Haystack Rock Awareness Program Nature Blog

As summer comes to an end, we at HRAP are reflecting on a busy summer and its challenges and rewards. One of the biggest rewards was seeing the resident Black Oystercatcher pair successfully raise a chick for the first time in six years! After losing their first nest in late May, they tried again with one egg. The chick hatched in late June, and it was a joy to watch the pair raise the chick in the nesting area until mid-August, when the chick fledged and started to forage around Haystack Rock under the watchful eyes of its parents. We are still seeing the trio foraging together on the boulders on the north and south sides, as well as along the north wall. The chick will stay with its parents until next spring, when it will head off into the world to try to find a mate. The Black Oystercatcher chick left the nest area with its parents around August 12. Here they are foraging on the north side (parents top and bottom, chick in the middle). Photo by Tia Prudholm The black oyster...

Sands built up significantly in Haystack Rock's tidepools during the spring, and now it's easier than ever to walk on sand while exploring, thereby avoiding stepping on tidepool animals that cover the rocks, such as barnacles and anemones. The seabirds are in the height of nesting season, so we are continuing to rope off nesting areas to prevent disturbance. Please help us help these birds by staying out of roped off areas. Lastly, the black oystercatchers are trying again: After losing their first nest, they are nesting again and we wish them success!  Substantial sand buildup allows easy exploration of the tidepools while avoiding stepping on rocks. Photo by Margaret Minnick Substantial sand buildup allows easy exploration of the tidepools while avoiding stepping on rocks. Photo by Margaret Minnick

This week, there has been a series of morning minus tides at Haystack Rock. This opens up for exploration areas that are full of fascinating intertidal life, especially in the intertidal boulders to the south of Haystack Rock. At the same time, it exposes seabird nesting areas to increased human foot traffic. Human presence, especially where it isn't usually possible, can make birds nervous and they often leave their nests for a period as a result. If the eggs are left uncovered for too long or too often, they can get cold, causing the chicks inside to die. Areas are closed to protect nesting seabirds. Photo by Margaret Minnick This time of year is critical to nesting seabirds, most of which are seeing population declines. Disruption of their nesting habits can cause nest failure. That's why Haystack Rock Awareness Program staff and volunteers have been closing off areas around the rock during these morning low tides. Please be understanding of these closures when you v...

If you follow our newsletter, you know that the resident black oystercatcher pair at Haystack Rock is nesting! The nest is located in the loose rocky area just below the large "Do Not Enter" sign (see picture). This is the earliest they've nested in about a decade, and they currently have three eggs in their nest. The chicks are expected to hatch around June 4. A black oystercatcher sits on its nest at Haystack Rock. Photo by Margaret Minnick These birds are a U.S. Fish & Wildlife "Species of Concern," and have an average hatching rate of 29%. The chicks have only a 13% survival rate to fledging. So, every year the Haystack Rock Awareness Program works very hard to protect our black oystercatcher nest, so that they have the best chance of successfully hatching and fledging their offspring. To avoid any disturbance that might disrupt the nesting, HRAP staff are roping off the area in front of the nest during each low tide. When visiting the rock, be s...

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! ...

The pigeon guillemots have returned! Since late last week, we’ve seen 6-10 guillemots bobbing in the surf near the north and south boulders. We’ve also seen them perched on the low cliffs on Haystack Rock’s north side, where they nest. These early arrivers will hopefully be joined by many more of their species in the coming weeks as nesting season nears. And, now that the guillemots have returned, can the puffins be far behind? Follow HRAP’s Facebook page and this nature blog to be among the first to know when they do. You can learn more about Haystack Rock’s pigeon guillemots at: https://www.ci.cannon-beach.or.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/haystack_rock_awareness_program/page/10691/pguillemot.pdf   Pigeon Guillemots

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

On March 1, HRAP Naturalists Ellison and Andrea were surprised to find an unusual-looking sea star in the Marine Garden tide pools, and showed it to me (Margaret). I wasn’t quite sure what species it was, so I took a picture and uploaded it to the mobile app iNaturalist , hoping that the other users of the app would help me identify the star.  Within a day, the users on iNaturalist had identified it as a Mottled Star ( Evasterias troschelii ). Mottled Stars are more commonly found in Puget Sound, but are sometimes seen on the coasts of Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alaska, and northern California. My observation was also added to the iNaturalist project, Tracking Starfish Wasting and Recovery , which is helping to monitor recovery of sea star populations from Sea Star Wasting Disease. If you see any sea stars while tidepooling, you can snap a photo (safely and without disturbing the star, of course!) and upload it to iNaturalist to help with this project, too! ...

Our first week of HRAP's beach season brought rain and cold temperatures, but also a few clear days and some exciting wildlife sightings. We saw about 100 common murres on Haystack Rock and another 60 on the north Needle at the beginning of the week, only to have them disappear after a couple of days. This is actually not particularly unusual – last February, murres came to the rock for a few days and then returned in April, and those with longer memories say this pattern has happened several times over the years. We’ve also sighted our resident black oystercatcher pair on the north and south boulders, a handful of harlequin ducks in the calm water near the boulders, and a peregrine falcon, a bald eagle, and a pair of Canada geese at the top of the rock. This past week, low tides allowed us to get out to the tide pools for the first time this beach season. Winter storms swept away much of the sand, leaving large areas of bare rock that provide good access from the sou...

What a truly wonderful week it has been in Cannon Beach! We began the week with snow on the BEACH!!! On top of Haystack Rock! The snow only lasted a few hours but it made the beach more magical than normal, which I did not think was even possible. I hope everyone got to go out and enjoy it.  As the week continued on, our wonderful staff environmental educators went through a training in order to prepare for a seasonal full of educating you on the beach. We all spent countless hours getting all of the equipment ready to go to the beach.                                   And FINALLY...the first official beach shift of the season took place yesterday morning. It was a successful, fun, cold, and rewarding morning at the Rock. We talked to wonderful visitors that were full of questions and enthusiasm (two of our favorite things)! Now, if the seabirds would return from ...

We are just a little over a month and a half away from the first day of our beach season and although the last few months have technically been our off season, we have still been busy. We have been making trash talk jewelry, leading virtual field trips for student half way across the country, planning art workshops, cleaning up trash on the beach, working on new fun education things, and gearing up for the summer! The last few months we have still been exploring the beach and making fun new discoveries including huge piles of Bull Kelp, tons and tons of full Moon Jellyfish, logs on beach accesses, and diatoms blowing as fast as a Black Marlin. As the countdown to the 2019 season commences, the excitement among our staff and volunteers increases. We are all looking forward to returning to early mornings on the beach exploring the tide pools and gearing up to greet the colony of Sea Birds headed back to the Rock for nesting season!