hi gang

brown pelicans of course take a few years to mature, so young birds
dont necesssarily mean this years birds. also brown pelicans can easily
cover fifty miles of coast a day so fledging around the beginning of
july, even for a first year bird, making it this far north isnt that
difficult. also there is a significant colony on, i believe, anacapa
island, among the channel islands, about 1000 miles south, or an easy
month away. last year, i saw a juvenile here on lummi island on sept
22. a real thrill. i look every day for them, - a fantastic bird -
graceful and serene and full of good advice/

take care


monte








If I have unjustly wrested a plank from a drowning man, I must restore
it to
him though I drown myself. - henry thoreau

On 30 Sep 2007, , at 11:16, Bruce Moorhead wrote:

> Thanks, Rolan, interesting. ?I wonder how many pelicans are known to
> be breeding now in the Willapa-to-Columbia River?vicinity? Has a
> familiar ring to it: just as?we've had Caspian Terns?increasing
> significantly?up this way at Dungeness NWR in?the past few years,
> after we noticing more and more of them?appearing?along the outer
> Olympic coast for?a number of years before that. So I wonder?if we
> aren't?also perhaps seeing a rather rapidly growing, young pelican
> population now learning its?way north up the coast. But?so far it may
> only be a sizable fall post-fledging dispersal from a growing pelican
> population to the south. And evidence too?perhaps of a pretty good
> offshore food supply up here this year.?Or just La Nino, etc. Bruce
> ?
> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Rolan Nelson
>> To: Bruce Moorhead ; Tweeters
>> Cc: Tom Aversa ; Bob Boekelheide
>> Sent: Saturday, September 29, 2007 11:26 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Immature Brown Pelicans at Hoh River mouth
>>
>> Greetings Bruce and Tweeters,
>> ?
>> On Friday, John English and I were at Bowerman Basin and Ocean Shores
>> in the morning and early afternoon.? From the Hoq. Sewer Pond to the
>> Jetty and back to the west side of the Game Range we saw somewhere in
>> the vicinity of 600 Brown Pelicans, and, like Bruce, I would estimate
>> that 2/3 to 3/4 of them were juveniles.? I can't ever remember seeing
>> so many pelicans in one place before.
>> ?
>> -Rolan
>> ?
>>
>> Bruce Moorhead <bruceb at olypen.com> wrote:
>>> On Wed., Sept. 26, while camping at Kalaloch along the outer coast
>>> of Olympic N.P.?, I counted at least 150 Brown Pelicans?fishing just
>>> offshore. The next day, about 10 linear miles to the north, I drove
>>> down to the Hoh River mouth on the south side of the river, within
>>> the Hoh Reservation, and?found?about 400-500 pelicans resting just
>>> inside the river mouth. Most (about 350)?were?rafting on a widening
>>> of the river?along the east side of?the beach strand?that forms the
>>> south arm of the river?mouth. The remainder were?perched?along the
>>> beach and on driftlogs?that line?the north side?of the river?mouth.
>>> What seemed particularly interesting?to me was?that most of the
>>> pelicans--at least 300 for sure--were immatures, which was rather
>>> easy?to confirm?with binocs?by?the?relative absence of more readily
>>> apparent white-headed, adult birds?as you scanned (and
>>> counted)?across the gathered birds. Based on the?beach
>>> characteristics?and relative proximity to the Hoh Road here, I don't
>>> think this is a likely breeding site now or in the near future,
>>> and?more likely just a good?resting or staging area along this part
>>> of the?coast. But I hadn't realized before that so many young
>>> pelicans?are obviously?moving this far north now.
>>> ?
>>> Bruce Moorhead
>>> Port Angeles, WA
>>> bruceb at olypen.com
>>> ?
>>> ?
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Tweeters mailing list
>>> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
>>> http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
>>
>>
>>
>> Rolan Nelson
>> Lakewood, WA
>> rnbuffle at yahoo.com
>>
>> Looking for a deal? Find great prices on flights and hotels with
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