Point Blue

Pinniped Necropsies on the Farallones

(Warning some photos may be a bit graphic) PRBO Conservation Science, in collaboration with other agencies, performed pinniped (seal and sea lion) necropsies during the 2012-2013 winter season on SEFI. All carcasses were recovered in a safe manner and with minimal disturbance to live pinnipeds. Aborted California Sea Lion (CSL) fetuses were first noticed on

Life in Boxes and Burrows

From March through August, Southeast Farallon is bustling with seabird activity, some more obvious than others. The presence of the Western Gulls is undeniable, and it is pretty hard to miss the 250,000 or so Common Murres milling about as you approach the island. But some species here on the island, being more reclusive

Drawing on the the Rock!

Western Gull, Black Oystercatcher and a Farallon weed leaf This is third visit I, Sophie Webb, have made to the Rock or South East Farallon Island (SEFI) in the past 12 months ( in the 80’s and 90’s I worked as a PRBO intern in various programs out here). My last trip to the island was for

"The world needs to know the truth about seals" -Russ Bradley

(Never mind he was referring to their tendencies to roll around in their own filth). It’s not likely that the elephant seals here on Southeast Farallon Island have ever heard of Socrates, Plato or Aristotle. They must have had to figure a few things out on their own, including fasting as a means to rid

Not just seals

Although our main study efforts during the winter season on Southeast Farallon Island (SEFI) revolve around the Northern elephant seals and their breeding season, there are a number of other long-term monitoring studies that garner our attention. These range from bi-monthly arboreal salamander surveys, weekly cricket and burrowing owl pellet surveys, daily bird monitoring for

Bringing in the New Year – Farallone Style

Happy 2013 from all of us at SEFI! We have been celebrating the holidays and the new year with surprising style for being located in a remote field camp. Our original scheduled boat day to bring us resupplies and food on Saturday December 22nd had to be canceled due to foul weather, leaving us with

SEFI Apocalyptic!

Dream big. We woke up early on the island – 0430 or was it 0330? It didn’t matter because it was apparently already the end of the world. Nick, Kathy, Erin and I walk around the island blindly. There was an eerie calm to the air. No seal lion barks, no Western Gull calls and

Many More Migrants!!!

Since the Farallonathon, we have been quite busy counting and banding good numbers of migrant birds. On Oct 5th, this juvenile tundrius Peregrine Falcon rested briefly on the island before continuing south. On the 7th, we captured an apparently pure Yellow-shafted Flicker female and at the same time a male Flicker Intergrade. On the Farallones, pure

Farallonathon Results

With a promising weather forecast calling for light south winds, we eagerly anticipated the final two days of our Farallonathon – a week-long fundraiser that helps fund our study of the island’s wildlife. DAY 6 – The winds were perfectly southeast and light, but the visibility was too far, so the great landbird wave must

The Farallonathon has Begun

On Sept 28th, we started our annual fundraiser that we call the Farallonathon! Initiated in 1992, the Farallonathon was created to recognize the truly unique elements of the Farallones, while at the same time participating in PRBO’s Annual Bird-A-Thon. The Farallonathon consists of a one week bio-blitz where we identify as many species of wildlife

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