Author Archives: Anne Stewart

April 4th – Full Moon and Blood Moon

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The weather was much more subdued today with light winds and a morning switch in direction to the east, northeast and then back to westerlies at sunset. The sky was partially overcast but more sunny than cloudy with only the slightest of showers. The barometer continued its very slow and not very steady, decline that began on Thursday. The forecast is for more of the same. Today’s full moon was in total eclipse early this morning and although I was up at 5:00 AM, I did not see it, maybe that is because it was totally eclipsed ; – )?

Only two tour boats were noted within the Ecological Reserve today and they both kept their speed down and seemed to be very respectful of the wildlife. There was no fishing activity noted inside the Conservation Area.  A couple of Kayakers were paddling in the Ecological Reserve today and they were very close to the sea lions. They managed to make it past them without any disturbance, but the sea lions woke up after the kayakers passed. They were only concerned enough to do some neck craning and alert behaviour before falling back asleep.

Paddler passes close by sleeping sea lions.

Paddler passes close by sleeping sea lions.

The two kayaks regroup after getting by the sea lions on South Islands.

The two kayaks regroup after getting by the sea lions on South Islands.

Sea lions wake up and smell the kayakers. Looking alert but not too disturbed.

Sea lions wake up and smell the kayakers. Looking alert but not too disturbed.

Ecologically things were very much like the previous two days, the gulls are slowly becoming a little more territorial and parental looking. I saw two holding nesting material in their bills today and several pairs were doing a synchronous bill down dance that might demonstrate to the other how beautifully they will be able to regurgitate into any chicks they might produce together. I also witnessed some nasty bill holding that drew blood and descended into an outright wrestling match. I was not sure if these gulls were territorial competitors or mates but they were determined to not let go of each other. Gulls are supposed to mate for life so it makes me wonder, when I see the same gulls sitting poignantly all alone, on their spots, day after day. Is their mate missing in action or just late?

The Canada Geese are very broody and in some places are running the gulls off. Some geese are already incubating four to eight eggs per clutch.  I guess the crows know this and there is often a small murder of crows strutting around the nesting areas and also being chased off by the geese.

The Bald Eagles are here all day everyday right now and I watched one adult chase off another so there must be something good to eat. Is it gulls? The chase was quite spectacular with climbs and dives and at one point, upside-down flying in self defence. The defeated intruder headed over to Bentick Island.

It wasn’t sunny enough today to just go with solar power and I had to run the generator for a couple of hours in spite of having no extra draw on energy. I know the day is coming when there will be enough sunshine to go through a whole day, entirely on solar power.

Thirteen visitors came to the island today. Chris brought out a group of eight students and his son accompanied him with a school friend. Alex was deckhand again and brought his father who was visiting, along for the brief version of the Race Rocks tour. Alex’s Dad likes using the Race Rocks video cameras, so one more reason that I need to figure out how to get cameras #2 and #5, back up and running. The students will go back mid-day on Monday and are already earning their keep.

Chores were a mix of entropy fighting of  today. It was really nice to know that there is lots of water in the midst of churning compost and the usual tasks. I am still tidying up wood and very grateful to Alex and Virginie for all the firewood and lovely kindling. I also want to thank Nick for leaving the house so spick and span, very nice.

Branded Sea Lion Back

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Today the weather was like a sandwich, with winter as the bread and spring in the middle. The wind did not relent all day, blowing north by northwest in the morning, with more of a southwest spin, peaking in the afternoon. Now as the sun sets, the wind is easing a little and dramatic rain showers sweep out of the bottom of clouds to the west. The barometer bottomed out late morning and is tentatively climbing now. Tons of new snow on the Olympic Mountains, gives them a magnificent look and brings a chill to the air here only 15 kilometres across the Strait.

I only noted one whale watching boat today but may have missed some while working out of view. Most of the tour boats stop by on the south side to see sea lions hauled out and sleeping in the water there. The photo below was taken a few days ago when the weather was kinder and the animals in the water had just awoken with a start. There were no sports fishers observed in the Ecological Reserve today.

"Whale watchers" and sea lions that just woke up.

“Whale watchers” and sea lions that just woke up.

The first thing I noticed this morning was that there were a lot more sea lions hauled out than yesterday (census day). I scanned them with binoculars and noticed right away there was a branded Steller’s or Northern Sea Lion. Even before coffee, which is something for me, I was outside taking photographs. Although the image quality isn’t great due to the distance, it is good enough to match to an individual that was here on September 10, 2014 during my first shift.

 

A branded sea lion interacting with haul-out mates on South Seal Islands.

A branded sea lion interacting with haul-out mates on South Seal Islands.

 

This male 533R was branded as a pup in July, 2007 on Rogue Reef. His daytime activity here is practically nil. He lifts his head once and a while to interact with his closely packed neighbours, otherwise he sleeps all day. I wonder if he is full of herring? I also wonder if they forage at night right now?

Sealions hauled out on the south islet. 533R is in the middle of the back row.

Sealions hauled out on the south islet. 533R is in the middle of the back row.

Glaucous-winged Gulls seem to sit tight during the day now too. I guess they are establishing nesting territories and resting up for parental duties. They all lift off when a Bald Eagle passes over or a Peregrine Falcon swoops around the island but soon settle back in place waiting patiently.

There are many more Pigeon Guillemots in the Ecological Reserve now than can nest here and they seem to like to forage in fairly large groups, right in the rips and standing waves of the big currents. I would like to see one underwater, using their little alcid wings to fly through the water while steering with their wildly red feet.

Eleven visitors graced the island with their presence today and it was good to interact with people again. Michael who is on the Pearson College board and his family came out with Chris and Alex for a tour. Alex, a student at Pearson College was deckhand and tour guide and did an excellent job of both. Chris solved my water woes by simply turning on a valve that I hadn’t managed to get open.

Chores today included unsuccessful trouble-shooting on cameras #2 and #5, disassembling a bunk bed (probably much easier with two people), and moving the bed frame to the foreshore for pick-up. Seawater sampling, fresh water production and electrical generation, balanced out with more wood clean-up and walkway sweeping. The best thing, was putting up a fresh, new Canadian flag to replace the winter worn one that was fraying badly in the wind.

Thursday is Census Day at Race Rocks

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The weather was fine today with sunshine from dawn until about four o’clock. Winds were very light and the direction shifted around west, from northwest to southwest. As the barometers drops, rain is forecasted, southeast winds and then improving with only scattered showers by tomorrow afternoon.

The fine weather brought two small sports fishing boats into the Ecological Reserve today, both fishing and speeding inside the Ecological Reserve boundary.  My guess is that neither of them were aware of the Eco-Reserve and its protection from speeding and jigging.

There were three, whale watching boats in Reserve today and several others that passed outside of the boundaries. One of the attractions for the whale watchers were Biggs’ Killer Whales, also known as transients. The ‘T”s as they are known to the tour operators were travelling from west to east when I saw them and they passed very close to the seal haul-out on North Rocks before I lost them to view. It looked like four individuals. I saw a single, adult male Killer Whale two days ago, it was just a one-off sighting and I didn’t spot it again in spite of watching for quite a while. That one was also probably also a Biggs, just from the behaviour.

Today was Mega-fauna census day and here are the results.

Bigg’s (Transient) Killer Whales 4

Northern Elephant Seals 12

Harbour Seals 117

California Sea lions 69

Northern Sea lions 21

Canada Geese 24

Harlequin Ducks 9

Pelagic Cormorants 18

Double Crested Cormorants 15

Brandt’s Cormorants 12 (Flying through.)

Great Blue Heron 1

Bald Eagle 2 adults, 3 sub-adults

Killdeer 2 (at least two, difficult to count in the dark)

Black Oystercatchers 10

Black Turnstones 22

Surfbirds 37

Rock Sandpipers 7

Dunlin 11

Pigeon Guillemots 241 (Not a complete count. Had planned to quickly move over and do a north count but unable to count other side due to disruption with speeding boat and subsequent mass pandemonium and movement of birds everywhere.)

Glaucous-winged Gulls 365

Herring Gulls (present earlier in week)

California Gulls (present earlier in week)

Ring-Billed Gulls (present earlier in week)

Peregrine Falcon 1

Northwestern Crow 2

Common Raven 1

The Back Turnstone was one of the many species of shorebirds shown in yesterday's mystery photo. Easy to distinguish from Surfbird when they are side by side.

The Back Turnstone was one of the many species of shorebirds shown in yesterday’s mystery photo. Easy to distinguish from Surfbird when they are side by side.

Male Harlequin Duck sitting on rockweed in the inter-tidal.

Male Harlequin Duck sitting on rockweed in the inter-tidal.

What a difference between drake and hen. These 'white water' birds nest in the mountains by rushing streams and rivers.

What a difference between drake and hen. These ‘white water’ birds nest in the mountains by rushing streams and rivers.

It was a busy day with lots accomplished. I managed to get the weather station back up and connected to the Internet, thanks to good instructions. I have been on a bit of a wild goose chase, mapping out the nest locations of the Canada Geese. I troubleshot water loss problem (to no avail) and ran both the desalinator and generator. Sweeping the walkways and tidying up wood is ongoing. The census took quite a while and was totally enjoyable. This is such a special place, a real biodiversity hotspot especially underwater. What we see on the surface is like the tip of the biodiversity iceberg or the biomass (food) pyramid. All that biological activity can traced right back to plankton and sunshine that drives it. Sunshine made most of the fresh water today, thanks to the solar panels and desalinator.

Blustery Spring Weather

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When you live on a small coastal islet, mysterious things happen with Internet and phone connections from time to time. Both crashed here last night so this blog is a combination of the two days. The weather has been typical of early spring weather in coastal British Columbia. Winds have generally been about 10 to 20 knots, swinging around from west to northwest and back again. Spectacular stacks of clouds keep rolling down the Strait from open ocean and the heavy showers visible in the surrounding hills would inspire any watercolour painter. Race Rocks itself seems to be in a drier micro-climate most of the time with showers all around – the centre of the donut. Dramatic skies continued right into sunset tonight with beautiful pinks and oranges framed by sweeping, purple and gray-blue clouds. The forecast for tomorrow looks even brighter.

South across the Strait, there was fresh snow, low in the Elwha Valley this morning and you could feel that cold nip in the air: perfect weather for sea going salmon smolts and just what the herring often spawn in. Speaking of weather, the weather station appears to have crashed so I will trouble-shoot that in the morning.

Eleven Northern Elephant Seals were hauled out on Middle Rock yesterday and one checked out the jetty ramp this morning.

Eleven Northern Elephant Seals were hauled out on Middle Rock yesterday and one checked out the jetty ramp this morning.

In spite of the blustery conditions, there were three whale watching boats in the Ecological Reserve today and lots to see in terms of smaller wildlife which are often over-looked and are really stunning in their own right.

Two charismatic species, a Black Oystercatcher and a Harlequin Duck share a rock.

Two charismatic species, a Black Oystercatcher and a Harlequin Duck share a rock.

This Oystercatcher likes to stand with his/her toes crossed. Does it make for more stability in the wind?

The toe-crossing Black Oystercatcher.

The toe-crossing Black Oystercatcher.

Here is a challenge for you, inspired by the ‘Marine Detective’ who does a similar thing with underwater photos of cryptic fish. How many species and how many birds can you spot in the photo below?

A mixed species flock of shorebirds rests on Race Rocks in the lee of the Light Tower and main house. How many species and how many birds? More hints (photos) to follow on the different species.

A mixed species flock of shorebirds rests on Race Rocks in the lee of the Light Tower and main house. How many species and how many birds? More hints (photos) to follow on the different species.

All of these species nest on the ground so being hard to see is a good thing. So does the stay-at-home Black Oystercatcher which is hard to ignore and nests along the BC coast, close to its’ natal shore.

Many of the shorebirds resting here on Race Rocks, fly all the way up to the arctic to breed. Surfbirds nest on mountain ridges in the Yukon and Alaska while Dunlin prefer wet coastal tundra. Rock Sandpipers make their nests on the tundra in northwestern Alaska near the Bering Sea. Black Turnstones also nest along the Bering Sea, near coastal meadows in western Alaska.

This little bird wings its way to the mountains of the Yukon and Alaska to nest.

This little bird wings its way to the mountains of the Yukon and Alaska to nest.

Another arctic breeder, I think the bird in front is a Dunlin.

Another arctic breeder, I think the bird in front is a Dunlin.

This Bering Sea, tundra nester sips a bit of water off a rock in between naps.

This Bering Sea, tundra nester sips a bit of water off a rock in between naps.

Although I wouldn’t call it a migration, I did a few kilometers today, wheel barrowing around firewood wood and wood chips, tending the desalinator and energy building, and getting distracted from my labours by photographing birds.  I was really pleased that the sunshine allowed for water making with the desalinator without the using the generator. The genny only required an hour run time, to top up the batteries thanks to the solar panels.

Almost the end of March.

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Visiting student group from Pearson College departs leaving tin of Maple Syrup behind. Merci beaucoups. Back L to R Hana, me, Chloe, Michael, Sebia, front Malou (L) and Annabelle (photographer).

Visiting student group from Pearson College departs leaving tin of Maple Syrup behind. Merci beaucoups. Back L to R Hana, me, Chloe, Michael, Sibia, front Malou (L) and Annabelle (Chris Blondeau photographer).

 

Fog from overnight burned off in the late morning revealing a beautiful day. Although the barometric pressure continued its gradual decline from yesterday, the winds were less than 10km/hour at ground level until early evening when a gentle westerly started. As the sun is setting, clouds gather in the west making god rays and but no sailor’s delight colours. The forecast is calling for showers and possibly even thunder and lightening on Tuesday afternoon and near gale force winds are expected to the west.

There were eleven Elephant Seals visibly hauled out on Middle Rock today and over 115 Harbour Seals hauled out, scattered on all the islets and rocks. There are many birds on and around the Reserve right now and I look forward to next weeks census. I am trying to persuade the usual gaggle of geese to move on but they are pretty persistent and in some cases quite peevish. While looking for nests, I came across several goose wings so something has been eating them, probably either the otters or the eagles. A total of four tour boats came to the Ecological Reserve to searching for that sort real life adventure, and viewing wildlife in glorious, afternoon sunshine.

That sunshine powered solar panels and batteries so well that the generator run time today was 50% of the daily average over the last two weeks. As day length grows, this will become a continuing trend. The solar panels are a really important piece of the sustainability puzzle on Race Rocks. Over the years Pearson College has done really well in reducing its dependency on fossil fuels on the island and the solar panels are big part of that reduction. Going from eight large oil tanks to one is a big step and of course also helps mitigate spill risk.

The reduction in emissions is not only helpful in reducing greenhouse gas and improving air quality, it is also helpful to the ocean. Ocean acidification, a lowering of pH due to atmospheric carbon dioxide uptake is a serious issue that some people call “the other C02 problem”. Our very close neighbours to the south, in Washington State are taking the threat of ocean acidification very seriously and are mobilizing to address this threat. Their efforts were precipitated by the near collapse of their oyster industry due to ocean acidification. It would be great to add a good pH meter to the kit here in order to monitor that aspect of water quality as ocean water sweeps past Race Rocks and into the inland Salish Sea.

Chores today included seawater sampling, sorting, moving and stacking wood, sweeping walkways, rotating composters, and keeping an eye on activities. The underwater camera is back up and running due to a quick fix and I have started to get to know the computer and its myriad of files again. There were no visitors today and I missed the students who were here on the weekend.

 

Uneventful Weather: Perhaps a Small Blessing.

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The weather at Race Rocks was spectacularly uneventful today. The barometer creeped down, little by little all day, to end not much lower than it started, at 2018 hPa. The sky was overcast with a bit of drizzle from time to time. Winds were light and at ground level the wind never got over 10 km/hr. The whole thing fizzled out into a patchy fog as darkness fell.

I didn’t see any tour boats in the Ecological Reserve today other than the Dive Boat from Ogden Point. There were plenty of sport-fishers, but all outside the reserve, trying to catch halibut. The currents are so strong here that they have to anchor to fish a specific spot and it looks like it can be challenging.

There were over 100 Pigeon Guillemots here today and it was a treat to watch them in their new, bright plumage as they bobbed and dove in the currents. The Glaucous-winged gulls are also looking very dapper in their new feathers and they seem to be spending a lot of time head dipping and bill raising and generally shuffling around looking like they are biding their time for the perfect alignment of day length and the Milky Way for nesting. Bald Eagles, two adults and sub-adult were hunting on Great Race today and they would make the gulls all lift off from time to time. That was the big excitement of the day. It was generally just a blissful sort of day.

My student visitors left in the late morning, picked up by Chris Blondeau in Second Nature. It was such a treat to have them on the island for my first few days. I felt lucky to have such an auspicious start. These students may be humble but they are really very special. I found out during our safety briefing that the five young ladies from Greenland, Guatemala, Quebec and young man from New Brunswick, were collectively trained as fire fighters, first-aid responders and counsellors, as part of their duties at Pearson College. These young people have my respect and are really using education as “a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.” When I asked them what made their stay on the rock special and why it should be maintained as part of Pearson College, they mentioned things like peacefulness, quiet, nature, hopefulness, the importance of the marine protected area. They also said how great it is to just get away and how lucky they felt, to be able to come to such a special and beautiful place.

As we said our goodbyes on the jetty, they presented me with a hand-drawn thank you card and a can of Maple Syrup from Quebec. How sweet! There is something about Maple Syrup that is beyond delicious.

I did the regular chores today, getting back into the routine of spot checks, VHF monitoring, seawater sampling, washing solar panels, clearing walkways, running the generator and generally fighting entropy. I also managed to clear a few pernicious, waterlogged chunks of wood that were blocking the marine railway, which was really satisfying. It was fun to use the pee-vee and pike pole and I managed to stay mostly dry.

Back on the Rock

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Last night’s storm blew in just as shift-change finished. Nick Townley waved goodbye from Second Nature as Chris Blondeau, still in his dry-suit from the diving activity, pulled the vessel out into the tidal stream and headed her back to Pedder Bay.

Nick Townley

Nick Townley ( a photo from last fall, selfie?).

Six students from Pearson College came out to the rock for the weekend and I started my shift with great company. Their goal was to catch up on studies (and sleep (my guess)) and to have their own experience in this gem of a biodiversity hotspot.

As we unpacked and settled into the two houses, heavy rain followed the black horizon moving in quickly from western Strait of Juan de Fuca. It was very nice to be snug inside as it was a wild night with heavy squalls. There were quite a few rattles and thumps that I didn’t recognize from last fall’s storms. Morning broke with gusts over 30 knots in the tower and alternate clearing skies and rainbows shone through and faded out on all sides. It was a white water scene with wind and current colliding in a frenzy. The barometer which had taken a nose dive Thursday and Friday, climbed back up to over 1024 HPa from Friday’s low of 1009. By noon, the westerly winds had dropped to 12 knots and the afternoon and evening was uneventful; overcast with showers and light winds shifting to northwest.

Although there was no fishing activity in the Ecological Reserve (ER) today, five wildlife viewing tour boats were noted. I was surprised by the number of both Northern and California sealions still hanging out and there were at least 75 Harbour Seals hauled out in the afternoon (not a complete count. I saw two pairs of adult bald eagles and numerous other birds including Canada Geese, Black Oystercatchers, Harlequin Ducks, Black Turnstones, Pigeon Guillemots, Double-crested and Pelagic Cormorants and an interesting mix of gulls. Many of the Glaucous-winged Gulls are already paired up and getting excited about spring. They are scattered around Great Race in all the places that there were nests last year. A much more condensed flock of gulls with about 100 birds was hunkered down in the lee of the rock on the west side of the science house. This flock was a mix of some unexpected visitors including Herring Gulls, Ring-Billed Gulls and even a few California Gulls, probably en route somewhere else. As dusk fell last night I heard the calls of Killdeer and it really felt like my home away from home.

It was great to get back up the tower again and have a good look around and for fun and more exercise, I started clearing off some of the winter’s woody debris accumulated on the marine railway. Greenlanders Hana and Malou joined in and we made it into a bit of a game, practicing our aim and strengthening arms. When we finished there was a stream of wood heading out to sea and we hoped that the whale watching boats were avoiding the busy tide lines.

Shift Change

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The wind was blowing northeast this morning 20 – 25 knots, it dropped mid-afternoon for about an hour and then swung to the west. The west came on strong in the late afternoon and blew over 25 before settling down to 15 -20 knots. The barometer, which has been falling all day, started climbing at 19:00 and the forecast for tomorrow is looking better with light winds forecast.
There were only two whale watching vessels spotted in the Ecological Reserve today. There were no other vessels other than Second Nature dropping off Nick Townley the new eco-guardian and Pearson College student Riikka who is here to finish her project week.
The results of the census are as follows:
Steller Sealion 447

California Sealion 433

Northern Elephant Seal 16

Harbour Seal 17

Canada Goose 24

Greater White-fronted Goose 1

Double-crested Cormorant 324

Pelagic Cormorant 29

Brown Pelican 2

Black Turnstone 12

Sanderling 3

Dunlin 4

Black Oystercatcher 24

Killdeer 4

Glaucous-winged Gull 700

Thayer’s Gull 2400

California Gull 3

Western Gull 45

Heerman’s Gull 76

Fox Sparrow 1

Savannah Sparrow 11

Most of the work today was packing, cleaning,  and training Nick in preparation for departure tomorrow.

Mystery Gull and Monster Mosh Pit

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The day started with light westerly winds that brought quite a bit of sunshine. Although the wind picked up a little, today’s weather and sea conditions seemed like a bit of a reprieve after the last week of big swells and high winds. The barometer rose all day but it looks like another southeaster coming tomorrow.

Four whale watching boats were observed in the Ecological Reserve today. There was one sports fishing boat fishing in the Ecological Reserve just before sunset.

Sportsfisher trolling in front of Eco-guardian house late in the day.

Sport-fisher trolling in front of Eco-guardian house just before sunset.

I spotted a gull that was a total mystery. I have the question out for help in identification. Do you know what it is? An albino Thayer’s Gull? (This just in: Dick Cannings says that it is a very light, second year, Glaucous-winged Gull.) Sorry no mystery for Halloween.

Mystery gull visited Race Rocks. Jury still out on its identification.

Mystery gull visited Race Rocks. Jury still out on its identification. One possibility is an immature Iceland gull (gf)

There were at least five Humpback Whales spotted to the south and the west of Race Rocks today.

The Northern Elephant Seals continue to occupy the ramp from the jetty. This little guy has tag # 7625 and was tagged as a weanling at Ano Nuevo Island in 2013. So he will turn two this winter.

Northern Elephant Seal tagged as a weanling in the winter of 2013. This feisty little guy is out on land using gravity to help strengthen his bones and prepare him for hauling out for longer times as an adult.

Northern Elephant Seal tagged as a weanling in the winter of 2013. This feisty little guy is out on land using gravity to help strengthen his bones and prepare him for hauling out for longer times as an adult.

 

The sealion count is up dramatically from last week with 980 individuals, 447 Stellers and 433 Californians. It took me so long to count them that I am going to have to finish the census tomorrow and that will give me a chance to recount, if I start earlier. It is a bit like trying to count people in a mosh pit. The photos really help fine tune the numbers.

These sealions are keeping each other warm and catching up on their sleep.

These sealions are keeping each other warm and catching up on their sleep.

 

There were quite a few visitors today including two veterinarians Martin and Joe who are part of a collaborative, international team that is (amongst other things) disentangling sealions.  They completed reconnaissance for a possible rescue here. If you have been following the blog you will know that there are at least six ring-necked sealions here with plastic strapping and three more with fishing gear. Entanglement is definitely a human caused issue, hard to deny that one. Both Garry the Ecological Reserve Warden and Chris head of operations at Pearson College were here as well as my colleague Courtney, a contractor and two former students.

My tasks today were focused on cleanup (some of the outside windows on the guardian house), the bathroom, the basement and on sorting and cataloguing images. If someone had told me how time consuming that job is, I wouldn’t have taken so many photos.

Rough Seas

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The barometer dropped last night and has remained low and fairly steady all day. The blow last night and this morning produced surprisingly large waves, considering the fetch, from the east/southeast. There was also a significant ocean swell coming in from the west. The result was large breaking waves, all day. As it was getting dark, the wind died down. Tomorrow’s forecast looks pretty good, with a bit of sun and some wind, light in the morning and 10 – 15 knots in the afternoon.

Whale watching boats are still visiting the Ecological Reserve and three were observed in it today. I watched both Pearson College sailboats, Jack Mathews and Amatuana, sail out of Pedder Bay and off toward Victoria today. I was glad to hear Jack Mathews talking to the Victoria Harbour-master on the radio, knowing that they had arrived safely. I wish them all a wonderful adventure.

The only new and exciting ecological observation made today was the enormous size  size of the mixed species feeding aggregations. The gulls and cormorants rest on Race Rocks and when they see some action, fly off to join the melee, easily adding a thousand or more birds to the feeding frenzy. There were 112 cormorants roosting here today and UK web-cam observer, Pam Birley managed to get a photo of two Brown Pelicans in their midst. The density of gulls on Great Race is very high and I look forward to doing the count tomorrow. The proportions of the different species, is shifting and there are many more juvenile, Glaucous-winged gulls now. They seem to not know what to feed on, unless they are following the flock. I watched one try to eat a piece of wood today and another one was carrying around a clump of dirt like a prized possession. The Elephant Seals persist in front of the boat shed and have settled down into serious sleeping. The numbers of sealions in front of the science house is high again possibly because Middle Rock was being swept by breakers today.

Waves were rolling right down the jetty at me when I went to do the seawater sampling, so the sampling was done about half-way out instead of at the end of the jetty. The water was so well mixed that it was not a scientific issue and was certainly much safer where I did it. I siphoned off the crud in my roof-collected rainwater today making it fitter for laundry. I installed a dehumidifier in the basement and measured the length of the Whaler’s stern line that needs replacing. I spent more time sorting and tagging images, double-checking brand data, starting the monthly report. I am trying to find a word version of the standard operation procedures in the labyrinth of computer files, so that I can edit it before I leave on Friday.