March 8, 2008

Number of people: 60. Number of dogs: 4. Tidepooling: 60. No rangers (just not enough staff available) in tidepool area and orange cones were not put out. People were going way beyond where they are normally allowed to go crawling all over "Gull Rock" and beyond in sensitive nesting bird sites and also in dangerous heavy surge areas.

The most notable animal was an immature Brown Pelican on Seal Annex - unusual for this time of year. 2 Harlequin Ducks were roosting high and dry at the base of Lions Head. Other birds: Peregrine Falcon on South Rocks, Red-tailed Hawk hovering and hunting over Salal Hill, Bald Eagle made several passes, both Pelagic and Brandt Cormorants. No Turkey Vultures which I was hoping to see and not one murre in sight, not even in the water. Western Gulls were showing no signs of courtship but I expect it very soon. There were quite a few adult Glaucous-winged Gulls around - more than I expected to see. A ranger called me today and said the murres have been on the rocks in great numbers a couple of times (and I see L. Taylor reported this from a few days ago as well). There were Black Oystercatchers around but not in any of the nesting sites from last year. I forgot to count the harbor seals again but there were a bunch of them :-)

Cobble Beach sometimes gets a high concentration of tunicates, hydroids, and sponges but invertebrates in general were scarce. I did find a freshly dead gumboot (Cryptochiton) half eaten.