2024 Limestone Log 4 (more eggs and chicks!)
Weather
June-uary is in full swing on Limestone Island! In the past few weeks the island has been getting its much needed rainfall and with it has come some stormy weather and rough seas making the planned Oystercatcher surveys a bit more of a challenge than usual.
Though the weather has tended to be more grey and wet, the spirits in camp have remained bright and full of enthusiasm. These last few weeks saw the return of Rian Dickson as camp lead with a switch to Matt Peck in the middle of the second week and a shift in the guard as far as Field Assistants. Frederique Poulin reached the end of her seven-week term and was replaced by Amaya Black coming in from Bamfield, BC. We would like to take a moment to thank Fred for all her hard work on Limestone Island. It was an honor and an absolute pleasure to work alongside her, we all wish her the best in reintegrating back into the non-bird society. We all look forward to working with Amaya for the next seven weeks. We have been very lucky again with an amazing group of volunteers, this week with Andrew Gray and Leo Cote for the first week, and Betty Ann Turpin (BA) in the second week.
The field schedule has been as busy as ever here on East Limestone Island (ELI), with the last of the wildlife trees being visited and the remainder of the active wildlife trees being closely monitored to catch when the chicks leave the trees. The priority has also been getting on the water to survey the Laskeek Bay Black Oystercatcher (BLOY) territories to get occupation information and egg data.
Spotting scope crew conducting surveys from Cabin Cove.
Photo by Joanne Kaashoek.
Crew heading out for Black Oystercatcher surveys.
Wildlife trees
Wildlife trees have been on the center stage these last couple of weeks as the nesting season winds down and all the chicks are nearly fledged, any visit could be the last. So far two of the chickadee nests, one Hairy Woodpecker and a handful of the Red-Breasted Sapsucker nests have fledged. These numbers are changing daily.
"Peeper" scope camera monitoring a wildlife tree.
Photo by Joanne Kaashoek
Black Oystercatcher Surveys
Under the guidance of Rian, Amaya and BA struck out to survey Black Oystercatchers (BLOY) territories. Within territories, a treasure-hunt like search goes underway to find what are called “scrapes”; barely-there nests that can be as simple as an egg laid on bare rock, with a few pieces of cobble arranged beneath them. Typically, one to three pale, tan eggs with dark melanin blotches were found, although several sites had hatched chicks. Eggs are measured by length, width and weight, and mapped the location of this year’s scrapes. As many territories as possible were surveyed and deemed active or inactive, thanks to inclement weather.
All photos in this section by Betty Ann Turpin.
During our surveys we also observed this spring’s seal pups, nursing or resting with their mothers on the rocky outcroppings. It was possible to complete the surveys on Reef Island and the Skedans Islands due to Matt’s many masterful and safe boat landings on technically tricky rocky islets and shores, in variable wind and swell conditions.
Above: The tools and equipment needed to carefully monitor BLOY nests or "scrapes".
Below: in various locations, a BLOY parent, examples of BLOY scrapes, and a BLOY nestling beside an unhatched egg.
Pigeon Guillemot Nest Boxes
The Pigeon Guillemots (PIGU) continue with their complicated and dramatic lives as our nestbox cameras catch the busy comings and goings of the prospective parents. So far, we have seven occupied camera boxes that all have eggs. We are eagerly awaiting the first hatching chicks which should come any day now. Stay tuned for some adorable PIGU chick content in the next few Limestone Logs!
PIGU nest box camera maintenance.
Photo by Joanne Kaashoek.
Ancient Murrelet Monitoring
We are coming up on the end of the Ancient Murrelet (ANMU) season. As the evenings are staying light long into the night it has become harder to notice the eerie songs and the bustling wingbeats of our lovely neighbors the ANMU. Our chick funnels are only catching a photo of the odd chick every week or two as the late bloomers tumble there way down to the sound of their parents calling them nearby. We all will miss the sounds and excitement of the nocturnal ANMU lives, but we are excited to visit with them all again next season. In the meantime we wish them well on whatever adventures the wild ocean has in store for them.
Cassin's Auklet Census
Rian took the crew, Matt, BA and Amaya on the East Coast Trail to census Cassin’s Auklet burrows and nest boxes. Rian shared key differences between Marbled Murrelets and Cassin’s Auklet burrows and how to differentiate them from a hole in the ground. Ha!
Cassin’s Auklet burrows have guano (poop) trails leading in and out of them, because the parents will feed the young before venturing out of their burrows. One can also tell if the burrows are active by a strong intertidal smell from the food adults are bringing back to their young. So, stick your head in and take a whiff! Two nest boxes had small round white eggs, and we heard an adult scuffling inside one nest boxes. Two sites were monitored including a lesser monitored southern site, which was beautifully open and mossy, filled with golden afternoon light.
Above: Cassin's Auklet nest box.
Photo by Betty Ann Turpin
Camp Life
Life in camp has been awe inspiring as always. Over the last two weeks the crew has enjoyed many laughs, delicious meals and incredible wildlife encounters. The highlights for these last two weeks was the third orca sighting for the year right in in Cabin Cove, a Humpback hanging out in front of the cabin for two and a half hours over dinner, and the first Halibut caught in a very long time! And cheeky camp deer.
Daily Haikus
Daily Haiku’s, initiated in 2023 by Max Nishima as part of the daily narrative log on Limestone, neatly summarize Limestone team activities, flora and fauna, and events in nature. Enjoy the snapshot below, representing a couple of weeks of daily Haikus by the Limestone team’s biologist poets. More to come in future Limestone Logs!
Time to visit BLOY
If the weather will allow
How are you loud friends?
White caps in a mug
Remains of egg shell in our hands
SGaana in tidepool
(SGaana means Killer Whale in XAAYDA KIL/Skidegate Haida language.)
Trivia question:
How many camp cookies can one field crew eat?
(If you have a healthy yet hearty field camp cookie recipe you would like to share with our team, please feel free to send it to us in an email!)
laskeek@laskeekbay.org