Coasst 04-05
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COASTAL OBSERVATION AND SEABIRD SUR VEY TEAM Breaking News Reports 04–05 While every year brings different highlights, one “fall” migrant along Oregon Mile 196. The July 3 date thing happily remained the same—COASST kept and adult plumage suggest that their Whimbrel was an growing. This year, more than 300 volunteers early returnee from its Alaskan breeding grounds. The conducted more than 1,600 surveys on 143 beaches next day, Elaine Cramer watched a sailboat declare its in just over 4,000 hours! independence from the ocean on Oregon Mile 286, Despite record-breaking efforts, one COASST as some captain’s “Little Clipper” ran aground near vital statistic slipped—our total carcass count fell Tillamook Bay. to 2,100. Last year’s total was almost 2,700. And On a more serious note, Rob and Kim Suryan although we witnessed no pronounced winterkill, noticed a number of gulls gobbling up marble-sized there was a marked summer spike, and a surprising paint balls a few days after Thanksgiving. Fortunately, spring surge helped us focus front-page attention the water-based paints and gelatinous capsules are not on the consequences of the West Coast’s unusually thought to be toxic. The Suryans also discovered the warm waters. Without your collective efforts, such region’s only band recovery—a two-year-old Brandt’s trends would still be buried at sea—so we thank you Cormorant found in April that had been banded on the for helping us record and expose another year of Farallon Islands off California in July 2003. coastal change! Oregon Speaking of records, the team on Oregon Mile 327, Jann Luesse, Lori Sinnen, Pat Reynolds and Debbie Stoller, had the birdiest month ever in August —averaging a carcass count of nearly 40 birds per kilometer on three separate surveys. Not surprisingly, the team exhausted its supply of some cable tie colors not to mention many of its own members. We are sad to report that according to Robert and Carolyn Ollikainen’s April 26 survey, at least one old gray goose is dead. The Greater White-fronted Goose is the sole representative of European genus, Anser, in North America. The bird’s measurements and black-speckled belly are indicative of an adult of the Elaine Cramer frontalis subspecies. Bert Johnstone, Jerry Gibson and Martha Elaine Cramer found this Little Clipper: intact, foot Holmberg photographed a pair of wings from a type unknown, wing chord 1200 cm september 2005 1 SAN JUANS Fox Point Point Hammond North Beach Crescent Beach Eastsound East Fishing Bay South Coast Westsound While hosting an Aberdeen West Obstruction South Obstruction reporter on their April Marine North Swifts Bay South Swifts Bay View Drive survey, Kathleen Jackson Beach Deadman Bay Blaine Marine Park Wolgemuth and her daughter Semiahmoo Spit False Bay Griffin Bay Birch Bay Cherry Point Eagle Cove Sucia Dr. North Sucia Dr. South Beth noted that one of their Locust Ave. N. STRAIT Grandma’s Cove Locust Ave. S. South Beach West Squalicum N. Brandt’s Cormorants had an South Beach East Clayton Beach Shipwreck Point Dungeness Spit 1-2 Guemes Island aluminum leg-band. Just nine Seiku River W Dungeness Spit 0--1 March Point Hobuck Beach Hoko W. Whiskey Creek Ediz Dungeness Sooes South Slip Point Hook Bluffs McCurdy Pt Perego’s Lagoon months earlier in the Farallon Cape Shi Shi Beach Is. View Tongue Point George Ebey’s Landing Wedding Rocks Pt Wilson Sand Point North Twin River Fort Flagler Islands, the juvenile cormorant Sand Point South Lyre River Elwha West Indian Island S. Norwegian Memorial Bagley Creek Admiralty Inlet was banded by Point Reyes Ellen Creek Rialto Jetty Jamestown Olympus Brackett’s Landing NORTH Gray’s Marsh Beckett Pt Edmonds Marina Second Beach Richmond Beach Third Beach Port Williams N. Blyn Bird Observatory (PRBO) Port Williams Point No Point Golden Gardens COAST Ruby Beach Beach 3 W. Sequim Bay Discovery Park N. Kalaloch North Discovery Park S. UGET Travis Spit Alki P Conservation Science personnel. Kalaloch South Lincoln Park Beach Thompson Spit SOUND The region’s other banded bird Dash Point St. Pk. First Beach Point Grenville Owens Beach Browns Point North Roosevelt Beach was a two-year-old Black-footed Copalis Rocks Walker County Park Browns Point South Tolmie State Park West Middle Waterway Tolmie State Park East Albatross from Midway Island, South Butterclam Damon Point East Priest Point Marine View Drive Hawaii, discovered by Mike North Jetty Westhaven Point Vashon South SOUTH Twin Harbors McCleod Beach Beals Point and Barbara Patton on South Fern Cove KVI Beach COAST South Surfside North Surfside Cove South Butterclam in September. Ocean Park North Lisabuela Beach Portage East Ocean Park Middle Klipsan Beach Newport Beach Point Robinson Ocean Park South Susan Clark and Barbara Northhead Lighthouse North Jensen Point Sandy Shores Northhead Lighthouse South Spring Beach Docton North Burton Beach South Campbell found two Short-tailed Magnolia Beach ORMI 327 Harbor Heights Shearwaters in February on ORMI 309 Ocean Park South. In fact, all 11 ORMI 300 Short-taileds occurred between ORMI 286 November and March, while the 21 Sooties were scattered across all seasons, much like ORMI 255 ORMI 254 the species’ abundance chart ORMI 241 in Beached Birds predicts. As OR E GON luck would have it, over 90% Agate Beach of the dark-bodied shearwaters ORMI 196 had measurable bills, allowing observers to easily discriminate between the two Puffi nus species—as their bill ranges do not overlap. Although separated by tens Bastendorff Seven Devils Wayside Whiskey Run Beach of kilometers and two estuaries, Bullards Beach linkages between the Long Beach ORMI 96 Peninsula and Ocean Shores have never appeared stronger. The best confi rmation comes from the August “mystery” oil spill. In the biggest oiling event 2 South, was also host to the region’s rarest fi nd, an Arctic N Tern. Though rather common in offshore waters during their spring migration northward, Arctic’s are virtually unknown in Washington’s pelagic waters in June. BAYS Headland site Sand Point South was ten times as “productive” as its counterpart Sand Point North (31 vs. 3 fi nds). Greater deposition presumably helped Patti Happe and Dave Manson of the former beach recover the region’s only banded bird, a juvenile California Gull HEADLANDS from Mono Lake, California. Bay sites—Hobuck Beach and Sooes South—showed a similar pattern. Tracy Beals, Bryan Bell, Ingrid and Eftin Strong on Sooes South recorded only 10 birds, while Hobuck COASSTers found more than 150! These discrepancies illuminate differences in ocean currents along our crenelated Arrow size indicates relative deposition rates coastline. Even with similar beach length and numbers of surveys, south-facing beaches gather more birds. in COASST’s history, more than 30 oiled birds were recorded on South Surfside and Marine View Drive. Strait of Juan de Fuca Gary Korb and Carol Volk found only three birds for Although numerous sites neighboring each beach were the year—all on a single day! On February 3 the duo surveyed during the same month, only Kathleen and discovered two cormorants, a Great Blue Heron and Beth Wolgemuth and Susan Clark reported any oiled a sea lion on Tongue Point. Dungeness Spit had the carcasses. greatest avian diversity in the Strait this year with seven Across a similarly scattered front, South Coast species over 21 surveys. While surveying Dungeness Spit surveyors Linda Bierma, Barbara Campbell, Susan in December, Bill and Barbara VanderWerf documented Clark, Margie Cochrane and Barbara Patton found four the inside waters’ only Northern Fulmar—quite a drop of COASST’s seven Horned Puffi ns this year. Like the from the 23 reported last year. other three found in Oregon, all appeared between Ediz Hook’s Heidi Pederson found COASST’s January and April. According to at-sea surveys, this third-ever Ring-necked Pheasant in November. The species is very rare offshore at our latitude. With that said, two exceptional wrecks involving tens to hundreds of Horned Puffi ns were recorded on the outer coast COASST’s most unique marine mammal th during the 20 century in 1933 and 1959. this year was an elephant seal found by John Epler North Coast and Clem Hoerner on Ocean Park North in May The North Coast reported over one dozen entangled birds, with Wolter van Doorninck’s total of fi ve on Copalis Rocks surpassing counts from all other sites. Most were gulls, ensnared around the wing or leg with a hook, line or both. In March, Wolter also described a California Gull that appeared to have been shot. On July 31, Bob and Lauren Middleton found a pile of backbones and baleen from a large whale—likely a Gray Whale or Humpback. Their beach, Kalaloch Pam Sanguinetti 3 Obstruction experienced a summer spike in human visitation. Larry and Bev Leyman recorded at least eleven visitors per survey between June and August. According to the Marine Mammal Stranding Network personnel, the two decapitated Harbor Seal pups noted by Judy Chovan along Jackson Beach in August and September were thought to be victims of the local orca Rayna Holtz population. Rayna Holtz recorded this chum salmon, ripe for gull snacking, on Vashon Island Puget Sound Vic Nelson of Point No Point was responsible for all three Puget Sound observations of Western Grebes. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) What makes this coincidence even more noteworthy releases Ring-necked Pheasants during the hunting was the “dead one that got away.” In mid-December, season (October to January) in the recreation area next Vic watched a Bald Eagle kill a Western Grebe and to Dungeness Spit, which may explain their repeated bring it back to a nearby pier.