marine ecology educational resource, remote-control webcams,elephant seal colony,Sea lion haulout,sustainable energy, solar energy
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: 15 miles
- Wind: at 7:45, 10-15 knots East, then at 13:20 up to 35-40 knots West
- A peak of 43 knots West at 14:15. Settled at 25-30 knots West after dark.
- Sky: overcast, in the afternoon periods of sunshine, rain after dark.
- Water: 1′ chop, later some monster waves from the west
Ecological
- Just the weaner on Great Race.
- Killdeer active as ever.
-
-
Killdeer and grape hyacinth
-
-
Black Oystercatchers
-
-
X3
Boats
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: 0-5 knots North, later 15-20 West
- Sky: overcast
- Water: calm in the morning, later a 1′ chop
Ecological
- Two elephant seals on Great Race today.
- Adult male and the weaner.
- They both went down to the water by evenfall.
-
-
e-seal
-
-
same e-seal with friend
Maintenance
- Hand pumped more diesel into the day tank.
- Cleaned the solar panels.
- Topped up more of the battery bank. Over half finished now!
Boats
- Only saw one eco-tour.
- A few fishing boats just outside the reserve.
- DND zodiac out and about during blasting.
Other
- Lots of loud DND blasting today.
- There were blasts at the following times:
- 10:48, 10:50, 11:10, 11:25, 13:36, 13:38, 13:56, 14:19, 14:34, and 14:51.
Weather
- Visibility: 15 miles
- Wind: 5-10 knots NE, later N
- Sky: overcast, sprinklings of rain
- Water: calm in the morning, later 3′ chop on the eastern half of the reserve, calm on the western half.
- It’s hard to get a photo that accurately conveys how big the waves were!
Ecological
- Two elephant seals on Great Race.
- I spied a couple of crows, perhaps up to mischief.
Other
- One float plane passed over the reserve.
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.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
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
- Wind: 5-10 knots West in the morning
- Around 15:30 the wind picked up to 25+ knots West. 18:00 peak at 42 knots.
- Sky: overcast, then some blue sky, then some rain
- Water: no visible wave crests, but lots of surge
Ecological
- One of the larger male e-seals returned in the morning.
- The weaner is still around.
- Lots of bald eagles in the reserve.
-
-
harlequin ducks
-
Maintenance
- Kyle and I took a look at the diesel hand pump and the desalinator.
Boats
- Kyle came out in Second Nature with the 2 person film crew to take some footage.
- Several eco-tours came by later on.
- A few boats out fishing halibut just beyond the reserve.
Visitors
- Kyle and the film crew were on the island for about 2 hours.
Other
- Lots of DND blasting today.
- There were blasts at the following times:
- 10:00~, 12:50, 12:52, 13:12, 13:20, 13:23.
Weather
- Visibility: 15 miles
- Wind: 20-25 knots N/NE in the morning, down to zero in the evening
- Sky: overcast
- Water: 1′ chop
Ecological
- The weaner did more wandering around today.
- I observed/listened to a pair of bald eagles talking to each other.
Maintenance
- Checked and topped up over 1/4 of the battery bank.
Boats
- Kyle brought out a small film crew in Second Nature to film the Steller sea lions.
- However it was too choppy at the jetty to land, so they simply did a boat tour instead.
- A couple of eco-tours came by later on.
