It is lush, green and peaceful on Race Rock – a start contrast to late August 2024 when I was last here. The gulls have are only started to build nests and without territory to defend or chicks to protect, they are quite mild-mannered. With few sea lions and a smaller gull population compared to last August, the air smells almost fresh.

Armeria maritima – Thrift in bloom at Race Rocks.  The thrift was once on the British three pence coin.  If you were “thrifty” you would be able to buy something with this small amount of money.  Source: Armeria maritima – Wikipedia

I was thrilled to see two young female elephant seals sleeping side by side, freshly molted and shinning silver. They will be good company and fun to watch. An older mid-molt female is also present but she mostly keeps to herself.

Two by two – Pairs of gulls, geese and elephant seals

Facility work

• cleaned the solar panels
• getting familiar with the site and modifications to the water and power systems

Vessels

• ecotourism: 17
• private: 1

Weather

• Overcast, periods of rain, NE light to moderate breeze