Tweeters,

A group of Seattle Audubon Society members and participants from the
Bainbridge Island Parks District spent a pleasant Father's Day and the Summer
Solstice on the "Glacier Spirit" motoring from Port Townsend to Protection
Island. Highlights from the trip were:
1) 50 Harlequin Ducks (drakes) off Violet Spit on east end of Protection
Island
2) 24 Bald Eagles (4 adults, 20 immatures)
3) 3 Black Oystercatchers
2) 100's of Heermann's Gulls on the beach near Point Wilson at the extreme
low tide (-3.2)
3) 1000's of Rhinoceros Auklets seen enroute to Protection Island
4) 1000+ Pigeon Guillemots mostly close to the island
5) 1 Common Murre ( perhaps good evidence of successful nesting off-shore
this year!!)
6) 14 Tufted Puffins (excellent, close views)
7) 250-300 Marbled Murrelets (in a half miles radius about 1/2 mile from
shore shore between Point Wilson Lighthouse and Point Hudson Marina. Most
were paired up, some in groups up to 10. We saw only one pair on the way out
to Protection Island at about 10:30 AM, the large concentration was seen
at about 2:00 PM on a tide that had been rising since 9:19 AM

Noteworthy was the near absence of nesting cormorants on the island.
There were a few Pelagic Cormorants here and there, but nowhere near the numbers
seen in past years. Completely absent were any nesting Double-crested
Cormorants. Perhaps the sheer number of Bald Eagles has forced the
cormorants to new nesting areas!! Any insights or comments?
Mammals:
1) Harbor Porpoise 4
2) Ca. Sea Lion 2
3) Harbor Seal 400+
4) Orca Whale 7 (5 females and 2 calves) Most likely a transient pod.
Seen just off Violet Spit. At one point, the females seemed to be actively
hunting the Harbor Seals, causing a massive scramble by the Harbor Seals to
get ON shore!! Quite a spectacle!!

Questions I have about the unprecedented (in my experience) concentration
of Marbled Murrelets:
1) My understanding is that recently fledged young are black and white
(much like basic plumaged adults). There were none to be seen in the
concentration we observed. So, were these adult birds that had finished
incubating the eggs and had left the hatchlings for their (the hatchlings)
one-month-solo, in-nest maturation?

2) Do the young murrelets fly from their nest to coastal waters, or do they
float down streams to the sea?

3) Do they meet up with the parents after their "solo month", or are they
on their own once at sea?

4) Does anyone else have experience with this number of Marbled Murrelets
in late June? In 20+ years of going to Protections Island in June, I have
never recorded more than 10 to 12 Marbled Murrelets before encountering
today's massive numbers.

Any insights would be most appreciated. Even better would be a good
source to read up on these fascinating little alcids. Many thanks in advance.

George Gerdts
_Geopandion at aol.com_ (mailto:Geopandion at aol.com)
Bainbridge Island
206-842-8138

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