Ecological Notes:

• I believe most of the gulls eggs have hatched, based on the nests I can see with one to three chicks and discarded empty eggs nearby. The gull parents feed fish to their young. I am impressed how many whole little fish a gull catch then regurgitate for their chicks.
• I am seeing more nursing harbour seals and pups around the south and east sides of the island. Today, I heard a pup communicating with its mother by little grunting sounds.
• This afternoon, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a river otter scurry along a path by Tank Shed. I could not see if it was heading for the water or underneath the boardwalk, as they are elusive.
• See the photo gallery below for more ecological happenings from the past two days.

Weather:

• Yesterday (July 11):
  • Sky: Clear
  • Wind: W 1-33 kts
  • Sea: rippled, then 2′ chop in evening
  • Temperature Low 11^oC, High 20^oC
• Today (July 12):
  • Sky: Clear, fog between 08:45-09:30 with foghorn
  • Wind: W 16-39 kts, gusts up to 44 kts (81 km/h)
  • Sea: 1′ chop in morning, then up to 4′ waves in afternoon and evening
  • Temperature Low 12^oC, High 15^oC

Visitors:

• Yesterday, Greg came from the college to refill the diesel tank.

Facility Work:

• Scrubbed and squeegeed solar panels, routine tidying and checking infrastructure around the island. With the clear days, the solar panels have been fully charging the batteries.

Vessel Traffic:

• Many Canadian and American ecotour boats have been nearby and heading through the waters of the ecological reserve. There were much fewer boats today, with the high winds.

Here are photo highlights from the past two days. Click on the photos for larger views and captions.