T Howdy Tweets,

I just had a Jaeger on the Fauntleroy to Vashon Ferry 5 min before arriving
at Vashon fly by as close as 20 feet and provide fantastic views above and
below, in great light for about 1 minute. I am quite sure it was a
juvenile, light-morph Parasitic Jaeger, based on body shape and a plethora
of visible field marks.

It had a bold white flash on the underwing (which first indicated to me
that it was something different than the normal PugetSound fare), a lesser
but distinct white flash on the upper wing, some white at the base of the
upper tail, short pointed central tail feathers, light barring on
underwings and tail coverts, slender bill, very dark eye with light brown
around.

I have NEVER gotten this good of a look at any Jaeger, with all the field
marks so easily visible, and immediately knew it was not a gull. It was
actually being pursued by a larger, immature Glaucous-winged Gull,
providing a great size, body shape, and flight style comparison. The gull
chased from underneath, the Jaeger wheeled and dropped, trying to fend off
the gull unsuccessfully, the gull continued its pursuit, the Jaeger then
dropped the food it was carrying, and the gull broke off the chase and
dropped down to the water to retrieve it.

It was an AWESOME SHOW!!!!

Happy to answer any questions or consider any alternative opinions.
-
May the* F*lu*OR*escen*CE* be with you!
-
Nathaniel Peters Ph.D.
W. M. Keck Microscopy Center Manager
University of Washington
ncpeters at uw.edu
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