Weather:

• Visibility 15+ NM
• Sky clear
• Wind 15-20 NE diminishing to 5-10 SE
• Sea state: calm
• Temperature 22.5°C

Visitors/Marine Traffic: 

• A trickle of pleasure crafts outside of the reserve, 4 inside of the reserve
• Yesterday a very small vessel came to the reserve with 3 people aboard. They approached each outcropping very closely, scaring the animals into the water.
• This evening a boat with 6 passengers sped through the reserve. They passed the resting sea lions very closely, and sped through the passage where many were swimming and fishing.
• On Friday Greg visited to work on the generator, and Nick came too
• There have been large commercial barges steadily passing through the straight. Since the weather has been so calm we can hear them inside the house, even though they are nearly 8 km away.

Ecological:

• The elephant seals have been taking daily soaks in the shallow water surrounding the jetty in this warm weather.
• In the shallow and warm waters this week we have been spotting schools of small fish. The larger animals in the water seem to ignore them completely.
• There have been blooms of jellyfish passing by in the currents, mostly water jellies and the small “sea gooseberries” which seem to glitter in the light due to the the tiny hairs (cilia) that pulsate to move them through the water.
• A few harlequin ducks spent the evening in the reserve on Friday

Census: 

• 16 Canada Geese
• 8 Oyster Catchers
• 4 Crows
• 8 Elephant Seals
• 300 Seagulls
• 2 Cormorants
• 2 Bald Eagles
• 48 Sea Lions
• 9 Harbour Seals