West winds below 20 knots all day. Clear skies. Barometric pressure dropping since yesterday. Fifteen to 20 knot winds expected for tomorrow afternoon.
34 whale watching boats in the reserve… no whales, sadly.
1 recreational boat
About 5 blasts went off this morning from DND. Normally during blasting periods there are red flags but there haven’t been any today or yesterday.
Was off the island in the evening and dropped off a visitor.
Overcast this morning with some rain, clearing up in the afternoon. Strong winds from 0800h onwards. Barometric pressure on the rise since Wednesday morning. Fifteen to 25 knot winds are predicted for tomorrow.
19 whale watching boats
There were two humpbacks on the southern border of the reserve this afternoon heading west. Several whale watchers surrounded them. Eagle Winged Tours was particularly persistent in chasing them. We now have 5 elephant seals on the reserve. Chunk, the big male, and the other four about half of his size or smaller. Chunk is looking very slim.
Two bombs sounded this morning off of Bentinck Island around 1015h.
Went into campus today from 1330h to 1530h to pick up a visitor for the night. Took a load of garbage/junk with me off the island.
Westerlies between 20-30 knots all day. Sky cloudy for most of the day with some sun. Barometric pressure starting to climb since yesterday. Winds are forecasted to reach a high of 25 knots tomorrow evening.
10 whale watching boats in the reserve today.
First sea lion on the main island found a spot on the end of the jetty. Although there have been several Stellers on West Rocks for more than a week, this was one of the first Californias I have seen this shift. Saw both pair of Black Oystercatcher chicks today and their beaks and plumage are getting much lighter.
Started cleaning out the boathouse this afternoon.
Winds have been on a downward trend since Monday but since noon today have picked up to 35-40 knots. Barometric power dipped to a low of 1010 hPa Wednesday evening. We’ve had heavy fog until yesterday and today.
Few boats in the reserve this week (I suspect due to fog).
Two whale watchers today and 2 recreational fishing boats passed through the reserve today.
Animal Census (for Wednesday, 16 July):
*I only saw nine guillemots on Wednesday, 5 of which were flying away from the island. I don’t know the reason for the low number but Thursday I counted over 80 again.
I have not seen Cheeky since Tuesday, however, a new (very plump) female elephant seal arrived Wednesday afternoon. After female was on the jetty at ~1800h but seems to have swam away again. Chunk is still here. The river otters made another appearance tonight. Running in the same direction the adult led the two young otters with a gull chick in its mouth. Before going under the diesel holding tank the two juveniles started away at the chick. the Canada geese arrived Monday afternoon. Until today, there was a group of 5 that moved around together and an additional single goose that was seemed on its own. Today I counted seven and they were all together.
Monday morning I lost ethernet connection in the main residence. Jonathan came out Tuesday to have a look and he returned with two electricians on Thursday to fix the issue. Filled the batteries yesterday while they were here and got a tutorial on the Nikon camera.
Low winds all morning that rose quickly to 30 knots after noon but is now descending again. Barometric pressure still decreasing since Sunday. Winds forecasted to stay between 10-20 knots for tomorrow.
10 whale watchers
 Chunk and Cheeky sparring near the jetty |
 Cheeky hurrying up the boat ramp away from Chunk |
 Chunk and Cheeky sparring in the water near the jetty |
 Chunk snoozing next to a gull’s nest |
 Cheeky showing his flexibility |
Winds between 10-20 knots all day. Barometric pressure has been decreasing since Sunday. Forecast calls for same winds as today. 2 whale watching boats, 1 sailboat, 1 float plane flew over around 1400h.
Business as usual in the reserve today. Gulls are becoming evermore aggressive as eggs continue to hatch and chicks begin to wander away from the nests. The oystercatcher eggs next to the jetty finally hatched today! Like the gulls, the red-beaked parents are also very aggressive. Ran the fire pump today to fill the cistern.
Lots of fog all morning. Winds have picked up this afternoon reaching nearly 50 knots.
2 whale watchers today
Yesterday Garry and Helen brought the Whalen family to Race Rocks for a tour of the island. I took the boston-whaler in in the afternoon to drop off my parents who have been visiting. (I’m going to miss the extra help. Thank you!)
Washed down the batteries and scrubbed off the grease. Checked the water level in the cistern.
Overcast and cloudy for most of the day. No wind in the morning until noon when it starting slowly rising up to 16 knots around 1900h. Strong wind warning in effect for late tomorrow afternoon. A fog belt is coming in now and the horn has just started sounding (2200h).
A group from Victoria of a dozen kayakers paddled around the island this morning. They launched from Weir’s beach.
9 recreational boats in the reserve today 5 whale watchers
Two bald eagles visited the south islands this evening joined by an immature eagle and the three stayed there for over an hour. It was unclear which was being more harassed by the other–the eagles or the gulls and oystercatchers.
My father who is visiting counted 574 Heermann’s gulls today which is a notable increase from the 21 recorded on Friday.
Chopped and stacked wood. Ran the desalinator.
Northwest winds peaked at 15 knots around noon. Overcast skies with some rain near noon.
There were a dozen recreational fishing boats on the east edge of the reserve this morning but a total of five actually passed through today. 6 whale watching boats were in the reserve.
The two male elephant seals have barely moved at all today. While taking the seawater sample this evening, a young harbour seal pup was murmuring lightly while finding its way through the kelp bed off the end of the jetty. The oystercatcher eggs near the jetty have yet to hatch.
A group of 4 kayakers from Port Angeles stopped at the island today for a quick rest before continuing on their way to Victoria.
Installed the VHF antenna today in the guest residence.
Low southerly winds under 15 knots for most of the day. Sky partly cloudy with sun. Barometric pressure dropped steadily all day.
Tour boats: 6 No whale watchers.
I found another oyster catcher nest on the south side of the island. There are two chicks that look like they’ve hatched in the last two days, and one egg that hadn’t hatched as of yesterday evening. There are only two elephant seals (the big males) on the island right now. They both swam and were sparring in the water on the south side of the main island. For the last two nights, the younger male has stayed in the water until well after dark.
Left the island from 1630h-1930h yesterday evening to pick up a visitor.