First of all, let me clear up a HUGE mistake I made in my last post. I
should have made it clear I was raised in Alaska in a family with a
tradition of harvesting wild game. It was either eat what was on the table
or go hungry. My brother and I wanted to be like other families and have
store bought sustenance. I haven't hunted for 30 years for personal reasons
that are too boring to go into. My past is what it is and that's that.
About recruitment: how do birds choose to winter/breed in a given area?
Are they all coming from the same place? We know from the recent tagging
studies the White-winged Scoters wintering in Penn Cove come from breeding
areas in northern Canada. In late summer they head to the waters off
Southeast Alaska for molting, dropping down to our area with the arrival of
autumn. I had a lengthy discussion with the Fed in charge of this and have
perused the data.
The question remains: Is it a certain grouping of birds whose genes or
some other factor direct them to a specific site? I can't get it out of my
mind they may be taking some toxin or other back to the breeding grounds and
are having troubles on that end.
More food for thought:
* Moon Snails, a large predator of clams, have for the 1st time in memory
moved into Penn Cove in large numbers.
* 1 of the Penn Cove Bald Eagle nests failed to fledge a single chick.
* 2 local residents pointed out to me they have seen a drop in Ghost Shrimp
on their beaches.
I don't have the science background to put it all together but I know
we're missing 1,100 scoters. Hopefully they've moved to more productive
wintering grounds.
Steve Ellis
Coupeville, ( Where the Salmonberry is starting to bloom!!) Wa
sellis at coup.wednet.edu