Alcatraz—it's for the birds - California - Brief Article

At the Rock, it's a nestfest for gulls, guillemots, and more

When you visit Alcatraz Island, the last thing you expect to see is a baby boom. But the Rock is a parent trap this month, as seabirds and their little ones swirl, squawk, and flap. It's all part of the lively nesting activity at the former island prison, now part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA). From deserted guard towers to broken drainpipes, there's hardly a corner of this overgrown jumble of cement cell blocks that hasn't gone to the birds.

"When they unlocked the cells in 1963, they unlocked habitat," says Brett Carre, a former ranger for GGNRA. Now thousands of seabirds, along with hummingbirds, finches, and other terrestrial species, roost or breed on the 22-acre island.

Researchers conduct surveys from April through August, mostly in areas off limits to the public. But these birdmen and -women of Alcatraz aren't the only ones who can check out the action. There's plenty of nesting behavior in plain sight on this jailhouse rock.

Most obvious are the Western gulls. The 700 breeding pairs, which build nests everywhere, are easy to spot. In fact, they're sometimes right on the pathways.

"When visitors leave the island for the day, the empty footpaths look to birds like good nesting sites," explains Carre. "The next morning, we sometimes find nests on the main path and have to move them to areas where they won't be disturbed."

Nevertheless, many birds do end up settling close to highly trafficked areas. Watch as a gull comes in for a landing next to its island sweetheart (gulls mate for life). She'll nuzzle; he'll lovingly regurgitate a bit of fish for her and the kids. In the grass-and-seaweed nest, look for speckled chicks.

On the island's fenced off south end, birds rule the Rock. Scan the crumbling vine-cloaked foundations for fluorescent tape: It marks nests of black crowned night herons (more than 100 pairs nest on Alcatraz).

On the island's west side, visit windy Barker Beach overlook. If something black and white whirs by, it's probably a pigeon guillemot, a cousin of the puffin that nests in cliffside cavities. On the cliffs to your right, glossy black pelagic and Brandt's cormorants nest at precarious angles. Listen for the birds' odd grunting call. It's a sound only a parent can love.

COPYRIGHT 2001 Sunset Publishing Corp.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group