Hi COASSTers,

It’s been an exciting few weeks. In the office, we’ve been busy taking a look at the Common Murre die-off and gearing up for the official launch of our new marine debris program. Our first trainings are scheduled for Forks (WA), Port Angeles (WA), and Newport (OR) next month. Additionally, COASST Executive Director, Julia Parrish, recently returned from a trip to the White House, where COASST was recognized on multiple fronts as an example of a citizen science program providing useful data to scientists and resource managers. Big thanks to all of you for all of your hard work!

Let’s take a look at what’s washed in recently:

Here’s a fun one! Barbara and Mike had “never seen anything like this bird” when they came across it during their September survey on South Butterclam in Washington.

Bill 30mm
Wing 28.5cm
Tarsus 34mm

Alaska Foot Key – page 34
West Coast Foot Key – page 22
Choose webbed (go to Q2), completely webbed (go to Q3), four toes: 3 webbed 4^th free (go to Q5), tarsus not >12mm across (go to Q6), thin toe or nail only (go to Q7), heel swollen – STOP: Larids.

Alaska Guide
On LA1 –Bill is hooked, Gulls and Kittiwakes (go to LA2). Wing Coloration: triangular dark-white-dark pattern. Go to species pages: Red-legged Kittiwake (immature) LA16 or Sabine’s Gull, LA20 The wing is within the SAGU range (26-29cm) but not outside of reason for RLKI (29-33cm). If we look at “Similar Species” we see that SAGU inner primaries are white, as opposed to gray with white tips. Sabine’s Gull it is! Notice its dark bill with yellow tip (adult!) and dark head (breeding!).

West Coast Guide
On LA1 –Bill is hooked, Gulls and Kittiwakes (go to LA2). Wing Coloration: dark wingtips, primaries without windows. Go to species pages:
Black-legged Kittiwake LA13, wing tips not solid black. Moving on…
Heerman’s Gull LA21, all measurements too small. Hmm…
Red-legged Kittiwake (too rare to be in the guide). Can’t rule it out, so let’s stick with Group: Gulls and Kittiwakes, species unknown and let Charlie work his magic.

Sabine’s Gulls are so rare in the lower 48 that they aren’t even mentioned in the West Coast Guide!

During her June survey on Agate Beach in Northern Oregon, Wendy found quite a bit of bird variety, including this tricky specimen.

Wing 15cm
Tarsus 28mm

Alaska Foot Key – page 34
West Coast Foot Key – page 22
Choose webbed (go to Q2), completely webbed (go to Q3), four toes: 3 webbed 4^th free (go to Q5), tarsus not >12mm across (go to Q6), thin toe or nail only (go to Q7), heel flat (go to Q8), foot not huge – STOP: Tubenose: Petrels

Alaska Guide
On TN1 –wing chord is <18cm: Storm-Petrels. Go to species pages:
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel TN15
Leach’s Storm-Petrel TN17

Tarsus measurement more fitting for FTSP and plumage gray rather than dark sooty brown. No white rump patch. Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel it is!

West Coast Guide
On TN1 –wing chord is <17cm: Storm-Petrels. Go to species pages:
Leach’s Storm-Petrel TN9
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel TN11

Tarsus measurement more fitting for FTSP and plumage gray rather than dark sooty brown. No white rump patch. Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel it is!

The Harps found the 7^th COASST bird of its kind on their July survey on Ediz Hook in Washington.

Bill 30mm
Wing 28.5cm
Tarsus 34mm

Alaska Foot Key – page 34
West Coast Foot Key – page 22
Choose free (go to Q9), 4:3 front, 1 back (go to Q10), two toes are fused! STOP: Kingfishers are as far as the COASST guides will take you—this one is a Belted Kingfisher.

Keith found this “bucket” on Steamboat Creek in July.  Amanda and Chris identify and translate the object as follows: In the small, blue kanji characters on top) 天下一品=Tenka Ippin=”Best thing on Earth” (In the larger white characters in the blue box below) ジヨータみそ=jiyota miso. The contents are probably bean paste that is put into miso soup, among other things. Tenka Ippin is apparently a restaurant chain in Japan that specializes in ramen.

What a find! Olli sent us this great shark photo from Cape Meares, Oregon that Katherine Maslenikov, Collections Manager at the UW Burke Museum, confirmed to be a salmon shark. Salmon sharks have a slightly bulbous body with a conical snout and are usually found roaming the subarctic and temperate North Pacific. As you might guess from their name, they feed primarily on Pacific salmon, but they will occasionally snack on other bony fish as well. Typically, they are about 6.5-8 feet long, but they can reach up to 10 feet in length!

Seen something on the beach you’ve always wondered about? Send us a photo!

Cheers,
Erika, Julia, Hillary, Charlie, Heidi, Jenn, and the COASST Interns

Here’s an update from COASST Executive Director, Julia Parrish, on her recent trip to Washington, DC:

Who knew that only a few years after going to The White House to receive a Champions of Change award (zoom to minute 10:30) on behalf of COASST, I’d be back in the South Auditorium attending a “by invitation” gathering of citizen science cognoscenti. Of course COASST has been pioneering citsci for years out here on the West Coast, but inside the beltway the notion that “the rest of us” non-scientists can collect data, and deduce information, at a level of rigor rivaling grad students, faculty, and other “card-carrying” scientists is just beginning to gain ground. What we know:

• that the world is changing too fast to rely only on scientists to measure and monitor
• that involving residents in communicating what is happening in the places, spaces and habitats they know and love can only improve our knowledge
• that people will use and respect science that comes from within, and not just from the ivory tower

creates the perfect storm for effective citizen science.

The auditorium was crowded with guests. Mike Brubaker from the LEO Network was there. Just last week I gave a LEO webinar about the Common Murre die-off. Also present were Nolan Doesken – the brains, energy and boundless enthusiasm behind CoCoRaHS (if you don’t know about this weather citsci project, you might want to sign up!), Karen Oberhauser – the woman who has singled handedly pushed Monarch butterfly citizen science to new levels, and Gretchen Lebuhn, who spearheads the Great Sunflower Project. COASST was in excellent company.

Here are some super-great things that happened:

• John Holdren, the President’s Science Advisory and the head of the Office of Science Technology Policy, spoke to us about the power of citizen science and how the federal government can, and should, do more. To that end, he released a policy memo outlining what The White House and the federal agencies can do. And COASST is called out as a great example of how to do citsci right (pg 10-11)! YaHOO!!

• France Cordova, the Director of the National Science Foundation, gave a great speech about the power of rigorous citizen science to advance all of science – citsci as a bonafide tool in the science toolbox. Turns out she used citizen science data in her own PhD research (astronomy). And wouldn’t you know, Dr. Cordova also called out COASST as a shining example of citsci done right, with our data used by scientists and resource managers alike. Double YaHOO!!!

• As if that wasn’t enough (and actually, it was – I was already on cloud 9), the next day I had the chance to speak to staffers of our Washington delegation about COASST and the great work we do. Upshot? Senator Patty Murray tweeted congrats to us! Hat-trick YaHOO!!!

Now I’m back in Seattle, leaping back into the Common Murre die-off, moving our new marine debris sampling program forward, and working with a myriad of scientists and resource managers who are using COASST data. It’s all COASST all the time, which is just how I like it.

And it’s a great feeling to know that thousands of miles away in the other Washington COASST is getting well-deserved recognition as an exemplar citizen science program. And that’s quite simply due to the continuing efforts of hundreds (and hundreds!) of COASSTers out there every month. Hat’s off to you!!!!