marine ecology educational resource, remote-control webcams,elephant seal colony,Sea lion haulout,sustainable energy, solar energy
Weather
- Visibility: 5 miles, later 15
- Wind: 10-15 knots NW, later 5-10 NW
- Sky: raining/overcast
- Water: 1′ chop
Ecological
- This morning two elephant seals arrived on the middle of the island.
- One was the weaner, and at first I thought the other was the female.
- But then I realized it was a new young adult male. A yearling or so.
- They both slept all day, and had no interaction.
Maintenance
Other
Weather
- Visibility: 15 miles
- Wind: 10-20 knots NE
- Sky: overcast
- Water: 1′ chop
- At about 18:00 it began to rain for a bit.
Ecological
- The female elephant seal and the weaner spent the day sleeping on the ramp beside the jetty.
- Some eagle activity that kept the geese and seagulls wary.
Maintenance
- Some goose work.
- Nearly finished topping up the batteries.
Boats
- One eco-tour came by in the morning.
Other
- Heard a couple of planes pass over the reserve.
- One in the morning, and one in the afternoon.
Weather
- Visibility: 15 miles
- Wind: a steady 20-25 knots West
- Sky: mostly sunny
- Water: 1′ chop
Ecological
- Census day!
- The weaner was lounging by the house all day.
- Discovered my first Canada Goose nests with eggs in them.
- Harbour Seals: 143
- California Sea Lions: 66
- Steller (Northern) Sea Lions: 42
- Elephant Seals: 1 weaner
- Seagulls unspecified: 221
- Surfbirds: 62
- Cormorants unspecified: 27
- Double Crested Cormorant: 4
- Black Turnstones: 29
- Canada Geese: 21
- Rock Sandpipers: 11
- Harlequin Ducks: 7 (5 males and 2 females)
- Bald Eagles: 7 (2 adults, 5 immature)
- Black Oystercatchers: 2
- Killdeer: 1
Maintenance
Boats
- At least one eco-tour came by today.
Weather
- Visibility: 10 miles in the morning, later 15.
- Wind: 5-10 knots North
- Sky: overcast and some rain
- Water: calm
Ecological
- Just the weaner on Great Race today.
- He has a bit of a snotty nose. I suppose he has a cold?
- I encountered my first pair of aggressive Canada Geese today.
- Perhaps the nesting has begun?
Boats
- The Pacific Scout Pilot boat passed through Race Passage today.
- No eco-tours that I saw.
Other
- Lots of DND blasting today.
- There were blasts at the following times:
- 10:38, 11:05, 13:18, 13:20, 15:19, 15:21, and 15:49.
- The first few blasts really startled the birds, especially the Pigeon Guillemots.
- There was one final blast at 21:05. That is very unusual..
Weather
- Visibility: 15 miles
- Wind: 15-20 knots West, later 5-10 South
- Sky: mostly clear, a few drops of rain
- Water: 1′ chop
Ecological
- The same two elephant seals on Great Race today.
- The weaner spent the whole day snoozing beside the house.
- The bigger fellah hardly moved all day, except the one time he tried to climb up the rock wall, and couldn’t!
- Saw a killdeer again.
Maintenance
- Transferred diesel from the Student House basement tank, into a barrel, and then into the tidy tank.
- Ran the desalinator.
Weather
- Visibility: 15 miles
- Wind: 10-15 knots North, later NW
- Sky: mostly clear
- Water: 1′ chop
Ecological
- The weaner was back on Great Race today, over by the base of the tower.
- The other male is still here too.
- I saw some rock sandpipers today. Perhaps I failed to pick them out from the surfbirds yesterday.
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Rock sandpiper and Surfbirds
Maintenance
- Hand pumped more diesel into the day tank.
Boats
Other
- Lots of DND blasting today.
- Big blasts at the following times:
- 9:48, 9:50, 10:06, 10:22, 12:00, and 12:02.
- Bigger bangs at the following times:
- 14:09 and 14:12.
Weather
- Visibility: 15 miles
- Wind: 5-10 knots North
- Sky: overcast
- Water: rippled
Ecological
- Census day!
- The weaner was gone this morning. Hopefully he is ok.
- Normally I only ever see killdeer at night, but today I saw a pair off and on all day!
- California Sea Lions: 85
- Harbour Seals: 44
- Steller (Northern) Sea Lions: 39
- Elephant Seals: 1 male
- Seagulls unspecified: 269 (same total two weeks in a row!)
- Pigeon Guillemots: 241
- Cormorants unspecified: 57
- Surfbirds: 49
- Harlequin Ducks: 32 (16 males and 16 females)
- Black Turnstones: 22
- Canada Geese: 13
- Black Oystercatchers: 9
- Bald Eagles: 6 (2 adults, 4 immature)
- Killdeer: 2
Boats
- Kyle stopped by for 1 minute to exchange the extra security camera for a new Wifi access point.
- There were several fishing boats literally yards outside the Rockfish Conservation Area.
- A few eco-tours came by.
Maintenance
- Installed the new Wifi access point in the Students’ House.
Other
- Lots of DND blasting today.
- Small blasts at the following times:
- 10:25, 10:27, 10:45, and 12:34.
- Larger blasts at the following times:
- 12:32, 12:53, 14:52, 14:54, and 15:11.
Weather
- Visibility: 15+ miles, Mt. Baker clearly visible
- Wind: 20-25 knots NE in the morning and evening, down to near zero in the middle
- Sky: mix of sun and clouds
- Water: 1′ chop
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Sunrise
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Olympics
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Mt. Baker
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ditto
Ecological
- The weaner went on a few adventures around the house. He even wiggled his way into the doorway, temporarily blocking me from entering the house.
- Quite a few Canada Geese on the island.
- Also some eagle action.
- I saw one eagle flying around with a fish, but I couldn’t get a good photo.
Maintenance
- Started checking the water levels in the battery room.
- Tried to manually pump diesel into the day tank without much success.
Boats
- Several eco-tours came by today.
- A tug pulling a barge that had a couple of boats on it passed to the north of the reserve.
- A bit redundant, transporting a boat over water, isn’t it?
Other
- It was my birthday today.
- Funny how it seems just like any other day when you are alone with no one to remind you.
- A unique birthday vibe.
