The Big Day Has Arrived!

Weather:

  • Wind: 10-15 knots
  • Sky: Early morning thick fog, clearing mid morning to blue sky
  • Visibility: less than .5 mile this morning due to fog. Clearing to 15 miles.
  • Water: Calm, slightly rippled.

Boats/Visitors:

Today there were many whale watching vessels, presumably since it is a long weekend. This afternoon we saw over 20 boats between 12pm and 5pm, sometimes more than 6 in the main passage at a time. We also observed a handful of pleasure craft throughout the day, who were very respectful of the reserve.

Ecological: 

  • The seagull eggs have started hatching! We have spotted 5+ hatched nests today. The chicks are hard to spot in the dry grassy areas as they are a similar colour and blend right in!
  • We have also spotted two more oyster catcher chicks, which makes a total of 5 so far.

Census: 

  • Approx. 200 seagulls, chicks beginning to hatch
  • 4 large male elephant seals moulting
  • Approx. 30 harbour seals on surrounding rocks
  • 2 families of geese, and one additional adult pair
  • 2 barn swallows nesting in our rafters
  • Approx. 8 adult oyster catchers, 5 chicks so far
  • Approx. 20 pigeon guillemots