Weekly Census
Observed today because of yesterday’s poor visibility from heavy fog.
Mammals:
- Steller sea lion: 229 (way up from 41 on August 9)
- California sea lion: 211 (way up from 35 on August 9)
- Harbour seal: 125
Birds:
- Bald eagle: 2
- Canada goose: 2
- Cormorant: 37
- Gull: 464
- Black oystercatcher: 6 (including 2 chicks)
- Pigeon guillemot: 92
- Surfbird: 25
- Ruddy Turnstone: 2
- Black turnstone: 99
Facility work:
- Checked the water levels in the batteries and topped up.
- Fixed parts of the electric fence to deter the sea lions from plopping themselves onto the paths and other human built areas of Race Rocks.
Vessels:
- Ecotourism: 10
- Private: 6
Weather:
- Sky: Partly cloudy
- Wind: west 3-25 knots
- Sea: rippled
- Air temperature: low 14 °C, high 17 °C
- Seawater temperature at max flood: 11.6°C
Photos from today:
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- Trendsetting California sea lion on the helipad. This sea lion also has a rump brand reading 10 over 0. This means it was branded in Astoria, Oregon, at some point between 1997 to 2017.
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- California sea lion followers to the helipad.
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- California sea lions on the helipad. In the background are the Middle Rocks (also covered with sea lions) and Rocky Point, on Vancouver Island.
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- Mostly Steller sea lions with a few Californias near the jetty.
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- Swimming Steller sea lion
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- Harbour seal near the South Seal Rocks.
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- Canada geese tending to the grass
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- Four oystercatchers and many Black turnstones and surfbirds blend in well on the beach in the East Bay.
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- One California and three Steller sea lions on the South Seal Rocks. The sea lion branded 460Y (seen a few days ago) is on the right side.
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- Sea lions on the southwestern edge
*All wildlife photos are taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail.