The wind is back with a vengeance! It’s only reached about 30 knots at its highest today which reading through some previous blog posts is nothing compared to what other Eco Guardians have experienced. I imagine a big storm would be a pretty wild experience here. Even with today’s gusts the house seems to shake and rattle.

Today was a relatively relaxing Sunday, although I’m not sure I ever fully relax here because there always seems to be something exciting happening out one of the many windows and I worry if I sit down that I may miss it.

My staring out a window paid off this morning as a couple of transient orca swam past the reserve. Of course with my usual luck, just as they seemed to be heading toward me they veered back out and swam off into the distance.

However I’m not complaining, no matter how many times I see whales I will always giddily sprint out of the house with my camera. But I do hope one of these days they’ll swing by the house as I’ve heard they often do!

There are still 4 female elephant seals here, 2 big and 2 small. The sea lions have been favouring the jetty more and more each day but are pretty quick to leave if I walk in that direction. There is one large California sea lion that is pretty resistant to being moved and has showed some aggressive behaviours toward me if I’m in his vicinity, but thankfully he seems to have found a new haul out site and has not been misbehaving the last couple of days . 

I have not yet come across any gull nests but they are definitely pairing off and can almost always been seen in twos. The geese have various nests around the island and the gulls have been quick to destroy any new eggs. They have a habit of dropping the broken eggs directly on the foot path outside my front door, sort of like a cat bringing home a dead mouse. I’m not sure which is worse. I may not have arrived to Race Rocks as a bird person but I am becoming more and more intrigued by them and their quirks, rituals, and different behaviours. 

Facility Work:
– Chopped wood and kindling
– Cleaned solar panels

Vessels:
– 2 Ecotourism

Weather:

• Sky: Blue skies and sunny with clouds moving in late afternoon
• Wind: Low of 7 knots, High of 19 knots with gusts up to 30 knots
• Sea: Whitecaps, strong current within the reserve
• Temperature: Low 11•C, High  22•C

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **