Wildlife notes:

New York Times’ WORDLE today was “ovate” – shaped like an egg. What fun in a place like this!

For weeks I have been hoping for a whale sighting. They are here but outside the reserve. Today a humpback was close enough I could hear its blow and I caught sight of a tail. That was biggest excitement for me today. For the gulls it was the eagles circling the island.

A gull and the female elephant seal tending to things.

East Jetty black oystercatcher parent feeding its chick something orange.

Facility notes

Greg and Richard came by in the afternoon to tackle a few things and haul off another big load of old rusty or obsolete parts, gaskets, fuses, busses, plumbing, light fixtures, pillows etc. Richard sealed the new door frame on the Battery Room and Greg hauled out the air compressor and pressured up the pressure balance tank in the Bunker. I tested it out for a bit and made a 130L of fresh water on solar power, almost enough to make up for the load of laundry I did yesterday costing 150L. The last immediate thing we need is a new starter battery for the generator…hopefully tomorrow.

The desalination equipment inside the Bunker. The pressure balance tank is in the middle with “FLEX-LITE” written on it.

• cleaned solar panels
• weeding
• helping get unneeded items off the island.

Vessels (some were not seen/recorded)

• Ecotourism: 9
• Private: 2

Weather

Clear skies. Winds variable, 5 to 17 knots. Daytime temperatures 9 to 24 degrees.