New Arrivals

It is spring, and spring sure is springing! Though the weather here has felt like summer since February, this launch into spring feels fresh. The jays are raising nestlings, the island is swimming with new (and returning) biologists, and there is one very important new arrival, not here on the island, but into my life. She is everywhere; I am constantly reminded of her fresh spring presence in my life: my new niece Lupine. My awesome strong sister gave birth to Lupine Anacleta Vallejos on March 18th at 4:57am and I somehow made it off the island in time to meet her at 10pm on her day of birth. It was an adventure I'll tell for ages, though the most exciting part was holding her for the first time and seeing my sister and her partner Richard and just knowing how great they will be as parents.

Molly with the sweetest nugget I have ever met.

I just held her and stared into her face as she slept for hours.

And now for some Jay Babies:

Hubble's alien babies, who are now so massive they practically look like adults cramming into the nest, fully feathered but with short tails.

Ravens have eaten many of our nests in Coches and Portezuela (they wait until they hatch and are fat and juicy) but they have surprisingly not gotten to Hubble. We have a camera pointed at the nest 24/7, hoping to catch a predation event, but this nest has made it (a huge success, seeing as the nest is horrendously exposed, low, and obvious, as most of Hubble's nests in the past have been)! Next time we go to Coches (on Sunday) the nestlings will either be eaten or successfully fledged, so we'll probably get to watch an exciting video either way!

We don't band nestlings anymore, but back in 2011 I took this photo of how weird these baby birds are! They grow up to be such studs.

All those funny pin feathers...

I'm glad human babies are cute from the get-go, and I can't wait to watch Lupine grow into a little person. Until I finish up the season out here on Santa Cruz Island, I'll have to get my baby fix by watching the nestlings on our plots grow up and into healthy, goofy little Brownheads.