Mostly clear skies. Strong West wind all day.

The flag was set at half-mast today to mark the national day of remembrance of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.  According to the Canadian War Museum, the capture of Vimy was more than just an important battlefield victory, it became a symbol for the sacrifice of the young Dominion. Brigadier-General A.E. Ross declared after the war, “in those few minutes I witnessed the birth of a nation.”

Animal Census

Steller Sea lion: 41
California Sea lion: 8
Harbour Seal: 153
Elephant Seal: 16!
Gulls: 301
Canada Geese: 20
Black Turnstone: 6
Harlequin Duck: 4
Oystercatcher: 8

Mist Maiden (Romanzoffia tracyi)

I spent some time today looking for a plant called Romanzoffia tracyi, which is fairly rare out here at Race Rocks. I think I’ve located all the spots where it is growing. The next step will be to map the patches, figure out how big they are (percent cover), and then make a photo catalogue of the patches.

-Battery bank water top-up and cleaning on banks C and D
-Spent some time reading about goose exclusion studies/Planned some new exclusion fences
-The generator shutdown last night from an ‘overspeed’ warning, so today I ran it without the desalinator to make sure it’s working as per usual. And this will get the battery bank charged up to its max capacity, which makes the batteries happy.
-The water heater in the Keeper’s House won’t light.