Wildlife notes:

The injured CA sealion and one other were at the jetty for a while today.  Its wound is still visible. The female elephant seal is progressing quickly with her molt. The east beach is becoming more popular with the little birds and there appears to be more birds than stones.

Female elephant seal molting.

Black and ruddy turnstones, surfbirds and a short billed dowitcher in the late afternoon on east beach.

California sealions near the jetty with their hind flippers bent forward. This is contrast to the elephant seals who can only pull themselves along with their front flippers when moving on land.

Tidal stream on the north side near the jetty.

Facility work:

• cleaned solar panels
• weeding/clearing pathways

Vessels:

0 ecotourism, 0 private

Weather:

Sunny windy day. Near gale force westerlies most of the day. Daytime temperatures: minimum 12, maximum 14 degrees.

Wildlife notes:

I felt a bit odd doing it but I photographed the molting elephant seal’s private parts. It is a She, so there may be some variation in the stated molting dates (1, 2) based on sex and maturity, at least at this northern location.

Her bottom end

His bottom end

An opening only he has

A few least sandpipers and a ruddy turnstone were foraging in the vegetation away from the shore. The sandpipers are such small birds. I was surprised to see them darting around in the gale force winds. The high winds didn’t put a damper on the gulls either.  I watched a small seagull chick jump off a rock to escape with its life as a fight ensued above him.

Least sandpiper

Ruddy turnstone

A seagull chick escaping with its life.

Facility work:

• cleaned solar panels
• topped up battery fluids
• cleaned Keeper’s house windows

Vessels:

2 ecotourism, 1 private

Weather:

Overcast and fog in the morning. Periods of fog throughout the day.  Strong breeze in the morning, gale force in the afternoon, building to 38 knots with gusts of 43 at 19:00. Daytime temperatures: minimum 12, maximum 15 degrees.

Wildlife notes:

Every day I discover a new dead chick as I travel the walkways. There are bound to be more elsewhere. I’ve witnessed the chicks being attacked on the ground, carried into the air, usually by the head or neck, and in one case eaten. It is tough life in a gull colony. No wonder they start with three eggs.

The female elephant seal is molting. I found two references (1, 2) stating the females molt first (April-May), then subadult males (May-June), followed by the adult males (July- August). The male here is a subadult. They start to develop their large nose or proboscis at puberty and will quickly outgrow the females, weighting about 3 times more. The two elephant seals here are around the same size, have different shaped faces, and I assumed the “female” might be a bit older, but now I am confused. Tomorrow I will go out and try to compare their orifices!

Facility work:

• cleaned solar panels
• labelled fuse panel
• cleaning

Vessels:

15 ecotourism, 2 private

Weather:

Periods of fog throughout the day, sunny evening. Fresh westerly breeze most of the day, increasing to a near gale in the evening. Daytime temperatures: minimum 11, maximum 13 degrees.

It has been a challenging few days. We lost water pressure and a supply of running water in the house on July 17. Today Greg, Cedric and Bruce came out to repair the system and do some electrical work. I learned about the inner workings of the pressure tank – a sealed container that stores water under pressure.  The pressure tank and the jet pump work together to deliver water from the outdoor water storage tank to the house and maintain water pressure in the pipes. The tank was waterlogged (the entire tank was filled with water without any pressurized air) which was causing the pump work harder and frequently cycle on and off. Everything worked well after the tank was drained, the bladder cleaned, reassembled and re-pressurized to 28 psi.

The blue pressure tank.

I had a busy time after they left, having to rescue the half finished laundry that sat in the tub for 3 days and wash 3 days worth of accumulated pots, pans and dishes. It is amazing how many times a day a person turns on a water tap… to wash hands, wipe a counter, rinse a coffee mug, wash veggies or dishes or yourself, and just 10 minutes later you reach for the tap again forgetting it doesn’t work. Luckily we have a separate supply of drinking water, wet wipes, hand sanitizer, paper towel, and enough pots, pans and plates in the house for an army of dinner guests.

Wildlife notes:

The gulls are going about their day fighting, shrieking, feeding and protecting their young. The chicks near the house that hatched on June 28 are three weeks old today. They are starting to grow feathers on their wings. Below are some photos of the 3 week old chick scratching, stretching its wing, and calling, and of “Compost” gull bringing new bedding to her 3 day old chicks.

Three week old seagull chick

Gull with fresh bedding material

Freshening up the nest for the 3 day old chicks.

Facility work:

• cleaned solar panels
• water pressure system repairs

Vessels:

21 ecotourism, 6 private

Weather:

Sunny with a fresh westerly breeze most of the day. Daytime temperatures: minimum 13, maximum 14 degrees.

Wildlife notes:

The number of California gulls are increasing. They can’t blend into the crown with those dark wing tips and their yellow wellies.

California gulls

Two Caspian terns did a fly by and made a few rounds. I haven’t seen them in over two weeks.

Caspian terns

Facility work:

• cleaned solar panels
• topped up battery fluid levels
• battery maintenance/equalization charge

Vessels:

7 ecotourism, 1 private

Weather:

Cloudy until late afternoon. Moderate westerlies in the early morning, building to a strong breeze by 10:00 and gale force by early evening, peaking at 40 knots. Daytime temperatures: minimum 13, maximum 17 degrees.

Wildlife notes:

The elephant seals are getting along famously. They lie together, nibble at each other, groan, growl, croak and gurgle together, both on land and swirling in the sea. It’s always the fellow that seeks her out and initiates things. Sometimes, he slowly sneaks closer and lays his head on her back or puts his flipper on her back. It is adorable.

Facility work:

• cleaned solar panels
• clearing Energy Building roof of debris

Vessels:

20 ecotourism, 2 private

Weather:

Sunny, winds variable and light in the morning, gentle westerly breeze in the afternoon. Daytime temperatures: low 10, high 18 degrees.

Wildlife notes:

The other day I went looking for more banded gulls to report. I’ve found three different ones so far and was hoping for another. They don’t mix in with the breeding gulls on the island but hang out along the rocky shoreline with the juveniles or other visiting gulls. Instead of a banded gull, I found a Heermann’s gull. The bird guides state it is the easiest gull to identify with its red bill, white head, grey body, black tail and black feet, perfectly dressed for a formal dinner. What a classy bird.

Heermann’s gull

Heermann’s gull preening

Heermann’s gull in flight

From left to right: Heermann’s, immature western and California gulls.

I spotted seven killer whales about 1.5 miles to the southwest. They were flanked for about 3 miles by an armada of ecotourism vessels of all sizes. No peace for these creatures just trying to find some lunch!

Facility work:

• cleaned solar panels
• cleaned windows on Keeper’s house

Vessels:

20 ecotourism

DND activity:

A few blasts were heard mid-day. Wildlife was not visibly disturbed.

Weather:

Sunny and fresh westerly breeze throughout the day. Daytime temperature steady 12 degrees.

Wildlife notes:

The gulls are feeding their chicks the tiniest of fishes. The gulls are large compared to the pigeon guillemots. Seems incongruous when you compare the size of their catch to what the pigeon guillemots brings back.

The male elephant seal is travelling further afield. He used to hang out in the water near the jetty and bellow but today I heard him call at the east beach and then at the west shore.  Nobody answers him. I wonder if he will leave soon.

Facility work:

• cleaned solar panels
• cleaned windows on Student Building and Keeper’s house
• removed vegetation at the Keeper’s house door

Vessels:

9 ecotourism, 1 private

Weather:

Sunny and westerlies. Fresh breeze most of the day, except gale force in the evening. Daytime temperatures: low 12, high 13 degrees.

Wildlife notes:

These two chicks were found this morning on the walkway down to the Tank Shed. The nest was inches away from the walkway. There seems to be two likely suspects, the gulls on the rock wall a few feet above them or the ones across the walkway. The dead chick’s parents were still there, even 8 hours later, continuing to defend their tiny chick less area.

Wildlife notes:

Three short-billed dowitchers visited the east beach.

Short-billed dowitcher

Facility work:

• cleaned solar panels
• finished weeding around Energy building
• house cleaning

Vessels:

21 ecotourism, 6 private

Hundreds of vessels have transited the area since mid June. Generally the vessels are very compliant and only a few of the larger vessels appear to travel a bit faster that what is required to maintain bare steerage in the tidal current. Today was the first incident of excessive speed and possibly also a fishing violation (I do not have a rangefinder to be sure).

Weather:

Sunny day. Light westerlies in the morning, fresh breeze by late afternoon. Day time temperature range: low 12, high 18.