Wednesday 27 October 2021
Clatsop County
I got to Silver Point overlook just south of Cannon Beach after Stefan,
Hannah, and Eric had already left and made reports of Storm-Petrels and and
other pelagics. Stefan saw a POMARINE JAEGER with "spoons;" the only report
I heard of today for the entire Oregon Coast--wow! The wind had subsided
from yesterday's storm and there was no rain; viewing conditions were
therefore the best I have ever had there.
There is a partially submerged reef a mile offshore of the Silver Point
overlook that was overwashed with white water from the high swell of the
waves and tides. and a bloom of diatoms making the water have a slightly
off-white color from the foam floating shoreward of the reef. The food web
must have been productive as that was where most of the seabird action was
today. Dozens of BONAPARTE'S GULLS (immature and adults in basic plumage)
were immediately apparent, backdropped by the white caps over the reef with
a few SABINE'S GULLS (juvenile and adult) and BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES
(juveniles) in the mix. Dozens of PACIFIC LOONs were settled in floatilla
just south of the reef with many more flying south beyond the reef. From
the reef to the horizon I could see tubenoses, fulmars and shearwaters,
flying south. Most of the ones that I could make out; the ones that flew
close to the reef or between the reef and the shore, were darker phased
NORTHERN FULMARS. There seemed to be many SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATERS flying
further out, but it was difficult to be sure. That the wind was not blowing
hard may have meant that the birds were flying differently than I am used
to seeing shearwaters. The Sooty Shearwaters that mass along the coast and
at The Cove in Seaside in late August and September flap a lot and then
glide for a time. The larger tubenoses today were not flapping much at all.
The fulmars were making arcs up and then sharply down delineating a low
amplitude sine wave flight path more or less. Those tubenoses I thought
were SHORT-TAILED appeared more slender-winged and with more attenuated
wing-tips than the NORTHERN FULMARS; they never showed the silver
underwing-flashes typical of Sooty Shearwater. My seawatching
identification skills need some work!
The most unusual phenomenon of the day was the presence of numerous
STORM-PETRELS nearshore enough to view from the overlook. The phenomenon
spanned the distance of the entire state based on reports on ebird and
WhatsApp from Clatsop to Lincoln to Curry Counties today. I soon was
picking up views of the dark bat-like LEACH'S STORM-PETRELS between the
reef and the shore-breaking waves. Some appeared all-dark rumped, but
others showed varying patches of white on the rump. Eventually I also
spotted a FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL once four other birders arrived to join
in the fun. There was more opportunity to view the LEACH'S STORM-PETRELS as
the morning continued to afternoon. The birds seemed to be going south
slowly, but there always seemed to be more Storm-Petrels coming in from the
north. They may have been circling back and forth, but I have never seen so
many or seen them more easily for such a prolonged period than I have
today. I actually came back later in the afternoon and there were still
Leach's Storm-Petrels to be seen between the reef and the shore between
15:00 and 16:00, though by then the rain had returned, but not enough to
prevent another birder recently returned to the state from a trip to find
them.
Also moving south of the point were a couple RHINOCEROS AUKLETS and several
CASSIN'S AUKLETS. I was explaining to birder that Rhinos look chunkier and
darker overall than COMMON MURRES, while Cassin's Auklets look rounder and
smaller. Ken Chamberland chimed in with Rhinos are footballs and Cassin's
are a Nerf footballs, a much better metaphorical description to make the
comparison. CASSIN'S AUKLETS show a surprisingly white underbelly in flight
as seen from distance than is generally depicted in the standard field
guides; a point Ken and I agreed on.
A pair of adult Bald Eagles had taken up watch on Jockey Cap (sea stack).
One flew out to the reef and then stooped to the water, seemingly coming up
without a catch and promptly returned to the sea stack monolith. I resumed
my seawatch thinking that the eagle was just looking to see if there were
any weak and easy prey out there. A few minutes later I saw movement and
realized the eagle was eating something out of its talons. It was small and
black-feathered. Perhaps a Leach's Storm-Petrel. Leach's are the size of
Townsend's Solitaire or Spotted Towhee; they are small. The eagle had
finished its meal within minutes.
I would have happily stayed seawatching there all day, but had to leave for
various parental responsibilities by noonish.
Later in the day I was able to return, but so had the rain and with it the
wind and mist making viewing more difficult. I decided to check the Cannon
Beach Lagoons and sewage treatment plant for storm refugees and recent
migrant arrivals, and to assure that there were no rare warblers
(Blackburnian, or Dusky for that matter) around.
At the Lagoons I encountered a large flock of over 20 RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS
with a couple BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, CREEPER, and GOLDEN-CROWNED
KINGLETS. I have yet to be able to find more than a few BLACK-CAPPED
CHICKADEES in town after more than 20 were reported a few weeks ago
convergent with Jay's awesome sighting of a Blackburnian Warbler that I
subsequently missed. I presume that those chickadees have since dispersed,
but who knows?
At least one of the BLACK PHOEBE that has set up shop there was calling as
usual from the central woodland patch. SURF and WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS were
on the ponds, as were several recently arrived NORTHERN SHOVELERS. A group
of fewer than a dozen WIGEON were all AMERICANS with a rusty-headed female
that eventually showed its mottled gray underwings confirming it to me as a
female EURASIAN WIGEON. Lastly I came across the flock of phalaropes
reported earlier in the day via Ebird, though now there was one more making
four RED-NECKED PHALAROPES. They were somewhat flighty on the NE pond and
calling as they moved around. Besides the needle-pointed, thin bills
without a pale base, and obvious well defined off-white back braces, their
flat pik calls, less sharp and BLACK-PHOEBE-like than Red Phalarope flight
calls supported the species identification. There have been many reports of
RED-NECKED PHALAROPES along the entire coast over the last few days.
Several have provided convincing descriptions or diagnostic photos. Usually
after September the Phalaropes observed in or off Oregon are Red
Phalaropes. It may be that there is a later migratory period for Red-Necked
Phalarope than data from the past would have indicated.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S96780431
https://ebird.org/checklist/S96788131
David
David C. Bailey
Seaside, Oregon
