Hi -
I spent much of today (8 AM to 3 PM) in and around Newport:
Highlights:
Brown Booby: in the morning it was in the area off the UnderSea Garden - at
times on the usual channel marker, also on the sea wall, and once on the taller
tower in the jetty area that the Sea Lions use. From 1 Pm until at least 3 PM
it was sitting on top of the channel marker (range marker) west of the bridge,
that is just off the first finger extending out from the south jetty road.
Geese: 5 species in the area west of the bridge: 1 Brant on the water early,
several flocks of (Aleutian) Cackling Geese totaling 500+ birds. Around 11:30 a
flock of 150+ Aleutians appeared over the north jetty, and flew back and forth
over the channel for at least 20 minutes before heading on south. During this
period it frequently split into subflocks and re-coalesced. Embedded in it were
at least 2 dark Canada Geese (Duskies?), 1 adult Snow Goose, and 6
White-fronted Geese.
Green-winged Teal: several small flocks and some singles were flying around the
lower bay.
Bufflehead: FOS, 5 birds.
Brown Pelicans: Rafts gathered on the bay west of the bridge, building to 800
birds, then gradually dispersing.
Also present were 100+ Heermann's Gulls, including for a while a flock of about
80 on the ground of the "gull spot."
Also present among the California Gulls were at last 12 Herring Gulls, 2
Thayer's Gulls, and 2 Ring-billed Gulls.
No unusual sparrows could be located.
Wayne
