June 12, 2010

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Found two seal pup corpses. One was headless and being eaten by five (yes, 5!) bald eagles. The other was intact and perhaps 1/4 mile away. No cause of death immediately apparent. No adult or pups on the shore. 8-10 adults offshore watching us, with 1 or 2 shadowing us. We hiked south as far as possible and collected trash all the way on back to the climb-out point. Hope to finish the trash picking and do a hoisting during the next few weeks. Because of the change in hoist location, and the (light) erosion in causes, we elected to toss large plastic floats back into the sea -- they will wash ashore elsewhere and be collected by someone. We picked up all garbage and other items unlikely to drift ashore in other locations. Good trip, but ground dampness made a lot of footing very treacherous, both during the ascent/descent and while hiking. Light wind, low waves, and a low tide made the tide "honest" -- a west wind and/or heavy surf can keep the waters from retreating as far as the tide table predicts they will go. Good trip, great to see so many eagles like that. One of the two seal pup bodies may have been the same as the one from my other trip a few weeks ago. Again, no cause of death apparent, but all corpses were lifeless prior to my/our arrival on the scene.