Ancient Murrelets, Bellingham Bay‏ Barry Ulman12/1/13

In response to Paul DeBruyn's report of Ancient Murrelets in the Chuckanut area, I went out today to check things out. I started at Larrabee Park with no luck, worked north, with not many places to check out. Then I visited Marine Park in Fairhaven, where I briefly spotted three Ancient Murrelets about a hundred yards off shore. They went under, not to be seen again. Then I checked out Boulevard Park. From the outdoor patio of Wood's Coffee I spotted four Ancients about 500 feet offshore. They dived and surfaced several times before mystically disappearing the way Ancient Murrelets. do. To make the sighting even more satisfying, there was a young couple there who were just getting involved in birding; it was nice to point out this species to them.

Barry Ulman