Day 67: They grow up so fast

This is cheating a bit since it's really 6 pictures but they are all showing the same chick. This is a chick from one of our nest boxes. I took a picture of it every time it got weighed (every 5 days) until it fledged just a couple days ago so we could see the progression of its development. First picture is probably 5-7 days old so this chick fledged between 30-35 days old. As you can see, it was looking good, nice fresh feathers and a fantastic cowlick. Most chicks from the first attempts by Cassin's have fledged and a substantial number of those adults are now incubating eggs again, going for a second chick. This double brooding is rare among seabirds and Cassin's can only do it in the southern parts of their range.

Photo a day (and me) will be taking a two week break starting tomorrow. But never fear, I will return!

Day 59: Chicklets

Pigeon Guillemot chicks are hatching. This is one of our followed sites that has two fresh chicks. PIGU chicks, like Rhinos and Casssin's Auklet chicks, get weighed every 5 days so we can track their development. Because the eggs typically hatch a few days apart, the fist chicks to hatch can often be much larger than its younger sibling. If the younger sibling can survive until the first chicks fledges, it will often gain weight rapidly to make up for lost time.

Day 58: Mini Murre

Murre chicks are hatching! These little guys have the cutest hairdos of frosted spikey down. Most chicks are still very small and are being constantly brooded by their parents. Murres feed their chicks by bringing back whole fish, carried lengthwise in their bills. Because the fish are visible, we can actually identify what they are feeding the chicks. The chicks are very good at scarfing down their meals as soon as they arrive so we have to identify the fish as they are flown in. We'll do this in daily two-hour shifts we call "diet watch." Feeding rates vary throughout the day so we also periodically do all day diet watches, dawn to dusk, involving everyone on the island doing multiple shifts throughout the day. This diet watch data is some of the most interesting data we collect. The proportions of different species in Murre diet changes every year and tells us a lot about how the fish populations are responding to the environment.

Day 50: Crypto chick

The first Black Oystercatcher chicks were spotted yesterday. Oystercatcher chicks are the most precocious of the Farallon seabirds, ready to run practically as soon as they are out of the egg. They are also born knowing what to do when their parents are alarmed: run and hide. Because of this they are very hard to photograph. I spent a good amount of time hiding behind a ridge, attempting to get a good photo of the chicks. This was the best I got. This pair has three chicks but I only saw one at a time. Their cryptic coloring helps protect them from the marauding gulls but doesn't make them stand out in a photograph

Day 46: Fluff muffin

We're starting to get a few Rhinoceros Auklet chicks now. They have some of the most luxurious down of any chicks. It's so thick it can be nearly impossible to see their eyes. Bonus points if you can find them on this chick. Hatching Rhino chicks means the adults are now bringing fish back to the colony at night to feed them and we will soon be sampling these fish. More on that when it happens.

Day 39: It's so fluffy

Just when we thought the island was loud, the gull chicks started to hatch. And the volume kicked up another notch. Even the gulls still on eggs take the cue and scream with increased urgency. The gull chicks are polka dot, very similar coloring to the eggs they just came out of, and they blend in surprisingly well. They are so cute at this stage that you can't help but melt a little whenever you see them. Still, it's a gull eat gull world out there (literally) and the earliest chicks often disappear quickly despite their camouflage.

Day 18: Too cute

I know I just had a Cassin's chick photo but I couldn't resist this one. We had a big Cassin's auklet breed check today. We were checking empty nest boxes for new breeding attempts as well as checking occupied boxes for hatching and weighing chicks that were on their own. We had quite a few new breeding attempts today and lots of hatching chicks. Good signs. This chick in a nest box is still being brooded its parent and is just poking its head out from under the right wing. Definitely one of my favorite things to see, it's almost too cute to handle.

Day 13: Cute chicks

First Cassin's auklet chick weighed today! Once chicks are left alone by their parents, usually after about 10 days, some of them are weighed every five days so we can document how quickly they are developing. This tells us about their health and also about how much food is available for their parents to bring back to the colony. In years when food is scarce, chicks are underweight and slow growing. Jen was pretty happy to be able to hold her first Cassin's chick here. This guy weighed in at a healthy 58 grams.