August 7

Wildlife Notes:

  • Orcas and humpback whales were south and east of the ecological reserve throughout the day. I did not get any photos, but enjoyed catching occasional glimpses of them through the binoculars.

Facility work:

  • I replaced the hand winch on the boat cradle. The old winch was getting rusty and the strap was beginning to fray. I also tested all the electronics on the boat and motor while it was tied to the jetty.

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 18
  •  Private: 4

Weather:

  • Sky: Partly cloudy
  • Wind: West 15-30 knots
  • Sea: rippled in morning, up to 2′ chop in afternoon
  • Air temperature: low 13 °C, high 17 °C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 11.1°C

Photos from today:

*All wildlife photos are taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail.

August 31 – Weekly Census and Shift Change

Wind: W 2-15 knots
Sea State: calm
Visibility: 5-15 NM
Sky: partly cloudy in early morning, then clear
Temperature: 11-17 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 411.90 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

Census results recorded this morning at low tide for the mammals and throughout the day for the birds:
26 steller sea lions
110 california sea lions
1 sea otter
290 harbour seals
1 Canada goose
7 pelagic cormorants
1,232 california gulls
251 glaucous-winged gulls
98 gull chicks
2 black oystercatchers
7 black turnstones
1 song sparrow

There were a lot of eco tourism boats passing through the ecological reserve today. An outrigger canoeist paddled through the main channel in the mid morning and again in the early afternoon.

Tomorrow is my last day as the Ecoguardian. Mara and Kai are returning for a few months. I have enjoyed being back on this wonderful island for the past 17 days, learning on the edge where the land meets the sea meets sky. Race Rocks is a unique place that couldn’t exist without the work of Pearson students, staff, faculty, alumni and volunteers.

Here are some sights from around the island today: