September is a great time for birding in the San Juan Islands. There are
big mixed species bait balls out in the straits, large congregations of
gulls, the first scoters and grebes of the season, and still some
straggling sandpipers. Last September is when we had a visit from sooty
and pink-footed shearwaters, and this morning my surprise was seeing a
jaeger flying over the south end of San Juan Island. I've read the
jaegers used to be a common sight here, but I've never seen one in the
last ten years. It was too far away to get a great look at the field
marks, but I imagine it was a parasitic jaeger - an exciting find for me!

Monika Wieland
Friday Harbor, WA
mailto:monika.wieland at gmail.com
www.orcawatcher.com