Listing Birds
July 27, 2018
The Farallon Islands are uniquely situated for people interested in the act of finding and identifying birds, otherwise known as “birding”. The cluster of jagged rocks that make up the Farallones are located just far enough offshore to provide a stable platform for spotting rare pelagic species like the Cook’s petrel, and close enough to
Time to Fly
July 19, 2018
By Farallon Island seabird intern Sophie Bennett As mid-July comes to Southeast Farallon Island, the chicks of the Island’s most dominant breeding seabird species, the Western Gull, are beginning to fledge. Over 8,500 pairs of Western Gulls breed across the island, which equates to >30% of the global population, making Southeast Farallon the most important
The Future of Upwelling
May 21, 2018
One of the main reasons we study seabirds, both on Southeast Farallon Island and on a worldwide scale, is that they provide us with a vital insight into the state of the oceans. If seabirds have a successful breeding season, this tells us that the sea has enough of the right nutrients to support vast
A Surprise Encounter with Sei Whales
May 16, 2018
Summer on the Farallones isn’t all about the birds. In addition to daily opportunistic sightings, we conduct standard 1-hour whale watches from atop Lighthouse Hill to document the timing and abundance of Cetaceans around the island. These data are useful in particular for showing where whales are in relation to the shipping lanes leading into
Watching the Sea
May 8, 2018
To celebrate 50 years of research on the Farallones, we plan to briefly highlight some of the different projects we do out here during the summer season. From simple tasks such as taking the weather, to complex tasks like keeping track of over 400 Cassin’s auklet nest boxes. For example every morning, the designated sea
Happy Anniversary!!
April 3, 2018
Exactly fifty years ago today, Point Blue (then the fledgling Point Reyes Bird Observatory) biologists officially began our research program on the Farallon Islands. It was at about 11am on Wednesday, April 3 of 1968 that Buddy Robert, C.J. Ralph, Malcolm Coulter, Fred Sibley, and Richard Bauer landed on Southeast Farallon Island and established what
Oh the Times They Are a Changin'
February 10, 2018
Early February is a time of change for the Southeast Farallon Island’s northern elephant seal inhabitants. Since our last update, we have had some amazing weather and that has allowed the young seals that survived January’s storm to continue to nurse and grow. In fact, earlier this week we had our first pups successfully wean
Numbers, numbers, numbers!
January 25, 2018
Since our last “Pupdate”, the island has suffered it’s first winter storm which introduced nearly 25 foot swells to the shore line! Unfortunately, these natural wonders had some detrimental effects on the colony. The team stood by in awe as some of the incoming swells swept cows, bulls, and pups alike out of the lower
Threats to the Farallones! We need your help!
January 12, 2018
By Ellie Cohen | January 11, 2018 Point Blue Farallon Biologist and rhinoceros auklet. Photo: Annie Schmidt/Point Blue/USFWS Spring 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of Point Blue’s globally-renowned Farallon Island program. Our scientists have studied and protected the largest seabird breeding colony in the contiguous US for 5 decades–24/7–in a uniquely successful long-term partnership
Pupdate from Team Eseal 8
January 12, 2018
The winter season has gotten off to a slow start this year, with the first pup being born on December 29th, 2017. This is 5 days later that the long-term mean date for the first pup, and the latest on record for SEFI! As the Farallones continue to lose sand from their beaches, the haul
