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The Daily Bucket - new arrivals on the water [1]
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Date: 2023-07-18
July 11, 2023
Salish Sea, Pacific Northwest
As breeding season peaks, July brings changes to the populations in the Salish Sea region. On land, singing birds have gotten quiet and Rufous hummers are heading south already. But out on the water we are seeing some newcomers.
While our local resident gulls are still on their nests, other kinds of gulls are done and starting to show up here for a window of time. Big waves of California gulls are heading west to the open coast after breeding in the interior. Many pause here in the Salish Sea for a few months to feed. You typically see them floating around in giant flocks or packed onto rocks in hundreds or thousands.
A few Calif gulls
California gulls are not quite as big as our Glaucous wingeds. They can also be differentiated by their black wingtips and yellow legs. GWGUs have pink legs. On this rock, it was mostly Califs grooming and resting:
But there’s one GWGU perched amongst the Califs, along with a third species
The Calif gulls migrate east to west. Meanwhile Heermann’s gulls come north to spend the summer before heading back south in October. I saw my FOY Heermann’s and Califs last week. eBird reports both of those newcomers were first seen locally July 4 this year, which is typical.
When Heermann’s first arrive they’re still in breeding plumage, with white heads, a real contrast to their bright orange bills. By August they’ll be grey.
Heermann’s grooming and resting
Bathing Heermann’s
Heermann’s occupy Whale Rocks in summer, sharing it with the nonbreeding Steller sea lions who stayed behind rather than head back to the rookery off southern Oregon. Molting has started amongst the sea lions. You can see a couple of them molting in the picture below:
These are mostly females and youngsters, with a few bulls.
Sea lions molt at different times. Unlike the molting bull male in the middle of the photo, the ones who went back to Oregon won’t molt until they return in fall.
Breeding season is followed by molting season. Females molt in early autumn followed by males in late autumn. Juvenile and non-breeding Steller sea lions molt in July and August. www.marinebio.org/...
New fur isn’t the only fresh golden arrival. Giant kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) has been growing since early spring and is now tall enough to form big mats that stream across the surface. The timing is great for other critters, like juvenile fish underwater and gulls to perch on above. Diving birds congregate around kelp beds since there’s good hunting there.
Pigeon guillemots in kelp bed.
Most ducks and alcids are gone from the Salish Sea for the duration but a few, like the Rhinoceros auklets who breed in these inland waters, seek out kelp beds and rocky reefs to catch fish for their nestlings.
Rhinoceros Auklets
This is also the season of baby seals. July is pupping season around here. Sometimes you can see “a big one and a little one” swimming along close to shore. Mostly the pups are hauled out on rocks, like this little grey one:
Harbor seals hauled out The surrounding kelp bed is protection too from predators.
There will be more new arrivals as we get further into summer.
🦠
Sunny and continuing unusually dry the Pacific Northwest islands. Temp in 60s, maybe 70s later. Breezy.
What’s up in nature in your neighborhood?
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