Haystack Rock Awareness Program Nature Blog

Daily Low Tides Monday, June 9th; shift extended 30 minutes due to tide 2.5' @ 4:07 PM Tuesday, June 10th 2.6' @ 4:58 PM Wednesday, June 11th; shift extended 45 minutes -0.5' @ 6:08 AM Thursday, June 12th -1.0' @ 6:54 AM Friday, June 13th -1.3' @ 7:40 AM Saturday, June 14th; two shifts to cover both low tides -1.5' @ 8:25 AM 2.4' @ 8:21 PM Sunday, June 15th -1.4' @ 9:10 AM Notes from the Week The Black Oystercatchers took center stage this week. Susan Glarum captured a fabulous series of photos of our favorite oystercatcher couple sharing parental duties at Haystack Rock. This nesting pair in the saddle gives us a great opportunity to observe the lengths to which birds go to successfully hatch their eggs. One adult is almost always on the nest to keep the eggs protected from the elements and predators. The exchange between parents is quick so as to expose the eggs for only a short time. The couple was spotted chasing away a...

Daily Low Tides Monday, June 2nd; shift extended 45 minutes due to tide and visitors 0.2' @ 10:26 AM Tuesday, June 3rd; shift extended 45 minutes 0.6' @ 11:03 AM Wednesday, June 4th; shift extended 1 hour due to tides and visitors 1.0' @ 11:44 AM Thursday, June 5th; shift extended 1 hour 1.4' @ 12:30 PM Friday, June 6th; shift extended 1 hour 15 minutes 1.8' @ 1:23 PM Saturday, June 7th; shift extended 1 hour 15 minutes 2.1' @ 2:18 PM Sunday, June 8th; shift extended 45 minutes 2.3' @ 3:13 PM Notes from the Week Multiple swaps in tending the black oystercatcher nest in the saddle were observed. Bald Eagles, alone and in groups with adults and juveniles, continue to hunt. The eagles were seen taking a common murre on at least three days and sitting on a cormorant nest, possibly eating an egg. On Friday, a bald eagle family unit (2 adults and 1 sub-adult) were hunting with one other adult bald eagle; the adult from the family uni...

Daily Low Tides Monday, May 26th 2.0' @ 5:34 PM Tuesday, May 27th -0.8' @ 6:34 AM Wednesday, May 28th -0.9' @ 7:18 AM Thursday, May 29th -0.9' @ 7:59 AM Friday, May 30th -0.7' @ 8:38 AM Saturday, May 31st -0.5' @ 9:15 AM Sunday, June 1st -0.1' @ 9:51 AM Notes from the week This week featured 5 school groups and two other non-school groups at Haystack Rock. Three groups  were on the beach on Friday which featured an Aquaria station. There were also 2 additional visiting groups on Saturday. The highest count on the beach was 130 on Friday, followed closely by 117 on Saturday and 124 on Sunday. The Black Oystercatcher nest in the saddle has eggs and the oystercatchers have started swapping 'nest duty'. On Saturday, swaps occurred at 7:20, 8:10, 9:30, and 11:00. Neal Maine was in the intertidal trying to get a pictures of the eggs, but was unsuccessful ... this time! Black Oystercatcher on the nest in 2014; Photo b...