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An Invisible Force of Nature

  Located just off the coast of central California, the Farallon Islands rest within one of the most productive ecosystems on the globe: the California Current System (CCS). Perhaps the most influential force that contributes to the immense productivity of this region is wind. Over the last fifty years, biologists and interns stationed on Southeast

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PIGU Shatters Record

For the past 49 years, we have been systematically checking natural and artificial crevices used as breeding sites by a charismatic seabird called the Pigeon Guillemot, or PIGU for short. This species breeds throughout the west coast of North America, from Southern California to Alaska, with one of the largest breeding colonies here on Southeast

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An early start for Cassin’s

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has unfortunately delayed the arrival of our summer seabird interns, but the birds nevertheless are showing up in big numbers as we progress into the breeding season. The biggest story on the Farallones so far this year is the earliest peak laying on record for Cassin’s auklets. This species is fine

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Le Chonk

This is what happens when a pup gets to nurse off two moms. We like our pups round and chunky here… Here is the same animal after weaning, on the left, compared to a “normal” weaned pup. How many chins can you see?

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Pup Weaning is in Full Swing!

Pup weaning is in full swing here on the Farallon Islands! These curious weaned pups have much to learn and even more fat rolls. Here is the envious daily schedule of our resident weaners: Wake up; Stretch, Scratch, Scream, Sleep, Repeat!

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2019-20 SEFI Winter Crew Introductions

Garrett is the winter biologist for the Farallon Program, the emphasis of which is to monitor the breeding colony of Northern Elephant Seals. The continuation of our long term data set is not only useful for documenting the species rebound from near extinction in the early 20th century and the recolonization of the Farallon Islands in

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Kleptoparasites follow Brown Pelicans

Early each morning from the top of Lighthouse Hill, Point Blue biologists count Brown Pelicans roosting on the South Farallon Islands before they leave to forage for the day. For the past month, pelican counts have been consistently high, with numbers frequently topping 1000 individuals. On October 17th, 3301 pelicans were observed, the highest number

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Calm winds bring birds to the Farallones

On October 15th, the anemometer on the island weather station came to a halt under a low cloud ceiling; low winds and extensive cloud cover create ideal conditions for attracting migrant birds to the island.

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