We're all getting older / April 25, 2020 by Michael Johns

There are approximately 500 wooden boxes (shown with a rock on top in the photo) scattered around on Southeast Farallon Island that are used as nesting habitat by Cassin’s auklets, the small seabird I’m holding in the photo. These boxes have been checked every year since 1982, where pairs of auklets using each box can be identified by a uniquely numbered metal band placed on the right leg. Some of the auklets that recruit into these boxes were banded as chicks, allowing us to track age-specific patterns of behavior, reproduction, and mortality. The bird in my hand is the oldest known-age individual currently breeding in the followed nest boxes, a female based on bill depth measurements with the band # 131319997. She received this band as a fledgling when I was still in high school back in 2001, first started breeding at age 3, and has produced 16 offspring with 3 different mates so far in her long life. We discovered her incubating a fresh new egg this year in box 212 with a new mate. At age 19, she is nearing the end of her life, and time will tell whether she manages to survive this winter to breed again next year.

This figure shows all of the known-age birds breeding in the boxed population this year. Dark grey squares at the top show the hatch year of each bird (band #’s along the x-axis), gaps are years where they were not detected, and colors show the type… — This figure shows all of the known-age birds breeding in the boxed population this year. Dark grey squares at the top show the hatch year of each bird (band #’s along the x-axis), gaps are years where they were not detected, and colors show the type of breeding attempt numbered by how many chicks were fledged each year. Cassin’s auklets lay a single egg per clutch (blue squares), will relay if the initial attempt fails (yellow), and occasionally double brood (lay another egg) after they fledge their first chick (pink). Auklets can recruit as early as age 3 and live to be up to 23 years old. Most birds don’t live into old age, but a few like 131319997 surpass all expectations. Click HERE for a full resolution image.

It Takes A Village / February 27, 2020 by Michael Johns

I’ve had the great opportunity to work with an incredibly detailed long-term dataset of known-age Cassin’s auklets from the Farallones, but I think it’s important to put into perspective how much effort is required to collect these types of data. Above is a reimagined figure depicting the tenure of the many devoted people involved in maintaining a continuous time series dataset from 1967 when the field station was first established until the present. Thanks to these committed folks, we now have a unique tool for tackling a range of demographic, evolutionary, ecological, and management questions for several seabird and marine mammal species. This summer will be my 6th season on the island, which is a small drop in the bucket compared to some current and past Farallon personnel. Apologies if your names are slightly misrepresented or some of the years are missing, I still need to finish my degree after all. Full resolution figure HERE.

Local Paddle / December 3, 2019 by Michael Johns

After years of being frozen all winter, I finally have the opportunity to use my kayak. I was lucky enough to find a storage locker for my 19 ft wooden boat only a 10 minute walk from our apartment, and just steps from a launch into Lake Union. My normal paddle extends from Stimson Marina in Ballard, under the Ballard Bridge, past rows of fishing boats, sail boats, and house boats, through The Cut, under the Fremont and 99 Bridges, and into Lake Union proper. The heat map below shows my most used paths. Not surprisingly the views of Seattle’s skyline are particularly stunning in the cold early morning and just before sunset. Now I just need to build up the courage to make it through the Ballard Locks and out into Puget Sound.

Where's Our New Apartment? / August 31, 2019 by Michael Johns

Casey and I are relocating to Seattle in 2 weeks and, unless we find some amazing cheap house in a desirable location, we’re moving into a small top floor apartment just blocks away from the Ballard Locks. The City of Seattle has an extensive online repository of datasets to explore, which I used to create this map of buildings and tree cover in our future neighborhood. The building we’re slated to move into is highlighted in red, which when zoomed out gets lost in a sea of other buildings. The dog-friendly apartment is ideally situated in a quieter neighborhood near the water, within biking distance of Casey’s new job, and a short walk from our friend’s house, nice bars and restaurants in Ballard, a nice beach for viewing sunsets, a marina to store my kayak in, and one of the largest green spaces in Seattle. Download a higher resolution version of the map HERE, and the code used to generate the base map HERE.

Rent / July 21, 2019 by Michael Johns

Our days are numbered in Fairbanks. Coming up this fall, Casey and I are heading south to the Emerald City. While we’re both looking forward to being close to the water again, it will be hard to leave our little cabin in the woods. Yes, it regularly stays below -20F in the winter, but you can’t beat the rent prices in Fairbanks. The above graph shows median rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in Seattle vs. Fairbanks, with the dashed line showing how much we currently pay for our cabin.