SEABIRDS OF ALASKA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, AND WASHINGTON 



85 



Table 9. Distribution and status of marine birds breeding along the Pacific coast of Washing- 

 ton, British Columbia, and southeastern Alaska. (X = known to breed in the region; ? = data 

 insufficient; + = evidence indicates an overall increase in size of population; - = evidence 

 indicates an overall decrease in size of population; = no population change.) 



Hydrobatidae 

 Oceanodroma furcata 



O. leucorhoa 

 Phalacrocoracidae 

 Phalacrocorax auritus 



Fork-tailed X 



storm-petrel 

 Leach's storm-petrel X 



Double-crested X 



cormorant 



X 

 X 

 X 



common cormorants in the San Juan Islands 

 are the pelagic and double-crested species. 

 The double-crested cormorant seems to have 

 declined in numbers on both coastal and in- 

 land waters. On the basis of his observations, 

 R. W. Campbell believes that this species is 

 increasing in British Columbia. 



Brandt's Cormorant (Phalacrocorax 

 penicillatus) 



Brandt's cormorant is the least abundant of 

 the three cormorant species that nest in the 

 study area. Washington is at the northern- 

 most edge of the breeding distribution of this 



species. Only one more northerly colony 

 exists, on Sartine Island off Vancouver Island 

 (Vermeer et al. 1976). Brandt's cormorant 

 comprises about 85% of the cormorant popu- 

 lation in Oregon (U. S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- 

 vice, unpublished data). However, in Wash- 

 ington it is only about 9% and in British 

 Columbia 3% of the total cormorant 

 population. 



Comparing information in Jewett et al. 

 (1953) with the current situation, it is ap- 

 parent that there has been a drastic change in 

 the distribution and probably in the numbers 

 of this species in Washington. Today, there 



