Cassie the cassin's auklet

Cassie would like to go to Cape Scott Provincial Park in North Vanocuver Island and then visit Sooke!

Cassin's auklets are small, chunky, black seabirds that nest in burrows on small islands—often entering and leaving under the cover of darkness to reduce the risk to their young. Adults are typically only 25-centimetres long and weigh about as much as two apples. They are charcoal in colour with tiny white eyebrows and blue-tinged feet. They spend their entire lives at sea, only coming to land to breed. Over half the world's population of Cassin's auklets are nesting on Triangle Island off the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. Triangle Island is part of the Scott Islands group, home to an astounding number of nesting seabirds. Birds that spend their whole lives at sea come to these islands to nest because of the abundance of forage fish in the surrounding ocean. A female auklet lays one egg a year roughly equal to 16 per cent of her body weight! Young learn to fly within two to three days of their birth. The food that Cassin's auklets eat is dependent on water temperature. In fact, as the oceans warm with climate change, the amount of food in the areas where they live is predicted to decrease and scientists believe these little birds are likely to go extinct. Their nesting area is protected, but the surrounding ocean where they fish for food is not. It's been years since Environment Canada proposed a marine wildlife area in these waters, yet no action has been taken.

Cassie would like to know - how can you prevent garbage from getting into the ocean?

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