Salish Sea, Pacific Northwest
mid-August 2017
Nesting season for gulls means they are gone from the beaches for the whole summer. I can hear them in the distance, in the thousands, but they are offshore, safely on the rocks and islands where land animals like raccoons, dogs and cats, and humans can’t get to their nests on the ground. There’s not a lot of real estate out there though, especially when you have to share it with others.
These are nestling Glaucous-winged gulls, still in their downy stage. There’s nothing they can do but clamber around awkwardly and scream at their parents for food.
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They tend to hang out at the top of Whale Rocks. The area closer to the water is occupied by Steller sealions, who are just arriving now from their breeding rookeries.
So far these are all bull male sealions. The Harbor seals who have been using the Rocks as a prime haulout spot are being edged out, now only over to the left where the high tide covers the rocks. Soon the seals will abandon these rocks for the rest of the year. By the end of September there will be 80 or so sealions of all ages, male and female.
Glaucous-winged gulls are the only year- round resident gull species in the Salish Sea. In summer, others arrive for varying lengths of time and they have nested elsewhere. By mid August, the GWGUsv (and their nestlings) are sharing this limited space with Heermann’s, Mew and California gulls, who squabble for perching spots. Brandt’s and Pelagic cormorants are in the mix too.
Sea-cucumber divers work nearby. People are restricted from approaching these nesting islands closer than 200 yards.
Some GWGU gulls have fledged already. Nesting season is spread out over the whole summer. A flock of juveniles flew past us — recognizable by their all-gray plumage and dark bill. Once they can fly they get the heck off the crowded rocks.
I’m starting to see a few fledgling GWGUs on the beach now with their parents, along with a few Mew gulls. California gull juveniles mix with adults in big flocks, mostly offshore before migrating to the open ocean shortly. Heermann’s gulls will stay way out near the rocks and kelp beds for a few more months.
By late fall the beaches will be full of gulls again for the winter, and the offshore rocks deserted.
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