Re-up

Today Amanda and Melissa were kind enough to bring us food from the mainland! Every two weeks volunteers do a big grocery shop and hop onto a boat (which has also been volunteered to take the trip out) to bring it to us in order to resupply our fridges and pantry. They made it out here early afternoon, got a quick tour of the island and were getting back onto the sailboat again within an hour and a half. It's a brutally long day for anyone who does that (they shopped all evening last night, woke up at 5am, and will probably get home by midnight) and they also had some horrible weather on the way back, making it extra rough, so THANK YOU for doing it! Glad they got to see the island for what it is, but also where I'm working and living.

I somehow did not take any pictures while Amanda was here, but maybe she will supply some on her blog?

This sea lion was not happy about the e-seal. The e-seal could have cared less.




Black Turnstone


Black Oystercatcher, should still be the logo, I think






Big swell yesterday, made us wonder if the food and friends were going to make it onto the island today


Same Brown Creeper. I found him trying to cling to the house, he finally found the roof, then finally found the tree.

Creepin'

So far today: three shark attacks, 50+ Risso's Dolphins, a short-eared owl, a second Eastern Phoebe...

...a Clay-colored Sparrow:


...and the fall's first Brown Creeper.


And a fat e-seal


And the Wandering Tattler

Eastern Phoebe

Today we had a visitor from the East Side. It was a Phoebe, it was cute and it liked me.


Yesterday we had a Lark Sparrow.


And today we also had another sunset.

Owl Chute

This is Owl Chute. Owls live here, I've seen them, the burrowing and short-eared flavors. It is the worlds steepest net lane.


This is our home for 4.5 more weeks. I know you've seen it before, but the island is small, so expect more like this, just different angles.


A Cali Sea Lion

Yellow Palm Warbler

We've seen and caught a a few Western Palm Warblers since I've been here, but yesterday we found this uber vagrant in our nets.

Mice

If you've read anything about this island recently it was probably about mice. There are a lot here, they eat what they can and get themselves eaten as well, mostly by the burrowing owls, the raven, and gulls, but also by there fellow mouse.

Today we had a sharp-shinned hawk running loose, killing any songbird in sight along with this mouse


Gulped down momentarily


Lots of mouse bones found in these owl's pellets

Some raptors

Our short-eared


A constant battle here