goldeneye 20
Barrow's Goldeneye 8
Red-breasted Merganser 150 [2]
Ruddy Duck 8
Red-throated Loon 1
Pacific Loon 1
Common Loon 20
Horned Grebe 12
Red-necked Grebe 1
Eared Grebe 4
Western Grebe 10
Double-crested Cormorant 300 [3]
Great Blue Heron 5
Bald Eagle 2
Black Oystercatcher 1 [4]
Black Turnstone 30
Sanderling 12
Dunlin 600
Mew Gull 500
Glaucous-winged Gull 1000
Belted Kingfisher 1
Northwestern Crow 40
European Starling 6

Footnotes:

[1] BRANT-- birds on and near gravel bars on
bay side of spit
[2] RED-BREASTED MERGANSER-- Very high count; perhaps the start of
migration?
[3] D-C. CORMORANT-- Most of these on rock breakwater on E side of
harbor entrance, where breeding has occurred in previous years
[4] BLACK OYSTERCATCHER-- my first sighting ever for Drayton Harbor

Total number of species seen: 32