Subject: [Tweeters] Westport Pelagic Trip, Aug.27th
Date: Aug 28 14:47:04 2011
From: Bruce Labar - blabar at harbornet.com


After a foggy trip last week, we experienced a clear blue sky for most of the day, light winds and a wonderful pelagic day. With a full boat of birders and trip leaders, Bill Tweit, Michael Donahue and myself, we encountered the following birds and mammals.
Wintering waterfowl has not reached Grays Harbor yet with only White-winged Scoter noted, several Common Loons were close by the harbor, over 500 Black-footed Albatross were by the fishing Hake fleet( which was a HUGE attraction for most of our pelagic sightings), big numbers of Northern Fulmar, Pink-footed Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, one Flesh-footed Shearwater seen by several of us, two Buller's Shearwater, almost 1000 Fork-tailed Storm- Petrels, still a couple dozen Leach's Storm-Petrels, hundreds of Brown Pelicans around the jetty and harbor, all three species of the expected cormorants, a Peregrine Falcon carring a Red Phalarope was seen about 20 miles off shore!, 300 plus Marbled Godwits were roosting on the rocks coming into the marina, along with the BAR-TAILED GODWIT that has been present for a week or so, only Black Turnstones were noted on the jetty, Red and Red-necked Phalaropes, 8 South Polar Skuas were seen with 4 of them on the water together!, all three jaegers were seen with Long-tailed the most numerous, Bonaparte's, Heemann's, California, Western, Glaucous-winged Gulls, several hundred Sabine's Gulls were the highlight for many, Common and Arctic Terns always make for identification questions when seen this time of year, Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, Cassin's Auklet, Rhinoceros Auklet and two Tufted Puffins were the alcids that we saw.
Mammals included 8 Humpbacked Whales, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seal, California Sea Lion, Steller's Sea Lion, Northern Fur Seal and Harbor Seal.
Complete numbers will be posted on our web-site soon at www.westportseabirds.com
Still a few spaces for up coming trips, come out and visit the wonders of seabirds, whales and other wildlife!

Bruce LaBar
Tacoma, WA
blabar at harbornet.com