LARGE flock of seagulls

[D Morse]

Hi,

Wondering if you can explain an event we experienced yesterday at Semiahmoo County Park.  Hundreds of seagulls in the water feeding(?).  Is there a specific fish they eat that is available this time of year?

Thanks for your help!

[Michael Edson]

I noticed that too the other day and would be interested in the answer. Seemed to be a lot of harbor seals active at the same time.

[D Morse]

Here’s an image.  And yes, we saw many harbor seals as well!  

On Friday, October 31, 2025 at 12:17:17 AM UTC-7 D Morse wrote:

[Andrew Robinson]

I saw something similar last weekend. The waters were calm and lots of birds on the water. Also saw about half a dozen seals. Guessing the conditions are such that there’s a lot of fish near the surface.

On Oct 31, 2025, at 4:03 PM, D Morse <danet...@gmail.com> wrote:

Here’s an image.  And yes, we saw many harbor seals as well!  

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[Eric Ellingson]

These large flocks of gulls and other birds are gathered at what can be referred to as "bait balls". I'm not sure the type of fish or if there is one main species but these fish are concentrated at the sea's surface where surface feeding birds, as well as diving birds are feeding. The numbers of these bait balls seems to be quite high this fall. I've seen 3 at once just out from Birch Bay. On certain days they can be seen along the coastline from Point Roberts, Semiahmoo, Birch Bay and further south. I'm only speculating that the large numbers of these feeder fish at and near the surface might be contributing to the rare occurrence of the more pelagic birds, short-tailed shearwaters that have beens seen nearshore these past weeks. There were just under 3000 shearwaters off Anacortes and many seen off Whatcom's shores.

These are always great places to check out for more interesting birds. Targeting these bait balls over the years while out boating I've found oddities like the Cocos Booby, shearwaters, Ancient Murrelets, less numerous gulls, Brant's Cormorants, and recently a Steller Sea Lion that was eating a Spiny Dogfish. Minke whales have been seen surfacing in the middle of these feeding frenzies. 

I do not know a lot of specific details about these bait balls but I sure enjoy happening upon them and searching for the unusuals. 

Other news, at least one Great Egret continues in Lummi Land and Rough-legged Hawks (2-3) which were mostly absent last year.

Eric Ellingson 360-820-6396  esell...@gmail.com https://www.flickr.com/photos/ericellingson/

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