Ecological Notes:

• The sea lion population is growing. For the past few days there have been 18 Steller sea lions hauled out on Middle Rocks. That is up from four sea lions one week ago. One of the sea lions has a brand. It appears to say 620R, although the researcher I contacted in Oregon mentioned it is what they call a bad brand and he was unable to determine the brand from the photos I sent. I will keep a look out for the sea lion and see if I can get a better view. The researcher will check his records to see if he can identify the sea lion and be able to record the resighting.
• The super moon on Wednesday night rose in the southeast at 10:00pm. It was a big bright orange orb that looked more like the rising sun, than the moon.
• Today’s extremely low tide of -0.2m or -0.7′ was at 10:13am. The overnight high tide at 00:55am was 3.0m or 9.8′. It is apparently the lowest tide in a decade. I was fascinated to see the extended edge of the water all around the many islands. I looked at the exposed intertidal zone from a distance and up on the jetty, so as not to disturb the many delicate species.
• See the photo gallery below for more ecological happenings from the past two days.

Weekly Census Results from July 13:

• Steller/Northern sea lions: 18
• Sea otter: 1
• Harbour seals: 133
• Bald eagles: 2 (1 juvenile and 1 adult)
• Canada geese: 9 (5 adults, 4 goslings)
• Black oystercatchers: 11 (8 adults, 3 chicks)
• Cormorant: 4
• Glaucous-winged gulls nesting on the main island: 247
• Glaucous-winged gull chicks: approximately 200 (it is hard to get an exact number due to their camouflage in the grass and hiding under their parents)
• Gulls not nesting (some glaucous-winged and some other species) on the south end of the main island and outer islands: 96
• Pigeon guillemots: 142
• Black turnstones: 2
• Western sandpiper: 2

Weather:

• Yesterday (July 13):
  • Sky: Part Cloudy
  • Wind: W 12-32 kts
  • Sea: rippled, then up to 3′ waves in afternoon and evening
  • Temperature Low 12^oC, High 16^oC
• Today (July 14):
  • Sky: Part Cloudy
  • Wind: W 15-27 kts
  • Sea: rippled, then up to 2′ chop in afternoon
  • Temperature Low 11^oC, High 13^oC

Visitors:

• No visitors

Facility Work:

• Scrubbed and squeegeed solar panels, routine tidying and checking infrastructure around the island.

Vessel Traffic:

• Many Canadian and American ecotour boats have been nearby and heading through the waters of the ecological reserve.

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