Some Murres Return - Sep 7

With continuing good weather some of the Common Murres (Uria aalge) have started venturing back on the island during part of the day. For people who watched earlier in the season it will be quite evident that there are fewer of them and that they are not spending time on former nest sites. Instead, the birds seem to be bunching up along the higher ridgelines, taking advantage of the warming rays of sun. This is something we do not recall observing in past years. Typically, Gull Island's murres seemed stay on the nest sites until the fledglings were ready to make the big jump. After chicks fledged we would see rafts of murres for a while but we rarely observed them return to land. Of course, this year is very different in that breeding success appears to be at a long-time low. Perhaps this accounts for the different adult behavior we now see.

Kittiwakes & Sea Otters - Sep 6

With moderating weather, some of the kittiwakes have returned to the nest sites.  Their density remains much lower than last week, however. Careful listeners will miss the deep, loud, primitive sounding squawk of the murres. None of them seem to have returned. There have been a number of sea otters (Enhydra lutris) within camera view recently. With fewer seabirds to watch, museum visitors have been focusing the camera on the swimming otters in the afternoon.

The sea otter is the largest member of the weasel family and second smallest marine mammal. Northern sea otters can grow to 4 1/2 feet in length and weight up to 100 pounds. They live for 10 to 20 years. Otters eat such foods as sea urchins, crabs, clams, mussels, octopus, fish, and other marine invertebrates. Typically they dive in 5 to 250 feet of water and return to the surface with several pieces of food.  Rolling on their backs, they place the catch on their chests, use their forepaws (and sometimes a rock) to crack shells, and eat the food piece by piece.

Unlike other marine mammals, sea otters lack a layer of blubber (fat) to keep them warm.  Instead they rely on the thickest fur in the animal kingdom (250,000 to a million hairs per square inch) for insulation. The sea otter produces body oil that it spreads over the fur as water repellent. Unfortunately, when fur becomes dirty and contaminated with something like petroleum, it can't insulate and the otter may die from hypothermia.  Approximately 3,905 sea otters (range 1,904-11,257) were thus killed by the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Sea otter populations in some oiled areas of Prince William Sound have still not fully recovered.

Sea otter populations in southwest Alaska (Kodiak Island to the western Aleutian Islands) are now in their greatest decline since the days of commercial fur trading. The reasons for this are unknown. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed this population as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In addition, a growing number of Kachemak Bay sea otters are dying from a bacterial infection (Streptococcus bovis). In 2002 it was estimated that nearly 1,000 animals inhabited the bay. No one knows how the current die-off has affected the population.

Sea otter photos ©2007 Dr. Randall Davis, Texas A&M University

Gull Island is Almost Deserted - Sep 4

There were no murres, puffins, or cormorants to be seen anywhere this morning when we turned on the camera.  Only one small group of kittiwakes could be found huddled on the rock just to the northeast of the island. They are sheltered there from the strong, cold east wind that has prevailed for several days. Some of the murres could be seen rafting up offshore, however. This dramatic exodus is early, usually occurring closer to September 15. Local sourdoughs see it as an omen of an early winter.

We'll keep the remote camera operating for a while and see what we can see. This is a good opportunity to observe how quickly and completely the seasons change in Alaska.

Three Tufted Puffins seen emerging from a rock crevice (possible nest site).

These birds tend to nest in burrows they scratch out with their claws in steep hillsides or in crevices and slopes in rockier sites.  With fall approaching the adults will leave for the winter and the chicks fledge on the open water. 

A few weeks ago we spotted only one remaining Black-legged Kittiwake chick. Unfortunately last Monday (8-13) I scanned the area for the chick and found that it was no longer in the nest. The chick was not mature enough to fledge so it is possible that it did not survive. I post this due to the fact that we currently are not viewing any Black-legged Kittiwake chicks within the cams range. If anyone spots a Black-legged Kittiwake nest with a chick let us know. 

The Glaucous-winged Gull chicks (photos at left) have frequently been within view of the cams. They are growing fast and will fledge soon. The Glaucous-winged Gull is an opportunistic feeder which gives them a broader food base to draw from. They do prey on any unattended eggs and chicks. At times they will even prey on their own species; a graphic example of the circle of life.

A view of the many seabirds on the cliffs of Gull Island.  The birds will begin leaving the island by the end of August - so enjoy the views when you can!

Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata) -  Aug 13

Hi, my name is Karen Corbell. I am one of the interpreters of the Seebird Cam for on-site visitors at the Pratt. What a great job this has been. In fact it’s too much fun to be considered a job. The sea birds on Gull Island provide an ever changing view of activity. Today we had a warm, sunny day that seemed to draw the Tufted Puffins out of their burrows. Since they are a true pelagic bird their time on land is spent raising their chicks. Little time is spent “hanging out” on land in the open. When the chick is able to keep itself warm (approximately 5 days after hatching) both adults will take turns foraging for food and guarding the burrow entrance. Today with many adults sighted it is likely that chicks have hatched and things are progressing according to nature’s schedule. It was a treat for on-site visitors to view the Tufted Puffins. I hope many of you virtual visitors were able to do the same.

Check out this link with a short summary about Puffins located in Alaska

Alaska Department of Fish & Game

http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/bird/puffins.php

Common Murre  (Uria aalge) - Aug 10

Length: 14 inches
Common Murres are the most numerous of the species nesting on Gull Island. They are 14-17" long with short necks, long, straight bills, and black and white markings. Because of the markings and an upright posture when on land, people often mistakenly think they are related to penguins. Common Murres are alcids, close relatives of auks and puffins. Murres often make a purring or murmuring sound for which they were named.  The loud guttural croak that dominates the Gull Island soundscape is also characteristic.

Gull Island's Murres prefer the open ledges of its rocky cliffs for "nest" sites. Unlike the other birds here, they don't bother to build nests at all.  After laying a single egg on the bare rock, parents take turns brooding by tucking the egg under the breast feathers, next to the skin. These birds are real "groupies" with nest sites so packed together that incubating adults constantly bump up against their neighbors on all sides (28-34 birds per square meter). Murres typically start breeding at 4 to 5 years of age. Incubation of the egg lasts 4-5 weeks. Chicks "fledge" two or three weeks after hatching, before they can fly. They simply jump over the cliffs and join one of the parents (usually the male) for a life on the water.  Murres are true pelagic birds, spending most of their time in the open ocean except when coming ashore to breed. They are marginal in flight through air but are powerful and graceful under water. Rather than swimming, Murres actually use their wings to fly when submerged. They are prodigious divers, regularly going to depths of over 150 feet, with unconfirmed reports of observations at 600 feet. Small fish make up the bulk of their diet, supplemented by a variety of sea creatures such as crustaceans, marine worms, and squid.

More About Gull Island - Aug 9

Gull Island is located in Kachemak Bay, about 140 air miles south of Anchorage, Alaska. It is about 8 miles from the Pratt Museum and is only a 15-20 minute boat ride from the City of Homer harbor. As one of the most accessible seabird colonies in Alaska, the island is visited regularly by water taxis and private boaters.  The nesting birds seem to have developed a tolerance for bird watchers - as long as they stay in their boats. Seldovia Native Association (www.snai.com) owns Gull Island and the US Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for wildlife management there.   As a part of the SNA stewardship program, access to Gull Island is limited by a permit system.  Installation and operation of the Pratt Museum's remote video camera is authorized under an SNA permit.

Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) - Aug 8

The Glaucous-winged Gull is one of the largest and "meanest-looking" gulls. Up to 27" long with a 47" wingspan, these birds have the body mass to back up their characteristically aggressive behavior. Glaucous-winged Gulls often steal and devour food, eggs, and chicks from other birds. They aren't bashful about beating up on remote camera technicians either! On Gull Island they prefer the flat areas above the cliffs for their nest sites, which usually consist of modest, bowl-shaped depressions in the earth lined with a little grass or other vegetation. Two or three eggs are produced and incubated for 27-29 days. The chicks grow fast and fledge in as little as 35 days.  There should be both adults and chicks in the camera view today.

Glaucous-winged Gulls frequent bays, harbors, estuaries and coastal towns throughout the year. They feed on aquatic invertebrates, fish, and carrion near the surface of the water and forage on shore. These gulls can regularly be seen enjoying the smorgasbord at landfills and fish processing plants. While they breed from Oregon to Russia, the largest numbers nest along the southern Alaska coast from Southeast to the Aleutian Islands (250,000 birds in 825 colonies).  Some of them range as far south as Baja California during winter months.

Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) - Aug 3

Gull Island's Black-legged Kittiwake is a small gull (13-18 inches long, wingspan about 36 inches) that eats marine invertebrates, plankton, and fish. It catches food on the surface and just below the surface of the water  the only gull that dives and swims underwater! The name kittiwake comes from its call. Males and females look alike. The birds inhabit both Atlantic and Pacific coasts south to California and Florida and are found in Eurasia. Gull Island's cliffs represent typical nesting habitat.  Kittiwakes are true pelagic birds in that they only come ashore to breed, spending winter on the open ocean.

The female generally produces one to three eggs. Both parents help incubate them and care for the chicks. If all goes well, chicks hatch in about 27 days and fledge in about 40 days. Unfortunately kittiwakes at many colonies in Alaska are chronically failing to reproduce. On Middleton Island (north-central Gulf of Alaska), breeding has been a total or near total failure in 13 of the last 15 years. Formerly one of the largest aggregations of kittiwakes in the world, this colony has declined about 75% since 1981.  Gull Island's kittiwake productivity remained high until around 2002 when breeding success also began to decline. This year there appear to be few chicks. See if you can spot any.

Yesterday we traveled to Gull Island to repair the SeeBirdCam. After climbing the cliffs we checked transmitters, camera module, and connecting cable. The Glaucus-winged Gulls were not happy. With chicks running all around they do their best to attack and drive intruders like us off the island by bombing and strafing. These big gulls are fearless and accurate! Under a hail of guano we determined that the camera module was defective and changed it out with a new one. Unfortunately, the software is only partially compatible with our controller. This means that we have limited control for now. It may be possible to resolve this problem remotely and we will work on it today. If the effort fails, it will mean another trip to the "bombing range" after the old camera module is repaired.