Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.0 șC »» Min. 8.1 șC »» Reset 10.0
MARINE LIFE: Another beautiful day here, with quite a lot of marine activity. The Glacous Winged Gulls are actively mating and nesting, being very defensive of their nests. Crows are harrassing the Gulls, Oystercatchers and and Pigeon Guillemots, in search of an unattended nest and egg. One of the pairs of Canadian Geese on the Isalnd are nursing their five young Goslings, despite the Goslings rapidly increasing size the Geese continue to be very protective of their youngsters. Divers spotted some large Ling Cod around the docks, along with a healthy stock of smaller fish.
HUMAN INTERACTION: A lot of fishing activity around the reserve today, around 10 to 12 vesels on the reserve boarder actively fishing. Problems with both vessels motoring to quickly through the reserve and fishermen disregaurding the reserve limitations and fishing around west race rocks. Four eco-tourism vessels moved through the park today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:33 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 9 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:51 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.0 șC »» Min. 8.9 șC »» Reset 11.9 șC »» Rain 0.2 mm
A very goodevening to all of you. It has been a bright day out here at Racerocks and we are looking forward to great days ahead. Our summer project is scheduled to last for 2 weeks. The students out here are Kiprop from Kenya, Ben from Australia, Ryan from Canada, Hiendrick from Poland and Joe from the U.K. We spend the better part of the day planning on a whole range of activities to carry out in the next two weeks. We are going to be carrying out daily live webcasts from Racerocks starting Tuesday. Our divers will also be in a position to bring you live images of marine life from the Racerocks underwater.
Have a goodevening.

Kiprop.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:20 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER; Sky Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West South West 13 Knots »» Sea 1 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:45 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.0 șC »» Min. 9.3 șC »» Reset 12.0 șC »» Rain .06 mm
MARINE LIFE: 1 juvenile Bald Eagle which again arrived in the afternoon and made several unsuccessful attempts to land on Gr. Race.There is a group of about 9 Northern Sea Lions spending a lot of time swiming along the north and east shore of Gr. Race could be the same group I saw and heard in the early hours yesterday.Can hear the California Sea Lions barking off and on during the night,they are hauled out on Middle Rock and the sound carries over this way very well with the westerly.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 2 ecotour boats and 3 pleasure craft. Angus out in Second Nature with group from DFO.Late afternoon Chris out in Second Nature with the students who will be here webcasting etc. A full load with food,supplies and air tanks. Hope the weather gets a little nicer for them.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:59 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 15 Knots »» Sea 1 - 2 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:45 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 12.9 șC »» Min. 8.9 șC »» Reset 11.0 șC »» Rain 1.0 mm
MARINE LIFE: 2 mature Bald eagles this morning then 1 juvenile late in the afternoon that made several attempts to hunt on Gr. Race but so far the gulls and oyster catchers have been able to drive it away Still 5 goslings and 5 oyster catcher chicks.A noisey group of sealions circled the island a couple of times in the early a.m. at one point could see their wet heads shining in the path of the moon which was very bright off and on as the clouds rolled past.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 6 ecotour boats and 7 pleasure craft through today. Station boat to Pedder Bay and back.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 8:16 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Obsured »» Vis 0 Miles Fog »» Wind North 7 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:59 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 12.7 șC »» Min. 8.5 șC »» Reset 10.7 șC »» Rain 0.4 mm
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:17 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind Calm »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:49 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 12.9 șC »» Min. 8.8 șC »» Reset 12.1 șC »» Rain 2.0 mm
MARINE LIFE: 1 juvenile and 1 mature bald Eagles. The gulls are still busy nest building, mating and keeping the eagles at bay. Most of the Pigeon Guillemots have paired off, mated and are now among the rocks were they lay their eggs as deep in a rock crevice as they can.The Oyster Catcher chicks are still in the nesting area as of this morning since not all eggs are hatched.Once the last egg is hatched the chicks will all be moved down the shore closer to the food source but above the high tide line.The low tides during the day will afford the chicks a steady diet of limpets, mussels,chitons and the like.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 17 pleasure craft and 14 ecotour boats today. Although the Swiftsure was less than 'dramatic' we did enjoy watching a mini race about 17:00 as three returning boats 'caught' the brief westerly all be it only 15-17 knts. The one boat that was second of the three 'stood' off the shore and had just that extra wind to move ahead.An audience small, granted -just the two of us- but it was exciting non the less. By 18:30 the wind was back down to 5-6 knts and the 25 or so remaining boats took a long time to pass by, a nice show of the colourful spinnakers againts the grey-black rolls of fog to the west.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:27 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. 12 Miles »» Light Rain »» Wind West 5 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:47 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 15.2 șC »» Min. 8.5 șC »» Reset 11.9 șC »» Rain 2.2 mm
MARINE LIFE: 2 mature Bald Eagles today. The gulls were very busy this afternoon gathering nesting material,there are always some early nesters then a large group all at once, then there are the stragglers that seem to leave things to the last minute.There are some very fussy nest builders and then others that have nests that are quite sparse and somewhat messy.Last night there were at least 2 elephant seals just off shore snorting and bellowing so loud it woke me up about 2 a.m. expected to see them hauled out on the boat dock in the morning but they were back over by Middle rock floating about, quietly! Angus reported 2 or 3 Orca in Race Passage as he was coming across from the college just after 09:00.
HUMAN INTERACTION: Hyaku in from the College -Angus and group to do the live webcast for the Swiftsure-a 'driftsure' this year! A little rain this morning and no wind to speak of, a beautiful day on the water for all but the racers.Hyaku to Victoria and back with mechanic and parts-engine repaired and 'purring' nicely again.The Swiftsure boats started coming through the passage quite late but with a lot of spinnakers was a colourful sight.A couple of race boats came through between North Rocks and Gr. Race, one was very close going between West Race and Gr. Race and used great skill and energy to manoeuvre through the reefs and tide.In addition to the sailboats there were 47 Ecotour boats and 26 pleasure craft through the reserve.Took pamphlets out to 2 pleasure craft fishing off the east shore of Gr. Race. 1 Dive boat dove the West Race in the morning then returned for an afternoon dive north shore of Gr. Race.The weather forecast is not too encouraging as far as wind is concerned, light in the a.m. but some hope with possible westerly 10-15 knts. in the afternoon.Should be a colourful spinnaker run to the finish line, that is if there are any boats left in the race! Last I heard over 100 boats had pulled out of the race.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:37 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis 10 Miles »» Light Rain »» Wind West 6 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:45 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.9 șC »» Min. 7.0 șC »» Reset 11.0 șC
MARINE LIFE: 1 mature Bald Eagle today which spent most of the time on North Rocks but did manage to circle over-head just before dark,the gulls and oyster catchers took flight as usual and drove the big bird out to sea. The eagle continued towards Bentinck island the 'triumphant' gulls returned to the usual noisy reception of the other birds.I can't say things really quieted down as like the past few nights the birds are quite active. At times it sounds like we have neighbours living in the attic,noisy neighbours with heavy boots! Such small birds but they can make quite a racket especially when a bunch of them land at one time when all else is quiet! We have Oyster Catcher chicks! I saw one but know there are others. As I walked around to check out the nests the adult birds went into a frenzy of warning 'chirps' so I knew it wasn't just eggs they were protecting. Did a boat tour this afternoon,counted 14 California Sealions, 6 Northern Sealions and 5 Elephant Seals hauled out on Middle Rock, also 5 California Sealions hauled out on the south slope of the SE rocks. A couple of Elephant seals are off the north shore of Gr. Race tonight, can hear them snorting so must be just off the dock.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 5 Ecotour boats, 2 pleasure craft. Station boat to Pedder Bay and back-had to get the flat tire on the truck repaired-was a great day to be on the water. Hope the wind picks up a little for the Swiftsure tomorrow -can't believe I said that after all the complaining I've done over the last while about the wind! But really what is a sailing race without wind!
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:19 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis 15 Miles »» Wind West 8 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:51 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 12.3 șC »» Min. 7.3 șC »» Reset 11.2 șC
MARINE LIFE: 1 mature, 1 juvenile Bald Eagles today.The goose family still at 5 goslings.We look for them every morning hoping to count 5, so far so good. The chicks are growing quite fast,not surprising as they eat their way around the island several times a day.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 3 Ecotour boats and 1 orange inflatable with no identifying markings, one person on board. The boat made several trips around Gr. Race then sat out front for about 40 minutes before taking off toward the SW.Hyaku was out with Chris, several visitors and drums of oil for the diesel engine (oil change after repairs )
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:02 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 17 Knots »» Sea 2 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:39 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.5 șC »» Min. 8.0 șC »» Reset 11.0 șC
MARINE LIFE: no Eagles today. It was quite quiet most of the day just the wind, 24+ knts. from the west, a constant rattling of the screen doors.Maybe June will be a better month weather wise.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 3 Ecotour boats through the reserve.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:02 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis 15 Miles »» Wind West 20 Knots »» Sea 2 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:41 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 12.1 șC »» Min. 7.5 șC »» Reset 10.8 șC »» Rain 0.4 mm
MARINE LIFE: 2 mature and 1 juvenile Bald Eagles. Still 2 pair of geese and 5 goslings! 5 Sealions hauled out on the SE rocks first thing this morning but left just after noon.The gulls are still busy gathering what they can find for nest building,stopping every once in a while to squabble over territory.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 1 ecotour boat and 1 pleasure craft today. Mike spent most of the day in the engine room cleaning up oil-seems the duty engine has a leak in the fuel line, hope the standby engine keeps on 'ticking' or we will be in the dark and cold with nothing but the sound of the wind!!
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:07 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles Wind West 17 Knots »» Sea 2 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:23 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 12.2 șC »» Min. 8.8 șC »» Reset 10.0 șC »» Rain 3.8 mm
MARINE LIFE: 2 mature Bald Eagles today. The eagles were displaying some unusual acrobatics,they would take off, fly in circles closer and closer then one of them would go almost upside down right under the other bird and splay it's talons towards the higher one.I have seen them fly at each other like this when one has some food the other wants but neither bird had anything in it's beak or talons.We watched them for about 20 minutes until they were well north of the island.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 3 pleasure craft and 2 ecotour boats through the reserve also one rigid hull with divers,which at one point had obviously lost sight of it's divers.Fortuately a tour boat out of Sooke was in the area and had spotted the divers and was able to guide the dive boat to them for pick-up. The dive boat made about 10 frantic trips around Gr. Race but the divers had drifted quite a distance SSW of the reserve when finally picked up.We are always nervous when there are divers out here and always relieved to see everyone return to the boats safely.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:03 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 4 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:29 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 12.2 șC »» Min. 7.0 șC »» Reset 11.0 șC »» Rain 0.2 mm
MARINE LIFE: 2 mature Bald Eagles today.The Eagles did not make many attempts to come over Gr. Race today until early evening, could be because we were outside most of the time working in the garden.Managed to plant green onions and carrots with a little help from a budding 3 yr.olds green thumb! The showers are helpful but could do without the incessant wind! Enjoyed watching 3 crows trying to take a bath in a puddle no bigger than a tea cup,for some reason they don't visit the pond as do the gulls,sparrows,geese and starlings.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 8 pleasure craft and 5 ecotour boats and 2 kayakers through the reserve today.Station boat to Pedder Bay.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:58 PM

Good Morning
WEATHYER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis 15 Miles »» Wind Calm »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:33 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.3 șC »» Min 7.1 șC Reset 11.9 șC »» Rain 0.4 mm
MARINE LIFE: 2 mature and 3 juvenile Bald Eagles today.The gulls were busy as usual keeping the eagles away from the 'big' island.The goslings enjoyed the pond this morning and needed more than a little 'encouragement' to move on by the adults! The other pair of geese spend some time with the 'family' but no sign of any more goslings.Counted 15 gull nests but so far no eggs.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 1 Dive boat this morning which returned for 2nd dive in the afternoon.There were 5 ecotour boats and 7 pleasure craft through the reserve today.Station boat to Pedder Bay and back.We had three visitors from Washington State, David,Tim and Mike for the day long task of gathering the annual International Boundary Survey Measurements.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:08 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis 15 Miles »» Wind South West 7 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:47 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.0 șC »» Min. 7.3 șC »» Reset 11.1 șC »» Rain 5.2 mm
MARINE LIFE: 2 Mature Bald Eagles today which tried many times to land on Gr. Race but thwarted at every attempt by the gulls and Oyster Catchers.With the great eyesight they have I'm sure the eagles have seen the 5 little tasty goslings running around. We look for the goslings every morning hoping to count 5! so far so good!
HUMAN INTERACTION: 3 Ecotour boats, 5 pleasure craft in the reserve today. The Second Nature in late afternoon with Laura,Garry and Marcus for a little filming.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:21 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind North West 15 Knots »» Sea 2 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:02 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 12.1 șC »» Min. 5.9 șC »» Reset 9.9 șC
MARINE LIFE: 1 mature Bald Eagle today.Enjoying watching the 5 little goslings,they sure cover a lot of ground in a day trying to keep up with the adults. They are pretty wobbly on their feet but cute! We are watching the other pair of geese carefully but so far no more chicks.No Oyster Catcher eggs have hatched yet but should be any day now.The gulls are gathering bits of grass and building nests but have not seen any eggs as of yet.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 3 pleasure craft through the reserve today.Station boat to Pedder Bay and back early a.m. for groceries and mail.Second trip after 17:00 to bring Grandsons(and their parents) over for long weekend visit.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:28 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis 15 Miles »» Wind West 7 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:27 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.9 șC »» Min. 7.0 șC »» Reset 9.1 șC
MARINE LIFE: 2 Mature Bald Eagles today. Can hear the Harbour seals 'growling' usually they are so quiet but this time of the year, close to pupping they seem to get somewhat irritable- don't like other seals to get too close-definitely not in the ' sharing the haul-out spot" mood.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 2 pleasure craft; 1 dive charter with approx.22 divers off the 'Nautilus Explorer' which anchored south side Bentinck Island for the day. The Second Nature in with Garry and guests late afternoon.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:15 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 11 Knots »» Sea 1 - 2 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:57 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 10.1 șC »» Min. 7.3 șC »» Reset 8.7 șC »» Rain 1.8 mm
MARINE LIFE: 1 mature Bald Eagle today.We can report that some eggs have hatched! How we missed the obvious searching for the hidden I cannot explain but we now have 5 downy, mustard coloured goslings! We have been or thought we had been over every metre of Gr. Race looking for Oyster Catcher nests and did not find the goose nest. We wondered if they would nest but the geese were always on the move, no obvious nest sitting -how could you miss a 5kg bird incubating eggs for 25-30 days? well it seems we did! Anyway the goslings are cute and on the move with both parents attentively herding them along.There is another pair of adult geese that seem to stay in the grassy area on the northeast corner of the island.We searched the area very thoroughly this afternoon but could not find anything resembling a nest nor did we see any eggs.It will be interesting to watch these little geese grow, evidently they fledge in 45-60 days.
No boats to report- windy with moderate seas all day.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:33 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis 12 Miles »» Wind West 30 Knots »» Sea 4 Foot Moderate -- Low South West Swell.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:14 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 15.1 șC »» Min. 7.9 șC »» Reset 7.9 șC »» Rain 1.0 mm
MARINE LIFE: 2 mature Bald Eagles -they moved from North Rocks to the Southeast Rocks ever 'escorted' by a group of gulls and often a couple of Black Oyster Catchers.There are still no hatched Oyster Catchers, maybe tomorrow. The 3 geese continue to graze the island often the the pair lets the loner within a couple of metres.A group of about 30 harbour seals are spending the day in the east bay area- they like diving into the swells.We see quite a few seals with scrapes that they get moving around on the rocks at low tide.The rocks are covered with thousands of barnacles, these flesh 'gashing' animals have very sharp shells - can't imagine how the seals can get 'comfortable' stretched out on top of them but they do!
HUMAN INTERACTION:The Second Nature in 'bright and early'. Unfortunately the weather was quite nasty this morning -not the greatest of conditions for the students to do their enviro-systems field lab exam.Usually this time of year the exam is a pleasant change from the classroom exams - even some time to relax in the sunshine and eat lunch,even a little socializing but not today strictly 'business' ! Late afternoon 3 ecotour boats- not a great day for boating!
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:09 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis 12 Miles »» Wind West 27 Gusting 37 »» Sea 4 Foot Moderate -- With Low South West Swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:49 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 16.2 șC »» Min. 7.3 șC »» Reset 15.1 șC
MARINE LIFE: 1 mature,1 juvenile Bald Eagle today.The gulls are getting much more territorial, there are constant skirmishes with intruders being dragged unceremoniously across the yard by the neck,tail or wing.It looks pretty brutal but we seldom see any serious injuries.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 9 pleasure craft and 12 ecotour boats throught the reserve today. The Second Nature was in the morning. Garry and Laura busy getting things set up for the exam tomorrow-nice job on the tank! Too bad the exam was not today -the weather was incredible- the forecast for tomorrow not very good, calling for wind and showers!
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:21 PM

Good Morming
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis 15 miles »» Wind East 5 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:54 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 12.0 șC »» Min. 7.3 șC »» Reset 10.1 șC
MARINE LIFE: 2 mature Bald Eagles today, still the 3 geese.There is a lot of bird activity and it is never quiet.Today we saw the usual gulls,oyster catchers,eagles,pigeon guillemots,geese,starlings crows and savannah sparrows.An added bonus were the 2 humming birds that buzzed around for 20 minutes or so, always amazed to see them so far from the mainland but do see a few every year especially if the winds are light.A couple of brant landed in the small bay on the east side of Gr. Race but did not stay long.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 5 pleasure craft and 13 ecotour boats, the last two enjoyed a beautiful sunset as they left the reserve.The D.N.D. did some blasting on the beach on Bentinck Island between 17:30 and 22:00 but only two blasts about 20:20 and 20:25 were big enough to have any noticable impact here.The birds took flight en masse each time and took 10-15 minutes to settle down,it was getting too dark to see much beyond Gr. Race.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:09 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis 15 Miles »» Wind West 19 Knots »» Sea 2 - 3 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:49 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.9 șC »» Min. 6.1 șC »» Reset 10.5 șC
MARINE LIFE: 2 mature Bald Eagles -kept away from Gr. Race by the ever vigilant gulls and Oyster Catchers.Have found 6 Oyster Catcher nests with eggs. This morning there was a lone female Mallard in the garden but did not stay long -flew over towards Bentinck Island.Garry reports that there are 10 or more Elephant Seals on Middle Rock, mostly females.About 10:40 a small group of Transient Orca came into the reserve from the west. Looked like 5 plus 1 calf.They are very stealthy and did not spend much time on the surface so cannot be positive in indentification.The whales did not seem to be hunting or in any hurry and spent about 45 minutes in the small bay area off the east side of Gr. Race.There was only one boat in the area but as the whales moved east, there were quite a number of tour boats reporting the whales and even a kill of a porpoise.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 2 ectour boats,1 pleasure craft. The Second Nature in with Garry and Don from Parks B.C. -
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:39 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 9 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:55 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.9 șC »» Min. 6.0 șC »» Reset 9.1 șC
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:20 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 9 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:50 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max.11.0 șC »» Min. 5.5 șC »» Reset 9.0 șC
MARINE LIFE: 2 mature bald eagles today-still 3 geese.The gulls and Oyster Catchers kept the eagles on the move, every time the big birds approached Gr. Race they were 'herded' away and so spent most of the day on North Rocks.Although it is not as warm as it usually is for May, the sun is so welcome -it has been a strange spring. The birds are pretty well all paired off now except of course for the 3rd goose! The Pigeon Guillemots seek out 'tunnels' in the rock piles to lay their eggs and will sit for quite a while guarding the entrances, they are however so striking with the white wing patch and bright red feet that it is easy to find the nests.It is interesting to note the differences of bird behavior as far as protection of the eggs. The Gulls stay with the eggs and fend off intruders while the Oyster Catchers use the 'distraction' method of flying some distance away all the while chirping frantically.Have not seen any chicks yet but the Oyster Catcher eggs in the east bay area should soon hatch,will check the nest in the morning.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 4 pleasure craft and 13 ecotour boats through the reserve today,station boat round trip to Pedder Bay.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:45 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 9 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:54 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.0 șC »» Min. 5.1 șC »» Reset 10.1 șC »» Rain 0.4 mm
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:05 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis 15 Miles »» Wind West 9 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:51 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 8.1 șC »» Min. 1.9 șC »» Reset 7.3 șC »» Rain 2.0 mm »» Snow Trace »» Yes Snow in May what next????
MARINE LIFE: 1 mature and 1 juvenile bald eagle. Felt sorry for the birds this morning - so cold,wet and windy.The weather did improve and by mid afternoon it felt much more like spring.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 1 pleasure craft, 2nd Nature through the reserve.Station boat, trip to Pedder Bay and back late afternoon.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 8:40 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis 15 Miles »» Wind South West 22 Knots »» Sea 3 Foot Moderate
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:59 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max 8.1 șC »» Min. 5.7 șC »» Reset 7.7 șC »» Rain 2.2 mm
MARINE LIFE: 1 juvenile bald eagle arrived early afternoon but stayed only about an hour.The weather really was miserable, felt a lot colder than the thermometer readings.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 4 Ecotour Boats late afternoon.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:17 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 21 Knots »» Sea 3 Foot Moderate »» Ocnl RW-
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:00 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 9.0 șC »» Min. 6.1 șC »» Reset 7.7 șC
MARINE LIFE: 1 mature bald eagle in the reserve today, still 3 geese.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 4 ecotour boats ,2 U.S. pleasure craft in reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:06 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis 15 Miles »» Wind West 20 G 30 Knots »» Sea 4 Foot Moderate -- Low South
West Swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:51 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.0 șC »» Min. 5.3 șC »» Reset 8.8 șC »» Rain 0.7 mm
MARINE LIFE: 2 mature, 1 juvenile bald eagles. 3 geese. The Gulls,Pigeon Guillamots and Oyster Catchers are all busy in the nesting areas -found 3 more Oyster Catcher nests with eggs.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 3 ecotour boats, 2 pleasure craft. The Second Nature in just before noon with Garry,Laura and students for field lab.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:29 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind Calm »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:56 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 10.1 șC »» Min. 7.1 șC »» Reset 7.3 șC
MARINE LIFE: 3 bald eagles, 1 juvenile- 3 geese still here.The birds are all actively courting,mating, nest building and in the case of the Black Oyster Catchers,always the first to lay,incubating and protecting their eggs from crows and otters. Now we stay as far away from nesting areas as neccessary to prevent stressing the birds.If the birds are off the nests too long the eggs will cool down in the 35+ knt. winds.
HUMAN INTERACTION: The 2nd Nature in just before noon with Garry,Laura,Sylvia and students for field lab. Another successful but tricky low tide landing! The mornings start out somewhat promising then the wind picks up and even with the sun never gets much over 10 celsius.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:25 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis 15 Miles »» Wind West 15 Knots »» Sea 1 -2 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:07 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 10.3 șC »» Min 7.7 șC »» Reset 9.9 șC
MARINE LIFE: 1 mature and 1 juvenile bald eagle,still the 3 geese. A few gulls have managed to gather bits of grass to build nests in spite of the wind, the never ending wind!.Will check the usual areas for more Oyster Catcher nests tomorrow if the winds abates somewhat. Don't want to disturb any egg sitting especially since the temperatures are so unseasonably cold.Usually by the first of May the garden is 1/4 planted with the snow peas,green onions and radishes up.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 2 Ecotour boats today. 2nd Nature in with Garry, Laura and students for Enviro. systems field lab. The very low tide with the brisk westerly makes landing at the dock tricky to say the least-well done Laura!
posted by Carol or Mike S at 8:05 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis. 5 Miles - Fog »» Wind West 29 Knots »» Sea 4 Foot Moderate - Low South West Swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:59 AM