Glacier Bay Visit, May 23, 2011

Departed Auke Bay Harbor yesterday at 6:30 AM for the 2 1/2 hour run around Point Retreat, down to Couverden, through Icy Strait, and on into Glacier Bay.  Picked up the park's Wildlife Biologist and continued up bay to check on the nesting status of Glaucous-winged gulls at two nesting colonies on two otherwise closed islands - South Marble Island and Lone Island.  We were lucky to find an opening in the Steller sea-lion haul-out at South Marble where we could get to the small beach without disturbing hauled-out animals (prohibited by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the park prohibits approaches of closer than 100 yards to haul-outs).

Many fresh and attended nest cups, but just a few (~10%) that had the first egg or two laid.  Average clutch size is 3.  The issue here is that a traditional gull egg harvest has been approved for native Hoonah Tlingit, of whom Glacier Bay is the ancestral homeland.  Harvest will being within the next 2 years, and the park is responsible for a monitoring plan to determine, among other things, the optimum time to allow harvest while still allowing time and subsequent protection for the gulls to re-nest and have a very good chance of still successfully rearing chicks.

Just one photo below just to get your attention.... a bunch more are posted on the web album at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/moynahanb/GlacierBayMay232011?authkey=Gv1sRgCNiB0O3e9KbqAQ#