I’ve officially been on the rocks for 10 whole days and every single one of them have been incredible. I can’t walk by a single window in this house without staring out of it in awe.
I have learned so much in such a brief period and although I’ve always been a rather solitary person, this is a whole new level of living alone. While slightly overwhelming at first, I think I’ve found my groove and there is always something to do.
He’s always watching!
Each morning I awake to the sound of my new alarm clock – the singular male elephant seal on the island who is bellowing for what I assume is a female (or maybe he does it solely to wake me up). The gulls enjoy chiming in which usually sets the geese off too, by then the 3 California sea lions by the jetty are annoyed and they begin to holler along with the whole choir. Honestly, I wouldn’t want to be woken up any other way!
Looking back through previous logs and animal census it is obvious that this is a slow time of year for animals, the census I did this week is far outshined by most of the others. I look forward to more animals arriving.
The weather the last few days has been warmer than when I first arrived and despite some strong winds last night, the wind seems to have calmed down as well. The evenings are still chilly, but the fire warms the house perfectly.
I haven’t spotted any cetaceans in the last few days but I’m hoping I will soon. The same 2-3 ecotourism vessels pass by each day and the passengers always give me an excited wave. I feel as though I’m the star attraction when they do that – or maybe it’s more like I’m one of the animals to spot? There haven’t been a whole lot of pinnipeds around either, but from what I’ve experienced so far, all the operators are very respectful when showing their guests the reserve.
It’s daylight savings today which means we get a whole extra hour of daylight and a whole extra hour of solar power, woohoo!
Here are some additional notes from the past few days:
Ecological Notes:
– Still just the one male elephant seal. There was a brief appearance by a female on March 7th but she was quick to return to the water when the sole male came barrelling towards her (a full speed galumph if I’ve ever seen one!!)
Visitors:
– Greg, Cedric, and furnace repairman
Facility Work:
- Gardening
- Station refuel
- Furnace maintenance
- Wood bucking and splitting (extra thanks to Cedric!)
- Washed house windows inside and out
- Topped up batteries with water
Noted Vessel Traffic:
– Ecotourism vessels
– Group of 6 kayakers
Weather Events:
- Thursday, March 07:
- Sky: Overcast with the sun coming out later in the day
- Wind: High of NNE 15knots, low of NNE 5knots
- Sea: Calm
- Temperature: Low 1oC, High 6oC
- Friday, March 08:
- Sky: Overcast, on and off drizzle
- Wind: High of N 21 knots, low of ENE 9 knots
- Sea: Calm, strong current coming through in the evening
- Temperature: Low 6oC, High 10oC
- Saturday, March 09:
- Sky: Dark skies, brief period of sun with a big rainbow!
- Wind: High of ESE 31knots, low of WSW 4 knots
- Sea: Relatively calm with swell picking up
- Temperature: Low 7oC, High 9oC
- Sunday, March 10:
- Sky: Mix of overcast and sun throughout the afternoon
- Wind: High of E33 knots, low of N5 knots
- Sea: Strong current in the reserve today but calm outside
- Temperature: Low 7oC, High 10oC
** 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: