Ecological Notes:
- 7 Elephant seals between the grass and the boat ramp. It appears another female may have left the reserve. Still 2 “pups” here. (included in the 7 total)
- The pups are definitely using up their baby fat, and showing lots of wrinkles. The male is still molting though.
When he finishes molting, he can head off to feed.
- Have now verified 4 Black Oyster Catcher nests (able to view the nest from good vantage points in the distance). Quite confident in at least 2 more from the bird behavior, but no good distant vantage point to confirm, and don’t want to disturb the birds.
Visitors:
- EagleWing Tours provided Pearson College Students with 1 hour tour of the reserve and surrounding area (water based only). Total of 34 Students.
- Between student tours, 2 employees of EagleWing Tours were brought to the main island by the waterfront coordinator for a visit.
- The Waterfront Coordinator also delivered groceries, drinking water and electric fence supplies
Facility Work:
- Repairs and alterations to the electric fence on the main pier. This is important not only for the safety of the facility and the heritage sites, but also for the safety of the Sealions themselves. If they come up the top of the pier and are startled from their sleep (by land, or boats in the water), they run the risk of jumping over the side from a high height, into shallow water. Generally, on a natural rock face, steeper slopes continue into deeper water.
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- A normal morning without fence active
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- Tracing faults in the fence
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- Much safer this way!
Noted Vessel Traffic:
- 2 Ecotourism vessels, 1 commercial Dive Tour operator. All with proper viewing and usage procedures.
Good behavior in the reserve! (some compression from the distance and my lens, NOT as close to the rock as it may appear!
- 3 Private vessels, all with good approach and viewing.
Noted Infractions:
- The most common error, generally speaking, is that private vessels tend to power up too early on departure from the reserve.
Again, some compression effect from my lens, but this private boat had come up to speed even earlier than this, well within the reserve.
Weather Events:
- Mostly clear with westerly winds at 15 knots most of the day. Westerly winds increased to 25 – 30 knots in the evening, bringing in some haze and clouds.
** All photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **
Weather – Current:
http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72
Weather – Past: