Week 4: June 23rd - 29th

​In a blink, we've found ourselves in Week 4 already! I'm always amazed at how quickly the season seems to fly following our kick-off.  I hope you all had a wonderful week and didn't get too cooked out there in the sun.

It looks like prey deliveries are starting to ramp up across the regions! We now have 8 colonies with fish going to burrows! As usual, gunnels appear to be the preferred choice. I've also read further reports of PIGU holding fish and eating them--perhaps this is more common than we realized!

I imagine others of us are still experiencing somewhat "sleepy" colonies while PIGU are hunkered down, incubating eggs--I know I am. Hillary Smith shared with me that Isthmus Beach on Indian Island was quiet this week. She went back later with her camera and got photo evidence that the PGs are indeed sitting quietly in their burrows! Thank you for sharing, Hillary!

​I had an interesting occurrence happen at my Amsterdam Bay Colony in South Sound last week--a PIGU in full non-breeding plumage was present and floating around with the others. While this is unusual, we've seen it before in the South Sound, and particularly at this colony. We've had birds (sometimes 2!) in non-breeding plumage here throughout the summer over the last 4-5 seasons. We were actually just wondering when one would show up, and viola, it finally graced us in Week 3. :D Has anyone else observed this during the breeding season before? We can't say for sure why this happens, especially at the same colony every year, but we're guessing they are either not yet sexually mature or for whatever reason missed going into their breeding plumage/breeding cycle. It's a curious situation for sure!

And last but not least, don't forget that our International Guillemot Appreciation Day Celebration is this Friday (the 28th) at the Ott and Hunter Winery in Langley, from 3:00-5:00pm. We sure hope to see many of you there!! 

Have a fabulous and fun-filled week! 

— Shannon