Subject: [Tweeters] Ancient Murrelet Invasion
Date: Nov 5 12:55:10 2007
From: Wayne Weber - contopus at telus.net


Birders,

Unprecedented numbers of ANCIENT MURRELETS have been seen from Lighthouse
Marine Park at Point Roberts (Whatcom County, WA) over the last couple of
days. On Saturday, November 3, Kevin Louth reported about 120 birds between
10 AM and 1:30 PM. On Sunday, November 4, George Clulow and Mike Newey
reported more than 200 from the same locality-- most of them in flocks of 5
to 10, and some quite close to shore.

I saw 12 Ancient Murrelets from the same spot on October 30, but these have
been dwarfed by the numbers seen on the weekend.

Ancient Murrelets are seen every fall at Point Roberts, peaking between
October 15 and November 15, but usually in much smaller numbers. They are
occasionally seen there later in the winter, but they seem to occur mainly
as a fall migrant.

For those of you who would like to find Ancient Murrelets, I would suggest a
visit to Point Roberts in the next few days, or to other localities where
they are often seen, such as the Iona Island south jetty near Vancouver;
Washington Park in Anacortes, WA; Point Wilson near Port Townsend, WA; or
West Point at Discovery Park in Seattle (where a few were seen on the
weekend).

Good luck and good birding!

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net