[obol] BNA on fulmar morphs

[Cindy Ashy]

I find the idea of light morphs coming from more
northerly populations of fulmars very interesting and
I'm wondering if some of the other correlated
sightings of arctic species migrating further south
than normal are related to the same phenomenon...like
the Ivory Gull in BC.

I've also been noticing several reports of Snow
Buntings lately and I think it was Mike P. that
reported ~50 of them in the Columbia Estuary....is
this a high number for this area?

For those of you who have birding here for
years/decades,  have you seen this correlation before?

Any chance that more Snow Buntings means a higher
probability of s Snowy Owl irruption? As soon as I saw
the first post of a Snow Bunting on the Oregon Coast,
I was ready to go search for the Snowy Owl :-)

It seems most things I read explain away such
phenomenon as ocurring in "severe winters" but I'm
wondering if there is a more specific cause such a
significant shift in the magnetic north pole....severe
winters/scarce food sources seems an
oversimplification to me and there are so many
exceptions doesn't seem likely to me. 

The pelicans have been acting weird this year too.

Cindy Ashy

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