Early in the salmon season, pairs of common murres are abundant on the water. The chicks have recently jumped off their colony rocks and into the sea. At this stage, they can't fly, and can't dive for fish to feed themselves. So the chicks pair up with a parent, and go to sea. The parent dives to feed the chick. Each pair has a call that the other recognizes. After the parent surfaces, they call back and forth until reunited. I have often seen larger chicks, but last week's chicks were remarkably small compared to the parents.
And yes, the first ocean salmon of the season was caught: a hatchery coho, weighing about 7 pounds. It had recently been dining on small squid.
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