Rhino Cam

May 11, 2019

By: Grace Kumaishi

This past week has been an exciting one on Southeast Farallon Island! The first eggs have been recorded in followed nests of Western Gulls, Brandt’s Cormorants, Cassin’s Auklets, and Rhinoceros Auklets. Our team has also started regular breed checks of Ashy Storm-petrels, Pelagic Cormorants, Common Murres, Pigeon Guillemots, California Gulls, and Double-crested Cormorants. This photo shows research assistant Haley Land-Miller using the SEFI “Rhino Cam” to check for the presence of a Rhinoceros Auklet incubating its egg within an earthen burrow. A tricky task for tortuous burrows that requires a great deal of patience and perseverance.