Spotted two northern sea lions with brands on them. The bigger one seemed to have 76Y branded on it, although the “7” was a bit undefined. The smaller one had three circles branded on its side. I assumed this was a brand, although in one of Anne Stewart’s log posts she mentions “cookie cutter shark scars” so perhaps this sea lion has three of those in a row?
Chunk and Chuckles spent the day in the same positions as yesterday.
Sadly, the weaner elephant seal on Middle Rock seems to be deceased. When I looked over there this morning I saw 8 bald eagles and blood stains all over the rock. I assume that one of the males killed it in the night. The body must have washed into the water.
With that death, we are now 0/4 at Race Rocks with elephant seal pups for 2016; 1 pup killed accidentally and 3 weaners killed on purpose. Killed for what purpose we do not know.
Maintenance
Stacked more firewood today.
Hauled some very large logs off the ramp. They seemed like small boats.
Had some troubles getting the YSI to turn on, so I took the sea water samples the old fashioned way first, before finally getting the YSI to work.
Chunk and Chuckles were both on Great Race today, but I saw no interactions.
The mother is gone on Middle Rock, making her pup a weaner.
Conducted a census.
California Sea Lions: 75
Northern Sea Lions: 32
Harbour Seals: 6
Elephant Seals: 3
Seagulls: 300
Cormorants: 299 (142 on Great Race, of which 87 were Double Crested, 28 Pelagic, 8 male Brandt’s, and 19 unidentifiable to me. 157 on North Rock, too far away to identify.)
The first thing I saw this morning was a bald eagle landing over by the Energy Building, right where the elephant seals had been last night, and a place where they normally don’t land.
I headed over there and my suspicions were affirmed; the newest weaner had been killed in the night and many birds were feasting on his corpse.
Unlike the previous weaner who had simply had his skull crushed by teeth, this one had been virtually torn to shreds, making it much easier for the birds to begin feasting.
Chunk was lying nearby, but this time I cannot be sure that he was the culprit, as he didn’t seem to have any blood on him, and Chuckles had been with the weaner last night.
The old river otter returned today. It must be blind or in some way sensory impaired, as it is easily approached without seeming to notice ones presence. I say this because I encountered it quite closely by accident, and yet it didn’t seem to take much notice of me until I was only a few feet away.
Encountered quite a few surfbirds on the beach.
Maintenance
Stacked more firewood.
Cleared logs off the ramp.
Boats
Two eco-tours came by this afternoon.
One fishing boat passed through the reserve.
One unidentified boat spent some time floating on the edge of the reserve, but I saw no indication of fishing.
