More patching of the fence today! There’s just the section from the energy building around the lighthouse left to do tomorrow. Despite the wear and tear, the lines are coming along well- and not a moment too soon. A group of sea lions showed up on the helipad yesterday evening and has only grown today. The entirety of the outer rocks are dotted with sea lions, vying for space amongst the seagull nests. Tomorrow’s census will be revealing, as it feels like their numbers have increased significantly since the last count. I can’t wait to get an idea of roughly how many more have arrived.

The gulls don’t seem so happy about my fence mending activities, and I learned my lesson the other day after receiving a hefty smack to the back of the head. Although a cap and broom are good enough for getting around, the hard hat is a necessity with busy hands!
Fortunately, the chicks are mostly big enough to withstand the consequences of a mad dash into surrounding nesting sites, and my presence didn’t lead to any serious injuries out of the ordinary- many fights and pinched wings and heads though! I hate to disturb the nesting sites like this, but moving slowly and watching out for chicks hiding underfoot, I can only do my best to mitigate the damage while I work.

Facility notes
-Cleaned panels
-Mending electric fence

Weather
Sunny, wildfire smoke haze. Gentle winds mostly West by Southwesterly, from 3 to 18 knots. Daytime temperatures from 10 to 18 degrees.

Vessels
Ecotourism: 23
Private: 4

Wildlife
A pod of orcas came by at sunset today! With the low lighting, it was tricky to get a clear photo at a distance, but it was incredible to see them in the fading light.

Facility notes
-Fixed up jetty fence
-Cleaned solar panels
-Finished clearing built-up roof grime; if it rains this weekend as the forecast says, hopefully I can give it a good final scrub!

Weather
Foggy morning, sunny and clear rest of the day. Westerlies from 10 to 22 knots. Temperatures from 10 to 12 degrees.

Visitors
Three researchers with the DFO came by this afternoon for a visit. They were interested in how the daily salinity and temperature samples are taken, about the history of race rocks and future plans for the reserve. We intended to do a demonstration of the water sampling for them as they prepared to head out, but the batteries on our sampling device happened to have died! What timing. I still demonstrated where the sampler is dipped from the end of the jetty, and replaced the batteries shortly afterward.
It was great to meet the researchers making use of the data collection that is such a quintessential daily ritual here on the rocks.

Another daily ritual seems to be reinforcing the jetty fenceline- there’s one young California sea lion who seems to have taken a liking to hauling out there, willing to brave an initial jolt for that sweet patch of flat, flat concrete. Twice today I had to shoo him away, watching as he took out another section on the way out.

Wildlife
I’ve noticed a change in the pitch of the seagull chick chirps. Their little peeps are transitioning to the full-throated calls of adult gulls- they grow up so fast!
I spotted the jetty California sea lion again this morning, looking well after yesterday’s excitement. I’ll be keeping an eye on him for the next little while, as he recovers from the plastic line removal. It’s easy to recognize him thanks to the fancy new orange tag, and unfortunately still prominent marking around his neck.

Facility notes
-Cleaned panels
-Topped up batteries
-Generator refuel/weekly checkup
-Repaired crane shed fence portion
-Cleared grass around north flats fenceline
No photos, it was raining seagull dinner (in all states of digestion) rather heavily! They did not appreciate the disturbance, and I did not risk taking the camera out.

Weather
Heavy fog early morning and later in the evening, sunny all afternoon. Winds from 12 to 22 knots, primarily from the West, West by South-West. Temperatures from 11 to 13 degrees.

Vessels
Ecotourism: 16
Private: 2

Wildlife
The number of fledgelings taking to the air is growing almost as quickly as the number of sea lions coming to haul out. The juvenile gulls can be identified by their distinct mottled plumage and endearingly abrupt water landings.

Meanwhile the lions are proving to be just as raucous a crowd as the gulls; the patch of flat ground outside the bedroom window is alive all night with the barks (California) and growls (Steller) of rowdy haul-outs. This morning, I spotted the arrival of a new California sea lion scarred deeply from an entanglement- so deeply that I thought for a moment there was still material caught around his neck. The entangled male at the jetty is still hanging around, and will hopefully be sorted out by Monday.

Facility notes
-Cleaned panels
-Topped up battery levels
-Scraped energy building roof- just the first row filled half a bucket!

Weather
Clear skies and a growing wind. Westerlies from 16 to 33 knots, gusting 38. Daytime temperatures from 11 to 16 degrees.

Vessels
Ecotourism: 22
Private: 4

California sea lion: 174
Steller sea lion: 168
Harbour seal: 93

Cormorant: 98
Pigeon Guillemot: 81
Oyster catcher: 12
Turnstone: 138
Rock sandpiper: 13
Bald eagle: 2
Seagull (adult): 1230
Seagull (juvenile): ~400

Wildlife
The chicks are taking to the sky! Many of the older gulls have been taking advantage of the recent strong winds and getting some good flight time in. The three chicks by the main house path pictured below are only a handful of the young’ns hopping about all over the place. I watched this one stay off the ground for a solid few seconds during a particularly strong gust.

Facility notes
– Cleaned panels
– Water desalination
-Generator fuel check

The jetty fence faced its first challenger this afternoon. I watched as a California sea lion braved the section next to the boat ramp, moved along the length of the jetty, and jumped off the end into the water, taking a bit of the fence with him. The spot fixes have already begun!

Weather
Misty morning opening up to strong winds all afternoon. Westerlies from 16 to 35 knots. Temperature from 11 to 14 degrees.

Vessels Observed
Ecotourism: 18
Private: 2

Today marks the end of my second week here on the rocks! How time flies when your every moment is filled with wonder. Morning mist fills the air with mystery, the afternoon sun dances across wavetops into the corner of your eye, and the evening sky bursts with stars far from any city lights. The last few nights, we’ve even been lucky to catch some late-summer meteor showers. All around, wild creatures chatter away and go about their lives in ways I never imagined seeing in person. I can’t wait to see wonders what the next two weeks of life here reveal.

Wildlife

Facility notes
– Cleaned Panels
– Finished student house kitchen deep clean

Weather
Very foggy! Hard to see much, but the rumble of ship whistles throughout the day served as a ghostly reminder of the rest of the world just out of view. Westerlies from 5 to 26 knots, daytime temperatures between 12 and 16 degrees.

My partner came up to help this morning with the solar panels- the usual gorgeous morning view was unfortunately nowhere to be found!

Vessels
Ecotourism: 6
Private: 3

Wildlife
More and more are showing up to haul out every day. The outer edges of the rocks are all populated with sea lions now. They’re still concentrated on the Northeast corner, but every shoreline has a least one or two.

Facility notes
– Cleaned panels
– Ran desal pump
– Generator fuel check
– Started inventory of student house pantry
Unfortunately, it seems like a thriving community of pantry beetles of some sort also moved in over the summer months; going through the student house kitchen to make an inventory revealed a fair amount of inhabited dry foodstuffs. We cleared out anything left open with visible unwanted additional protein, and wiped inside the cabinets and drawers to discourage their continued residence.
Tomorrow I will finish the task with the arrival of some solid, watertight storage bins for future pantry staples.

Weather
Sunny. Strong West-North-Westerly winds from 21 to 36 knots all day. Temperatures between 12 and 15 degrees.

Vessels
Ecotourism:
Private:

Visitors
A wonderful delivery came in on the Pedder Explorer this afternoon! My partner has been dropped off to come visit for a few days. He doesn’t seem too eager to be outside with the birds so far- but he’ll be wielding his seagull broom like a pro in no time.
Laura and Sara from the Pearson Science Centre also came out for a brief tour of the student building, in preparation for the school term visiting program.