[obol] RBA: MANX SHEARWATER, new record for SKUA

[Greg Gillson]

As a teaser for a full report later, the offshore boat trip on  
Saturday, September 30, recorded and photographed a MANX SHEARWATER  
about 2 miles off Newport.

The trip to Perpetua Bank nearly tripled the previous high count of  
SOUTH POLAR SKUAS with 23 birds! We had two sets of four birds each,  
and several doubles, besides the usual singles. We had juveniles and  
adults, including a few paler individuals.

Over a thousand FORK-TAILED STORM-PETRELS were in a single flock on  
the water. When they flew and scattered in a thousand different  
directions a few people spotted a LEACH'S STORM-PETREL and I called  
out a different bird as another species, but could never locate it  
again, or get a definitive look.

On Sunday, October 1, we had flat seas and had about 150 JAEGERS,  
about half were close enough to be identified to species. We circled  
around a TUFTED PUFFIN, and spent about 15 minutes with 5 HUMPBACK  
WHALES at close range. A small yellow bird flew over the boat and was  
well seen by all. There was some slight differences in the  
descriptions but we're pretty sure it was definitely a Magnolia  
Warbler or a Warbling Vireo or an Orange-crowned Warbler or a Bell's  
Vireo. It had a long tail and a short tail and a yellow vent and a  
white vent and wingbars and no wingbars and eye arcs and no eye arcs  
and a dark tail tip and an all-green tail and... And you thought fall  
jaegers were hard!

Greg Gillson
Hillsboro, Oregon
greg at thebirdguide.com
http://thebirdguide.com