The past two weeks have moved by quickly. There was a lot of work to be done, but a lot of fun to be had as well. On the final day of nest searching week, we went out and helped with an Aleutian tern survey. We traveled to an area within our dusky Canada geese study area that contained a colony of Aleutian terns in hopes of finding nests. We found a total of 12 nests, including artic tern nests. We set up an acoustic monitor and a trail camera to observe the colony. Unfortunately, these same nests were to be found depredated a week later. We found nests of other species that day as well, such as lesser scaup, green-winged teal, red-necked phalarope, short-billed dowitcher, and even a collared dusky Canada goose nest! Pictured below left to right: Aleutian tern, Aleutian tern nest, and red-necked phalarope.
After a relaxing five-day weekend which included halibut fishing, a black bear hunt, and plenty of hiking, we went back out to camp to revisit nests and check cameras. On the way down the Alaganik we saw a mallard brood, our first brood sighting of the season! This was a good sign, as later that day we would find our first successful goose nests and recover some trail cameras. Due to the number of nests we have found this season, we have been running low on cameras. We kept finding nests, too! Some of the nests that we were finding were fresh, as geese with failed nests have begun to re-nest.
The following week we went back for another three-day trip to camp, as most of our geese were still incubating. Goslings made their first appearance on the delta this week and we managed to push our total to over 100 goose nests with cameras on them. After reviewing data from pulled cameras, we found our first depredations from coyotes and brown bears. One of the brown bears was big, too! This bear was seen on two separate cameras only 20 minutes apart, and only a quarter of a mile from camp. Really inspires you to not forget your bear spray in the shed.
On Friday, after nest checks, we went down to the mouth of the Scott River in search of Aleutian tern colonies. While unsuccessful, it was a blast going out there on low tide and riding along the mud flats in the air boat. We also ran into red knots, brants, and a few broods of geese on the way! Next up, we will be going for a longer stay in camp to do nest island monitoring. This will consist of a lot of poke boating, as we will be visiting all nest islands and inspect to see if they were used by nest geese, determine whether nests were successful or depredated if present, and making notes on which islands need maintenance. Pictured below: Red knots, a goose with goslings wearing a neck collar and leg band, and brants!
