Week 5: July 2nd - 8th
I can’t believe we are in week 5 already—how is that possible? I actually had to go back and check my past updates to make sure I was counting correctly. It’s crazy to think we are halfway to our 10 week minimum survey duration. Time flies when you're having fun!
This week was a bit quiet as far as stories and photos go. Everyone seems to be busy settling in and we also had several regional leads on vacation.
By now, it looks like we are seeing fish deliveries across most of the regions. If you haven’t seen any yet, do not fret, it is possible for chicks to continue hatching over the next several weeks, and even into August.
Speaking of prey, what’s for breakfast at your colonies? This last week, I saw both greenish brown (crescent?) and bright red (penpoint?) gunnels, sculpin, Pacific snake prickleback, and even a shrimp! These are becoming a trend at Lyle Point, on Anderson Island. We seem to have one PIGU there with a taste for shrimp cocktail! Here are some photos I took of prey in the last week. One shot was pretty heavily backlit, but I thought the way the red gunnel lit up in the sun was a cool effect.
On Whidbey Island, Lac Pope is at it again, this time catching PIGUs feeding sculpin at a burrow in the Keystone Ferry Dock counterweight.
In case you missed it, the Guillemot Appreciation Day was a hit. I received these photos of the beautiful spread that Michelle and Govinda put out! Are there any leftover cookies?? Those look amazing!
Reminders: Data. As always, try to get your data input to Survey123 within a week of your completed survey. I know things come up and life happens, so it's not always going to be possible, but getting data in early will save many headaches later and help us identify and correct any problems before they become major deals. If I can help with any barriers you're experiencing, please let me know.
That’s all for now. I hope everyone is enjoying this sunny, holiday weekend. Stay cool this week and happy surveying!
— Shannon