What's All the Stink About?

Sea Lion Pup, Zalophus californianus, La Jolla, California  The residents of those gorgeous homes and luxury condominiums and the patrons at the restaurants off the cliffs of La Jolla have been complaining about the stink caused by the sea lion and bird poop.  Notably, the birds had been there, nesting on the cliffs, for years.  However, in the last few years, the sea lions moved up onto the rocks, claiming it as a prime basking spot.  Well, sea lions and birds do what sea lions and birds do, and the rocks became a bit pungent.  The city tried spraying the rocks with bacteria to digest some of the smelly left overs; however, short of on ongoing spraying program, that was just temporary relief.  Soooo....the city opened up the fence to the cliff area, by installing a gate, for the tourists, photographers and others to walk down to take a closer look.  That seems to have cleared out most of the sea lions and, sadly, almost all of the nesting cormorants as well, greatly reducing the smell.  In fact, there were only two cormorant nests on the cliff where there used to be dozens of them.  This little sea lion pup, however, was still there posing for the camera and, gosh, isn't he cute?

It's Springtime in Southern California: Brandt's Cormorant with Chicks

Brandt's Cormorant, Phalacrocorax penicillatus, feeding her chicks; La Jolla, California. It's Springtime in Southern California and there are babies everywhere. Baby birds, baby seals, baby sea lions! This mother cormorant certainly has a handful (beakful?)! Shown here, the mother cormorant is regurgitating food for her chicks. Many of the neighboring bird's chicks had not hatched yet so this bird had a substantial head start on the flock. Perhaps having chicks well ahead of the rest of the flock will help those chicks compete for food. In any case, it's truly a fun time of year.

Brandt's Cormorants are found along the Pacific coast of North America from Alaska down through the Gulf of California. They were named after Johann Friedrich von Brandt, who originally described the type species from preserved birds brought back to St. Petersburg. In California, they feed on rockfish which they pursue with great speed and agility, enabled by their broad, webbed feet and sleek bodies. The blue throat patch is only present during the breeding season.