beach

Apr 13 2012

The first day’s experience of a harbor seal born in Big Creek cove

You have to be pretty tough to be born on the Big Sur coast.

The wind was howling and the swell sent large breakers pouring over the washrocks into the cove this afternoon. With the ocean being this rough, it is common for the harbor seals to come from their more exposed beaches to the north and use Big Creek cove for shelter. Right now is prime-time for pups and I counted 15 females with pups on the beach. Interestingly, there is one pup that is nearly entirely white. Its face around the black nose is all pink.

I went up onto the bridge to get a bird’s-eye view and so that I wouldn’t startle them. Although I didn’t see the birth, I watched gulls picking at a placenta that must have been there for a pretty short amount of time. There was a streak of blood on the sand, a mother with blood stained rear flippers and a skinny, furry pup nearby hiding in the boulders. It didn’t take long for three turkey vultures to show up and devour the afterbirth in about 5 minutes. The pup and mother were wary of both birds and kept moving away toward the surf.

The instinct of the mother is to get her pup to follow her. They bond and the pup will follow quite diligently. When the pups get older, they follow her in and out of the ocean, practicing their surf launches and landings, learning how to get off the beach quickly, and following her up to nurse on the sand. This new pup followed her toward the surf but when it started getting rolled around in the large waves, all it wanted to do was get back on the beach. The mother was trying to get her pup to follow her but it was no use. The pup was getting rolled up and down the sand and then out to the cove. Wave after wave of white water was separating them and the mother was desperately trying to keep track of her confused young as it was scrambling towards the rocks. It got pushed into a little dead-end boulder pocket at the edge of the beach where there was no safe exit. She followed it in there and waited a while. But then a big wave came in and washed them both back into deeper water, but separately on either side of a large rock.

I didn’t see them together for some time. Then I saw the little pup make it back onto the beach but out on its own, away from the other seals that were nursing and sleeping. It is difficult to identify individual seals but I did see a single adult on the beach that didn’t have a pup with it. It started moving toward the isolated newborn but the seagulls moved in between them and took a keen interest in the pup. Surprisingly, the adult seemed scared of the gulls and didn’t approach the pup any further.

By this time it was getting dark and I went home, wondering when they would reunite. The next morning I went back to the beach and saw another large group of mothers and pups. Most of the pups were looking plump, like they were a couple of weeks old. But there was one that looked skinnier, with longer fur, lying next to its mother. Looks like she found it.

I have to say that witnessing the thrashing this hours-old pup took in the surf zone made me think about how tough these animals have to be and how quickly they have to learn to survive in rough environment.

MDR

Apr 07 2011

Wet March for Big Creek – floods and landslides

March was a big rain month. Highlands Peak weather station measured 12.27 inches. Most of it fell over a block of time when it rained 14 out of 16 days.

The creek got very high. Probably about 6 feet on the staff gauge, although the gauge broke off at some point and so we can only estimate it until the fisheries scientists download their electronic instrument.

Local resident, Steve Harper, asked me if he could check out the flood and took some video of the rushing water heading out to the ocean. You can see his video here.

After the flood was over, we discovered that we now have a beach.

This doesn’t happen often. Usually we have a very rocky, boulder beach with a little sand at the north end. Perhaps there was a large slide up the canyon somewhere in the watershed. The sediment would have been delivered to the cove and pushed back onto the beach by the ocean waves. So there you have it, suddenly a beach appeared. The harbor seals love it!

Along with rain and mud, you get slides. The highway between Rocky Creek and Bixby Creek fell into the ocean. There was another road-closing slide south of Limekiln State Park which cut Big Creek off in both directions. Feynner had his work delivered onto our own road in a huge pile of mud and trees. This slide was about 40 feet tall and 30 feet wide. It took three days to fix the road but you can see he still had a smile on his face.

Mar 04 2010

CDFG examines multiple causes for the pelican stranding event

California Department of Fish and Game News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - February 22, 2010

Contacts: Esther Burkett, Wildlife Biologist, (916) 445-3764

Dana Michaels, Information Officer, (916) 322-2420

Scientists Zero In on Causes of Pelican Stranding Along California Coast

Scientific investigation indicates shortages of preferred prey items, like anchovies

and sardines, and rough winter weather as primary causes for the pelican

mass-stranding. Scientists from the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG),

the U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center, Sea World San Diego and

International Bird Rescue Research Center pooled their resources to determine why

so many brown pelicans are stranding along the California and Oregon coast.

"Working collaboratively with other organizations, we have been able to quickly examine

multiple causes for the stranding event," said DFG Wildlife Veterinarian Melissa Miller,

in Santa Cruz. "Unfortunately, we are looking primarily at a cyclical event driven largely

by weather and oceanographic conditions. Food shortage coupled with bad weather

have taken a toll on the pelicans."

Mass-stranding of brown pelicans was reported along the California and Oregon coast

about this time in 2009, again with widespread food shortages identified as a factor.

Some stranded birds have little or no body fat stores and atypical foods in their digestive

tracts. Shortages of preferred prey items could be caused in part by the current El Nino event.

Some pelicans have also had waterproofing problems with their feathers, possibly related

to storm runoff from recent heavy coastal rains. Preliminary findings from postmortem

examinations suggest that infectious disease and/or marine toxins are not major contributors

to this event.

Live-stranded birds are responding quickly to feeding at rehabilitation facilities, although

these facilities have been overwhelmed at the sheer magnitude of birds stranding along

the coast. DFG is donating frozen trout to these organizations to assist with the rehabilitation

effort.

When pelicans are starving and sick they may fly into or be found in unusual places, be

unaware of their surroundings, tolerate human approach or demonstrate other unusual

behaviors. Anyone finding stranded or dead pelicans should not approach or handle the birds,

but note their location and report it to either 800-39-WHALE in Los Angeles County or

866-WILD-911 elsewhere.

####

Note: This e-mail account is used to distribute information to the public. Do not reply to

this e-mail. Direct questions or comments regarding the information contained in this

e-mail to the Department staff listed as points of contact for this subject.

 - Subscribe to DFG News via e-mail or RSS feed -- go to  www.dfg.ca.gov/news

Feb 16 2010

CDFG investigates pelican strife

As recent as yesterday, we still had a good amount of pelicans on the Big Creek beach. They were diving into the creek attempting to eat trout. We saw another 5 dead ones over the weekend. California Department of Fish and Game has begun an investigation on what may be causing the death of hundreds of pelicans across the State. See below for the news release.California Department of Fish and Game News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 11, 2010

Contacts: Esther Burkett, Wildlife Biologist, (916) 445-3764
Dana Michaels, Information Officer, (916) 322-2420

DFG Investigating Cause of Brown Pelican Deaths

The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) is collaborating with
other wildlife experts to investigate a brown pelican crisis all along
the California coastline. Since mid-January, hundreds of the seabirds
have been coming ashore in a variety of conditions, from merely confused
to dead. Veterinarians, wildlife rescue and rehabilitation groups, Sea
World, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and others are pooling their
resources to determine the cause of these popular birds’ distress.

Wildlife rescue centers from the San Francisco Bay Area to San Diego
are collecting the live pelicans and saving as many as possible. The
International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC) facility in San Pedro
has more than 200 sick and injured pelicans in-house. IBRRCs San
Francisco Bay Oiled Wildlife Care and Education Center in Cordelia has
received more than 100 pelicans, and more are brought in each day.

Many of the pelicans are wet, meaning that their feathers’ insulating
properties have been compromised and their feathers have parted,
exposing their skin to the cold ocean water and winter weather. Thus, in
addition to whatever has made them ill or disoriented, they are also
suffering from hypothermia. None of the pelicans received from the
Monterey Bay area thus far had significant feather fouling, but some
pelicans in southern California did, and the severe winter storms and
resultant urban run-off may be a factor.

“We don’t know what’s causing this yet, but we’ve sent feather samples
to various laboratories for analysis. It always helps to have multiple
sets of eyes looking at things from a pathology perspective,” said DFG
Wildlife Veterinarian Melissa Miller, in Santa Cruz. Results of various
tissue and organ analyses are not yet available to help determine the
cause of the die-off. The El Niño condition in the marine environment
may be a factor.

DFG’s Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center in Santa Cruz
has performed necropsies on 12 pelicans. Most of these were adults in
breeding plumage that ranged from thin to good nutritional condition.
Three of the dead pelicans had innkeeper worm parts in their intestines,
and a few had what appeared to be seal or sea lion bite wounds on the
breast, neck or back, with secondary bacterial infections. The
necropsies have found that pelicans are eating unusual prey items, which
is indicative that they are having trouble finding or accessing their
normal prey of anchovies and sardines.

IBRRC is feeding the captured birds with more than 1,000 lbs. of fish
per day between its two centers. Unfortunately, the IBRRC is running out
of money. Because of the state’s enormous budget deficit, DFG has no
funds to contribute but has sent biologists to assist IBRRC staff with
pelican care in Cordelia, and DFG volunteers in southern California are
assessing the number of dead pelicans on beaches. Anyone who wishes to
help with care of the pelicans can make donations online at
http://www.ibrrc.org. Donations are tax-deductible.

“As someone who has been rehabilitating marine birds for more than 40
years in California, I must say that I have never seen anything like
this that has lasted this long,” said IBRRC Director Jay Holcomb. “There
seems to be no end to this.”

The staff are banding and releasing rehabilitated pelicans as quickly
as possible. Rehabilitated pelicans have blue-colored bands with
identifying numbers to help track their survival in the wild.

Anyone who sees pelicans that appear to be sick or injured, or
entangled with fishing line should not touch or approach them. Injured
wildlife will instinctively defend themselves and may injure someone
trying to help them. To report pelicans in distress, the public can
phone either 800-39-WHALE in Los Angeles County or 866-WILD-911
elsewhere. The latter number is also good for reporting dead marine
birds.

DFG is also advising the public not to feed the pelicans though some
may appear to be begging or very weak. Feeding can lead to habituation
to humans, and that can lead to conflicts in the future, such as
entanglement in fishing line on or near piers. Improper feeding could
also cause damage to the pelicans throat pouch or worsen their sickness.
Though it is difficult to observe the pelicans in distress, it is a
normal process for some to die in winter due to natural causes. Natural
mortality is the inevitable consequence of the constant balancing
between animal populations and shifting supplies of needed resources.

California brown pelicans were removed from both the state and federal
endangered species lists in 2009.

####

Note: This e-mail account is used to distribute information to the
public. Do not reply to this e-mail. Direct questions or comments
regarding the information contained in this e-mail to the Department
staff listed as points of contact for this subject.

– Subscribe to DFG News via e-mail or RSS feed — go to
www.dfg.ca.gov/news
– Subscribe (or unsubscribe) to DFG Marine Region News Service (e-mail
notification of ocean-related news and information) at
www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/subscribe.asp .

Feb 01 2010

Pelicans are spending time in the creek. Are they feeding on trout?

This morning (day 7 of pelican presence) there were 8 dead pelicans on the beach and ~130 congregated around the beach and the creek. Some seemed to be feeding in the creek, some drinking. Others were huddled on the sand with their wings drooping and feathers looking damp. One bird looked like it was literally going to collapse on its feet. One bird just walked up past the house into the garden. This happened two evenings ago; a pelican walked behind the house, investigated the chicken coop (this upset the chickens terribly) then went to sleep behind the house. To avoid potential fox predation, I put it in a box in the basement for the night with some water and a half-dozen sardines I had in the freezer. In the morning it had eaten the fish and I let it go. It seemed relatively fine and made its way back to the beach.

I have contacted several bird rescue and research people about these birds here but no answer yet.

I was watching some pelicans drinking in the lower pool in the creek this morning. When they drink, they put their heads into the water sideways and do a short bite. Some of them were swimming, holding their position against the current and doing short dives into the water. In this case, they were putting their heads in straight and their throat pouches were expanding downward, like they were feeding on the trout in the pool. There were also birds landing somewhere upstream, up the canyon, that were floating downstream and stopping on rocks along the way. I got word that pelicans are doing the same at Willow Creek and Mill Creek. Are they not getting anything to eat in the ocean? Have they switched to feeding on trout in the creeks?