What a breathtaking sunrise we had this morning. I was hoping for the forecasted rain to help chip away at the uppermost layer of guano settled every across the rocks but was greeted by a multi-layered rainbow instead. Incredible!

At times the enchantment of this place is found in its proximity, the rumble of a Steller’s roar felt through your feet as you walk along dodging new fledglings and protective gulls, or the hot breath of a California sea lion observing from a rock below as you head down the jetty. But so much wonder is also in its openness to the elements. The flicker of a whale’s presence, the shifting, moody clouds of the Salish Sea, and sometimes even a glorious sunrise touched by each end of the visible light spectrum.

Wildlife Notes

Another calm morning sea revealed a whale sighting! I’m beginning to wonder if I’m having confirmation bias and labelling everything humpback because it’s the most easily distinguishable species to me after orcas- to slow with the camera but I drew out a few quick sketches to keep the shape of the dorsal fin in my mind for double checking against identification guides. I’m still pretty sure it was a humpback! It also took two deeper dives, plunging out of sight for a longer while after a show of impressive tail flukes.

I spotted a new tagged sea lion while taking the seawater sample, but didn’t quite manage to catch the number. The quickly fading light and distance weren’t in my favour- but perhaps tomorrow I’ll get another chance.

Facilities

Yesterday’s cloudy skies meant the batteries drew down just before the sun and a good cleaning could keep levels up so the generator kicked on at around 7am this morning. I ran the desalination pump for a few hours, hoping to leave Christine with a solid supply of freshwater for her arrival Saturday afternoon.

The rest of the day has been continuing to deep clean the main house, and packing up for the next adventure.

Wildlife Notes

Whales! I was mesmerized by the sight of humpbacks off to the Southeast in the early morning. Thanks to the surrounding calm glassy waters all afternoon, I caught a few more glimpses throughout the day. The wind picked up towards the end of the day, making them harder to pick out. I’m still learning, but this page by Our Wild Puget Sound is great resource for becoming familiar with the surfacing patterns and shapes and sizes of the most commonly sighted whales in the area.

Facility notes

• Cleaned panels
• Tidied up in tank shed
• Response kit inventories
• Mended electric fence sections

Weather

Smoky calm morning, with mainly Northeasterly winds around 2 knots picking up to 25 at night. Temperature from 22 to 25 degrees.

Vessels Observed

Ecotourism: 19

Private: 4

Wildlife

Today I noticed a strange swelling of the neck on this chick. It’s not unusual to see chicks with various injuries from wandering too close to another adult or running in a panic from intrusions into their own nesting site- swollen or missing eyes in particular. Christine’s post from earlier in the nesting season points out a few of the noticeable injuries around. This one is new, and looks serious! The chick doesn’t seem to be impaired otherwise, and is alert and feeding. I’ll keep an eye on it for the next while and see if the swelling improves at all.

In other news, the sea lions seem determined to battle for the jetty! Twice today I came down to find different sections of downed posts and warped fence wiring, and a handful of cheeky haul-outs where they should not be. By the time I went to fix the cracked post at the end of the jetty, it was starting to get dark. A quick reset will have to do for tonight, tomorrow I’ll have to rethink the current setup.

Facility notes

– Cleaned panels

– Washed windows

– Tidied inside student house

– Tidied inside main house

– Fence maintenance

Weather

Cloudy, winds mostly from the Southwest from 9 to 18 knots, early morning gusts up to 23 knots. Temperatures 12 to 17 degrees.

Vessels

Ecotourism: 19

Private: 1

More patching of the fence today! There’s just the section from the energy building around the lighthouse left to do tomorrow. Despite the wear and tear, the lines are coming along well- and not a moment too soon. A group of sea lions showed up on the helipad yesterday evening and has only grown today. The entirety of the outer rocks are dotted with sea lions, vying for space amongst the seagull nests. Tomorrow’s census will be revealing, as it feels like their numbers have increased significantly since the last count. I can’t wait to get an idea of roughly how many more have arrived.

The gulls don’t seem so happy about my fence mending activities, and I learned my lesson the other day after receiving a hefty smack to the back of the head. Although a cap and broom are good enough for getting around, the hard hat is a necessity with busy hands!
Fortunately, the chicks are mostly big enough to withstand the consequences of a mad dash into surrounding nesting sites, and my presence didn’t lead to any serious injuries out of the ordinary- many fights and pinched wings and heads though! I hate to disturb the nesting sites like this, but moving slowly and watching out for chicks hiding underfoot, I can only do my best to mitigate the damage while I work.

Facility notes
-Cleaned panels
-Mending electric fence

Weather
Sunny, wildfire smoke haze. Gentle winds mostly West by Southwesterly, from 3 to 18 knots. Daytime temperatures from 10 to 18 degrees.

Vessels
Ecotourism: 23
Private: 4

Wildlife
A pod of orcas came by at sunset today! With the low lighting, it was tricky to get a clear photo at a distance, but it was incredible to see them in the fading light.

Facility notes
-Fixed up jetty fence
-Cleaned solar panels
-Finished clearing built-up roof grime; if it rains this weekend as the forecast says, hopefully I can give it a good final scrub!

Weather
Foggy morning, sunny and clear rest of the day. Westerlies from 10 to 22 knots. Temperatures from 10 to 12 degrees.

Visitors
Three researchers with the DFO came by this afternoon for a visit. They were interested in how the daily salinity and temperature samples are taken, about the history of race rocks and future plans for the reserve. We intended to do a demonstration of the water sampling for them as they prepared to head out, but the batteries on our sampling device happened to have died! What timing. I still demonstrated where the sampler is dipped from the end of the jetty, and replaced the batteries shortly afterward.
It was great to meet the researchers making use of the data collection that is such a quintessential daily ritual here on the rocks.

Another daily ritual seems to be reinforcing the jetty fenceline- there’s one young California sea lion who seems to have taken a liking to hauling out there, willing to brave an initial jolt for that sweet patch of flat, flat concrete. Twice today I had to shoo him away, watching as he took out another section on the way out.

Wildlife
I’ve noticed a change in the pitch of the seagull chick chirps. Their little peeps are transitioning to the full-throated calls of adult gulls- they grow up so fast!
I spotted the jetty California sea lion again this morning, looking well after yesterday’s excitement. I’ll be keeping an eye on him for the next little while, as he recovers from the plastic line removal. It’s easy to recognize him thanks to the fancy new orange tag, and unfortunately still prominent marking around his neck.

Facility notes
-Cleaned panels
-Topped up batteries
-Generator refuel/weekly checkup
-Repaired crane shed fence portion
-Cleared grass around north flats fenceline
No photos, it was raining seagull dinner (in all states of digestion) rather heavily! They did not appreciate the disturbance, and I did not risk taking the camera out.

Weather
Heavy fog early morning and later in the evening, sunny all afternoon. Winds from 12 to 22 knots, primarily from the West, West by South-West. Temperatures from 11 to 13 degrees.

Vessels
Ecotourism: 16
Private: 2