Week 9: July 27th-August 2nd

​Wow, this last week felt more like two weeks in one. A lot happened and there is so much to cover--where to start?

I began my week by heading up for my first site visit to Camano Island. I got to meet regional lead, Ellyn Thoreen, in person, along with a handful of her dedicated surveyors, and see two of their vibrant and beautiful PIGU colonies. One thing that strikes me every time I meet fellow PIGU surveyors face to face, is just how wonderful and curious and beaming with positive energy they are! Each one truly loves the birds and the beach, and it's uplifting to be with folks who share this common thread. Thank you, Ellyn and crew, for welcoming me and sharing your gorgeous beaches and PIGU colonies with me. 

Here is a peek at the newest colony (bluff) on Camano, where I participated in a survey, called Onamac:

​In the past week, a few of you asked, should we start to see fledglings soon? The answer is, yes! Two of our colonies had prey deliveries in week one of our survey, and since Guillemots provision their chicks for 5-6 weeks, there could already be some fledglings floating around. Our flightless, mottled little newbies tend to be elusive, however, so the chances of seeing one will be greater as more begin to take the leap from their burrows. I expect to start hearing reports over the next 2-4 weeks. 

If you're wondering about your own colony, look back at when you first started seeing PIGU holding prey. You could expect your own chicks to fledge within 4-6 weeks of that date, given that it's possible we don't always catch the first week. You can also take a clue from the amount of PIGU activity at your colony. When chicks fledge, the PIGU leave shortly thereafter. If you still have birds floating in the nearshore, either holding prey, interacting with the bluff or with each other, there's a high likelihood that you still have chicks, even if many of the colony birds have already left. As our survey season winds down, please do make a note if you see birds holding prey or showing interest in your colony, especially if you do not observe and record a prey delivery during the survey. This will tell your coordinators that you are not yet in the two week "no activity" countdown to close your colony for the season. 

Here is a pic of a fledgling from last season:

Notice the dark forehead and crown, dark, mottled wings, and indistinct wing patch. Fledglings also have a lighter underside with a mottled chest. Here is a photo of a soon to fledge chick from Lac Pope (also last season):

The Isthmus Beach colony found themselves sitting in pea soup last week. As a result, their PIGU counts were very low (2, 1, 0), even though the birds continued to deliver prey. With counts of PIGU in the 30s previously, the fog surely hampered their ability to detect and count birds. This is a perfect example of a time one should make a note about weather conditions. Thank you, Hillary, for sharing your pic and story! ​

Mary Bond of East Jefferson County reminded me that this might be a good time to walk the beach following your surveys to look for evidence of chicks--either eggshells below the burrows or dead chicks in the wrack line. I sure hope you don't find the latter, but it does happen from time to time. Checking your survey area following a survey is actually listed in our protocol, and although we don't collect data from your findings, you may find clues that help puzzle together this breeding season for your colony. If you do find a dead chick on the beach, please follow our current guidelines on Dead or Sick Birds on the Beach - What to Do?
Mary also shared a fun photo from her survey last week on Discovery Bay-- she had an unexpected visitor in the form of a paramotor. I wonder what the PIGU thought about that?

​On Whidbey Island, surveyors observed some very interesting PIGU behavior. At Cliffside, Dave Krause reported that within a five minute stretch, around 35 PIGU exited the water to sit on rocks, pushing and shoving their way onto their perch. Afterwards, they all flew up to hang on the bluff for a while. I like to say that PIGU have FOMO (fear of missing out)--when one does something, like sit on a log, they all want to do it! I've also noticed that they seem to have coordinated "play times", where they'll all float out a bit and play water games or practice their synchronized flights. Then just as quickly, they stop and go back to floating around or feeding. 

At Lake Hancock North, surveyors experienced a flurry of erratic bluff visits over the survey hour. PIGU flew repeatedly at the bluff, visiting burrows with and without prey, ledge sitting, and doing "touch-and-goes", so much so, that their heads were spinning and they questioned whether they documented all visits correctly. This seems like unusual behavior, meaning, we don't witness it with every survey, but it is not uncommon. I've heard stories from many different colonies over the years, where surveyors have witnessed this sort of frenzy. In my own experience, I've seen the birds behave this way towards the end of a colony's breeding period, and I assumed the two were related. But recently, another surveyor recounted seeing this at the beginning and even middle of the season. In the end, we can't say for sure what is happening--if only the birds could tell us! There is always more for us to learn.

What's important to know is what to do if this happens to you. Try your best to record only true "no prey" and "with prey" burrow visits and do not record ledge sitting or touch and gos. If you aren't sure what happened (e.g. a bird holding a fish disappears in the fray and you can't be sure where it went), do not record anything. We don't want folks trying to guess what happened and potentially guessing incorrectly. Doing so can skew our data and cause our estimates of reproductive success to be wonky. Just do your best and record the visits you're sure about. We also don't want you to second guess and go back later to remove visits or change your data sheet. Make a decision and stick to it. If you've experienced this frenzied bluff party before, kudos to you for making it through! Surveying is not always a breeze, sometimes it requires focus and stamina. :) 

I also have some news to share with you regarding our data. SSGN received a request from the Navy to use our data in order to assess impacts of Growler jet noise on PIGU colonies located on the Naval Air Base on Whidbey Island. The findings of their analyses will help inform their environmental impact study, and potentially, future management decisions. We are so happy to have the data to give, and it reinforces the reasons why we do this study--to promote awareness and conservation of PIGU in the Salish Sea. Thank you to all of you for your efforts and the part you have played in collecting this data! I will keep you updated as I know more about the outcomes of this study.

Whew, I think I covered everything! I'll end this chapter with a picture perfect gunnel delivery caught by Suzanne Lieberman at the Battle Point colony (Bainbridge Island) and a lovely PG in the mouth of a burrow at Beachcrest (South Sound) by Kathleen Bailey. Thank you for sharing!!

Have a wonderful week and happy surveying! If you have anything you'd like to share, don't hesitate to send your accounts and photos my way!

​Shannon