Winter Wildlife Docent Day 7
I spent the day dodging rain squalls and freezing wind at the Lighthouse Overlook with fellow docent, David on Thursday April 4. We could see numerous squalls slowly moving across the ocean which gave us plenty of time to huddle under an umbrella and protect the scope from getting wet before each squall hit. Between the squalls the sun came out, the wind died down, and the weather was dramatically gorgeous. We saw several rainbows including one on the water. In spite of the harsh weather, I counted 82 visitors in 4 hours.
The first group of visitors were botanists from France. I spent some time showing them the special native flowers and plants in the area on iNaturalist and advising them on which trails would have the best plants and be the least windblown.
Many children visited and were thrilled to touch pieces of whale baleen on display and to learn how and what baleen whales eat. Gray whales turn their head to the side and scrape the bottom of the ocean floor with their open mouth catching tiny crustaceans in their baleen.
The common murre flocks which have nested on the rocks below the lighthouse for the past few months were all gone. However, the great horned owls were visible today in their cliffside shelter. We focused the scope on their nest which delighted visitors. David pointed out a juvenile bald eagle which flew very close to the lighthouse overlook and was quickly pursued by two peregrine falcons who swooped down at lightning speed to chase it away. The peregrines have a nest nearby. The bald eagle did not yet have the telltale white head. Instead, it was dark mottled with some white on its body.
We spotted 2 or 3 whale spouts in the distance but no whales up close. That’s how it goes — one day it’s nearly a hundred passing whales and the next day just a few or none.
Back at Drakes Beach, only 21 weaned pups remained on the beach. All the others had departed to begin their life in the ocean. David and I stopped to watch the weaners frolicking in the water before we left for our shift at the Lighthouse. Drakes Beach reopened on April 1st and the weaners are protected from the public with a line of safety cones on the beach marking their favorite huddle spot. Overnight, the waves had carved out a winding river from the pooled marsh water leading to the ocean — what a delight to see this new landscape magically appear. The weaners were enjoying the new waterway splashing and snoozing on the bank.
Stay tuned for my final docent report after my last shift on April 26th!
