It is becoming increasingly more difficult to go places.  Along the walkway from the Keeper’s House are several gull parents growing bolder by the day.  The walkway is raised 1 to 3  feet depending on the spot and the base of rock provides some excellent hiding spots for the chicks. The chicks dive for cover when I come around and the parents charge on foot or in flight from above, the side or behind.  I used to have only one parent or family to deal with at a time but they let their chicks wander to new locations. Now at the intersection I can have two to three families (Intersection gulls, Sign gulls and Bunker gulls – same as last year) employing different strategies at the same time. I am spinning around trying to use one end of the broom to fend off a ground attack and the other end for the diving gulls while also trying to dodge their poo bombs, which some say are good luck?!? Maybe I may need a second broom and to start singing my song….

Chim, chimney, Chim, chimney, Chim, chim, cher-ee.
An Ecoguardian is as lucky as lucky can be.

Pathway from the Keeper’s House. The Student House, Energy Building, Lighthouse and desalination plant are to the left and the Tank Shed, Boat Shed and Jetty are to the right. The white arrows indicate the number of chicks hiding at each location.

Two young gull chicks.

A pudgy seal pup on the rocks by the Energy Building.

Facility work

• cleaned solar panels
• worked on door report…soon all locks and buildings around here will be keyed the same!
• cleaning

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 18
• Private: 3

Weather

Skies partly cloudy, hazy at times.  Winds variable in direction, 5 to 13 knots. Daytime temperature 14 to 22 degrees.

The gulls have worn pathways into the grass at the lighthouse base. When I first noticed them I was reminded of the patterns in a wetland or a braided stream.  These can not be from aimless wandering. If I paced around and created these paths it would be due to mental illness or anxiety.  As crazy as these birds seem sometimes, I have to assume these pathways were worn walking a fixed, purposeful and predictable route while on patrol. There are only about 7 seven nests in this large grassy area, so there is a lot of territory to defend.  They also walk the perimeter along the stone wall, watching for me to pass by on the human pathway or “walkway” – a sturdy, direct, safe route between two points.  If all the concrete walkways connecting the buildings would be equivalent to one gulls pathway network, I expect they get in more “steps” in a day and are infinitely more aware of the daily events in their little “island” than I.

Concrete walkways and gull pathways (bottom left) in the grass at the base of the lighthouse.

Aerial view of the pathways the gulls have trampled into the grass at the base of the lighthouse. Energy building (top left), stairway to lighthouse front door and lighthouse shadow (bottom center), and bunker with desalination plant (bottom right).

Facility work

• cleaned solar panels
• measurements for new electric fence
• started on the compost bins

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 14
• Private: 1

Weather

Fog in the early am. Clear skies, wind direction variable, 4 to 17 knots. Daytime temperatures 10 to 19 degrees.

Three gull chicks ordered to hide in a sliver of a shadow.

This is my last night here.

I feel so privileged to get to spend time on Race Rocks. I am grateful for all the new work done to the house (the thermal windows make it SO much quieter). Christine seems to have organized, cleaned and decluttered in every space. The ecoguardians care about Race Rocks and it is apparent. I am just so grateful this rock has been protected. So many animals, all year round depend on it to survive. Garry Fletcher was visionary in getting it protected.

Today I awoke to fog. It was thick. Seal Rocks was not visible. The perfect morning to wash windows. After the solar panels I washed the house windows. The wind was strong all day. Sometimes 25 knots from west. The wind and the gulls have managed to paint the windows once again.

Then I swept all the stairs in the lighthouse. I wore a mask and hazmat suit as I imagine the paint has lead in it. It has been a couple of years since I have swept the stairs and there is alarming deterioration of the sandstone. Apparently the bottom two thirds of the lighthouse is built from granite (imported from Scotland) and the top third is sandstone. If sandstone is not sealed it absorbs water and will deteriorate and that is what is happening. Still it was a satisfying job.

Sandstone losing its seal. Lighthouse ceiling.

Before sweeping

Energy

Since I arrived on Sunday (4 days ago) we have not needed the generator. Solar has provided the station with energy.

Visitors

Eco tourism boats around 12

Weather

Westerly all day with gusts to 25

Fog until about 8 a.m. then clear

Observations

I was thinking that with these winds a few interesting birds might visit but real estate on Race Rocks is tight and so far I haven’t recognized any visitors. Four Stellar Sea Lions are on the South Islands.

First thing this morning I saw a gull with a bloody beak and chest. It had been fighting with its neighbour, the gull I find most aggressive. They locked beaks and kept pulling. I am glad to see the beaks both look to be functional still.

Gull bleeding after fight

Mary Oliver’s poem has become cliche but today I have thought about her words “Tell me, what is it you plan to do / with your one wild and precious life” from the poem “The Summer Day”. Being here on RR is a good thing to do with “my one life”.  It has been a day of quiet observations, as she says, “how to be idle and blessed “. It started at 5:30 a.m. with a spectacular sunrise. It continued with FOUR different whale sightings of Orcas and Humpbacks. There is a newly hatched chick in the nest right beside the basement door. It is one day old and another chick is working its way out. Of course, this is happening all over the island. Life is happening on Race Rocks and it’s mesmerizing.

Two elephant seals were seen swimming from the lighthouse by Seal Rocks. One was swimming by the boat ramp this evening and the other pulled out on the South Island (picture below). It looks like an immature male,

Elephant Seal

Work

Solar panels cleaned

Lamp room cleaning continues

Batteries all checked

Visitors

This morning there were about 20 ecotourism boats through the pass, a massive cruise ship is in Victoria Harbour, perhaps supplying clientele

Weather

Initially the sea and wind were calm. At about noon the wind picked up and at 5 pm it is a westerly at 20 knots. Clear skies all day.

Herring regurgitated by startled gull

Breathing and not yet born

a spectacular sunrise

Wildlife notes

The unwell California sealion has left the boat ramp. I searched the area from the top of the lighthouse but couldn’t locate him. I can’t imagine he could have swam far in his condition.  The little chick with the injured leg is still with us. I thought it would go the other way around but it is hanging on, determined to learn how to walk/move around and get to its siblings and supper.

I saw another harbour seal mom and her pup so we are at three pairs now. The shallow and sheltered water on East Beach and the rocky beach to the south of the Energy Building are two areas the moms spend time with their pups.  Their nose touching is so precious. It is a delight to watch them. I can’t adequately describe their close interactions and bond so here is a video I found of what a pup is able to do in its first hour of life and another video showing a mom with her one day old pup trying to get it on land to nurse, ending with some nose touching.

Harbour seal mom and her young pup in the sheltered waters south of the Energy Building. The pup still has a section of umbilical cord attached so it is between one and 5 days old.

Young harbour seal pup resting in the water.

Facility work

• cleaned solar panels
• battery maintenance

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 13
• Private: 1

Weather

Skies with scattered clouds. Winds SW 18 to NW 30 knots. Daytime temperatures 12 to 14 degrees.

Wildlife notes

The unwell California sealion has been here for 5 days. Its rib and spine bones are visible. It goes for a short float at least once a day but is only able to move its front flippers. He had the energy to haul himself onto the rocks this afternoon but does not look any better.  The gull chick with mobility challenges (shown yesterday) is likely about 5 days old. It is now noticeably smaller than its nest mates and spends most of its time exposed in the wind, all alone.  I would guess the sealion will be with us longer.

Some of gulls and pigeon guillemots are still sitting on eggs. For the gulls it may be around 20% of the total nesting population, for the guillemots I could not venture a guess, but more guillemots are seen with prey in their beaks.

Facility work

The generator and the desalinator ran this morning.  I hadn’t planned on it but I used all the water produced during the 5 hour run. The gulls were right on target this morning so I needed a shower (this is no place for a ponytail), did a load of laundry (was out of clean shirts) and used a lot of mopping and cleaning water in one of the side storage basement rooms that was cleared out recently. The solar panels were skipped today as the winds were strong and the generator was running.

Vessels (partial count today)

• Ecotourism: 13
• Private: 1

Weather

Skies with scattered clouds. Winds westerlies 23 to 29 knots.  Daytime temperatures 11 to 16 degrees.

Wildlife notes

There is so much new life here but not everyone makes it. And there isn’t much sympathy around for those that don’t.  The group of three chicks near the cistern photographed on July 5th will soon be down to two. One of them has an injured leg and moves with great difficulty. The left leg drags behind and it tries to use its wings as “legs” to propel forward but ends up flipping itself over. Its siblings don’t care and neither does its parent.  A parent will arrive with a belly full of fish, lower its head and give a long call for the chicks to come. The disabled chick can hear it and watch its siblings run in response. The parent will not go to the disabled chick and there is no way it can make it to the dinner table before the meal is over. They say animals don’t feel self pity but surely they feel the pain of injury and starvation. The California sealion, who is still on the boat ramp, is also likely suffering in pain. It is hard to watch.

Gull chick trying to walk with its wings and one good leg. Its injured left leg (purple arrow) is dragging behind.

Flipped over chick trying to right itself. Arrow points at its injured left leg.

There is both happy and sad news for the sidewalk buddies, the Canada goose and glaucous-winged gull nesting beside each other. When I arrived on May 25 the goose was already sitting on her addled egg. That was 45 days ago and she was likely on the nest for at least 50 days: twice as long as it would normally take to hatch her eggs. She gave up yesterday. Today her egg was broken and strewn about by the gulls. The gulls were successful and hatched their last chick today. All three chicks made it. Good for them, bad for me when I use the sidewalk.

The nests of the Sidewalk Buddies. The Canada goose nest is the larger one on the left, the gull nest is on the right. The gull nest has two hatched chicks with one starting to hatch. It takes a day for a chick to fully emerge from an egg.  Photo from July 7, 2026.

The last bit of good news to report is a second harbour seal mom and new pup were spotted today from up in the lighthouse. The pup still has a short section of its umbilical cord attached and is well fleshed.

Facility work

• cleaned the solar panels midday when wind speed dropped below 25knots

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 20
• Private: 0

Weather

Skies with scattered clouds. Winds predominately westerly 19 to 34 knots. Daytime temperature 11 to 15 degrees.