Two busy weeks here in Laskeek Bay...We make the most of good weather, even as the first days of summer bring SE gales!
Ancient Murrelet funnels have been taken down and packed up for the season. They are installed each year just before chicks beg in hatching and taken down soon after the breeding season finishes...removal this season was delayed somewhat by our Black Oystercatcher survey in Gwaii Haanas.
Most cavity nesting birds have fledged from the wildlife trees. There have been several new discoveries in the past week: Two Chest- nut-backed Chickadee nests and two Red-breasted Sap sucker nests. These new discoveries bring the season’s nest total up to 11 sapsuckers, 4 Brown Creepers, 3 Chestnut-backed Chickadees, and 1 Hairy Woodpecker...a productive year for cavity nesting birds! We are particularly surprised at the abundance of Brown Creepers this season. Creeper nests have only been found in nine years since 1990, and 1998 (2 nests located) was the only other year where more than one nest was found.
Ancient Murrelet season ends on a positive note...j ust in time for the crew to head out on the first round of Black Oystercatch er surveys in Gwaii Haanas.
The last pair of murrelet chicks came down the funnels on the night of June 2. Over the course of the season, a total of 164 chicks were caught at North Cove (funnels 1-4), and 121 at Cabin Cove (funnels 5-8), for an overall total of 285. There have been no chick captures in North Cove for the past 3 years, yet chick numbers have continued to decline in this part of the colony. On a brighter note, there was a rebound in chick numbers at Cabin Cove this season: The total for funnels 5&6 was 86, an increase from the 66 captured in 2009 when a raccoon was active on the island through the breeding season. Preliminary analysis of this year's data is encouraging in that it appears that our research activities are not implicated in the declining numbers in the colony, however predation in the colony by introduced raccoons remains a major threat. A cull of raccoons on the adjacent shoreline of Louise Island in March apparently kept raccoons off of Limestone Island this season, and continuing this program on a yearly basis will be essential in reversing the decline of this colony.
Sunshine & calm seas are welcome after a big Southeaster
The Ancient Murrelet chicks are still coming down the funnels with a total of 241 chicks as of May 27th. The peak occurred the night of May 21st with 15 chicks in North Cove and 18 in Cabin Cove. A great Southeaster blew in the following night and the numbers dropped substantially – only one chick in Cabin Cove on the 23rd and 24th. Since the storm passed more chicks have been departing nightly under much more favourable conditions. Many Fork-tailed Storm Petrels have been heard cackling late into the night and have be seen flying at the edge of the forest. Cassin’s auklets have also been heard calling near Lookout Point and along the coast north of camp. The breeding population of both these species has been steadily increasing on the island over the past few years.
Our 21st field season is in full swing!
Welcome to another season of Limestone Logs – A new sletter of the Laskeek Bay Conservation Society Field Camp on East Limestone Island. In this and coming editions of the Limestone Log we will be keeping you updated on projects that we are working on, as well as news and natural history from our field camp and the surrounding waters of Laskeek Bay.
We arrived on May 1st with the usual mountain of gear and totes of food to pack across the rocks to camp. Camp set up proceeded sm oothly over our first week on the island, speeded along by excellent weather and many helping hands. Ancient Murrelet funnels were installed in record time by the ‘Funnel Team’, and repairs made to Deer Exclosure #3, damaged over the winter as Wildlife Tree #45 came crashing to earth. Fallen trees were clea red from the North Cove trail, and minor repairs made to the cabin, along with other routine tasks
Another great field season has wrapped up on Limestone
During our last two weeks in camp we completed our final visits to Black Oystercatchers sites in Laskeek Bay. We found a total of 34 chicks this season, of which 12 were large enough to be banded. The colour bands that we put on the chicks allow us to determine where the bird was banded (White indicates Laskeek Bay) as well as its age (White is the colour for 2009). On July 6 we saw a group of 10 Oystercatchers on Louise, 6 of which were banded. The year colours indicated that these birds were banded in 1994, 2004, 2007 and 2008. We spotted our first Whimbrel of the season while visiting the oystercatcher sites on the Lost Islands.
Cavity nesting birds are busy across Limestone Island
Ancient murrelet work has finished up for the season, the last chick being captured on June 3. The total number of chicks captured this year was 129 (125 in funnels 5-8, and 4 outside funnels or after 2:30 am). The total for funnels 5&6 was 92, down from 103 in 2007. Funnels have been taken down and put away until next season. Cassin’s auklets appear to be doing well again this year. We continue to check nests at the ‘East Coast’ site, where approximately 20 burrows are active. There are also several very smelly burrows at Lookout Point, indicating that the chicks inside are alive and well. Fork-tailed Storm Petrels also seem quite active this year compared with the past.
Busy time on Limestone Island
Over the past two weeks we have visited Black Oyster-catcher territories within Laskeek Bay, and have found many of the sites with either eggs or chicks. We have even found chicks large enough to band at two of the sites, which indicates that these birds had a particularly early start.
Overall there are more sites active this year than last, no doubt because of the particularly good weather in May and June. As in past years, we are collecting feed samples at sites to describe chick diets. The most common prey items are limpets, mussels and chitons. We have also completed our census of Glaucous-winged Gulls in Laskeek Bay. The largest by far is Lost Island, where we counted 224 nests. Kingsway Rock, the second largest colony had 36 active nests. Most of the gulls are still on eggs, but we also found several nests with chicks or eggs that were hatching.
The Ancient Murrelet season ends and the Sapsuckers begin
Unfortunately, it was another slow season for Murrelet chicks. Chick work ended on May 31stwith a total of 104 chicks this season. This number is lower than last years total of 129 chicks. The continued decline in the population on Limestone Island is most likely due to a number of factors including the raccoon, which has not yet been caught.
Time passes so quickly here on Limestone
It is already the end of May and the first month of the field season is behind us. Spring is such an exciting time here with new chicks, buds and blossoms each day. Camp is in full swing and the various monitoring projects are well underway.
The Ancient Murrelet chicks continue to make their way out to sea each night. There was a total of 100 chicks as of May 28th. The peak night was on May 18th with 16 chicks. We have now confirmed that there is a raccoon on the island which is likely contributing to the relatively low chick numbers this season.
Project Limestone educational program wraps up
The month of May has flown by on Limestone – Ancient Murrelet nightly chick departures are well underway, Project Limestone has wrapped up for the season and the field staff has just found the first Black Oystercatcher nests with eggs.
Since May 12th chicks have been departing burrows on their amazing journey to sea. To date, 106 chicks passed through the funnels (as of the night of May 27th) which is a low compared to previous years with the exception of 1999 and 2007. The verdict for this year’s chick numbers is still up in the air – it really depends on the length of the season and how the numbers are distributed across nights, stay tuned...
LBCS’s 20th Field Season in full swing at Limestone Island
Hello everyone! We are just getting into the swing of another field season down here on Limestone Island in beautiful Laskeek Bay. Camp is up and running and our 20th field season is well underway...read on to find out more about the highlights of the first two weeks on the island.
We had ideal conditions for this season's startup on the 1st of May. Unloading gear on the rocks in front of camp went quickly thanks to the energetic hands of Jen, Gerry, Lucy, Mathias, Christine, Ainsely, Jake, and Leandre. Many thanks to Leandre & Victoria Rose for transporting our gear to the island this year.
LBCS research camp starts 19th year
Many thanks to this season’s hard working setup volunteer crew which consisted of: Lon Sharp, Russ Fleming, Alan Moore, Lea Menzies and Haley McKnight-Yeates. Staff who helped with the camp start-up included: Camp Supervisor/Biologist, Jen Rock, Interpreter/Biologist, Jake Pattison and LBCS executive director, Lisa McKnight-Yeates.
The big project this year was the installation of the composting toilet and outhouse. Last year LBCS was able to purchase the composting toilet thanks to funding from the Prince Rupert Community Foundation. The crew of the Gwaii Haanas II delivered the toilet to ELI part way through the season. Lon Sharp agreed to be the building manger and spent the last few weeks before camp, working diligently on this project. He spent hours planning, measuring, organizing material and cutting wood. Andrew Yeates also assisted with the wood cutting prior to camp start-up. Once on island, a crew of Lon, Russ, Alan, and Haley worked diligently putting the outhouse together and preparing an overflow drainage pit.