By Kim Gaffett, Block Island Times
On Thursday, March 27, 19 volunteers surveyed nearly 100 percent of the island’s perimeter in an effort to get a count of seals in the area at this “peak” season for wintering seals. This effort was in coor dination with Save The Bay’s annual Bay-wide seal count that surveys all possible seal haul-out sites along the shores of Narragansett Bay. Seals were counted simultaneously throughout the state of Rhode Island within an hour of low tide on March 27: on Block Island we counted a total of 205 seals, Narragansett bay had 551. (The island number is conservative, always erring on the lower end of the count and adjusting for possible overlaps.)
This year, both Block Island and Narragansett Bay had more seals observed than usual. Even so, the Block Island count was low, probably because of the weather. Seals haul out at low tide to rest and warm up a bit, but if the surf is rough and the wind blowing stiffly, they are less inclined to haul out. On March 27, the wind was southwesterly and rough at Sandy Point, while Old Harbor Point was a bit protected. During the regular seal monitoring on March 29, the wind was more northeasterly (opposite of March 27) and the seal count at Sandy Point was 225-plus, and there were no seals observed at Old Harbor Point. The luck of weather and sea state on any observation day makes all the difference.
Most of the island’s seals are concentrated and found in only a few locations: Sandy Point (160+), Old Harbor Point (44) and Cormorant Cove (nine). But of course, seals are found – although less reli ably – on all of the island’s shorelines. On March 27, this included the sewer outfall (one harbor seal in the water) and, Dickens Point (one gray seal hauled out and lounging on a bed of seaweed).
Having seals observed in only five locations means that a lot of area is covered without the fun of noting the target species – this can be disappointing for the observer. It is important to note that the observation of “no seals” at a given location during the survey is critical to getting an accurate count and is an essential contribution to the whole assessment.
The need to cover so much area (approximately 18-mile perimeter, plus at least another three miles within the Great Salt Pond) in a relatively short amount of time (as close to low tide as possible) means that it takes many volunteers, without whom this island-wide count could not be done accurately!
This year the participants encountered windy and chilly weather conditions – not an enticing spring day – so their efforts were doubly heroic and appreciated. More important than the tally of seals was that everyone reported having an enjoyable and invigo rating day being out-and-about around the island. As is often the case, the primary activity served only as a prompt/motivation to put one’s self in a position to have a greatly enhanced experience just by being outside. We got the job done, and we had a good time doing it.
A huge thank you to you all!: Anna Mleczko, Barbara MacMullan, Carol Leslie, Cindy Davis, Faye Benedict, Fiona Lapham with Sandro, Davide and Giuliana Del Lungo, George Davis, Jean Louis Farges, Jody Brotherhood, John Formica, Margaret Haight, Margien Cooley, Mena Hautau, Rosie Foley, Susan Matheke.
February is a month of transition. February weeks bring a jumble of winter and spring-like days. I suppose every culture and community has their own nature signs for the coming of spring and the season’s longer periods of light. And, from Candlemas to the Chinese New Year to Groundhog Day to Easter, every culture and community has embraced ceremonies to celebrate the shift of season.
I naturally drift towards the habit of noting the ar rival and departure of bird species to mark the change of seasons. This habit of noting species arrival is not connected to physical subsistence, as it is for many people around the world. For example, the return of shad in the rivers may bring life-sustaining protein at the end of a lean winter. The same is true for many bird species during both fall and spring migration – including the dovekie. Forbush writes beautifully and expansively in “Birds of Massachusetts and Oth er New England States” about dovekie, including this passage of the dovekie as a sign of spring:
“This little auk is a “God-send” to the [Inuit] on its return home to the Arctic regions at the advent of spring. The [Inuit] welcome its arrival with joy as we welcome the return of the bluebird, for its coming means to them not only the recurrence of the vernal season but often the transition from starvation to plenty.”
Whether it’s red-wings, dovekies, or bluebirds, the appearance and disappearance of bird species, on seasonal or long-term basis, can be harbingers of a changing season or a changing environment. Such activities like Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count are great tools for documenting change. In 1998, Audubon Society, with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, started another annual bird census to document species abundance and presence. The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is a phenomenal effort to collect information about birds worldwide in their over-wintering habitats utilizing community scientists collecting observations in their own “back yards.” This year’s GBBC was February 16 – 19. To learn about the effort and how to participate go to: https://www.birdcount.org/about/. Or, you can join one (or all) of The Nature Conservancy’s mini bird walks. For dates, times and locations go to www.na tureblockisland.org