Haystack Rock Awareness Program Nature Blog

If you’ve been following HRAP on Facebook and Instagram, you know that we first sighted puffins at Haystack Rock on April 3! Since then, the weather has often been challenging for puffin-spotting (and everything else!) with wind, rain, high surf, and surging waves. Nonetheless, we’ve seen 10-16 puffins on many days, and more on a few calmer days. Calm mornings at low tide are the best times to come down to try to spot them.   Other than puffins, our usual cast of bird characters – including murres, guillemots, cormorants, black oystercatchers, harlequin ducks, Canada geese, and bald eagles – has been a reliable presence. In the tidepools we’ve seen many opalescent nudibranchs, aggregating and moon glow anemones, a few ochre sea stars, and a leather sea star too. As the weather improves, there will be more opportunities to see the amazing wildlife that lives, feeds, nests, and hunts at Haystack Rock. We are looking forward to it and hope you'll come to visit! ...

There has been plenty for birdwatchers to see at Haystack Rock this week, including three kinds of ducks! In addition to harlequin ducks, which are frequent visitors, HRAP Naturalists have spotted mergansers and surf scoters in the past few days. Common murres also made an appearance again, with approximately 1,000 visiting the rock late last week. Bald eagle and peregrine falcon visits are a near daily occurrence. An eagle took a common murre last Friday, only to have a falcon try to steal it! – but the eagle prevailed. The less-dramatic, but much cuter, black oystercatcher pair has been seen every few days feeding in the tidepools during low tide. Surf scoter   Harlequin duck