Week 12: August 20th - 26th

​We had a smoky start to week 12 yesterday, but thankfully, conditions seem to be improving. I hope no one was too heavily impacted by the poor air quality.  

This week, as more and more colonies begin to slow down or cease activity, surveyors may see a greater number of birds transitioning into non-breeding plumage. This comes in varying stages. One might notice that some PIGU are just starting to turn a lighter shade of brown, some are “speckly", others are wearing “sooty” shades of white and gray, and a few may already be covered in mostly white plumage, with black accents. This is a period of time when deciphering between the juveniles and the adults can be tricky! 

Once chicks have fledged and provisioning stops, a dramatic drop in observed PIGU abundance and activity occurs at the colony. It’s interesting how birds can be socializing and flying at the bluff one week, and then completely gone the next, but it happens. Even so, it’s possible to miss one or two birds that have stayed behind to feed a late chick. So, as I’ve stressed before, make sure surveying continues through two weeks of no activity. Thank you for sticking it out, even when the morning’s events are not quite as entertaining as they were in previous weeks! 

I am happy to say that I finally made the trek up to Whidbey Island last Friday to see where this all started and meet the amazing and dedicated team there! I was given the warmest welcome by all and introduced to two very different colonies—one at a very active ferry terminal and the other at a beautiful, long stretching community beach bluff. If you haven’t visited Whidbey before (or lately), I strongly encourage you to do so—it is a magical place! I was especially enchanted by the PIGU breeding and nesting at the Keystone ferry (Coupeville). Here you will see PIGU that have adapted to humanity and chosen to nest in all kinds of man-made structures! 

Here are some pics from my visit

​Save the Date! Our End of Season Celebration will be held via Zoom on September 27th, 2023 from 7:00-8:30pm.  Make sure to put this on your calendar and pass it along to all of your surveyors and volunteers. I will be sending out an agenda and Zoom link as we get closer to the date.

That's all for now! Have a fabulous week!

— Shannon