Weather

• Visibility: 15 miles
• Wind: 10-15 knots W, later N
• Sky: overcast with afternoon drizzles
• Water: 1′ chop

Ecological

• Recorded eight different sea lion brands today.
• Two Steller/Northern sea lions: 14Y and 998R.
• Six California sea lions: U603, 7618, 8985, U374, 9403, and 8465.
• I didn’t get good photos of all the brands, but I am certain of the characters.
• Conducted the weekly census.
• Didn’t see any Harlequin Ducks or Black Oystercatchers; perhaps the inclement weather kept them out of sight?
• Big increase in the number of cormorants from last week (20 up to 146).

1. California Sea Lions: 541
2. Northern (Steller) Sea Lions: 202 (half of those on Middle Rock)
3. Harbour Seals: 69
4. Elephant Seals: 9 (3 on Great Race, 6 on Middle Rock)
5. Sea gulls: 800
6. Cormorants: 146
7. Black Turnstone: 13
8. Savannah Sparrows: 10
9. Bald Eagles: 2 adults on West Rock
10. Canada Geese: 2

Maintenance

• The usual chores.

Boats

• Recently some of the larger eco-tour boats appear to be getting too close to the sea lions near the jetty. Below are today’s observations.