Ecological Notes:
- Large Male Elephant Seal is still spending most of his time in the water by the ramp
- The young Female Elephant Seal pup that left the reserve last week of April had returned for daily haulouts in the ramp area. She is very plump, indicating she has been feeding well, but has lots of little sores and scars. She was very ragged when she left in April as well, but you can see healed scars from them, with new ones around them. Also look like maybe an out of regular season molt.
- Have noticed many more Pigeon Guillemots return to shore and entering dens with fish!
Gunnel for dinner
- Nature being what it is, I did find a few Gull chicks that did not make it with the extreme heat.
Visitors:
- Pearson College instructors and family left Sunday evening.
Facility Work:
- Hot weather limited outside work to early morning and late evening. Mostly stuck with basics – cleaning windows, cleaning solar panels, check battery fluid levels and such.
Noted Vessel Traffic:
- Several Ecotourism vessels and private vessels sightseeing.
Noted Infractions:
- Private Vessel fishing in the reserve. They did not respond to my hails on the VHF. I mentioned checking regulations on Rockfish Conservation Areas. Another private vessel went over to them and mentioned it to them ( I think). as they altered course to leave in a straight line outbound.
Weather Events:
- Hot and clear most of the day, slight haze in the evening. Winds from East/Southeast during the day, 10-15 Knots.
** 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: