Sightings of vagrant Pacific alcids in Desolation Sound, British Columbia

From May through August during each year from 1997 through 2000, we conducted repeated daytime and nighttime boat surveys, in Desolation Sound, at the north end of the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia, Canada. During the four study years, we captured 1184 Marbled Murrelets and sighted 14 161 more. During the same period, we recorded seven other alcids considered rare in the study area: two Ancient Murrelets (Synthliboramphus antiquus), one Parakeet Auklet (Cyclorhynchus psittacula), and four Rhinoceros Auklets (Cerorhinca monocerata). In light of our intensive search effort in the study area, our results confirm scarcity relevant to summer distribution patterns of Pacific alcids.