International Brant Monitoring Project
Observation Logs:

2010/2011 Observations

Date Location Observers Count Percent Juveniles Notes
Aug 19 Izembek Lagoon, AK Izembek National Wildlife Refuge 100s 243
Oct 5 Izembek Lagoon, AK Izembek National Wildlife Refuge 130,000 n/a 258
Oct 15 Padilla Bay, WA Conway School 0 244
Oct 31 Humboldt Bay, CA Steve Rosenberg 91 245
Nov 1 Izembek Lagoon, AK Izembek National Wildlife Refuge n/a 246
Nov 1 Delta, B.C. Richard Swanston 28 n/a 247
Nov 2 Padilla Bay Reserve staff 6 n/a 250
Nov 2 Izembek Lagoon, AK Izembek National Wildlife Refuge n/a n/a 248
Nov 3 Delta, B.C. Richard Swanston 74 34 249
Nov 4 Padilla Bay, WA Conway School maybe 16 251
Nov 5 Yaquina Bay, OR Yaquina Birders & Naturalists 8 252
Nov 6 Coos Bay, OR South Slough NERR 150/10 min 253
Nov 6 Humboldt Bay, CA Steve Rosenberg 3000 254
Nov 6 Delta, B.C. Richard Swanston ~350 n/a 255
Nov 10 Humboldt Bay, CA Steve Rosenberg 1000 256
Nov 12 Padilla Bay, WA Conway School 33 257
Nov 19 Padilla Bay, WA Conway School 0 N/A 259
Dec 4 Humboldt Bay, CA Steve Rosenberg 1000 261
Dec 9 Delta, B.C. Richard Swanston 431 264
Dec 10 Humboldt Bay, CA Steve Rosenberg 4000 262
Dec 12 Delta, B.C. Richard Swanston 159 265
Dec 15 Humboldt Bay, CA Steve Rosenberg 7500 266
Dec 17 Yaquina Bay, OR Yaquina Birders & Naturalists 166 263
Dec 21 Bodega Bay, CA Rod Hug 450 267
Dec 30 Yaquina Bay, OR Yaquina Birders & Naturalists 170 268
Jan 1 Humboldt Bay, CA Steve Rosenberg 30 315
Jan 1 Bodega Bay, CA Rod Hug 280 NA 260
Jan 2 Oak Bay, Port Hadlock WA Diane Mulholland 104 3 270
Jan 3 Padilla Bay Reserve staff 15, 396 n/a 278
Jan 4 Drakes Estero, CA Rod Hug 0 269
Jan 5 Humboldt Bay, CA Steve Rosenberg 10000+ 271
Jan 15 Delta, B.C. Richard Swanston 340 11% 277
Jan 16 Tomales Bay, CA Rod Hug 420 N/A 272
Jan 16 Humboldt Bay, CA Steve Rosenberg 15000 275
Jan 16 Delta, B.C. Richard Swanston 120 24% 276
Jan 17 Bodega Bay, CA Rod Hug 350 >10% 273
Jan 17 Yaquina Bay, OR Yaquina Birders & Naturalists 202 274
Jan 24 Drakes Estero, CA Rod Hug 0 279
Jan 25 Bodega Bay, CA Rod Hug 44 280
Jan 26 Tomales Bay, CA Rod Hug 610 281
Jan 28 Yaquina Bay, OR Yaquina Birders & Naturalists 185 282
Jan 29 San Quintin Bay, Baja Cal. SANQUIBRANTA 0 0 283
Feb 3 Padilla Bay, WA Conway School 136 284
Feb 10 Padilla Bay, WA Conway School 100's 285
Feb 10 Yaquina Bay, OR Yaquina Birders & Naturalists 238 291
Feb 11 Yaquina Bay, OR Yaquina Birders & Naturalists 198-216 288
Feb 11 Oak Bay, Port Hadlock WA Diane Mulholland 244 n/a 286
Feb 11 Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve, Guerro Negro Lagoon, Baja California Reserve Students/ Pro Esteros 270 n/a 297
Feb 12 Bodega Bay, CA Rod Hug 263 287
Feb 14 Humboldt Bay, CA Steve Rosenberg 7500 289
Feb 22 Bodega Bay, CA Rod Hug 220 290
Feb 25 Yaquina Bay, OR Yaquina Birders & Naturalists 197 292
Mar 4 OTHER OTHER 2 0 294
Mar 5 Coos Bay, OR South Slough NERR 110 na 293
Mar 8 Humboldt Bay, CA Steve Rosenberg 2000 295
Mar 9 Bodega Bay, CA Rod Hug 253 296
Mar 12 Coastal Baja, Mexico Pro Esteros 30 n/a 299
Mar 14 Coos Bay, OR South Slough NERR 150 na 298
Mar 18 Yaquina Bay, OR Yaquina Birders & Naturalists 184 300
Mar 25 Yaquina Bay, OR Yaquina Birders & Naturalists 276 301
Mar 26 Oak Bay, Port Hadlock WA Diane Mulholland 250+ na 302
Mar 26 Delta, B.C. Richard Swanston 5,000 n/a 303
Mar 30 San Ignacio Lagoon, Baja California Sur GELSI 52 n/a 308
Apr 4 Humboldt Bay, CA Steve Rosenberg 5000 305
Apr 4 Humboldt Bay, CA Steve Rosenberg 5000 304
Apr 8 Yaquina Bay, OR Yaquina Birders & Naturalists 258 306
Apr 9 Drakes Estero, CA Rod Hug 0 307
Apr 14 Bodega Bay, CA Rod Hug 4 310
Apr 16 Oak Bay, Port Hadlock WA Diane Mulholland 450+ 309
Apr 29 Padilla Bay, WA Conway School 21 311
May 3 Humboldt Bay, CA Steve Rosenberg 3000 313
May 6 Padilla Bay, WA Conway School 845 312
May 7 Coos Bay, OR South Slough NERR 113 na 314
May 28 Humboldt Bay, CA Steve Rosenberg 30 316


Notes:

243 Brant have arrived at Izembek Lagoon. The first flocks of brant were observed in the lagoon on August 19 by Ty Donnelly. On August 20, Kristine Sowl saw 130 near Grant Point during the Tustumena ferry tour and Ty Donnelly spotted brant in Kinzarof Lagoon. During the evening of August 20, John Maxwell observed about 300 near Grant Point. On August 25, Kristine Sowl observed at least 1650 brant near Grant Point.

258 Ed Mallek and I, with the USFWS-Migratory Bird Division, completed three replicate counts of brant in the Izembek area this fall (4-5 October). Our preliminary totals of 139,236, 127,901 and 123,135 provide a average of 130,091 (slightly below the 35-year fall average of 133,662). We will be looking in January to see how many choose to spend the winter. Thanks for the reports you provide from observers to the south.

Chris

Christian P. Dau
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Migratory Bird Management Division

244 This was the first trip for the Conway School 6th graders. We went to Swinomish Slough, Bay View State Park, Camp Kirby, and various spots along Samish Island. We did not spot any brant but, the kids sure had a bunch of fun on the hunt and checking out all the other birds Padilla Bay has to offer.

245 i first observed brant on 10-27 but couldnt see how many-on 10-28 i counted 50 plus or minus- yesterday i had a good view-this is the normal vanguard late october arrival-there are many pintails this year-aleutians are everywhere

246 A researcher named Ty just returned from brant monitoring. He said the brant are still in Izembek Lagoon but that conditions are favorable for them to leave. Ty was looking for signals from brant with radio transmitters and found all of them still transmitting from the area.

This report from Audrey Bohl via Alex at Padilla Bay Reserve

247 This Morning we had strong winds and low clouds with pouring rain. A fast rising tide and a high seas! But by the early afternoon the clouds had lifted. In the western portion of the bay I counted 28 brant. This is the largest number of birds counted which makes me think these are not brant that spent the summer here. By about 13:00 the wind was still high but the visiblity had improved at the Tsawwassen Ferry Causeway looking toward the Coal Port and Westshore Terminals container terminal. Five more brant were seen in flight.

Yours Richard Swanston, Delta, B.C. Canada, via Alex at Padilla Bay Reserve

250 Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) did a waterfowl survey yesterday flying in a small plane over the bays from Port Susan to Blaine (including Padilla Bay) to look for dabbling ducks. They also noticed that they didn’t see any brant. However, Paul DeBruyn, Wildlife Biologist, was posting No Hunting” signs at the Swinomish brant reserve (an area in Padilla Bay that is closed to hunting so the brant have a chance to get gravel). He reported seeing 6 gray belly brant on Nov. 2nd. That is about a month earlier than we usually see them.

This year an area of Padilla Bay that was previously closed to hunting (because brant used the area historically) was removed from reserve status. Brant have not been using this area in recent years and also WDFW is trying to increase hunting opportunities in Western Washington. Another area near the Swinomish Slough in the south part of Padilla Bay is still protected as a reserve. That's where Paul saw the 6 grey bellies.

WDFW has two brant flights scheduled for this winter. The first is
planned for Dec 8 or 9 and the second is for Jan 6 or 7. The January flight will determin whether brant hunting will be allowed in Padilla Bay. If they do not see more than 6,000 brant in Skagit County the season will be cancelled. If there are more than 6,000 brant, hunting will be allowed on 8 days in January.

This report from Jennifer Bohannon, WDFW via Alex


248 Last night the sky was alive with the sounds of brant heading your way! No clue how many, but they are starting to make the jump for sure. We've got snow cover and it's still snowing. Ty and Chris are heading out up to Baldy Mountain to see what they can locate any brant with transmitters. I should have more information later today.

Audrey via Alex

249 Observing brant for just over one hour in Boundary Bay at Metro Park in Tsawwassen, Richard saw the birds disturbed several times by a bald eagle, the arrival of a flock of Canada geese, 2 horses, a dog and a helicopter.

Richard Swanston via Alex

251 It was a beautiful day for our second outing for the brant monitoring project at Conway School. We may have a saw a group of brant. Way off in the distance from the point of Samish Island on Camp Kirby the kids said they saw a group of brants. I only got a quick glance at them so I'm not able to have a 100% positive confirmation on it. They were very far out on the western side of Padilla Bay, then took off and headed south.

252 I searched Yaquina Bay and did not find any Brant the afternoon of Nov. 2. I searched again late the afternoon of Nov. 5 and found 8 at Yaquina Bay embayments, so they could have arrived during Nov. 3-5. Great to have some back!-----Range Bayer for Yaquina Birders & Naturalists

253 Tim Rodenkirk reported to Oregon Birders OnLine (OBOL) that he saw 3 flocks of Brant flying south, about 150 Brant, in a 10 minute period the afternoon of Nov. 6. He was watching the ocean from the north jetty of Coos Bay.
Range Bayer

254 birds poured in all afternoon just ahead of front

255 Saturday Nov. 6th 2010
Richard Swanston was at the Boundary Bay Metro Park in Tsawwassen near the 12th Ave Pump House. The wind was from the northeast. There were low cloud and a light misty rain. Tide was at 12.5 feet and falling. There were about 350 brant in the western part of the bay. Hunters were active in the northern part of the bay. He watched brant for about two hours and was able to read the codes on these leg bands:
• Black Band on the right leg, K8E. It's Mate had damaged tail feathers and the pair had at least 3 juveniles.
• Metal band only on the left leg with a mate that did not have a band and 4 juveniles.
• Black band on the right leg, 4RK with 1 juvenile and a mate that was not banded.
• Green band on the left leg, L1N
• Black Band on the right leg, TER
• White band on the right leg, Z1S with a mate that is not banded. This is a VERY long term Boundary Bay winter resident! It's mate, Z6K, was outfitted with a implanted radio transmitter years ago and is now missing. Z!S has a new mate but no juveniles.
• Black band on the right leg, 580, also had an orange twist tie marker and was injured. it's tail feathers were in poor shape. Mated with K8E they have 3 or 4 juveniles.
• Black band on the right leg, 5A9
• White band on the right leg, +G7
• Black band on the right leg, -3S
• Black band on the right leg, ?NT. I missed the first code. It was in the water.

Also, twice he saw 3 brant flying together, what he calls “mating flight.”

There were a few minor disturbances but for the most part the brant were left alone. At one time a couple walked out JUST far enough out on the beach to scare off the brant then turned around and came back. Another time a dog was running off leash.

Yours Richard Swanston Delta B.C.


256 another wave came thru yesterday but intense hunting pressure soon forced them south. ocean is 15 feet this am. am seeing quite a few juveniles and not fully molted birds. saw some phaloropes sitting on piles of eelgrass in bay. lots of pintails and redheads this year. saw first gadwalls and teal a few days ago, and some new scaup. there is the usual hoRde of widgeon, and i saw a pair of eurasians, too. took one double banded brant sunday, tarsus white with blue letters YNG- think it is a Y-K BIRD.

257 It was another beautiful, clear yet cold day at Padilla Bay. We spotted brant again off the Camp Kirby Point on Samish Island. They came in two groups from the North, the first one was a group of 10 and I had a good look at them. Looked like some black bellies. Another group soon appeared with 14, although this group was even further away so it was hard to get a good look at them.

We some some duck hunting action at Swinomish Slough on the south part of the bay. The hunters caused some commotion with the local birds including a group of 9 brant. They seemed to fly in a circle for a bit and then headed southwest. Also spotted an Eagle eating a duck!

259 No Brant today. But we saw hundreds of pintails with some mallards, shovelers, and bufflehead! Also saw a field full of swans!

261 the brant have been off ond on here- about thanksgiving, new arrivals came and the numbers climbed over a week to top out at about 1000 as of dec 2- today several hundred were seen-some were reluctant to cross the ocean sandspit (They sleep in the open ocean at night). these birds are beachwise- much to the consternation of the hunters, leading me to believe they are residualized here for the winter. hunting season ends tomorrow and usually there is a significant influx right afterwards.i have noted a healthy crop of juveniles in some of the bunches this year.

264 Boundary Bay Metro Park Tsawwassen Delta B.C. Canada off the 12th Ave Pump House Winds were not the most favorable South at 10 to 12 Knots The Tide was 12.6 Feet and falling almost ideal. Overcast and Rain. I arrived at 12:47 To find 6 Bald Eagles in the Area of the Pump House. No brant were present. Construction noise was evident

Returned at 13:28 and saw 40 to 50 Brant off the Beach in front of the Beach Grove Lagoon. An Off leash dog was running the Beach and two Bald Eagles flew up and all Brant departed for the North side of the Bay.

13:51 Counted 176 Brant between 64th and West of 72nd Street. A kite surfer and bald eagles scared away thousands of water fowl!

Total Count in the N.W. Bay 431 All on the Northern side of the Bay From 64th to Just East of 72nd Street

The presence of Bald eagles in large numbers seems to have prevented Brant from using the foreshore beaches . Kite surfing and other human activities have only aggravated the disturbance. Should not there be some control over Kite Surfing in the Wild Life Management Area!!!

Yours Richard Swanston Delta B.C.

262 large influx the last several days-saw one flock migrating south to north just outside surf line-one flock of 3000 birds was on a sandspit at low tide- the sound of a sport crabbers boat banging the water was enough to get them airborne all at once- weather is unseasonably warm here- it finally didnt rain today for the first time in a week-duck population has thinned noticeably- wierd year- usually this is a peak population time- but it appears to have happened with the thanksgiving cold snap, when i observed a female king eider here- a rarity this far south

265 Sunday After the monsoon stopped. I went out for a walk at Boundary Bay Metro Park at about 13:50 The tide was about 11.5 feet and falling fast the wind was from the South at 12 Knots So I did not have high expectations of seeing Brant until the tide had fallen further. But, 9 Brant were off the Pump House!
On my return the tide was now 10 feet ! And about 120 to 150 Brant were starting to haul out in perfect lighting, with the setting sun lighting them up! I walked out on the intertidal set the scope Put my eye to the eyepiece THEN THE BALD EAGLE CAME OVER THE DYKE It chased them toward the Eastern Point

A Western Arctic Brant came from the area of the Beach Grove Spit ? It was all by itself and it landed amongst the Gulls just in front of me! Two of the Gulls set on it almost before it landed attacking it! This Brant did have some backbone still, and it struck back and moved off. This Brant had a dark mark on it's left flank! I could not get a good picture of it, but it's left wing appeared to be damaged.

Then several brant flocks approached, then of course an eagle scared them off. This eagle flew right over the injured Brant which did not respond . Another eagle approached and flew toward the Gulls which took flight with the Brant. Further Brant flocks past the lone bird but it never left with them. I left just before sunset.

Is this yet another Oiled Brant? Or the victim of a hunter that does not know the difference between a Brant and a Canada Goose? It was feeding but it was not flying right.

Yours Richard Swanston Delta via Charlie Huddleston

266 a large influx of brant has appeared in humboldt bay. we have few eagles here but kite surfers, kayaks, coast guard helicopters, duck hunters and power boats all periodically disturb the brant. there are the usual number of poachers,too. despite this, now that brant hunting is over, they are becoming amazingly tame, and are now using the hunting areas to sand and the closer eelgrass beds to feed.

263 Brant numbers have stabilized at Yaquina Bay with 162 on Dec. 1 and 166 on Dec. 17. All are at Yaquina Bay embayments, east of the Yaquina Bay Bridge.
Range Bayer for Yaquina Birders & Naturalists, Newport, Oregon

267 250 brant were within 100 yards of shore. It was good to be so close to these beautiful geese. I could hear them easily even though the wind was blowing 50 knots. The sound reminded me of when I was a kid in the 1950s watching thousands of brant at Drakes Estero.

268 Nice sunny days after several stormy days! 170 Brant at Yaquina Bay embayments east of the Yaquina Bay Bridge. None west of the Bridge. Numbers holding steady.
Range Bayer for Yaquina Birders & Naturalists, Newport, Oregon

315 typical count for memorial day weekend-we are having another wet cold spring here- lots of razor clams this year-halibut fishing has been good- salmon fishing spotty-the north wind howled the last 2 days

260

270

278 Every year the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife does a brant count from the air (small plane) to see if there are enough brant in the area to open a hunting season. In Fidalgo, Padilla and Samish bays, more than 6,000 brant must be counted to allow hunting. This year they counted 8,519 in these bays and an additional 6,877 in Lummi Bay, Birch Bay, Drayton Harbor and Blaine Harbor. Hunting season is open for 8 days between January 15 and 30.

Alex

269 Today was a good day for counting Brant. The wind was light and the sun was behind me. Unfortunately no Brant were to be seen. In recent years I have been counting somewhere between about 80 to 100 Brant at Drakes Estero. The ironic thing is that Brant habitat seems to be the best at Drakes Estero, yet more Brant winter in Tomales Bay and in Bodega Bay. Two thousand of more Brant wintered in Drakes Estero during the 1950s.

271 so. bay is plugged with brant- north bay has em, too. flocks are coming in from the south regularly. my home is 390 feet above the bay and over a thousand yards horizontally to the edge, yet the sounds of brant drift up the hill continuously when it is still or there is a slight onshore breeze. not the usual duck numbers- makes sense- all of california is water this year! so many they are hard to count. saw several flocks in the eelgrass swales at low tide last nite of 2000-3000 birds and i cant see the north end of the bay.

277 January 15th 2011
Good Day this morning after checking the weather and wind the previous evening conditions appeared good for viewing brant at the Pump House. Arrived at the Parking lot at about 8:08 AM. Conditions were perfect Soth East wind at 15 knots, overcast sky, and tide at about 11.9 and slowly rising. A harrier past over the lagoon spit near the Pump House and scared up a nice flock of brant. Some left the area, but others returned. A Hunter was later Observed off the North side of the Bay. Two gentlemen arrived and set up lawn chairs along the beach. The 70 to 85 brant did not seem phased at first but, then they started to bat stones directly at the flock! They shrunk back a bit, but still stayed in the area in spite of the stones. The brant finally swam away to the west end of the beach. I guess the two Gents got tired of my presence and gathered up their chairs and left at 8:26 AM. I observed groups of brant flying in and out of the pump house area throughout the rest of the day.

Richard Swanston, Delta B.C.
Via Charlie Huddleston, Padilla Bay, WA

272

275 while sculling in the bay, i saw a flock of brant wheeling about out in the ocean that was at least 3000 strong. they finally came over the sand spit into the bay. shortly after, someone shot in their vicinity, and i watched at least 10000 brant fly to the sotheast part of the bay. an aewsome sight.

276 Sunday, January 16th 2011

Today the wind was southerly all day at times over 20 Knots. Stopped over to the Coal Port at around 10:10 AM on the rising tide and saw thousands of waterfowl, but no Brant. At the West side of the Ferry terminal I counted 120 + brant and an estimate of 150 + on the East side toward Point Roberts. One Juvenile appeared injured or oiled! When I came in the evening I noticed kite surfers so I didn’t even bother looking on the beach. Later in the day two small groups came near the pump house, but were scared off by bald eagles and a low flying helicopter.

At the Coal Port Causeway there was not a brant to be seen, just thousands of waterfowl mostly Pin Tail and of course plenty of eagles.

Yours, Richard Swanston, Delta B.C.

Via Charlie Huddleston, Padilla Bay, WA


273

274 Lots of rain the past few days, but the afternoon of Jan. 17 settled down with hardly any wind and infrequent sprinkles. There has been an increase of about 30 Brant since Jan. 1, so there appears to be some movement going on. Range Bayer for Yaquina Birders & Naturalists, Newport, Oregon

279 Today Drakes Estero was glassy calm in the morning. With the sun behind me it was a perfect day to count Brant. Unfortunately, again there were no Brant to be seen. But I counted 117 White Pelicans which is high even for Drakes Estero. For comparison, I usually see 15 to 30 White Pelicans in Bodega Bay and Tomales Bay, and about 15 to 50 in Drakes Estero. White Pelicans like to feed on an outgoing tide, and it was outgoing early this morning. No Brown Pelicans were present. They will come by the hundreds in April when Anchovies run in the estero.

I counted 40 Harbor Seals, but on other days the count is usually closer to 200.

Drakes Estero is a pristine place in the heart of the Point Reyes National Seashore. The water is almost as clear as the ocean partly because the bottom is clean, hard sand. During the 1950s I used to see small planes land on the sand bars at low tide, and the occupants dig for clams.

During the afternoon the wind came up somewhat. The small chop produced swaths of vibrant purple, rivers of green, and areas of brown. Purple shows the location of eelgrass beds, green shows deep channels, and brown shows where sand bars lie just below the surface.


280 A dozen Brant were on a nearby sand bar, but none had leg bands. During the afternoon a flock of 20 Brant flew into the bay and circled then flew out and disappeared going south. It was nice to see Brant fly in from the ocean. It reminded me of the 1950s when, on any given winter day, small and large flocks flew into Bodega Bay, Tomales Bay, and Drakes Estero from the ocean about every 15 to 30 minutes all day long.

281 I am a little concerned that I saw no Brant at Drakes Estero during the two visits I made there this year. The records show that the average number of Brant counted at Drakes Estero between Dec 15 and Jan 15 since 2004 is 298 birds. But of eleven counts made during those years, three found zero Brant. So I hope this years zero counts were an anomaly.

During the same period, the average number of Brant counted at Bodega Bay is 433, and the average for this year is 390. And during the same period the average number of Brant counted at Tomales Bay is 953, and the average for this year is 515.

For historical comparison, approximately 3000 Brant wintered in Drakes Estero during the 1950s.

If any can recommend a book(s) or literature that discusses pacific Brant history, problems, and population trends, please email me.

Thanks,

Rod Hug
rodhug@earthlink.net


282 All Brant were at Yaquina Bay embayments east of the Yaquina Bay Bridge. Range Bayer for Yaquina Birders & Naturalists

283 I made a trip to San Quintín and visited the Old Mill ("Molino Vijeo") restaurant. It is very close to the shore, so I did take a look. There was no Brant. Maybe it was because the tide was very low. Too bad. Previously (December) I went to the English Cemetery, also in San Quintin, but there wasn't any Brant too.
Viajé a San Quintín y visité el restaurante Molino Viejo. Está muy cerca de la costa, así que observé un poco. No había brantas. Tal vez porque la marea estaba muy baja. Que mal. Anteriormente (en diciembre) fuí al Panteón Inglés, también en San Quintín, pero tampoco había brantas.
César Iván Manríquez Castro
Pro Esteros - México

284 Finally the Conway 6th graders saw some brant up close. We found them right of Kirby Point on Samish Island. It looked like the brant were having a good time swimming about and feasting on eel grass. It was calm and overcast out, not too bad, and the kids had a great time! We started observing around 10:45 Pacific Time, the tide on its way out.

- Charlie Huddleston & Conway School 6th grade

285 Again we found brant right off Kirby Point on Samish Island! Although, it took us a little olonger to find them this time. They were further out this time and more difficult to count. We looked north first, but only saw six out by Vendovi Island. Then we looked to the south west and saw them in the 100's way out in the middle of the bay! The tide was up and they didn't seem to be eating, just preening and swimming.

I'm pretty sure these are Arctic Brant (grey belies) that are wintering in Padilla Bay. It was a cool, crisp, clear and sunny day!

Charlie & Conway School 6th graders

291 Shawn Stephenson of the USFWS counted 2 Brant west of the Yaquina Bay Bridge and 236 east of the Bridge at embayment areas, where there are native eelgrass beds.
Range Bayer for Yaquina Birders & Naturalists, Newport, Oregon

288 Wayne Hoffman saw the first Brant west of the Yaquina Bay Bridge this season on Feb. 11. On Feb. 12, I estimated 198-216 there with binoculars. Earlier in the winter, they were east of the Bridge where most native eelgrass grows at embayments. This may be a sign that their spring migration is underway.
Range Bayer for Yaquina Birders & Naturalists, Newport, Oregon

286

297 This year, “El Vizcaíno” Biosphere Reserve invited 4th graders from “Colegio México” school, to participate on a bird survey on “Ojo de Liebre” lagoon (in the area called “El Chaparrito”). The first sighting was made by 8 children:

Alondra Aguilar Ibarra. Benjamín Arce Sánchez, Marina Arce Solorzano, Francisco Flores Villavicencio, Diego Chong Bravo, Gerardo De Oyos Patrón, Kenet Futema García, Lia Xiadani Grado Inzunza

We saw 270 Brant. Also: Shorebirds: 155, White Egret: 1, Snowy Egret: 1, Little Blue Heron: 3, Pintail: 5.

"Saludos" Marisol Aguilar.

287 The last I checked about two weeks ago there were about 45 Brant in Bodega Bay; so maybe the northerly migration has begun. Five white pelicans were feeding on this very low tide. Golden eye were the most numerous ducks.

289 the brant have thinned out since the disastrous youth hunt of feb 5-6, where dads that call themselves hunters had their kids shooting 9 at a time at the tame flocks. yesterday i saw several flocks head towards north bay from south bay. expect to see an upsurge shortly as this is the time birds traditionally start to leave baja ca. with peak populations here about one week prior to the spring solstice.the eelgrass in the bay is thoroughly pruned and i see the brant seeking out isolated nooks where they are normally afraid to go but where the grass is still thick. southerly winds have finally returned after a month of bluebird weather

290

292 I counted 36 Brant west of the Yaquina Bay Bridge on a rock shelf with green algae and 161 Brant east of the Bridge at embayments with eelgrass where they regularly overwinter. Range Bayer for Yaquina Birders & Naturalists, Newport, Oregon

294
I spotted these two birds in the channel of Coos Bay, Oregon, across from the BLM Boat Launch, while birding with Russ Namitz, our local Audubon chapter vice-president. Overcast, windy, cool, approximately 11 A.M., tide coming in.

Tom Gaskill (SSNERR) provided me with your link last May.

Barbara L. Taylor

293 We saw two flocks (22 + 90) totaling 110 individuals that were flying back and forth along the channel of lower Coos Bay and landing on the water as the tide rose. The weather was calm and overcast and the temperature was about 48 degrees F. We observed quite a bit of wrack along the shore with eelgrass and kelp rolled together in large bundles. As the tide flooded in, some of the birds were dabbling along the exposed edge of the rocky shore near the mouth of the bay. These are the first Brant of the season that we have seen in substantial numbers!

Tom Gaskill and the South Slough Birders

295 this is by far the fewest brant i have ever seen at this bay this time of year. the large numbers of january and february are gone. now is usually the peak with average counts 15000 or more- where did they go- did they eat all the eelgrass- did they go south again ,or north. i believe they went north.saw ist osprey yesterdasy and allens hummingbird last saturday.a certain sign of spring.

296 253 is close to the numbers I was seeing in Feb. We have been having near record cold weather here in the Bay Area for the last several weeks, so maybe the Brant are not moving yet. I recall about 10 years ago seeing thousands of Brant migrating north over the point reyes peninsula on April 15. I remember the date because it was tax day.

299 I went to “Punta Banda’s” estuary last Saturday (March 12th), with a group of teachers. They wanted to know the place, so later they can take kids to enjoy it. We walked on the trail, and saw the birds and plants. We talked about the importance of wetlands.
Some teachers were afraid because of the tsunami alert, but fortunately everything was fine.
We saw 30 Brant flying in circles above the estuary. I should take a picture, but I was talking to the teachers and forgot to do it.
We also saw: Osprey, Long-billed Curlew, Snowy Egret, White egret, Willet and Eastern Meadowlark.


298 We traveled to several locations along lower Coos Bay looking for the Brant. The weather was very windy from the southwest with occassional rain showers and the temperature was fairly mild, about 55 degrees Farenheit.

We finally saw a large flock (~150) of Brant tightly grouped and in flight near Fossil Point. They lifted off the water and flew a short distance before landing again to the north. Still no sign of the large numbers of birds that were reported last month at Humboldt Bay.

Tom, Gabriel, and Sophia Gaskill, Charleston, Oregon

300 On March 18, 184 Brant were all at embayments east of the Yaquina Bay Bridge, none were west of the Bridge where they have been in spring often in past years. Two men were walking on the Rock Shelf northwest of the Bridge where Brant would have been. This Rock Shelf area used to be a "refuge" from human disturbance for Brant, but in the past two years human activity has increased dramatically, with walkers (sometimes with unleashed dogs) on or adjacent to the Shelf at low tide and paddle boarders and surfers at high tide.
Range Bayer for Yaquina Birders & Naturalists, Newport, Oregon.

301 The weather seems to be more changing towards Spring! There were 37 Brant at Yaquina Bay embayments east of the Yaquina Bay Bridge where they overwintered, and 239 in a tight flock at the northwest side of the Yaquina Bay Bridge. Range Bayer for Yaquina Birders & Naturalists

302

303 Saturday March 26th 2011
At Boundary Bay Metro Park in Tsawwassen the wind was from the east-northeast at 14 knots and it was partly cloudy. Tide was at 12 Feet and falling. I expected to find large numbers of brant with these conditions but with several dogs running on the beach there were no brant to be found. Several times small groups of brant would circle overhead then be scared away. Between dogs and bald eagles, few brant used the area all morning.

That afternoon at the Roberts Bank Container Terminal Causeway I was able for the first time to see brant using the area in front of the new Steel & Rip Rock structure installed recently. At least 250 brant were crowding toward the small rock beach were there is abundant green algae. Many of those were out of the water. Many brant kept joining the group until there were at least 700 but then something spooked them (maybe an eagle) and they all flew.

Later I estimated more than 4,500 brant off shore and more than 350 brant near the Tsawwassen ferry causeway. I was able to read these leg bands:
Green band with white codes: 105
Black Band with White Codes: 6HE
White Band with Blue Codes: 645
Yellow Band with Black Codes: either heartshapeHT OR heartshape
A juvenile with Black Band with White Codes E7-
Blue Band, White Codes: 40S

I also saw a badly crippled black brant, 2 rhinoceros auklets, 10 western grebe, 2 Pigeon Guillemots, about 10 long tailed duck, about 30 black turnstone and far out in the suns glare what looked very much like a murrelet diving, red necked grebe, common loon and, of course, harlequin ducks. I also saw about 5 harbor porpoise just off shore

Yours Richard Swanston Delta B.C.


308 I visited Camp "El Cardón". It was about 1:00 p.m. There was a group of 34 brant feeding close to the shore, and about 18 a little far from the coast. I saw also some other birds: Turkey vulture, Gull, Snowy egret, Little blue heron, White egret, Cormorant and Yellow-crowned night heron.
A bote went close to the birds and the Brant fly away, but returned soon to a very close place. The day was sunny and warm.
Iván Manríquez - Pro Esteros.

305 at long last humboldt bay is having a migration of significance. several thousand brant arrived this am. i saw several flocks migrate in from the south and several left the bay flying north- this is, i believe, the secondary wave which comes in april and is less in number than the usual mid- march peak, which did not happen this year, with virtually all 25000 january-february brant leaving way early-something i have never seen before- there should be some new arrivals in coos and newport bays shortly-for richard swanston-green-white= n.alaska,teshupuk-colville r., blue-white=northwest territoy,banks island-red-white=siberia,wrangell is.,anadyr r,aqua-black=prudhoe bay,white-blue=y-k,tutakoke- kokechik,yellow-black=tutakoke,orange-black=tutakoke-black-silver-yk,chevak,black-white,chevak

304 at long last humboldt bay is having a migration of significance. several thousand brant arrived this am. i saw several flocks migrate in from the south and several left the bay flying north- this is, i believe, the secondary wave which comes in april and is less in number than the usual mid- march peak, which did not happen this year, with virtually all 25000 january-february brant leaving way early-something i have never seen before- there should be some new arrivals in coos and newport bays shortly

306 On April 5, Phil Pickering counted 39 Brant flying north along the coast at Lincoln City (which is north of Yaquina Bay) during a 45 minute seawatch (6:45-7:30 AM). On April 8, I counted 258 Brant at Yaquina Bay east of the Yaquina Bay Bridge; none were west of the Bridge. Range Bayer for Yaquina Birders & Naturalists, Newport, Oregon

307 Today I spent 3 hours watching brant migrate north over the point reyes peninsula. About every 10 to 15 minutes a samll flock of 15 to 30 flew over point reyes. Most of the flocks numbered closer to 15. There was a fairly stong nw wind gusting to about 34.

310 Penny Palmer observed 4 Brant apparently feeding on eel grass. She took two very sharp photos. Two of the birds were banded. One band was marked SZZ. The other, not as clear, was marked ...2 CA

309 For the last hour Brant have been pouring in in groups of 50 or so. They now number over 450, strung out all along the tide line of the bay. This is the largest group I've counted this season. I imagine they are staging to fly further north.

311 What a lovely and calm day to look for brant today! We saw 21 brant off Kirby Point on Samish Island. The tide was on its way out and the brant looking for eelgrass to munch on in the middle of the bay. No sign of them hanging out anywhere else along the way.

- Charlie & Conway School 6th graders

313 still a sizable number of brant here-ihave not checked north bay for a while- observation is for souhtern two thirds of south bay

312 There are tons of brant in Padilla Bay today! We made this count off Samish Island and there must have been more brant out there too just out of range of our spotting scope. The brant looked busy preening and munching on eelgrass. The tide was low and on its way out. We didn't see any eagles around hunting for brant, but we did see some evidence of their presence. We found a fresh carcass of a duck picked clean.

314 The South Slough Birders ventured out through a light rain in search of Brant and we found them! We counted two different flocks (93 + 20) at an overlook north of Pigeon Point on lower Coos Bay. The tide was very low and the Brant were foraging in eelgrass near the edge of the channel. We also recorded at least a dozen other species in the area including: Green-winged teal, Red-breasted merganser, Marble godwit, Northern shoveler duck, Black-bellied plover, and a Bald eagle.

- Tom Gaskill, South Slough NERR

316 typical count for memorial day weekend-we are having another wet cold spring here- lots of razor clams this year-halibut fishing has been good- salmon fishing spotty-the north wind howled the last 2 days

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