Sunday Update

There were about 50 sea lions on the rocks out front when I went to sleep last night, and I think all 50 of them decided to be particularly chatty from 4am onward. Needless to say, today ended up being an early morning start for me be but I’m glad it was! I opened my bedroom curtains to find about 15 brown pelicans resting on the rocks outside my window. I crept outside with my camera being careful not to disturb them and then sat on the back porch in the mist and watched them preen and dry their wings. I think I could stare at pelicans forever, they’re such funny looking creatures.

 

The Swiftsure International Yacht Race continued throughout the day with all boats on their way back to Victoria. Unfortunately the wind was at 0 knots and the ebb was strong so some of them appeared to be going backwards. Slowly I watched boat by boat as they admitted defeat, bringing their sails down and starting their engines. A few persevered but the same boat I saw at 7am was still bobbing outside the reserve at 1pm, trying its best to get past the currents.

Back to the animals —we are down to two elephant seals now, just one big and one small female. The gulls have officially started laying eggs which I know because one was dropped outside my front door this morning. They haven’t shown any aggressive behaviour towards me yet but I imagine I’ll be ducking for cover any day now. Ollie is still doing his best to blend in with the harbour seals, his bed of kelp and seaweed looking especially cozy today.

The weather today stayed windless with dark clouds and on/off rain. Quite a few ecotourism vessels passed by today, this time they did not bring the whales with them. Also noted a couple private vessels and one kayaker, all respecting the rules.

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

Beautiful Spring Day

Weather: 

  • Sky partly cloudy
  • Visibility 15+ NM
  • Wind 10-15 knots SW
  • Sea state: calm, rippled

Visitors/Marine Traffic: One pleasure craft within the reserve yesterday

Ecological: 

  • There are now 5 goslings between 2 nests
  • There are 2 oyster catcher chicks (nest on E side of island). They are too elusive for our camera for now!
  • The garbage brought to the island by seagulls is increasing now that they are nesting and laying eggs
  • Yesterday we spotted a patch of broken seagull eggshells near the guest house. Our best guess: the gulls are already looting neighboring nests for food

 

Spring Showers Brought New Critters!

Weather: 

  • Sky overcast
  • Visibility 10 NM
  • Wind 10-15 knots W
  • Sea state: calm

Boats/Visitors: 

  • One pleasure craft fishing within the reserve today. They did not have a visible number so we were unable to report to DFO.
  • Yesterday Greg brought water which we pumped into our storage tank

Ecological: 

  • Today a large male elephant seal arrived! He is huge!
  • The smaller female elephant seal has returned for a bit more R&R
  • There are now goslings! There was one nest behind the boat shed which we did not see before. This morning we noticed two little fluffy goslings peeking out. Adorable!
  • The oyster catchers have begun to lay eggs
  • The seagulls are also laying eggs in full force. The nests are becoming fully established all over the island. They have become more defensive of their areas, which means we need to cover up! One of their favorite defense tactics is flying above us and trying to hit us with their droppings.