In further confirmation of sourdough success, I reserved some of the starter from the bread adventure, fed it last night, and used it to make sourdough pancakes this morning. I made a double batch thinking I would have leftovers to put in the freezer, turned out we ate all of them, washing them down with hot coffee and tea. It was a good, hearty, island breakfast, which fortified us for our walk around the island.
We went down the hill, the foghorn droning on in the background, and from there out to the north point. We spent a while crawling around on the rocks, seeing what there was to see, and Jason asked if we would walk on the rocks to the south side of the island. I was a little hesitant as the gulls were very territorial in that vicinity due to some nesting activity, but I suspected that they were close to hatching time, and as the chicks are mobile within days of hatching, figured that we could at least give it a shot, and if we were attacked could turn back.
The gulls, while somewhat disquieted, let us be for the most part, and we did make it to the Cobblestone Beach without incident. Along the way we spotted many empty nests, but with very few scattered shell fragments, which didn’t help us either way, as the nets could simply be from prior years. As it turned out, my suspicions were uncannily accurate, as we stumbled on a chick lying in a tuft of grass, watching us but otherwise unmoving, which means it had probably hatched within the last 48 hours! We moved on quickly, making mother herring gull happy, leaving the chick in peace. This also makes me happy, as it means I can probably clear the rest of the trails this week, weather permitting, as the gulls will no longer be protecting eggs. Just in time for the 4th of July weekend too!
The rest of the walk passed without seeing more chicks, but seeing shell fragment all over the beach. I wonder if the gulls clean the nest out after hatching takes place…does anybody know? If so, please share with me. I’m curious and cannot find that in our bird book. We had to clip the walk a little short, as Dad was returning at noon to collect our guests. We moseyed back up the hill to collect up the gear, make some tea, and Jason & I pulled out the instruments to play a couple of songs, when unexpectedly out of the fog, Donna Richardson came barreling into the Quarters.
She had come out to the island with her father and some of his friends, and wanted some help getting them all ashore. As usual, timing is everything in this world. We all were heading down the hill to help Donna when Dad called, ready to make the pickup on Jason & Laura. So The Cove was a busy scene for several minutes as we shuttled people back and forth between boats, and then we got to hang out with Donna & company for a few hours before they had to leave too.
For a day with less than a quarter of a mile visibility, it turned out to be a busy & exciting day. Amy & I just hung out for the evening, playing mandolin and knitting, with the heater going still. We went to bed early, still listening to the fog signal, hoping for better weather in the morning.
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