Tag Archives: sea lion

Muddy Shingles

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Weather

  • The 8am weather report.
  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 1 knot West, slowly rising all day until 20-25 k W after 21:00
  • Sky: overcast
  • Water: calm

Ecological

  • Still the same 3 male elephant seals on Great Race.
  • The two larger ones returned from the water in the morning.
  • The weaner is still over by the base of the tower.
  • The spotted harbour seal returned to play near the jetty.

Maintenance

  • I collected up several muddy shingles from the middle part of the island.
  • Removed one large log from the ramp.

Boats

  • About 5 eco-tours came by today.

A sea lion on the grass

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Weather

At 8:00 light North West wind,Overcast sky,13 miles of visibility.The wind became full West later and raised steadily to 30 knots in the afternoon and evening.

Ecological

Chunk was back but Boss gone …The pups were moving more . (The other young male elephant seal is always around and can often be seen in the water) . Many birds now and are getting busier and noisier:pigeons guillemots ,crows,oystercatchers by pairs now,geese ,Harlequins ducks,Eagles in the morning,some shorebirds…a lot of life! In the afternoon we were surprised to see in middle of the lawn under our windows a young californian Sea lion : a branded one (940C) He had something hanging from his neck maybe a small hook and a line. We never saw a lonely Sea lion before  far from the rocks and alone? strange he looked tired?DSC_0317DSC_0624DSC_0645

Boats

it is pretty calm on the waters …we saw a few fishing boats .It is the beginning of the halibut fishing season

Military Blasting

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 0-10 knots NW
  • Sky: mix of blue and clouds
  • Water: calm

evening-appoaches-11

Ecological

  • A gaggle of 19 Canada Geese arrived on Great Race today.
  • The birds and sea lions weren’t too pleased with all the DND blasting.

Maintenance

  • The usual chores.
  • Took some ash out of the wood stove.

Boats

  • Kyle came by in Second Nature to pick up Natasha.
  • A couple of eco-tours came by.

Visitors

  • Natasha left today.

tasha-says-goodbye-8-11

Other

  • Lots of DND blasting today.
  • Small, medium, and large blasts.
  • 10:59, 11:16, 11:18, 12:01, 12:04, 12:51, 1:07.

boom-8-11

Swell, Sea Lion, Sooth

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 10-15 knots N, later down to 5-10 N
  • Sky: overcast, then a rather sunny afternoon.
  • Water: 1′ waves, 3′ swell on the rocks

Ecological

  • A rather large sea lion encroachment today.
  • I think the powerful swell against the rocks was driving them inland.
  • 5 elephant seals on Great Race.
  • One of them spent the day lying in the mud on the NE part of the island.

e-seal-29-10

Maintenance

  • The sea lion encroachment caused major fence discombobulation.
  • Spent 1 hour resetting the fence.
  • The usual chores as well.

Boats

  • A few eco-tours came by today.

Other

  • A float plane flew over Great Race just after 15:00.

Sunny Day

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Weather

  • 7:15
  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 10-15 knots NE
  • Sky: overcast
  • Water: calm
  • 10:45
  • Visibility: 10 miles (fog to the South and West)
  • Wind: 10-15 knots NE
  • Sky: sunny
  • Water: 1′ chop
  • Nice sunset!

Ecological

  • Saw 6 Harlequin Ducks today!

Maintenance

  • Ran the desalinator during the afternoon.
  • Stacked some firewood.
  • Cleaned the solar panels.
  • The usual chores.

Boats

  • Didn’t see many boats today despite the nice weather.

A Strong Breeze

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles with occasional fog interludes
  • Wind: 20-25 knots NE, later down to 15
  • Sky: showers
  • Water: choppy, especially in Middle Channel where waves and current collided.
  • The foghorn went off for a minute or so in the afternoon.

choppy-26-10

Ecological

  • Still lots of sea lions on and around the jetty.
  • Lots of Canada Geese on the island.

Maintenance

  • Yesterday at 21:30 the windspeed display showed 00.0 despite clear wind.
  • It started working again sometime in the early morning.
  • The usual chores.

Boats

  • A few eco-tours came by in the afternoon.
  • One of them was here when the foghorn went off.

hark-a-boat-26-10

Incredible Sunset

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 10-15 knots North
  • Sky: overcast, later some blue sky
  • Water: 2′ chop, later calm

waves-25-10

Ecological

  • Lots more sea lions on and around the jetty.

Maintenance

  • The usual chores.
  • Tried to move the dead sea lion for the 3rd time.
  • Too heavy for me no matter what I try.

Boats

  • Several eco-tours came by in the afternoon when the water calmed down.

Sea Lion house damage

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 0-10 knots West, later NE
  • Sky: Mix of sun and clouds
  • Water: choppy in the morning, calm later on

 

Ecological

  • The sea lions are far less prevalent on the inner part of the island now.
  • Saw California Sea Lion U105.

Maintenance

  • Somehow the sea lions have managed to break a pipe attached to the students’ house.
  • I’m not sure what kind of wire was in the pipe, but it was ripped out and broken.
  • Whatever it is, it seems to run into the disused basement workshop.

Boats

  • Ogden Point Dive boat had divers down in Middle Channel this morning.
  • Saw a sailboat pass by, as well as a few eco-tours.

Fence Repositioning

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Weather

  • The 7:00 weather report.
  • Visibility: 15 miles (later all the way to Mt. Baker!)
  • Wind: 10-15 knots NE (later zero)
  • Sky: overcast (later some rain)
  • Water: calm with a 2′ surge

Ecological

  • I saw an American robin for the first time out here.

Maintenance

  • With the sea lions definitively gone from the east part of the inner island I saw fit to remove that electric fence.
  • I began reassembling said fence along the middle walkway to help combat the flood of sea lions who have recently begun to encroach upon the buildings.
  • Tried to haul away the dead California sea lion but he is too heavy for me.
new-fence-working-wonders-19-10

New fence working wonders!

Boats

  • Saw a handful of eco-tours.

 

A Real Gale

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Weather

  • 7:00 weather report.
  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 5-10 knots N
  • Sky: overcast with showers and lightning!
  • Water: rippled
  • Larger waves by noon.
  • Wind and rain picked up in the afternoon.
  • By 17:00 wind up to 50 knots W. House shaking.
  • By 18:20 down to an average of 20 knots West.

Ecological

  • Birds mostly hunkered down on the ground today.
  • Some sea lions surfing in the large waves.

Maintenance

  • All basic daily chores completed.

Boats

  • No boats seen in the reserve.