Week 3: June 21st-June 27th

Happy summer! I hope everyone had a lovely solstice and Father’s Day weekend! It’s hard to believe we have now passed the longest day of the year and are already inching towards the shortest. Thank goodness that’s a long ways off! I don’t think any of us are ready to give up our daylight just yet!

Prey deliveries are still slowly increasing across the network. We now have a handful of colonies with chicks in the burrows, and so far, gunnels are the prey of choice. Has anyone seen a sculpin yet? I have no doubt we’ll being seeing those soon, especially at the Whidbey Island colonies where we see a more even proportion of sculpins to gunnels in a season.

Hillary Smith captured this gorgeous photo of a PIGU holding a gunnel at her Isthmus Beach colony in East Jefferson.

Photo: Hillary Smith

It was an exciting week for many surveyors! We had some blustery winds, interesting plumage variations, and also some wildlife visitors. Variations in weather, tides, wildlife, activity levels, even slow, peaceful periods all add to the wonder and magic we get to experience while monitoring the guillemots. It’s so important, not just for our study, but for ourselves (our minds and our souls) to witness and connect with the dynamics of nature this way. It’s one of the reasons we do this survey! When we connect, we gain a deeper understanding of the entire ecosystem. This has the power to also deepen our bonds with each other, and honestly to change our lives. Who else feels like you’ve gained a greater sense of mindfulness and intentionality in everything you do after experiencing the survey? Who else also feels the urge to tell the whole world about PIGU, why they’re important, and what the marine ecosystem means to you? Our survey isn’t just a scientific study—that is but one benefit. It’s a project of love, connection, understanding, and awareness. Those are all things we can share with others and they drive us to make a difference!

So, speaking of wind, Lac Pope reported on a slow, but blustery day at Hastie Lake on Whidbey Island. The wind kicked up the waves, which were cresting at 1-3 feet! This kind of chop makes it seriously tricky to count bobbing guillemot heads! We do the best we can! Lac still managed to get some awesome shots of the morning, to include a guillemot flying above the waves, a resident disturbance (er, eagle), a pretty sizable bluff slough (bluffs are dynamic too!), and a transitioning PIGU sitting in a burrow. Thanks for sharing, Lac!

Along the topic of plumage…at Amsterdam Bay, in the South Sound, our usual PIGU in non-breeding plumage has returned! We’ve seen a “non-breeder” at Amsterdam for 4-5 years now in the middle of summer! I really wish I knew what was going here and whether it’s the same bird every year. At this point, it raises more questions than anything, but we were pretty excited to see this guy fly in last week! I had to laugh because it flew over to socialize with another guillemot, and that one really wasn’t having any of it! Photos taken by me.

This was also a week of wildlife sightings! While I don’t have any photos, Karin Ertl emailed me (subject: “Strange things that happen on survey days”) to tell the story of a young bear she saw as she drove to survey at Isthmus Beach. It ran off the road and down onto the beach, right at the colony access point. Another surveyor also reported seeing it in the area. They lost sight of it during the survey itself, but Hillary Smith, who sits at the end was on high alert for it all survey. She said she was sure every dark log or stump on the beach was the bear until she could get a closer look. I’m so glad there was no jump scare for Hillary, Karin, and team! Whew! You just never know what you might see during surveys!

At the Port Williams colony in Clallam County, the special visitor was a baby barn owl. Mary Sue Brancato saw it sitting up near one of her PIGU burrows. She and her survey team were very concerned about its well being. Fellow surveyor, Linda Nakamura, went back to look for it later in the day and was able to locate the baby. She made some calls which brought out a crew of awesome humans from Wild Birds Unlimited to capture and shuttle the fluffy little guy to Discovery Bay Wild Bird Rescue. Apparently, baby owls that fall from the nest too early are unlikely to survive, and this made rescue a necessity.

I can imagine just how moving it was to see that baby and know that it was going to be safe. As Linda said, “it was really cool to see the support from everyone- this couldn’t have been done without their involvement.” It was a group effort. I love that! Mary Sue also shared that DBWBR reports that the baby owl is doing well. :)

As a side note, it is not uncommon for Barn Owls to use burrows within PIGU nesting colonies. The earlier reproductive timing of the Barn Owls means that PIGUs might actually be able to use the same burrows once the owls are finished. We have seen this several times over the years at multiple colonies within the network. How cool is that?

The following are some sweet pics from Linda and surveyor Andy Nettell (second photo in from left). Thanks so much for sharing your story and photos, Port Williams team!

The rescue crew: Marc (WBU), Terry (videographer), Christie (WBU), Linda (Pigu lover) and Todd (Sequim resident)

I think that is about all I have for this week! Just a quick reminder, the Whidbey coordinators are putting on a fun celebration for International Guillemot Appreciation Day this Saturday, June 27th at the Sound View Center in Langley, from 3:00-5:00pm. ALL are invited!

I’ll leave you with a fun video I took last Monday at the Mill Bight colony. I sat tucked into a downed tree and the PIGU just went about their business like I wasn’t there! Here they are socializing and displaying some nice postures and vocalizations. I believe this is what we’d call a “hunch whistle”.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! We have some more wind and rain coming, so check your weather apps and plan accordingly. If you’re surveying by boat, adjust your survey day if needed, and stay safe!

Thank so much for all you do!

Until next week,

Shannon