Where is Leo?
In early October, a Stellar sea lion pup was stranded on the beach at Ocean Shores. He was rescued by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife and treated and cared for at two wildlife rehabilitation centers, including PAWS Wildlife Center in Lynnwood.
The 4-month-old pup weighed less than 100 pounds, emaciated by sea lion standards. The U.S. Coast Guard flew Leo to the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, Calif. Pups nurse for about a year so Leo needed special attention.
Leo gained 150 pounds.
In mid-April, he was released on the outer coast of Washington state. SeaDoc Society is funding the satellite time to monitor his activity and learn how rehabilitated pups survive along the outer coast of Washington.
As of May 12, Leo was 0.62 miles off the coast, 71.4 miles south of Olympia.
If you find a stranded or injured mammal, do not disturb it. Call the Marine Mammal Stranding Network (866-767-6114) or local authorities.
Weathering pine siskins: Participants in Project FeederWatch, a November to early April survey of birds visiting feeders, have contributed much to avian research.
It’s citizen science at its best, a decades-long contribution for scientists to analyze bird populations and distribution changes in Canada and the U.S. For instance, since 1989, birdwatchers have sent in more than 2 million observations of pine siskins, some of them from Snohomish County.
That of information has helped researchers shed more light on an ornithological event: irruption, when birds from Canada’s boreal forests migrate hundreds of miles south of their usual winter range.
University of Utah researchers reported that climate patterns may set the stage for irruptions, as reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. If they’re right, irruptions could be predicted.
The research, combining FeederWatch observations with climate data, has tied population movements to weather patterns.
Pine siskins tend to stay in Canada’s northern forests, where they breed and raise their chicks. If tree seeds are scarce, dramatic numbers of pine siskins shift south in the winter until they find a better food supply.
The study showed that, generally speaking, if the weather pattern is unfavorable to seed production in one area, it’s probably more favorable in another region.
The amount of seed in one year depends on whether the climate was favorable the two or three years before that, researchers said, thus leading to the possibility of predicting irruptions.
But what if climate change affected seed production in such a way that there was an inadequate supply of seeds not only in the boreal forests but far beyond? That’s an uncomfortable thought for birdwatchers and researchers, and a potentially devastating situation for seed-dependent boreal birds. For more information, go to www.feederwatch.org.
Two dates left: The last two “free days” this spring at state parks are June 6 and June 13. Visitors do not need a Discover Pass ($30 annual, $10 daily).
The free admission also applies to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Department of Natural Resources lands. For info, go to www.discoverpass.wa.gov.
Pick up after yourself: Washington CoastSavers recently coordinated its largest Washington Coast Cleanup with more than 1,550 volunteers removing about 15 tons of marine debris off of beaches from Cape Disappointment to Cape Flattery, and into the Strait of Juan de Fuca as far east as Port Townsend. Go to www.coastsavers.org for more information.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.
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