[obol] Tern - Elegant v. Caspian
- From: Jack Williamson <jack.williamson.jr@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2013 20:56:58 -0700
Mike Patterson's post about the ELEGANT TERN hanging around the Hammond
boat basin caused me to run-in-place most of the night while I waited for a
reasonable hour to begin the chase. When I arrived at the basin, I was
astounded by the fact that there was not a parking place to be had in the
entire area - the Coast Guard personnel on hand where very friendly and
helpful despite the chaos they attributed to boaters competing to get into
the river before daylight. Obviously it is a big deal when Buoy-10 to opens
salmon fishing on the lower Columbia River. When I gassed-up in Warrenton
and commented on the congestion to the attendant. He told me avid sport
fisherman spend $300 dollars day on fuel - and they fish 2 to 3 times a
week during the season. Ok - I am now feeling a lot better about chasing
this bird :-)
I have to thank a couple of other people for pointing out the (difficult
but approachable) location of the tern on some riprap near the pilot boat
dock. First and foremost to Linda for taking the time to come get me off my
station near the water as I waited for a possible fly-by, and Cassidy who's
scope the three of us relied on to make a positive ID.
Despite the two hours I spent watching both CASPIAN and ELEGANT TERN, I
found that I was at times unsure of which was which. That may be due to
the fact that I was seeing both species in immature and adult plumages, or
more likely just the result of my lack of experience with either species.
http://www.jack-n-jill.net/blog/2013/8/tern---elegant-v-caspian
--
Jack Williamson
West Linn, Oregon
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