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Trips to the Coronado Islands, April and May 1924 | |
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Photo Gallery
Field Notes April 1924 Related Links L.M. Huey Biography
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L.M. Huey Field Notes Huey lists birds, describes behaviors, counts populations, tries to take photos. Sunday, April 20 1924 The day dawned with a leaden sky giving promise of poor photographic conditions. In spite of this fact, I lugged my heavy camera & set out for the rookeries with the rest. Hoffman set out towards the north end and after an hour’s stay joined me near the saddle. We then commenced a search for Auklets & after digging out several burrows in the colony near the summit of the island with no results we went down to some caves on the west slope where I had found them commonly in 1915. Here again we failed, nor could a single auklet track be found on the soft dirt floor of the cave. It was now nearly noon & as the boat was coming over for Scott, Hoffman too decided to go back as he figured he was thru with the Coronados. After seeing them depart Gallegos & I rowed around on the west side of the island to inspect the sea lion rookery. A fair breeze was blowing and the sea was rough, but we managed to get close enough to photograph the herd. I was much impressed by the way these animals used their flippers when on land, for instead of using the front ones to scratch their faces with they used the back flippers, bending their head around and their back flippers up[. E]ven the huge bulls 8 or 9 ft in length were seen scratching their faces in that way. I saw a single Black Turnstone in the surf near the seal rookeries. Monday, April 21st 1924 The sun rose gloriously clear this morning and soon after breakfast, Jose and I boarded the skiff and set out toward the south end of the island. Not a breath of air stirred the water, making a heavenly day. Three Black Turnstones and a single Tattler were seen near the south end but were in too dangerous a place to try to picture or collect them. After making a snap or two of the natural bridge we started back and while sneaking up on a bunch of gulls that were at rest in the water, the ca-ca-ca of a duck hawk caught my ears. Searching about with the glasses, I saw it soaring about the face of a small cliff and sitting on a ledge sat its mate, also calling. I tried to have Jose land me as it was about the only way in which I could get to the nest but he proved so helpless with the oars, having never used them before, and the surf was so dangerous that I gave it up. Near camp I saw three Parasitic Jaegers and a Pink-footed Shearwater feeding with the gulls in the water. Hoffman should have stayed as these were the very things he sought. Rowing on up to the north end we made pictures of the Brandt Cormorants in their precipitous rookeries. Arriving again in camp I started off to the Pelican colony for more pictures. As I was ascending the steep slope I chanced to see a gull robbing a nest and, after chasing it away, I set up my camera, strung out the thread and awaited results. It proved a two-hour wait, but the gull did return & I made several snaps as it "cleaned up" on the nest. Meanwhile, I had a fine chance to watch the bird life in the surrounding rookeries. An old pelican nearby attracted most of my attention for her young, now well covered with natal down and able to stand up, kept teasing her to feed them. They would run their short beaks between her mandibles making a loud hoarse noise but apparently she was not willing to feed them for she kept pushing them away. Finally, after about twenty minutes of vociferous coaxing, she consented and opening her great beak she held her head over towards them and two of the three got their heads down into her throat. Then when all was ready she seemed to give a sort of heaving movement with her body, regurgitating half digested food of which both young procured a large beak full. The other little one then had its turn. About on the last operation a couple of small fish that appeared to be sardines escaped the beak of the youngster and fell to the edge of the nest. Two hungry gulls nearby made a dart for them but the old pelican warded them off and picking them up one at a time she gave them a toss in the air and caught them higher up in her throat & swallowed them again. The action reminded me of a dog gulping down a small sized piece of meat, lifting it from the ground & with a forward thrust of the head catch the meat far back in the throat. The gulls stayed about much to the distress of the old pelican and whenever they came too close she would take a snap at them with her beak which would close with a vicious clap. The gulls were abundant and were all about in pairs searching for nest sites. It didn’t seem to be so much the question of finding a suitable site, for any little depression makes a gull happy, but that of congenial neighbors for when a pair of gulls came too close to another pair that had already located, trouble was sure to follow and usually ended in a hasty retreat for the newcomers. It seemed to be the period of copulation for pairs that had their nest site chosen could be heard everywhere uttering the mating call and many were seen copulating. The act was performed in much different way than any birds I had ever witnessed before for the male would mount the female while she was standing and with his wing extended for balance would utter the mating call while making contact. The performance would last a couple of minutes and sometimes longer. In the evening I caught another petrel with the net and they seemed more abundant than usual. |
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