Tag Archives: pigeon guillemot

Black Oystercatcher eggs not all hatched

Posted on by
Sunday, May 26, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 12.9 C  Min. 8.8 C  Reset 12.1 C  Rain 2.0 mm
MARINE LIFE: 1 juvenile and 1 mature bald Eagles. The gulls are still busy nest building, mating and keeping the eagles at bay. Most of the Pigeon Guillemots have paired off, mated and are now among the rocks were they lay their eggs as deep in a rock crevice as they can.The Oyster Catcher chicks are still in the nesting area as of this morning since not all eggs are hatched.Once the last egg is hatched the chicks will all be moved down the shore closer to the food source but above the high tide line.The low tides during the day will afford the chicks a steady diet of limpets, mussels,chitons and the like.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 17 pleasure craft and 14 ecotour boats today. Although the Swiftsure was less than ‘dramatic’ we did enjoy watching a mini race about 17:00 as three returning boats ‘caught’ the brief westerly all be it only 15-17 knts. The one boat that was second of the three ‘stood’ off the shore and had just that extra wind to move ahead. An audience small, granted -just the two of us- but it was exciting none the less. By 18:30 the wind was back down to 5-6 knts and the 25 or so remaining boats took a long time to pass by, a nice show of the colourful spinnakers against the grey-black rolls of fog to the west.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:27 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast �� Vis. 12 Miles �� Light Rain �� Wind West 5 Knots �� Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:47 AM

Pigeon Guillemots seek out ‘tunnels’ in the rock piles

Posted on by
Wednesday, May 08, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max.11.0 C  Min. 5.5 C  Reset 9.0 C
MARINE LIFE: 2 mature bald eagles today-still 3 geese.The gulls and Oyster Catchers kept the eagles on the move, every time the big birds approached Gr. Race they were ‘herded’ away and so spent most of the day on North Rocks.Although it is not as warm as it usually is for May, the sun is so welcome -it has been a strange spring. The birds are pretty well all paired off now except of course for the 3rd goose! The Pigeon Guillemots seek out ‘tunnels’ in the rock piles to lay their eggs and will sit for quite a while guarding the entrances, they are however so striking with the white wing patch and bright red feet that it is easy to find the nests.It is interesting to note the differences of bird behavior as far as protection of the eggs. The Gulls stay with the eggs and fend off intruders while the Oyster Catchers use the ‘distraction’ method of flying some distance away all the while chirping frantically. Have not seen any chicks yet but the oystercatcher eggs in the east bay area should soon hatch,will check the nest in the morning.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 4 pleasure craft and 13 ecotour boats through the reserve today,station boat round trip to Pedder Bay.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:45 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy  Vis. 15 Miles Wind West 9 Knots  Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:54 AM

pigeon guillemots took to the water with the first blast and did not return

Posted on by
Friday, April 19, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 12.3 ºC »» Min. 6.1 ºC »» Reset 9.0 ºC
MARINE LIFE:2 mature bald eagles again today, one arrived after 14:00. Still 3 geese, the one, is definitely an un-welcomed interloper as far as the pair are concerned. There have been several noisey,feather ruffling encounters but no injuries and the ‘loner’ is very persistent!
HUMAN INTERACTION: 5 pleasure craft and 2 ecotour boats today. 2nd Nature – student class about 2 hours. Another day of D.N.D. blasting and again most affected were the birds.The pigeon Guillemots took to the water with the first blast and did not return for the rest of the day.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:04 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis 12 Miles »» Wind West 17Knots »» Sea 2 – 3 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:30 AM

Gulls–starting to get territorial and this precipitates many fights

Posted on by
Tuesday, April 09, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max 10.0 ºC »» Min. 6.1 ºC »» Reset 8.0 ºC »» Rain 3.6 mm
MARINE LIFE: 2 mature Bald Eagles today, the geese are still here, I am begining to wonder if they will nest here, usually by now they have moved inland.We hear the gulls morning,noon and night now.They are starting to get territorial and this precipitates many fights.As two gulls drag each other about the rest of them chime in with a lot of squawking, I can’t decide whether it’s encouragement or condemnation for such rowdy behavior,in any case it looks worse than it is and the results are usually no more than a few lost feathers. The Pigeon Guillemots continue to spent the morning ashore,taking flight en masse at the slightest hint of danger, they are very nervous birds and we take special care not to disturb them.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 6 ecotour boats and 2 pleasure craft through the MPA; 2 College boats with Garry,Chris and students for a dive – unfortunately there was a break in the interview cable so no live video.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:38 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. 12 Miles – Light Rain »» Wind North 7 Knots »» Sea Rippler
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:07 AM

Pigeon Guillemots are coming ashore

Posted on by
Saturday, March 23, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max.11.0 C Min.4.9 C  Reset 7.9 C
MARINE LIFE: 1 mature bald Eagle. 2 pr. Geese. The Pigeon Guillemots are coming ashore in the early morning now, they stay,some near nesting areas others grouped together along the dock, until near noon.2 Bull Elephant Seals spent most of the day hauled out on the boat ramp, the smaller seems much less bothered by the human presence.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 4 Ecotour boats, 6 pleasure craft through the M.P.A.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:55 PM

Cepphus columba: Pigeon Guillemot–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Posted on by

rmmar2609piggguil

Pigeon Guillemots arrive in early January, some still in their mottled winter plumage. Their numbers build and nesting takes place in late spring. A favourite foraging area is in the main channel in font ( to the North) of the Race Rocks docks. They may number up to 100 in the water, diving down in the current and coming up with small fish, especially gunnels.

Ryan Murphy has done some amazing telephoto shots starting in February of 2009 of Pigeon Guillemots such as those below.  They are included in a set here on his Flickr site.

rm2010pigguilskip rmguillemot4
rmguillemot2

rm2piguil copy

Four samples of photos of Pigeon Guillemots by Ryan Murphy

winterplumage-pigu

Winter Plumage on Pigeon Guillemots, photo by Pam Birley by the Remote control Camera 5

raisajan152011pigu

Winter Plumage of Pigeon Guillemot. photo by Raisa Mirza


Description: The pigeon guillemot has an average size of 12-14”. Its summer plumage is black with large white wing patches interrupted by black stripes.

It is interesting to note that in winter, its head and upper parts lighten slightly, however in all seasons feet and bill lining are brilliant red. In the spring it can be heard making a high whistle.

How and what they eat: The Pigeon Guillemot feeds by diving and taking up small fish. Some examples are: Penpoint Gunnels or “Blenny”, sand lance, smelt, and sculpins.

Habitat: This species resides in rocky coastal areas, with shallow inshore waters as its feeding grounds. Nest cavities are found amongst holes and rock crevices on the West, North East and South sides of Great Race Rocks. Some habitat for nesting was created years ago when blasting for the helicopter pad produced rubble under which they could tunnel..

rmgunnelandpigil copy

Ryan Murphy took this picture of a pigeon guillemot having just caught a gunnel.

Lumpenus sagitta, pacific snake prickleback captured by Pigeon guillemot

Lumpenus sagitta, pacific snake prickleback captured by Pigeon guillemot, Ryan Murphy photo.

Predators: Seagulls are predators of pigeon guillemot eggs. At Race Rocks, the main threat is predation by Bald Eagles, Peregrine falcons and nest predation by River Otters.

ahjuly3011pigguilchick

Summer ecoguardian Adam Harding was able to take pictures of a the chicks in a guillemot nest in the summer of 2011. The nest was located at the end of the low rock wall West of the science house

 

piguilnest

1 or 2 greenish or whitish, dark-spotted eggs are laid in a crevice or burrow. This nest burrow had been abandoned,perhaps due to predation, at the end of the season eggs were still present unhatched in the burrow. The light keeper’s assistant is shown here-1984-

Pigeon Guillemots

Pigeon Guillemots photo by Ecoguardian Courtney Edwards in March , 2014

The slide show above was made from pictures taken by Pam Birley in 2007

Kiprop made this video of the Guillemots jostling for position on the rocky shore on the West side of the island.

slide show of mating guillemots by Pam Birley was made from camera 5 screen captures.

Video of pigeon guillemots on the island and out in the passage where they dive and forage.[/caption]

Return to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image Gallery

Other Members of the Class Aves at Race Rocks.

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.

Original text of this taxonomy was done in Dec. 2001 by Anthony Woodside, PC Year 27