The desalination system to produce fresh water for use on the island (e.g. cooking, dishes, showers, cleaning windows, solar panels, power washing etc.) is out of commission. Drinking water is normally brought in but now so is the house water, which is pumped from a large tank on the supply vessel and to the fresh water storage container. With limited water, activities like power washing walkways or buildings are put on hold but the solar panels must be cleaned daily.  Using a brush, bucket of water and a squeegee instead of the water hose to rinse the panels, brings water consumption down to about 4L. To save water in the house, I hold off washing the dishes until the cutlery runs out, about 4 days.

Dishwashing night with views of the gulls and Port Angeles in the distance.

There is a spy glass on the fresh water tank indicating water level in inches. I arrived late in day on May 15th with 16.5″ or 1868 L of water. Today it is at 1806 L, so I’ve done well using about 9L a day. I’ll really blow the budget in 5 days when it comes time to do laundry.  Our top loading washer uses 150L of water!

Today I cleared a path (hand weeding and weed whacking) along the side of desalinator building to the water tank shed. It is the long way around to the shed but once the gulls have chicks, it is the best approach. Staying close to the buildings will protect me from angry diving gulls, I won’t have to worry about terrifying chicks hiding in the grass, and from that direction, I’ll disturb the lowest number of gulls as possible.

Cleared path in front of water tank shed (left) and the desalinator building (right). Soon the area will be full of gulls.

Wildlife notes:

No unusual visitors to the island. The four elephant seals and the pelicans are still here. The gulls are going about their pairing, mating, fighting and nest building.

Facility work

• cleaned solar panels
• topped up battery fluid levels
• weeding

Vessels

• ecotourism: 2
• private: 2

Weather

Sunny, gentle westerly breeze until early evening. Winds forecast to reach westerly 30 in the evening so the flag will be lowered for the night. Daytime temperature: high 11, low 9.

Three boat loads of Pearson’s students, instructors and a couple of parents visited today. They learned about the sea lions, elephant seals, gulls, the history of the lighthouse, climbed the lighthouse and toured the facilities to learn how fresh water and energy are produced and stored on the island. On one of the trips an ROV was launched off the pier. It was super cool to catch a special glimpse of the dancing kelp underwater world and have a view of the sky with gulls flying overhead seen from below the water surface.

Race Rocks students (tiny specks) at the base of the lighthouse.

Wildlife notes:

Several young eagles visited the island early this morning. I found it interesting that once an eagle had landed, the gulls seemed complacent and even sat or stood nearby. The oyster catchers however were not as accepting and continued to harass the unwelcomed intruder. Their determination and insistence may by due to the fact that some of the oyster catchers have already laid their eggs, while the gulls have little invested at this point, being only in the nest building, pairing and mating stages. Or maybe the young eagle I watched sitting amongst the gulls was just an inexperienced hunter or it is only eagles in flight that are a danger to the gulls …all day I watch the creatures here and wonder why – never any closer to understanding.

Oystercatcher swooping at a young eagle on South Rocks.

Facility work

• cleaned the solar panels, too busy with the boats and visitors for much else

Vessels (partial count)

• ecotourism: 2
• private: 1

Weather

• moderate westerly breeze throughout the day, partial clouds. Day time temperature: high 11, low 9.

A group of Pearson College students were dropped off today to explore the island as an end of semester special treat. It was fun to watch thirteen very happy people wander about. I am glad the elephant seals were in the grass when the students arrived as there was much interest in these sleeping giants.

Two year old female elephant seal

Two of the visitors were alumni who stayed on the island for two weeks in 2016. Watching their glowing faces and hearing their stories of an unforgettable time spent surveying gull chicks and painting the jetty fence was extra special for me for they truly understood the power of this extraordinary place.

Pearson College’s new landing craft, the Pedder Explorer, leaving with a group of students

Facility work

• cleaned the windows inside the Keeper’s House
• weeded brick pathway at the Energy Building
• transferred diesel to the generator and refilled the tidy tank

Vessels

• ecotourism: 15
• private: 0

Weather

Winds calm in the am to westerly 15 in the evening. Skies partly cloudy, short scattered showers. Daytime temperatures: low 9, high 11.

There are many spring and early summer flowering plants to observe on Race Rocks but most of them are introduced species. I has happy to find the fringed redmaids (Calandrinia ciliata) growing in a dense mat near the top of east beach. This small annual flowering plant species is one of the few native species found here.

I have started on the thistle removal program again, only this year I am starting off double-gloved! It has heightened my awareness of how many introduced species there are on the island. It would be impossible to remove them all. Below are photos taken today of some of the introduced “weedy” plants in flower.

Facility work

• weeding/clearing walkways
• thistle removal

Vessels

• ecotourism: 8
• private: 1

Weather

Winds calm in the am building to WNW 25 in the pm. Skies partly cloudy. Day time temperature: low 9, high 12.

Wildlife notes

A new slightly larger female elephant seal arrived today!  We now have two older females and two youngsters enjoying the grassy field.

The whole gang. From front to back: molting female, new female to the group, the two young ones.

I rarely have the chance to see Ollie, the sea otter and when I do he is just a speck in the distance. Today I had the chance to watch him snooze, arms in the air. He seemed to have himself hooked onto a bull kelp for an anchor. It reminded me of once seeking refuge in a kelp patch, having no option but to bow and stern tie my little 18′ foot sailboat to the kelp to wait out the weather and rough seas. Unlike Ollie, I wasn’t relaxed about it or sleeping through it.

Facility work

• cleaned solar panels
• weeding the front of the keepers house

Vessels

• ecotourism: 0

Weather

Winds moderate breeze, veering from WSW 30 in the morning to WNW 25 in the afternoon, becoming variable in the evening. Scattered clouds. Day time temperature: low 9, high 12

Wildlife notes

A wandering tattler (non-breeding visitor) was seen on the east shore rocks this afternoon! It was a brief, blurry photo visit.

Wandering tattler

Range of wandering tattler (source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wandering_Tattler/maps-range)

Unlike the wandering tattler, the two brown pelicans (non-breeding visitors) have been on the island for a week or so and were easy to photograph.  These massive birds have a 7 foot wing span and were flying about today in the 30+ knot winds. To catch their meals, they are known to dive into the water from heights of up to 50 feet in the air but today I only saw them land on the water surface. These pelicans have made an amazing recovery since the 1960’s. For a sad story on the recent plight of these birds see  https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/brown-pelicans-starvation-20295659.php

Brown pelican range map (Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Pelican/maps-range)

Facility work

• top up battery fluid levels
• organize and clean house

Vessels

• ecotourism: 1

Weather

Winds westerly 20 to 30, gusting to 39 knots, partially cloudy with scattered showers.

It is lush, green and peaceful on Race Rock – a stark 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 shining 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