Matt and Tweeters,



Spring sightings of Parasitic Jaegers may be unusual in Puget Sound, but they are not at all unusual near Vancouver, BC, just north of the border. There are usually a few sightings every May, normally around migrating flocks of Bonaparte's Gulls and Common Terns. I believe it is 20 years or more since we have had a spring with no jaeger sightings. However, there are almost no reports from June or July.



Numbers are much smaller in spring than in fall (August through November), but Parasitic Jaegers are definitely a regular and predictable late spring migrant around Vancouver. Not sure why they seem so much scarcer only a short distance to the south.



Wayne C. Weber

Delta, BC, Canada

contopus at telus.net







From: Tweeters [mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman11.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Matt Dufort
Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2020 6:20 PM
To: Tweeters Newsgroup
Subject: [Tweeters] Jaegers in Puget Sound



Hi Tweets,



Last year there was an unprecedented spring/summer incursion of jaegers into Puget Sound, with numerous sightings stretching from May through the time they usually arrive in the fall. On top of the unusual seasonality, there were at times really impressive numbers, peaking at nearly double digits in late May last year. Almost all the birds seen last year were Parasitic, with only a single Pomarine observed at Discovery Park in late May.



The same thing appears to be happening this spring, though we clearly don't know yet how long the birds will stick around. Over the last couple weeks there have been singles and occasionally large numbers of jaegers seen around Seattle and Bainbridge Island. Again, most of these birds are clearly Parasitic, but it's possible that there's a Pomarine or two mixed in. Very fun birds to watch!



Good birding,

Matt Dufort

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