The staff here at Z Bird Tours decided to take the morning off yesterday for some birding. Our destination was Pt. No Point for some seawatching (more or less) on Puget Sound. It was a good morning with the highlights being at least six Parasitic Jaegers (four adults and two immatures) harassing the Bonaparte’s Gull flock only a few hundred feet offshore, 40 or more Common Terns, at least 25 Common Murres, and three Harlequin Ducks. The skies were cloudy and it was quite dark, not good for photography, but nonetheless here are some shots (click on them for larger versions):
a flock of feeding Bonaparte's Gulls
close-up of a Bonaparte's Gull
Common Tern and Bonaparte's Gull
Common Tern
Common Tern
Common Tern
Parasitic Jaeger pursuing Bonaparte's Gull
Parasitic Jaeger and a Bonaparte's Gull that's about to lose it's lunch
By the way, we ended the day with a trip to Tacoma to see the Black-tailed Gull that’s at the same location where there was one two years ago. It’s likely the same bird. We didn’t get any photos worth showing yesterday, but click here to see some from 2009.
