Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Sea birds and Sea kayaking in August
I love the cycles of the seasons out here. Sea kayaking daily connects us with these ancient rhythms and we watch the quiet drama unfold before us.
The Rhinocerous Auklets are numerous these days. We observe them foraging in the tide-rips off of the shoreline. Auklets are members of the Alcid family, which also include Puffins. These compact little birds are the northern hemisphere's answer to penguins, using their stiff wings to propel themselves through the water in pursuit of small fish. At dusk they can be seen flying low over the water, heading south to Protection Island where 18,000 pairs nest in burrows. "Rhinos" are named for the horny protrusion that forms on the upper side of their bills during the nesting season.
We've also noticed an abundance of Murres moving into Burrows Bay, and the Deception Pass area. In the early summer these birds nest precariously on rocky cliffs on the outer coast of Washington. At the end of the nesting season the mothers abandon their families and fly into the San Juan Islands to forage in our nutrient rich waters. When the chicks fledge (in a spectacular leap of faith into the sea) they are flightless and need to swim into the San Juans with their fathers. We see large rafts of these father/chick pairs a few weeks after the females arrive.
The weather has been great, and the paddling is fantastic! Come join us.
