Wildlife notes
Most of the remaining glaucous-winged gull parents have developed their winter plumage – mottling or streaking on their heads and necks. There are less than 10 gull chicks still being fed by their parents. It seems they have to be more persistent now to get a free meal. The parents often first offer them a mouth full of grass before they eventually give in to the nagging. Most of these lingering chicks can’t fly yet as they either hatched late or have injuries to their eyes, wings or legs.
A parent glaucous-winged gull in its winter plumage (sooty coloured head and neck) with its near full size chick asking for a meal.
A savanna sparrow on the wire lid of the compost bin.
Facility work
- cleaned the solar panels
- ran the generator
- electric fence repairs and patrol
- topped up battery fluids
- Our camera came back from the shop today. Thank you Greg !!!
Visitors
The Director Head of Pearson College, Director of Operations, Marine and Seafront Operations Coordinator and the Seafront Operations and Maintenance Coordinator (AKA Tyrone, Deanna, Greg and Richard) and four BC Parks representatives came ashore for a site visit. There are a lot of different groups/governing bodies with an interest in Race Rocks apart from Pearson College who maintains the buildings and infrastructure: it is an ecological reserve (BC Parks), a rockfish conservation area (Dept Fisheries and Oceans), a lighthouse and weather station (Environment Canada, and the Canadian Coast Guard) and an important site for the First Nations who have burial mounds on the island dating back to 500 AD.
Vessels
- Ecotourism: 21
- Private: 2
Weather
The conditions today didn’t help the Mount Jack wildfire near Sooke. It was discovered late on Sunday and doubled in size this afternoon to 100 ha.
Clear skies, fog for part of the day. Winds 13 to 20 knots – WNW in the morning, SW by evening. Daytime temperatures 11 to 15 degrees.