Ecological Notes:
- I gave it a couple days to be sure, but it does appear that the last 2 elephant seals have left the island. Checked the outer rocks from the top of the tower as well. It was time for them to head to open water and regain the weight they lost during their molt.
(Photo from a previous day!)
- Only 11 sealions left as well, 8 California sealions and 3 Stellers. One remaining Steller is relatively young.
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Some of the California Sealion hold outs
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Juvenile Steller Sealion
DND events:
- Several loud blasts, but no boat sentinels or flags, so it looked like it was further inland.
Noted Vessel Traffic:
- 2 Ecotourism vessels, following all guidelines properly.
Feature Event:
- Weekly Wildlife Census is an all day event. Counting occurs early morning through to late evening, as activity changes throughout the day.
- Low tide is a good time to count Oystercatchers and surf birds foraging in the inter-tidal zone. Right now, I’m limiting walking around the island edge due to all the various bird nesting locations.
- The view from the top of the tower gives the best overview of the seal haulouts, surrounding rocks, and bird counts on the main island.
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Better to count from above
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Holding that last bit of rock as the tide comes in
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So many pups on the way!
- Other than Oystercatchers and Pigeon Guillemots , it’s best to count birds from the tower
- Although not in the reserve, Biggs Orca (also known as Transient Orca) were also observed from the tower today. Identified by a friend as the T46Bs
Weather Events:
- Other than a short early morning fluctuation, winds were consistently from the west at 10 – 15knots all day. Cloudy with a few sunny breaks and good visibility all day.
** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **
Weather – Current:
http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72
Weather – Past:
http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?
