Birds on San Juan Island . . .

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AND
Wednesday, April15 Puget Sound ACS Presentation, Seattle, WA
Dave Rugh: How many gray whales are there and where are they?
Gray whales of the Eastern North Pacific population have a phenomenally long and predictable migration between the Arctic and Mexico. Surveys along this migratory route show that these whales generally follow the coast, passing close to shore at some key locations. The site used most routinely for calculating abundance is at the Granite Canyon research station near Carmel, California. Shore-based counts of whales migrating south past Granite Canyon have provided good estimates of population size. Results from studies conducted across four decades show that gray whale abundance has had a fairly steady increase but with a notable decline after 1998 followed by an apparent stabilization. As the population increases, it is approaching the carrying capacity of the environment - a highly variable feature that can hold back productivity or give latitude for more growth.

Dave Rugh is a Wildlife Biologist at NOAA Fisheries Service's National Marine Mammal Lab (http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/nmml/cetacean/), studying Alaska's gray whales, belugas, and bowheads, primarily for distribution and abundance. This has meant oversight of NOAA's shore-based census of gray whales during their southbound migration past Granite Canyon in central California since the mid- 1980s.

ALSO
Killer Whales
of the Salish Sea
A Special Conservancy Fundraising Presentation
by Howard Garrett and Susan Berta, Co- Founders of Orca Network

Thursday, April 23, 2009
Artspring Theatre, Salt Spring Island, B.C. Canada 7:00 pm.
Tickets ($12 adults; $6 children) available at Artspring

The Southern Resident community of killer whales (or 'orcas') is certainly the most important wildlife feature of the ocean waters around Salt Spring Island. This special multimedia presentation will provide an entertaining, in-depth look at the lives of these killer whales as it has been revealed by scientific studies over the last few decades.

Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©