Wildlife notes

I last checked the oystercatcher nests on the 14th. Today I found the East Jetty and the Helipad nests empty. The East Jetty pair had two eggs but I could only spot one chick. They have their chick very close to shore, unlike the other oystercatchers which seem to keep their chicks among the rocks for a week or so before they move them. The Helipad pair had one egg. I assume it has hatched as the parents were vocal when I approached. I don’t expect to ever see their chick as there is not a good place to sit and watch and the chick too small to see from the top of the lighthouse.

East Jetty black oystercatcher parent and chick.

East Jetty black oystercatcher parents and one chick.

Other visitors include two killdeer, two purple martins again and one banded gull. The gull was banded in Sooke in Feb 2022 in its third winter. It was spotted on Race rocks in July 2024 and again today.  It is seven years old.

Facility work

• cleaned the solar panels
• cleaned Keeper’s House windows (hard to see out after several days of high winds….fast moving sideways poop and salt spray)
• weeded around the ground mounted solar panels on the west side of the Energy Building to reduce tripping hazards
• scrubbed another 2 meter oily section of floor in the Generator Room.

Ground mounted solar panels on the west side of the Energy Building cleared of tall grass.

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 18
• Private: 0

Weather

Clear skies. Winds SE 6 to 14 knots during the day, W 10 to 20 in the evening. Daytime temperatures 12 to 20 degrees.