Wildlife notes:

Every day I discover a new dead chick as I travel the walkways. There are bound to be more elsewhere. I’ve witnessed the chicks being attacked on the ground, carried into the air, usually by the head or neck, and in one case eaten. It is tough life in a gull colony. No wonder they start with three eggs.

The female elephant seal is molting. I found two references (1, 2) stating the females molt first (April-May), then subadult males (May-June), followed by the adult males (July- August). The male here is a subadult. They start to develop their large nose or proboscis at puberty and will quickly outgrow the females, weighting about 3 times more. The two elephant seals here are around the same size, have different shaped faces, and I assumed the “female” might be a bit older, but now I am confused. Tomorrow I will go out and try to compare their orifices!

Facility work:

• cleaned solar panels
• labelled fuse panel
• cleaning

Vessels:

15 ecotourism, 2 private

Weather:

Periods of fog throughout the day, sunny evening. Fresh westerly breeze most of the day, increasing to a near gale in the evening. Daytime temperatures: minimum 11, maximum 13 degrees.