Menu

Los Farallones

Dispatches from Point Blue’s field station on the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge

It’s been a windy one

Starting on the morning of the 25th and culminating in the evening of the 26th we experienced our first major storm event of the season. SEFI was hit with a strong southerly winds, consistently staying over 30 knots with gusts of over 50 knots. The wind was so severe that several rain gutters and tree branches from the houses’ Monterey cypress trees fell down and a good deal of the mallow bushes snapped off too. After experiencing first-hand how strong and persistent the winds can be, it’s easy to see why any vegetation struggles to grow even a few feet off the ground. While the woody plants did not fare well with the winds, the birds and elephant seals remained tucked low to the ground and faced no issues. From the safety of a warm and dry house, it was exciting to hear the howling wind pelt rain against the windows and feel the building shake throughout the night.