October 16 - Return to Point Roberts

Another Sunday morning at the border crossing. There had been reports of Heerman's and Bonaparte's Gulls at Point Roberts, both needed for the year list. Unknown to me was an additional report of a Brown Pelican there the day before. When I turned up, there were a number of birders already there, some of them members of the Delta Naturalists.

Their primary target was the Pelican, but no one saw it on this day. I spent some time with a woman who had never seen a Heerman's Gull. I described it to her, emphasizing it was smaller than the common Gulls we see, and that it had an Orange bill and black feet. We looked at the gulls on the shoreline, but they were all the common Glaucous-winged variety.

These two are both immature, the left is likely in its third winter, the other probably in it second.


Glaucous-winged Gull - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

This one is an adult:


Glaucous-winged Gull - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

We had just about given up on the Heermans, when she called out that there was one right there mixed in with the Glaucous-winged Gulls. I only had time for a couple of shots and only one turned out. This was a lifer for my friend and a year-list addition for me. I got credit for describing it well to her so she recognized it when she saw it.


Heerman's Gull - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Another bird missing from my year list was Red-breasted Merganser. They are reliably seen at Point Roberts in Fall and Winter but so far I had not seen any. They are normally visible on the surf fairly close to shore.

I saw some birds fly past overhead and thought they might be Mergansers. I was ready the next time they came over and took a couple of flight shots. Although easy to tell from Common Merganser when seen in water, these flight shots are not conclusive. The key differentiator is that the Red-breasted is a salt-water bird while the Common prefers fresh water.


Red-breasted Merganser - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA


Red-breasted Merganser - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

I had already added two species to my year list, but a third was about to appear. I took this first photo assuming that that birds were grebes. It was only on taking the second and seeing the bird close up that I realized they were Red-throated Loons. This was species #200 on my 2016 list.


Red-throated Loon - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

You can see a bit of the Red-throat on this close-up. It is much more prominent in breeding season.


Red-throated Loon - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

So ended another great morning at Lighthouse Marine Park in Point Roberts.