Week 4: June 22nd-28th

We've made it to the last week of June, the Summer Solstice, and Week 4 of our survey! 

The theme this week is that many colonies are still feeling a bit slow. Most are seeing good population numbers - the birds are there - but not yet seeing many burrow visits or prey deliveries. You're not alone! If you fall into this category, you're in the majority. Just remember that PIGUs incubate their eggs for around 4 weeks, and many have just entered this phase, or are still in the process of courting and mating. I observed mating behavior, myself, just a few days ago. July should bring much greater activity to the burrows as more and more PIGU pairs start provisioning their chicks.

I have heard from a few smaller colonies that their PIGU are scarce or missing this season, and this is always a possibility when you only have one or two burrows, and a small core number of birds to begin with. If you fall into this category, please do reach out to your regional coordinator to let them know, and continue monitoring in case you have a pair that is quietly incubating. A really low tide could also compound the chance of a low PIGU count, which is hard felt at small colonies. I know it can be disappointing or concerning when you don't see activity, but even no activity is data, and your observations are valuable. If there is still no evidence of colony activity in 3-4 weeks, you and your coordinator can reassess the situation, and if you want to bounce it off of me, I would be happy to help.

The data summary last week told us that we now have 10 chick burrows (burrows with prey deliveries) and 22 deliveries across the network for colonies that have submitted data so far. We also have a PIGU high count of 138 birds at the Hood Canal colony! Whew! I suspect some heads were spinning on that survey team--that is a lot of PGs to keep track of! Hats off to you!

Thank you to everyone for getting your surveys submitted so quickly! It's awesome to be able to glance at the data coming in and relay to you what's happening in near real time! 

Just a reminder that IGAD is almost upon us!! The Whidbey coordination team puts on this wonderful event every year and it is sure to be a fun time! It's a great chance to commune with each other face to face and share our love of PGs! I hope to see many of you there - folks from all regions are invited!

And now I have a few fabulous new photos from Hillary Smith from the Fort Worden Pier. If you ever want to hang out and watch PIGU from a good vantage point, Hillary tells me that this is a perfect place to go!

Are there any questions you've been pondering while out on survey or do you have any interesting observations to share? Please send them my way! 

Have a wonderful week, all, and have fun out there with our favorite seabirds! 

​Shannon