Week 11: August 10th-16th

​Good morning!

Week 10 took us into a stretch of cool, rainy weather. Who all got wet while out surveying on Wednesday or Thursday? For me, it felt like a relief. There is something about those grey, misty mornings on the beach that brings a sense of calm and peace. It seemed fitting for the late season. I know a few of you got soaked though--I hope those who did were able to recover quickly with a warm cup of post-survey coffee or tea.

This is the time when we will start to see not only fledglings on the water (if we're lucky!), but also juveniles and adults going through a transitional stage, as they head into their basic plumage, aka winter or non-breeding plumage. (What we typically call breeding plumage is actually the guillemot's "alternate" plumage.) This is also when attempting to identify ages and stages gets tricky! Sooty, mottled PIGU start to look alike and you may find yourself second guessing what exactly you're looking at. Well, you're not alone--even I find myself scratching my head more often than not!

Though we often refer to breeding and non-breeding plumage, using that terminology gets a bit messy, especially when you consider that some PIGU sporting their breeding duds in the summer, are in fact, non-breeders. We know that not all PIGU at our colonies are engaged in breeding each season. Some are juveniles, meaning they have not yet reached sexual maturity, which occurs between the ages of 3-5 years. The few that we've seen in basic (winter) plumage during the summer probably fall into this category.

The biggest clue to help us decipher who is who in this jumble of transitional plumage, is the wing patch. Adult PIGU have a distinct white wing patch, with a black wedge throughout the year, though in the late season, the edges of the wing patches might appear rough and the black feathers become paler and more brown in color. Juveniles and adults may look very similar to one another, but the juvenile wing patch is often not quite as defined. Fledglings, on the other hand, will have a very non-distinct wing-patch and mottled white and brown breast and a dark cap (see Week 9 for a good fledgling photo). All PIGU go through stages of looking mottled or sooty (even polka-dotted!), so we can't go off of this factor alone.

What I'm noticing right now is that PIGU in alternate plumage are beginning to appear lighter, with worn feather tips, and patches of white appearing. Here are some birds I photographed this last week:

Notice the white starting to come through on the middle bird's head? This guy's wing patch isn't quite as defined as the other two, so it could be a younger bird (1-3 years). I am not an expert though, so I can't say for sure! I have seen birds like this deliver prey in the late season, so we could also chalk this up to worn out feather tips. 

​This guy here is looking lighter overall than early season birds, especially in the feathers near the wing patch. PIGU retain their black and white wings through the winter, but they do still go through molts. 

Here is a wonderful portrait by Lac Pope, and you can just see the beginnings of white feathers peeking through on this PGs head. 

Lac also got a wonderful series of a (likely) juvenile PIGU in basic plumage, taken at Shore Meadow (Whidbey) last week. This bird has a fairly distinct wing patch, so it doesn't appear to be one of this year's young, but it may not be a full-on adult--especially considering it is transitioning so soon.

This look does it for me. I'm in love. :)

Lac has also captured some other interesting PIGU behavior. This first was at Shore Meadow--PIGU "bumping" prey together. Are they showing off and comparing sizes perhaps?? I've seen this before at a colony in the South Sound, but it's definitely not something we see everyday! These birds like to keep us wondering!

At the Keystone Jetty, Lac observed one PG fly in with prey and hand it to its partner, who then delivered it down into the burrow in the rip rap. 

Here is some aggressive behavior. Is this called, nipping it in the bud (er, butt)? 

I told Lac that he is like our roving "first alert" PIGU reporter. I'm so thankful to have him out there capturing all of this wonderful behavior. :) ​​

The following is a lovely, artistic photo by Linda Nakamura (Clallam County)--seeing double gunnels:

Our End of Season celebration will be here before we know it. I am very close to announcing a date, but in the meantime I would like to start working on a new slide show for you all. Please continue to send me any fun photos you may have. Even if I don't manage to work them into the updates, I would love to include as many as I can in the End of Season event. I would particularly like to give a view into what our different colonies look like, especially if they are different from the typical bluff and have unique features (burrow maps are okay too!). Photos of surveyors are most welcome too! I'm going to mash it up this year!

Have a beautiful and fun filled time out there and thanks for everything!

Until next week,
Shannon