Yesterday, we had some VIP’s come visit the island and get a very thorough tour from Pete! Jane Lubchenco, head of NOAA visited the island with an entourage of about 6 people, including the head of PRBO Ellie Cohen, the manager of the Farallon Island Wildlife Refuge Gerry McChesney (through US FWS), director of all wildlife sanctuaries in California, Nevada, and Arizona Dough Danbery, as well as other very important people whose titles i hate to admit i cant remember 100% accurately. They got to pet some downy-feathered chicks!
I thought I’d show you what some of the bands that we use to band birds with look like:
The big colored ones with “field letters” (very big lettering visible from farther away) are used for the Brandt’s Cormorants, the non-lettered colored ones are to band birds in 4-band combinations (2 on the left leg, 2 on the right), and the smallest numbered metal bands are used on the Cassin’s Auklets. The other medium-sized and large-sized metal bands are used in additon to the only-color bands on Murres and Pigeon Guillemots.
Today was our first all-day diet watch! from 6am at least 2 people have been up in the Murre Blind watching and recording EVERY fish that comes into the study plot, in 2-hour shifts, and currently Michelle and Pete are finishing up the 6pm – 8pm shift. I luckily didnt have the 6am-8am shift! I had 10-12, then again at 2-4, but it was a little more stressful than before since those were the shifts Pete wasn’t in the blind, and Michelle and I, and then later Jessie and I, were completely responsible for the Diet Watch. At times it was daunting, especially when 5 murres would fly into the plot at the same time! but we got it covered and it was accomplished.
Today was also the 15-day check of the known age birds, which includes checking a loooooot of boxes, which normally is done in a group of all the biologists and interns, but because of the diet watch, that would have been impossible, of course, so we split it up and got it done in shifts also.
anyway, PIGU diet watch is tomorrow again! this time i have 9am – 11am. I better go read up on my juvenile fish so I dont make any mistakes!
Also, here is a picture of a fully-feathered Cassin’s Auklet chick. It still has a bit of down at the butt and nape of its neck, but is “fully-feathered” because of all the feathers in its wings have grown in. Unfortunately, I didnt get a picture of that, because I’d have to have had 3 hands – 1 to hold the chick, 1 to spread its wing open, and 1 to take the picture – but i dont have three hands. so this shall have to do!
If you really wanted to know, this is the chick in burrow-box number 5 at “Heligoland Hill”
that’s all for now!
Love, Kristina