Ecological Notes:

• 7 Elephant Seals, including 2 “pups” still using the grass areas
  
• Monday saw a dramatic reduction of animals and birds in the reserve (almost no guillemots or Sealions, and about half the number of gulls) but they are gradually returning.
  
• An anecdotal possibility is that Sunday night had a 50+ knot storm, lining up with a high tide and lots of big ocean swells, making the reserve a very nasty place to be!
• Noticing more Black Oyster Catcher nests. These are more just an indentation in the gravel, and the birds rely a lot on the camouflage of the eggs. Due to high egg loss rates (here, primarily gulls snatching them), Oyster catchers can lay up to 3 or 4 replacement clutches in a season.

Very distant photo

Visitors:

• Guests left Sunday
• 4 Pearson College students on Monday, for an informal visit, with some discussions on marine mammal adaptations life in the ocean.
• Was also nice to re-instate the visitor log in the newly painted and repaired Visitor Welcome Box

Facility Work:

• Trouble shooting power interruptions originating from the Student Building
  

• Cleaning and minor repair to the housing on the Camera 5 unit.
  

• There’s an old prairie saying “Make hay while the sun shines” …… out here, the addendum could be “Clean stuff while the rain falls!” Rain makes it much easier to clean paths and windows, and through the rain collection, provides water for the pressure cleaner.

DND events:

• 6 or 7 loud blasts today, all sealions left the rocks again

Weather Events:

• Westerly winds, 15-20 knots brought rain showers in the morning. Mostly sunny with cloudy periods in the afternoon. Calm seas. Clear skies and 20 knot westerly winds in the evening
  

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

Weather – Current:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

Weather – Past:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?