So, onto Carcass walks. Soo...fledging time is the most sensitive time for the chicks. This is the time when we have a lot of chick deaths for several different reasons: starvation, hitting the rock on the way off, drowning once they hit the water, predation, etc. We gather 30 samples of feathers from 30 diff COMU chicks that wash up on the beach. Once we have the feather sample, we send it off to a lab for testing. Today was my first carcass walk. I ran into a guy who told me he saw 4. I thought, okay, well at least I will have 4 today. huh. I my 30 samples before I even looped around to head back to where I started. I found a total of 86 COMU chicks. (COMU is the 4 letter code we bird nerds use for the Common Murre, its the first two letters of the first name and the first two letters of the second name.)
Anyway, I literally saw 86 dead birds today. Geez...it was kind of sad. These chicks were small too. Some of them didn't even look like they should have been fledged yet. I spoke with Cheryl about this, and she thinks the other colonies on the rocks I don't observe are experiencing predation of BRPE's (Brown Pelicans). All across the coast of California and Oregon these pelicans are reeking havoc on the Murre colonies. Just last night after I left YHONA, it got pummeled with BRPE's, and now Cheryl won't have any chicks left. I will spare you from everything she told me about what is happening. She was almost in tears telling me about it, and I was almost in tears just hearing about it. It's just devastating to see these birds put so much time and energy in raising their chicks only to be wiped out. And ALL of the chicks on one of the rocks up there were abandoned by the parents and were getting eaten by gulls and pelicans. Cheryl told me she could only watch from afar because it was torture watching the chicks starve and freeze to death huddled together trying to stay away from the predators. Ugh, well, I guess I didn't spare you from the worst. Sorry. It's just frustrating. Before anyone gives me the "Circle of Life" speech, this type of predation (BRPE) isn't normal, and has never happened this way. Plus, its not a bad thing to want the best for the birds you are studying. There is a lot of talk about this being a bad food year, and that is why the pelicans are going after the chicks. This is what happens when the normal food they eat isn't available. And people think that if one species is gone that it doesn't have an affect on others, ladies and gents, here is the best example I can give you that proves that theory wrong. Every species matters!
Okay, off my sad soap box. After my repro plot this morning, I only have 3 confirmed chicks, 11 possible chicks (couldn't see them today), and the rest are gone. Wow, so I may end up being done with repro plots this week. Seriously? I didn't think I would be done with them until August. Just goes to show, you can't predict nature. I'm going to a Marbled Murrelet survey this week. Part of me doesn't want to go. Don't ask me why. I'm being a chicken. But, the other part of me is like, Cherry. stop being stupid and go get this awesome experience. lol. Its amazing the arguments I have with myself. Well, anyways, I'm going! I get to camp out in a tent with my coworker, Sheena (hope she doesn't snore...lol). Yay for bird research! I will take my camera and take pics of everything I can. Until then, enjoy your week folks!
*COMU= Common Murre
*BRPE= Brown Pelican
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