Day 47: Tight sqeeze

I've been seeing this Pigeon Guillemot popping in and out of this crevice for the past few weeks. It's just on the way up to the cormorant blind where I do most of my fieldwork. Today I took a peek in there and noticed a bird incubating but one of it's eggs has been kicked to the front of the crevice. This may or may not have been on purpose. Guillemots can lay up to two eggs per clutch but in poor years the second eggs is just insurance in case something happens to the first. If both chicks hatch in a poor year, the second one frequently dies or is kicked out. It's a bit too early to tell what this year will bring for guillemot chicks.

Day 37: I wish they all could be California Gulls

Notice anything different? That's right, it's a gull but not a Western Gull.  The green feet, red and black spots on the bill and smaller size make this a California Gull. These gulls just started breeding here a few years ago. But their less aggressive nature has made it difficult for them to succeed. Their chicks tend to disappear as soon as they hatch. We have yet to see a California Gull chick make it to independence. This pair laid their eggs in the middle of a bunch of Cassin's nest boxes, probably the same pair that attempted in the same spot last year. They failed to raise any chicks last year but maybe this year will be better.

Day 29: What's that you say?

Now that the gulls are on eggs, it's loud. Every few feet there is an extremely angry individual telling you what he thinks of you and your kind (you'll have to imagine the sound that is coming from this bird, it's not pretty). Makes it hard to hear yourself think, let alone someone speaking to you. Some individuals are so tenacious that when we check their nests we have to actually push the bird off to see it's eggs. You have to respect that kind of fearless determination.

Day 27: Green egg, blue egg

 I'm back on the island! While I was away, the Common Murres started laying. They lay the largest eggs of any seabird on the island in a variety of colors. Some have mint chip eggs like this one, others have a white or pale blue background, but virtually all of them have dark speckles and streaks. Since murres lay their eggs directly on rock ledges without building nests, their eggs have evolved a unique shape, very wide on one end and tapering to a narrow point. This adaptation prevents the eggs from rolling away, instead the egg will roll in a circle if dislodged. Now that the murres are laying in earnest, many hours will be spent staring at the backs of murres in study plots, hoping to get a glimpse of their eggs. They don't move all that often while incubating and you would be surprised how well they can hide those large eggs.

Day 24: It's getting eggy

The gulls starting dropping eggs a few days ago and now they are showing up all over the island. The first eggs are easy to find, just follow the gull that is screaming twice as loud as its neighbors. There is a distinct increase in the volume when the gulls start laying. Right now it's still just a few on eggs but soon the entire island will be screaming. Something to look forward to. Western Gulls typically lay three eggs so these two will likely have a sibling in the next few days.