Week 1: June 4th - 10th
It’s week 1 and I hope everyone is feeling ready and excited for this new season! How many of you were out surveying yesterday already?
I want to thank you all for helping get me up to speed over the last month. I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting all of you through Zooms, emails, the phone, and even in person! Everyone has been so welcoming and supportive. I feel fortunate to work with such an amazing and dedicated group! I was very happy to be able to do site visits at both Jefferson and Clallam counties last month and I was reminded of the sheer beauty of this state and the preciousness of our PIGUs and the marine environment. It really drove home the reasons we do what we do. I hope to get out to visit the rest of you in the very near future!
Week by week, as we go through the season, I hope you will share any fun stories or pictures you get from your surveyors. I would love to share these across the regions, so we can all stay connected and get a peek into what’s happening across the Sound. If you have any photogs in your group, please also let me know! I would love to reach out to them and get a collection of photo albums going. Please also continue to send any questions or concerns my way! I'm here to help in any way I can.
I’ve heard several stories over the last few weeks of PIGU activity ramping up at the colonies--synchronized flying, billing, water games, touch and gos, and burrow visits! Many have also spotted copulating on the beach—including me! Our little birds are definitely not shy and at least we know we should be seeing prey deliveries sometime in the next month!
Here are some pics I took while up in Clallam County. Something new for me was seeing PIGUs riding the waves. Things are just a bit calmer down here on our southern shores! These extreme PGs of Dungeness Spit have adapted to dealing with rollers and crashing surf. What fun to watch! Thank you Ed and Dan for sharing them with me.
And here is a sweet pic of PIGUs billing, shared by Hillary Smith of Jefferson County East. Love is definitely in the air!
We had an interesting event happen at Isthmus Beach in Jefferson County last week that highlights the need for public awareness at beaches where PIGUs are nesting. Hillary came to check on her colony and found this elaborate fort built right in front of the burrows where the PIGUs are nesting. Luckily, the county is going to dismantle the fort, thanks to Brenda alerting them right away to the issue. Brenda will be in talks with the county to install permanent signage to help educate the public about the guillemots and the bluff. Way to go, Brenda!
I hope you all have a fabulous week out on the beach!! I can't wait to hear how it goes. Happy surveying!!
— Shannon