Pigeon Guillemot Breeding Survey
(Salish Sea Guillemot Network)
Learn more here!
The Salish Sea Guillemot Network is a community science project dedicated to the research, education, and protection of the Pigeon Guillemot in the Salish Sea. We monitor Pigeon Guillemot breeding colonies across the region to better understand their population dynamics and role in healthy coastal ecosystems.
We are a community science project started by Whidbey Audubon Society, dedicated to the education about and research and protection of the Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba). Data collected by our survey is being used by University of Washington researchers, is recognized by the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program (PSEMP) and is being integrated into the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife marine bird database.
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Pigeon Guillemots (PIGU) are endearing black and white seabirds with bright red mouths and feet. The Pigeon Guillemot is the only seabird that regularly nests on Whidbey Island. They typically nest in cavities (burrows) in the sandy bluffs that encircle much of Whidbey Island, though they are flexible. In the summer of 2021, a PIGU pair nested on the ramp counterbalance at the Coupeville Ferry Dock. A mated PIGU pair will normally have two chicks. Once a chick is fledged, it essentially tumbles from its burrow to the beach and then waddles to the water, where it will swim about and dive for fish until it is able to fly, approximately two weeks later.
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Since 2004 community science volunteers have been monitoring the Pigeon Guillemot colonies on Whidbey Island during the breeding season, early June through early September. For one hour a week colony volunteers sit quietly on beaches around Whidbey Island and count the total number of PIGU, identify active burrows and the number of breeding birds and count the number and type of prey delivered by parents to their chicks.
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PIGU are an important indicator species of the health of the Salish Sea, in particular the health of the bottom dwelling fish that the PIGU favor. However, we also study these birds to help educate Island residents and others about the importance of bluff stewardship and the joy of having guillemots in our waters. Our dedicated group of community science volunteers spreads the word with their friends and neighbors as well as beach walkers.
We have assisted other organizations in starting their own surveys using our protocol and contributing to our database. In 2020, with these organizations we established the Salish Sea Guillemot Network (SSGN), consisting of our Whidbey Island survey, one sponsored by the Nisqually Reach Nature Center which covers three counties in the South Sound, a survey sponsored by Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society and Clallam County Marine Resources Committee, a survey sponsored by Vashon-Maury Island Audubon Society and the Vashon Nature Center, a survey in Kitsap County sponsored by the Kitsap Audubon Society, and a survey on Camano Island supported by Sound Water Stewards of Island County. Our survey, under the SSGN, has now been extended to seven counties bordering the Salish Sea.
To learn more about our PIGU survey and to find out how you can become a part of this amazing and important work, visit the Salish Sea Guillemot Network website here.
This article explains how University of Washington researchers are using our Pigeon Guillemot survey data:
Community science effort helps UW researchers understand local seabird populations
Please help us continue our survey of Pigeon Guillemots. Our data helps Washington agencies assess the health of the Salish Sea. As our survey grows to encompass more areas of our Region, so do our costs to ensure we maintain scientific-level data collection.
Photos by Govinda Holtby.
