[obol] beached BFBO found 10/31 Seaside Beach, OR
- From: Meg Ruby <megruby@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: OBOL <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2013 17:02:07 -0800
Hello OBOL,
I survey Seaside Beach in Seaside OR once a month as a volunteer for COASST
(Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team)
http://depts.washington.edu/coasst/. On Halloween, 31 October 2013, I found
three beached birds:
1-Common Murre- young, newly dead
1-Sooty Shearwater - intact, nearly skeletal
1-Blue-footed Booby - decrepit, but intact, save breast and belly, which were
scavenged.
Jay Withgott kindly posted my photos of the Blue-footed Booby here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/114481402865976904547/MegRubySBlueFootedBoobySeasideOR?authkey=Gv1sRgCKXatPTEto7cLA
I found the bird directly out from the 12th Avenue entrance to the Seaside
Beach at the high tide line at 11:30 a.m., about an hour after high tide.
The bird was long dead with breast and belly scavenged. Very little flesh
remained. However the ID of the bird was pretty straightforward: the blue
feet especially, the bill, and blue skin on limbs point to a Blue-footed Booby.
Because of the blue feet, Its seems not likely that this bird is one of two
possible alternate species such as a juvenile Masked, a juvenile Peruvian or
even a juvenile Brown Booby.
http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/identification?p_p_spp=107356
I am not an expert on Boobys or the sulidae family. However, it appears to me
that this bird has both characteristics of a juvenile or immature bird
(brown/grey coloration of the head and neck; pale forehead) as well as some
adult characteristics (blue skin, blue feet and the blue on the bill). Because
of that, I would say this bird is in transition to adulthood.
I filed a rare bird report (my first!). The bird was collected on Saturday,
November 2, 2013. It is on ice and will be sent to the Burke Museum which
expressed interest in the skeleton.
FYI, COASST runs regular trainings and has beaches in OR that need volunteers
to survey. See the link above for contact information. Some might find
surveying for beached birds depressing. I think it is fascinating and I've
learned a ton. Typically I don't find much in the summer. In the winter,
with wind and currents from the South and from Tillamook Head, I find between 3
and 15 birds each month. Last winter, there was a wreck (large numbers) of
Tufted puffins and Rhinoceros auklets. I have found various alcids, Surf
scoter, Western grebe, Common and Pacific loon, and Double-crested Cormorant,
and Northern fulmar. I am happy to answer any questions.
For the birds,
Meg Ruby
megruby@xxxxxxxxx
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