Point Blue

Farallonathon – The Final Score

The score: Yesterday’s Total: 139Migrant bird: 5 pointsShark sightings: 2 pointsCetaceans: 1 point 2011 Farallon Grand Total points: 147The final day of Farallonathon was a busy one. It was media day on the Farallones as we were visited by a group of reporters from a variety of local and national media outlets. Between the boat landings and all the

Farallonathon Day 6

The score: Yesterday’s Total: 126Dragonfly: 10 pointsFish: 2 pointsMigrant bird: 1 point Total points: 139 The weather just keeps improving, and our dispositions with it. Day six of the Farallonathon was a reflection on this slight upturn, the addition of some new arrivals added much needed points on the penultimate day. Our only migrant bird

Farallonathon Day 5

The Score:Yesterday’s total: 124Salamander: 1 pointFish: 1 pointTotal Points: 126 PointsWell, the weather got better but only slightly. The fog stuck around but the rain went away. Try as we might we were not able to get a single bird Farallonathon point. As dedicated Farallonathoners we did not give up and instead turned our attention to

Farallonathon Day 4

The Score:Yesterday’s total: 118 Migrant Birds: 1 Shark Attacks: 1 (5 points) Total Points: 124 Points Day four of Farallonathon was enveloped in heavy, soupy fog with periods of rain. Needless to say, it was a challenge to find any Farallonathon points today. Our first and only migrant bird point of the day was a Northern

Farallonathon Day 3

The Score: Yesterday’s total: 102 Migrant Birds: 10 Dragonfly: 1 Shark Attacks: 1 (5 points) Total Points: 118 Points The third day of Farallonathon was marked by a surprise Nano-Wave. We had a whopping ten new migrant bird species including a Magnolia Warbler, that arrived late in the afternoon. The Nano-Wave also produced the first

Farallonathon: Day 2

The Score: Yesterday’s total: 85Migrant Birds: 5Breeding Birds: 2Shark Attacks: 2 (10 points) Total Points: 102 Points The second day of Farallonathon coincided with a major boat day. Jim Tietz, the Fall Season Biologist went on a two week break, while Seabird Season Biologist Pete Warzybok joined the SEFI crew. Kristie Nelson also departed the

Farallonathon: Day 1

The Score Breeding Birds: 8 points Migrant Birds: 53 points Pinnipeds: 5 points Cetaceans: 3 points Butterflies: 3 points Dragonflies: 3 points Shark Attacks: 2 (10 points) Total: 85 points Opening day of Farallonathon was a strong beginning to what will hopefully become a record setting year. We had decent numbers of the more common

FARALLONATHON 2011

It’s Bird-A-Thon season at PRBO – our biggest annual fundraiser. On the Farallon Islands, we do things a little differently (not surprising)! Instead of counting just species of birds on a single day, we count all of the animals we encounter including birds, fish, marine mammals, insects, and any other wildlife we find over an

Fog – too much or too little of a good thing

The coastal marine layer off California (AKA, advection fog) is formed when moist air blows horizontally over the cold water of the California Current. The cold air above the water forces the moisture to condense into visible water droplets suspended in the air which obscure visibility when the cloud ceiling approaches ground or sea level.

A farewell tribute to the seabirds

When the fall crew arrives in late August, we just get a glimmer of the seabird colony that dominates life on the island during spring and summer. Most birds are wrapping up their nesting priorities and preparing to head out to sea for several months to molt their feathers and find more abundant food to

Month: October 2011

Los Farallones