Today we measured our first chicks in the colony! They still have their egg tooth–the tiny white bump on the end of their bill that they use to push their way out of the eggs. It’s hard work for those little guys! After a few days they loose this “tooth.” Right now the parents keep their chick warm under a wing but in a few days the chick will be left alone while both parents go out to find food.
A chick in the process of hatching.
Every three days we will revisit the nests with chicks that we can reach and we will measure their bills, wings and weigh them. Here is the chick from nest W11:
From left to right, Julia, Laurel, chick W11 and Derek.
After a long day of colony work we went on a late night walk along the beach where lots of ice had gathered during the day. Here is Derek surfing on some of the ice floes!
