Exploring the Farallon Islands’ wildlife haven

For years I had dreamt of visiting the Farallon Islands a series of sharp rocky spires only miles off the San Francisco coast Mysterious and fascinating they are often hidden by a dense curtain of fog But our arrival organized by research biologists was met with fierce hostility Related Articles historic sites to learn more about the Bay Area s Civil War era Yosemite reservation rules are in the end declared here s when you ll need them to get into the park Where We Live Ancient trees still survive in the bustling Bay Area Q A Author Bonnie Tsui on memoir muscle and movement Oaks excel at supporting the food web including us Arbor Day s a good time to plant one The first assault was olfactory produced by the pungent poop of thousands of nesting Western gulls that waft through the air before we had climbed off the boat onto the island s rocky cliffs Next came the sound Protective parents the gulls screamed in shrill fury as we threaded through a highway past their nests Then they dive bombed forcing us to duck and shield our heads with our hands This experience smelly loud and exuberant is what environmental success looks like Once imperiled the Farallon Islands are now a raucous wildlife haven and a natural laboratory A century ago bird populations had plummeted after egg collecting in the wake of the California Gold Rush when there weren t enough chickens to provide eggs for the burgeoning San Francisco populace Over the years the birds as well as sea lions elephant seals and other marine mammals were also threatened by oil spills the depletion of Pacific sardine stocks and other stressors Journalists led by Point Blue Conservation Science staff tour the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge Calif on Friday May Point Blue Conservation Science has conducted research on seabirds sharks fish and other wildlife for more than years at the refuge miles from San Francisco but its partner the U S Fish and Wildlife Operation has cut funding Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Keepers of the islands U S Coast Guard lighthouse kept domestic animals dogs cats donkeys and rabbits that destroyed habitat and preyed on wildlife Passing ships pumped their bilges of dirty water before entering San Francisco Bay Nuclear wastes that were dumped at sea near the islands repose there even now in drums on the ocean floor A major step in the reversal of this trend was taken in when the islands were made a national wildlife refuge In its lighthouse was automated and the Coast Guard staff departed For the first time in years the islands were free from human exploitation Under protection wildlife populations are rebounding The Farallon Islands are now home to the largest U S colony of nesting seabirds outside Alaska Five species of marine mammals breed or haul out here and great white sharks visit regularly to feed on various of them To maintain this success visitation is strictly limited The islands are uninhabited with the exception of Southeast Farallon Island where a handful of researchers with Point Blue Conservation Science have a field station Permits to go ashore are rarely granted The best way to view the islands is by boat joining a whale-watching company on eight-hour expeditions that leave East Bay and San Francisco harbors View from the lighthouse hill at Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge in Farallon Islands Calif on Friday May Point Blue Conservation Science has done seabird shark fish and other research for more than years at the island but its partner U S Fish and Wildlife Operation will no longer provide funding to continue research at a great number of national wildlife refuges due to budget tightening Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group We were invited to come ashore by Point Blue Conservation Science the nonprofit organization that in partnership with the U S Fish and Wildlife System has been monitoring and conducting research on the islands seabirds For years Point Blue scientists have braved wind fog and isolation to build a rich wildlife database But due to federal budget cutbacks Point Blue biologists will no longer be monitoring the islands all year As soon as September they ll be leaving their posts for the first time in nearly six decades They wished journalists to see the value of their work The journey out felt stomach-churning Our day was beautiful and brightly scrubbed by the wind But the going felt agonizingly slow as the boat lurched into the wind and fierce swells pounded into every wave head on and sent bone-chilling spray gusting over the cabin Spring weather near the Farallones is deceptive While the mainland begins to wake up from the dormant stage of winter the temperature on the islands becomes cooler according to the islands scientists That s because the trademark northwesterly winds of spring create rich upwelling zones within the California Current that rips through the lonesome rocks sometimes reaching gusts up to knots At last on the horizon the Farallones emerged Named for the Spanish farall n meaning a rocky pillar jutting from the sea the islands were called the devil s teeth by sailors in the s for their ragged profile and treacherous shores the cause of various a shipwreck The four small islands rise starkly from the sea South Farallones two islands divided by a narrow channel Middle Farallon a solitary rock three miles south and North Farallones four miles north Southeast Farallon is the only island in the group inhabited by humans There s no dock because conditions on Southeast Farallon s rocky shore are too hazardous So access is challenging We boarded an inflatable Zodiac boat which was hoisted into the air by a crane and placed on the island Journalists and Point Blue Conservation Science staff in a U S Fish and Wildlife Institution boat are lifted with a derrick crane to access Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge in Farallon Islands Calif on Friday May Point Blue Conservation Science has done seabird shark fish and other research for more than years at the island but its partner U S Fish and Wildlife Arrangement will no longer provide funding to continue research at countless national wildlife refuges due to budget tightening Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group On shore the first step was to clean and sanitize our shoes using buckets brushes and bleach so we didn t accidentally introduce a new invasive species to the islands A young Nazca booby a rare vagrant bird unveiled far from its Central and South American habitat perched on a nearby rock and eyed us suspiciously We gathered in an old Victorian house built in the late s and inhabited solely by biologists computers file cabinets and mice to learn more about how scientists are studying the ecosystems of the Farallones and surrounding areas advancing monitoring programs to track trends and emerging issues and identifying management solutions Farallon Patrol pennants decorated the walls as well as a giant mural of the rare Farallon Arboreal Salamander Its ancestors arrived when the Farallones were connected to Point Reyes thousands of years ago The creature has a unique ability and propensity among salamanders to climb trees but on the Farallons where trees are in short supply it loves crevices and burrows A blackboard featured a dauntingly long to do list Fix ceiling in laundry room Collect water supplies Switch out fire extinguishers Review Seabird Description draft Fix Leak on stanchion Boat maintenance After lunch we hiked up rock cliffs surrounded by a buzz of activity A coronet of gulls circled overhead Guillemots dived from the rocks and cormorants flew in long black lines offshore A colony of Common Murres the the greater part populous bird on the island with approximately individuals according to Point Blue Conservation Science at Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge in Farallon Islands Calif on Friday May Point Blue Conservation Science has done seabird shark fish and other research for more than years at the island but its partner U S Fish and Wildlife System will no longer provide funding to continue research at countless national wildlife refuges due to budget tightening Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group The Pacific Ocean stretched westward miles to Hawaii On Southeast Farallon s west end the weather side big swells thundered against the cliffs and rolling great booming breakers raced up surge channels choked with logs In a cove a cluster of tawny California sea lions glided through aquamarine water that roiled with their antics We peered through a hidden bird blind at common murres striking birds that are the ecological counterparts of Antarctic penguins Similar to penguins murres appear to be wearing tuxedos with a coat of black feathers on their head back and wings and a pale white belly and underwings Clustered together they preened and caressed On bare rocks pairs incubated one beautiful egg shaped to roll in a circle so it won t fall off a rocky ledge As we walked we took care not to step on the auklet burrows that riddled the ground A biologist fished an incubating auklet chick from its burrow As fuzzy as a plush toy it stared up at us unflinchingly with an opalescent eye Gulls seat on their nests at Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge in Farallon Islands Calif on Friday May Point Blue Conservation Science has done seabird shark fish and other research for more than years at the island but its partner U S Fish and Wildlife Function will no longer provide funding to continue research at plenty of national wildlife refuges due to budget tightening Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group More than species of birds have been recorded there a stunning number for a refuge that measures only acres in size That s largely because the Farallones get so a large number of vagrant bird species more than any other wildlife sanctuary in the U S When birds migrating over land encounter bad weather conditions like headwinds or rain they can stop traveling and rest But songbirds flying over open ocean don t have that option So a wide variety of species such as warblers flycatchers and buntings make their way to the Farallones to recuperate often confused and exhausted Soon reluctantly it was time to sail home As of late as years ago we could have hiked back At the end of the last ice age the coastline of the San Francisco Bay region was miles seaward beyond its present position That s because great sheets of ice stored water so sea level was about feet lower than at present The melting of the ice sheets caused sea level to rise forming the Gulf of the Farallones and San Francisco Bay Once-coastal hills are now the Farallon Islands A Western gull sits on a nest with its chick and an egg at Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge lighthouse hill in Farallon Islands Calif on Friday May Point Blue Conservation Science has done seabird shark fish and other research for more than years at the island but its partner the U S Fish and Wildlife Provision will no longer provide funding to continue research at a large number of national wildlife refuges due to budget tightening Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group The return trip was surprisingly serene as the boat rolled and yawed pleasantly in quartering seas We passed under the span of the Golden Gate Bridge and through its steely shadow then glided into a slip at a Berkeley harbor and fastened the lines Giddy from the experience I climbed off the boat ears still ringing from the islands madhouse cacophony and muscles rocking from the ocean waves But my heart was filled with gratitude for those who saved this special place and I prayed for continued help The Oceanic Society offers whale-watching expeditions to the Farallon Islands each year from April through mid-December Led by a wildlife guide the experience includes sightings of sea lions sea birds and whales more than per trip last season near these islands which are miles from the Golden Gate Trips aboard the -foot Salty Lady depart at a m on weekends from the San Francisco Marina Yacht Harbor Scott St in San Francisco Find details at www oceanicsociety org