I trust the PIGU recovered swimmingly from this mishap. :) 

​We had an exciting survey at Amsterdam Bay in the South Sound last week! On our way to the survey site, we spotted two orcas heading north along Johnson Point. I managed to capture the big male, T137A "Jack", as he passed by. During our survey we witnessed an aerial display by two ospreys, which were then chased by an eagle, and the eagle chased by ravens! It can be difficult to stay focused with so much activity going on!! Our guillemots were not to be outdone though, and wowed us with multiple synchronized fly bys and water games. What activities are you all seeing? Please keep the reports coming--I love to hear them!

Here's to a fabulous week 3, all!! Enjoy this beautiful place and these beautiful creatures!! As always, thank you for dedicating your time to our survey--we think the world of you! ​

Welcome to Week 2 of our PIGU breeding survey!  

What a difference a year makes! In 2024, we kicked things off with  torrential rain. This year, we set out for our surveys wearing our sunnies!  I’ve already gotten wind from a few of you that it feels like the PIGU are ahead of schedule, whereas last season, many perceived that breeding activity was slower than usual (although, the data didn’t necessarily support a significant departure from the norm). 
 
While I can’t say that this sunny spring has anything to do with the activity we’ve observed, it certainly does make one curious! It would be interesting to look back and see if there is any correlation between temperatures or sunlight and onset of prey deliveries. The big news is that we did get prey deliveries at three colonies in our first survey week of 2025!! Wahoo! And if you're wondering, last year, we saw prey deliveries begin in Week 2.  

For those colonies that saw fish deliveries right out of the gate, you may want to think about starting a week earlier next season or at least checking on your colonies in the weeks leading up to the official survey start. That way, you’re more likely to capture the full period of breeding activity. 

If your colony did not see much activity last week, just know, each colony is different. Every year we see some colonies with chicks in the burrow early on, while others are just getting around to mating on the beach, and some are quietly incubating eggs. If your colony is fairly quiet at the moment, it could very well fall into that last category. It’s fairly safe to say that within four weeks, most colonies will see the familiar sight of PGs floating in the water, fish dangling from their beaks!
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A brief order of business: I want to share a tool that we recently made available on the website. This is the Colony View Dashboard, and you can find it on the Data Systems Training page, about halfway down. This dashboard is viewable by everyone and allows you to view the colony photos and maps that have been uploaded to Survey123. This is useful if you’d like to compare how the bluff and its burrows have changed over time. Please note that not all regions have uploaded colony photos, so this only works for those that have.

Now for the fun stuff!

Fauna seen on the beach last week = magical mornings!
-A gray whale at Onamac (Camano)
-A washed up sturgeon at Limpet Lane (Whidbey)
-Elwood the elephant seal at Portage (Vashon)
-A coyote at Amsterdam Bay (South Sound)

Today we kick off Week 1 our 2025 PIGU summer breeding survey! All of our careful planning, preparations, and training are complete. Now we will go out, across the Salish Sea, and observe our favorite seabirds, doing what they do to continue their species. As I sit here typing, I wonder how many of you are out on the beach right now, enjoying this beautiful morning with the guillemots?

Each year I look forward to this time with anticipation of the stories and photos that come in from around the regions. There is a sense of knowing how the season will go, certain patterns we are familiar with and expect, but as always the birds love to surprise and delight us, and even throw us a few curve balls. But every curve ball leads us to learn and grow as a group, and strengthens our connection to our PIGU. It's a wonderful thing!

Also, a huge welcome to all of our new survey volunteers! There are quite a few new faces this year and we are so happy to have you! 

As we head out to our beaches and settle into our weekly early morning survey routines, I want to thank each one of you for your dedication to this project and to the PIGU! It's not lost how much time, effort, and care go into collecting data on this important Salish Sea species. The time you spend observing the guillemots adds to our knowledge base and better prepares us as a community and a state to be stewards of the birds and the marine environment. I can't thank you enough! 

I hope you enjoy this time as much as I do! Please do send me any interesting observations or fun stories that happen from week to week, and pictures too! You know how much I love to share! The same goes for questions you might have as things come up! Don't hesitate to reach out. If you're wondering or unclear about anything, chances are others are too, and asking questions will help bring those things to light.

Speaking of sharing, here is a sweet PIGU video that I came across, that was filmed in Monterey, CA. It comes from a fairly old blog post, but I think you might find it fun! 

If you'd like to read the blog post, you can find that here.

I love how the author calls the Pigeon Guillemot, the "Easy Alcid"--I think we can all relate! :)

I also want to bring your attention to the Whidbey "International Guillemot Appreciation Day" celebration, coming up on Friday, June 27th from 3:00-5:00pm at the Ott and Hunter Winery in Langley. This is open to everyone! I will be there and look forward to seeing many familiar and new faces!