Ecological Notes:
- First sighting of Ollie the sea otter since I arrived. His new favourite location is in the kelp east of Great Race. I had seen him there on a boat trip on Aug 1.
- First on-land passerines of my stay seen on Thursday, Aug 11: two juvenile Brown-headed Cowbirds. It is possible the bird I saw in the fog last week could have been one of these.
- Sea lion numbers continue to climb.
- Whale action must be in the Gulf Islands/San Juans, as fewer whale watching boats are coming this way.
- Most of the young gulls are busy testing their wings, especially when the wind comes up.
- Very low tides have revealed the eel grass beds and normally hidden intertidal zone.
- See photos below for more ecological sightings.
Weekly Census observed on Wednesday, August 10:
Mammals
- Elephant seals: 3 (1 adult male, two juvenile females)
- Steller sea lions: 124
- California sea lions: 40
- Harbour seals: 186
- Sea otter 1
Birds
- Canada geese: 4
- Harlequin ducks: 8
- Black oystercatchers: 9 (8 adults 1 chick )
- Killdeer 2 (only on island between dusk and dawn)
- Black Turnstones: 194
- Surfbirds: 17
- Common Murres: 79
- Pigeon Guillemots:183
- Rhinoceros Auklets: 2
- Heermann’s Gulls: 2
- California Gulls: 353
- Glaucous-winged Gulls: 341 adults 169 chicks (probably undercounted as wind caused a lot of chicks to seek cover)
- Caspian Terns: 2
- Pelagic Cormorants: 5
- Brandt’s Cormorants: 12
- Brown Pelican: 1
Weather:
- Yesterday (Wednesday, August 10):
- Sky: Overcast, with a few sunny periods
- Wind: W 11-31 kts
- Sea: up to 3′ chop
- Temperature Low 12 oC, High 19 oC
- Today (Thursday, August 11):
- Sky: Overcast until mid morning, then partly cloudy
- Wind: W 4-21 kts
- Sea: calm to rippled
- Temperature Low 14 oC, High 18 oC
Facility Work:
- Solar panels cleaned daily. Some windows washed. Postponed on Wednesday due to brief electrical storm. North side of researcher building skipped on Thursday due to presence of large elephant seal.
- Compost renewal project continues.
Vessel Traffic:
- Many Canadian ecotour boats have been nearby and heading through the waters of the ecological reserve. Cruise ship traffic is increasing
Here are photo highlights from the past two days. Click on the photos for larger views and captions.