What's Better Than Two? Ten.

30 September to 4 Oct 2016

Deepest apologies to all of the portrait fans who have been waiting far too long for the next installment. As a result of communication breakdowns, plumose foreign-body aspiration, and a few days with Loads of Birds, I have fallen behind. Fear not, portrait enthusiasts, for ten is five times better than two.


Regarding aspirations, I inhaled a belly feather from an Audubon's Warbler on 2 October. This is not advised. Inhaling anything but nicely oxygenated air is a bad idea. I asked Peter Pyle if he'd ever inhaled feathers. He said no, but told me about a researcher extraordinaire  (below) who may have died from long-term feather exposure. Thanks, Peter!

Here's hoping that we have many more days of TPAD ahead of us. If not, it's been fun. I love you all!

This Lesser Goldfinch acquired a bad pollen habit during its stay on the island.

This Northern Fur Seal is upset about something.

The beginnings of a fogged out day at the lighthouse

We finally caught the Black-throated Sparrow!

The orange character is Edrudia constipans, a lichen found only on the Farallones 

This Pacific Wren spent most if its stay in the cable tunnel beneath the lighthouse. Here it pauses for some brief sunshine.

Jim and Garrett cleaning off our solar panels.

Great White! This fellow had just finished eating a pinniped--probably a sea lion, but impossible to know for certain

This Sharp-shinned Hawk flew about at the lighthouse for a bit before heading back to land.

Callorhinus

16 September

No, TPAD is not dead. But it will soon be dead. Until it dies, I give you TPADFFMD.

Once a month some intrepid souls make the journey over to Main Top Island (West End) to visit the Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus) colony, census all of the pinnipeds, look for tagged animals, and maybe pull some spinach. Ideally, this is done on a slow/no bird day. Cases of Faranoia may become particularly acute on such days (see this post from last year).

West End is loud, smelly, and furry: bleats growls and wickers are broadcast continuously and are punctuated by the unmistakable roaring of Steller's Sea Lions. Adults fight, pups fight, sea lions and fur seals bicker. A noisy smelly place that is thoroughly enjoyable to expose one's self to. Take me back.

Here is a family portrait (not really, but they are all Northern Fur-seals) from Weather Service Peninsula, which lies on the west end of Southeast Farallon Island

Look at this thing. Keep looking at it. Don't stop looking at it. Is that the longest you've ever laid eyes on a Northern Fur-seal?

Pinnipeds and Faranoia

     Jim and I went to Main Top Island today.  This requires a decent amount of preparation and a decent chunk of time—time spent on a different island, with many fewer birds.  This leads to acute cases of Faranoia:

Faranoia (n.)

Pronunciation: /ˌferəˈnoiə  /

Syllabification: far·a·noi·a 

     A mental condition characterized by fear of missing rare birds due to distractions, WPWT, or a simple lack of attentiveness (e.g., looking at one's feet so as not to fall to one's death).

     Faranoia is a difficult condition to tolerate, and news from the mainland of such birds as Grace's Warbler and Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher are of no help.  Thankfully, the day was very slow for birds and no mega-vagrants were missed.  The focus of our visit to Main Top island, and the focus of this blog entry, was Pinnipeds.

The star of West End--the Northern Fur Seal.  Nearly wiped off the planet by fur hunters, this species is making a comeback.  They are hilarious sounding (clicks grunts screams and bleats) and are much more aggressive than other Pinnipeds.  Many adults and pups were seen (up close and personal) on our visit to their homeland.

Here we have a Harbor Seal, photographed in a gulch that I visit daily--this individual loves to haul out at the same spot each day.  Look at the pelage on this character--unbelievable.  Its beauty helps support Phoca vitulina's position at the top of the Pinnipedia ladder.