Archeology

One of my favorite parts of my job is when I actually have a free moment to explore. Sometimes I am just so busy conducting the bird census that I can't stop and check anything out. One of the nice things about having Neil here as an intern is that he has taken over the osprey project for me, allowing me more time for the other surveys. Normally he conducts his nest searches alone, but sometimes it is better with 2 people. There is one really tricky spot to get to in the middle of Santa Cruz estuary that we call the "island" because it is a desert bit surrounded by water. The first time we tried to get out there we walked at low tide, which ended up taking 2 hours of trudging through knee deep thick mud, and by the time we got there, we didn't have time for the survey! This time, we kayaked over at high tide, which was much more effective. While Neil checked the island for active osprey nests, I was free to explore.


The Comca'ac (Seri Indians) lived a nomadic existence from the areas now called Guaymas all the way up to Puerto Penasco. A few people have told me about the cool things you can find in their old camps like pottery and arrowheads. The easiest way to find a camp is to go to a piece of higher ground, and usually there are tons of shells around. This signifies an area where they camped, living off the oysters and clams of one spot before moving onto another. Since clay is abundant here and so is high heat, they were able to make a lot of pottery. It is actually really pretty easy to find pieces of pottery that the Comca'ac left behind. However, this part of the estuary is very rarely visited, so I was able to find tons of it!


Another discovery was this huge den. The entrance was at least a foot high, but thin, and it seemed to tunnel way down into the ground. There were no fresh tracks around the entrance (except small lizard tracks), so I can only guess what might have lived there. Or it's possible that something still does; I was a little worried taking pictures that some creature was going to come flying out of the den!

Neil taking the coordinates of an non-active osprey nest in a Cardon cactus

Cardon cactus flower

Pieces of Comca'ac pottery among shells

shards of pottery

Den of the unknown

Las Islas Del Golfo

As the breeding season is in full swing, I have been out in the field about 4 days a week. There are so many birds to survey in so many areas that you really need 4 people working full time to cover it all! I try to get to all my sites once a week which can be challenging due to weather and the fact we only have one working car right now. However, every time I do get out, I am amazed. A few weeks ago I noticed that the Brown Pelicans were hovering slightly off their nests, not quite in their usual incubation position. I kept the scope on one nest for a few minutes during my usual fast count, and was rewarded by seeing a tiny grey head poke up from under the pelican's wings. I jumped with excitement when I realized I was staring at a newly hatched pelican chick. After that, I spotted them all over the colony. Most nests had 2 or 3 chicks, or a parent still incubating. The chicks are so funny looking because the are featherless, round, and wobbly. To me they resemble a plucked chicken about to go into the oven (hope that makes you not want to eat chicken!). The best part is that despite being so small, they have their big beak with the pouch. Unfortunately, they were too small to capture on camera the first week, but the pictures below show them at a few weeks old. 

Brown Pelican Colony

Pelican chicks, roughly 2 weeks old

chicks and parent

Also present on Isla Alcatraz are Reddish Egrets which are an endangered species. They are in their breeding plumage now and will start nesting soon!

Two Reddish Egrets and a Yellow footed gull

 The ospreys here nest in Cardon cactus, but also on the cliffs of the islands.

Cliff nesting osprey on Isla Datil

Yesterday I went out with the marine bio class to visit Isla Tiburon. I love getting off the boat and being able to explore uninhabited islands. As I walked the wrack line, I found all sorts of cool creatures dried up like various kinds of starfish, shells, and bones. We also visited this site where a Sperm whale skeleton was found a few months ago. We collected some bones to bring back to the center for an educational display we are working on. Despite our group of 17 people attempting to lift up the skull, we weren't even able to get it off the ground!

Sperm Whale skill: isla tiburon

Neil and a section of vertebra

At 5"5, I fit inside the height of a rib with room to spare

The Albatross