Pelagic cormorants at St. Lazaria National Wildlife Refuge

With calm seas this afternoon we were able to visit St. Lazaria Island, a National Wildlife Refuge located off the south end of Kruzof Island, exposed to the open ocean swells. Exploring the border of the island by Zodiac, we experienced the sights and sounds of an active seabird colony, with steady streams of common murres, pelagic cormorants, and pigeon guillemots heading into and out of the colony. Black oystercatchers foraged along the shoreline, several with nearly fledged young. Tufted puffins flew overhead, carrying fish lined up in their brightly colored bills to feed their chicks, and quickly flying away on another foraging trip. A bald eagle flew over carrying a common murre in its talons; the murre escaping when the eagle dropped it just before landing. Northwestern crows foraged along the edge of the puffin colony, one reaching into the mouth of a puffin burrow capturing a chick, and carrying it away to feed its own young.