Census, new stellers and update on injured mammals

Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 10-15 knts W
  • Sky: Clear
  • Water: Ripply

Boats/Visitors/Sightings

  • Lots of ecotour boats between 12 and 1 pm, and a few private boats as well, making race passage quite crowded

Mammal Notes

  • Some steller sea lions have arrived on the northwestern rocks! It’s hard to get an accurate count from this distance, but I estimate 12-15 including one really big one (a webcam viewer informed me that the big bull is branded “76Y”). Photographed below.
  • I got a closer look at the injured californian sea lion that was hanging out near the guest house earlier, and it definitely has an injury on its hind flipper. I saw it try to get into the water yesterday and it was pretty much dragging itself.
  • The injured female seal has nestled itself by the boat shed. I don’t see any further injuries on it.

Census

  • Elephant Seals
    • Male = 4
    • Female = 1
  • Sea Lions
    • California = 2
    • Steller = 15
  • Seagulls = 480 adults (a big part of them remain on the smaller rock islands during low tide), ~100 babies (hard to estimate)
  • Pigeon Guillemot = 85
  • Eagles = 2
  • Oystercatchers = 12 adults
  • Harbour Seals = 25 adults, 2 babies
  • Geese = 0
  • Black turnstone = 55

Census

Weather

  • Visibility: clear, 15 miles throughout the day
  • Wind: ranging from 9-22 knots throughout the day
  • Sky: overcast for most of the day
  • Water: calm, a bit choppy at times

Boats/Visitors

  • Didn’t notice much boat traffic today aside from the usual busy commercial freighters
  • No visitors today

Ecological

  • More failed mating attempts by the young male elephant seals with the one female on the island.

Census

  • Cormorants – 90
  • Gulls – 275
  • Elephant Seals – 6  (3 adolescent males, 1 adult male, 1 adult female and 1 pup)
  • California Sea Lions – 120
  • Stellar Seal Lions – 93
  • Black Turnstones – 10
  • Canada Geese – 4
  • Bald Eagles – 7

    Three males surround the single female currently on the island