Weather:

• Visibility 6 NM
• Sky overcast
• Wind 5-10 knots W
• Sea state: Calm

Marine Traffic/Island Visitors:

• Greg visited with supplies on Friday
• There have been a steady trickle of eco-tourism boats, 5-10 per day.
• On Thursday DFO and Marine Mammal rescue visited the reserve (more on this below).

Ecological Observations: 

• There has been a young sea lion in the reserve that appeared to be very underweight and weak. It was first spotted in the reserve on July 1st, and a few more times following. Marine mammal rescue notified us of the sightings earlier this week, and we were able to find the animal where it had originally been reported by a local eco-tourism company. With the assistance of DFO, they were able to make the journey from Vancouver to RR on Thursday July 9th, but unfortunately they weren’t able to spot the sea lion, and we have not seen it in the reserve since July 8th.
• The seagull hatching is in full swing! There are now many chicks in various stages of development.
• The goslings and their parents left for their first swim on the ocean yesterday at slack tide, but we haven’t seen them return. We wonder if they got caught in the stronger currents or perhaps made the journey to shore.
• There are a few more sea lions in the reserve this week, roughly ten stellar sea lions on middle rocks.
• We have had some low tides this week in the middle of the day, making for a great opportunity to explore the intertidal- photos below!