Karnolab

Category: Farallon Island

  • Busy Season

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    s41yzw
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    Right now we are experiencing the busiest time of year for the Southeast Farallon Island! The past couple weeks have been filled with chicks popping out of their eggs, which was really cute and fluffy, but as threshold numbers are reached, we begin Diet Watches for several species.  Last post, I talked about Murre Diet…

  • this isn’t your everyday 9-5 job

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    s41yzw
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    The work schedule on the Farallones is definitely not a 9-5 job.  Our schedule is dictated by the birds’ schedule, which means sometimes we’re at the blind ready to start a diet watch at 6am, and sometimes out mist-netting from 11 pm to 1 am.  Of course, it’s not always like that everyday, but today…

  • Boat Day!

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    s41yzw
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    Living on the Farallon Island means no grocery stores, no post office, no Target, no newspaper boy, no PG&E, no DMV, and no chinese takeout.  To restock on food & propane, to take off trash & recycling, and to switch out personnel, the Farallon Islands depend on the “Farallon Patrol”.  The Farallon Patrol are a…

  • The lives and deaths of the WEGU

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    s41yzw
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    Though the Western Gull is by far not the most populous bird on the island (about 18,000 this year), they certainly have the largest presence due to their unchecked aggression and choice to nest anywhere and everywhere. As adults get hungry, many cannibalize the chicks in neighboring nests, and some chicks don’t get fed enough…

  • getting the hang of things

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    s41yzw
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    Even though I’ve only been here for eleven days, I feel like I’ve been on the Farallon Island for many weeks.  I’m still learning new protocols every day, but also getting all my other responsiblities into a routine.  The last couple days were mostly routine, and I’m not double-checking myself every other second or asking…

  • getting domestic on the island

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    s41yzw
    in

    Lots ‘o stuff happened today! The first of the Cassin’s chicks in the PRBO study fledged today! I did my laundry today, which is kind of a gamble because you have to hang it up outside to dry, where the gulls might poop on it, but it’s windy enough that it dries pretty quickly. I…

  • Cassins Cassins Cassins

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    s41yzw
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    These past 24 hours have included a lot of time devoted to Cassin’s Auklets. Last night, at 9:15, Russ, Annie, Pete, Jessie and I headed out to some cave entrances where Cassin’s Auklets (CAAU) like to nest.  We were collecting a diet sample.  We basically would wait at the entrance in the total darkness, and…

  • a shower is like a molt – SOOO GOOOD

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    s41yzw
    in

    I’m running out of relevant titles that won’t be repetitive. bear with me as they get cornier and cornier. Today was a long day! First, I went up to the Murre Blind and checked for eggs at X-plot again.  It gets more and more exciting to see a new egg because now I’m down to…

  • the most adorable baby chick to have ever graced the planet

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    s41yzw
    in

    So obviously Im a dirty rotten liar since my last post I promised to have pictures for the following day, and then completely failed to even write a post, let alone post pictures.  I hope to redeem myself today with a picture of the cutest chick ever. To sum up the activities of the last…

  • Shower day!!

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    s41yzw
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    Today, like every day, I did X-plot again.  I took a video of the walk back from the Murre blind for y’all entertainment. It’s too big to upload onto this blog directly, so here’s a link to it on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OIL37fvZi0 It’s about 6.5 minutes long, which I know is eons in internet time, but…