Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 18.5 șC »» Min. 10.1 șC »» Reset 18.5 șC
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:23 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind South 3 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:11 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 16.0 șC »» Min. 10.3 șC »» Reset 13.8 șC
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:45 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 30 Knots »» Sea 4 Foot Moderate With Low West Swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:16 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 15.9 șC »» Min. 10.1 șC»» Reset 15.5 șC
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:53 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 25 Knots »» Sea 3 Foot Moderate With Low South West Swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:21 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 16.0 șC »» Min. 10.9 »» Reset 14.3 șC
MARINE LIFE: 6 harbour seals haul out with pups at the boat ramp. Canadian geese still around.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 1 dive charter in the morning. Second Nature was out with Garry , Dr. Anita Voss and Alberto. Alberto is from Brazil and is curently doing a doctorate at Duke University. His area of expertise is DNA profiling and Taxonomy of inverterbrates . The purpose for his visit was to sample the hydrocoral Allopora. There are two color varieties of this species out here and he will be attempting through DNA analysis to establish if they are seperate species.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:57 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis. 10 Miles »» Wind West 33 Knots »» Sea 3 - 4 Foot Moderate
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:43 AM

A beautiful day here on the rocks today. 5 orcas passed north of the reserve at 17:30, two whale watchers through the reserve after around 18:00. The Canadian Geese are back, didn't see them fly in though. 1 mature bald eagle made a number of passes of the island today, but was unsuccessful. The cormorant was joined this afternoon by another one, and several more may be near the water on the southwest corner of the island.
posted by Ryan Murphy at 7:06 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis. 16 Miles »» Wind West 7 Knots »» Sea Rippled »» Temp. 10 degrees
posted by Ryan Murphy at 5:54 AM

July 26- This is Ryan back on Race for a quick sojourn. The wind was brisk today, and there was little activity in the reserve. Carol saw 1 mature bald eagle being harassed away from Great Race at dawn this morning by gulls and 2 Black Oyster Catchers. A nest near the assistant keeper's house of Glacous-winged gulls still has two eggs in it, and one gull sits on them from time to time. A solitary cormorant (perhaps a Brandt's) was sitting on the south-west tip of the island during the evening.
The station boat was to Pedder Bay and back at 8 this morning, and Garry brought Second Nature out to drop Joanna Brown and me off on the island while we were all treated to a presentation by Fabien of ALEC electronics. Some pretty amazing gadgets if anyone would like to save money long term on various environmental tests. Mike and Carol left around 11 for two days.

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 15 Knots »» Sea 2 - 3 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:07 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 15.0 șC »» Min. 10.3 șC »» Reset 13.0 șC
posted by Carol or Mike S at 8:27 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. 10 Miles »» Wind West 27 Knots »» Sea 4 Foot Moderate With Low South West Swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:59 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 16.3 șC »» Min. 10.3 șC »» Reset 12.3 șC
MARINE LIFE:Well what a change in the weather, the fog and moderate westerlies is a nice relief from the heat.The Coast Guard came out in the sea truck with someone to fix the fog horn which failed last night - it was strange to be in the fog and no horn sounding! Well the geese spent the afternoon perfecting their landing skills, with the 25+ knt wind getting airbourne was the easy part, we will miss them but in a way glad to see them spead their wings and move on to greener pastures.There are 6 harbour seals with pups that haul out each night, some on the boat ramp and others on various rocks on either side of the dock. The past couple of nights we can hear pups calling out for their mothers which are most likely out feeding, it's a rather mournful sound but in most cases the pups are not left all that long.
HUMAN INTERACTION: The Coast Guard sea truck made 2 trips from Victoria to service the fog horn. There were 3 pleasure craft through the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:43 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Obscured »» Vis 3 - 5 Miles Fog »» Wind West 27 Knots »» Sea 4 Foot Moderate With Low South West Swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:17 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 25.1 șC »» Min. 11.3 șC »» Reset 13.3 șC
MARINE LIFE: Wow it sure is hot, feel sorry for the birds, especially the gull chicks, they sit with beaks open and pant.They are getting too big now to get any shelter under an adults wing so they crowd into any rock crevice close by. The geese cool off several times during the day with a swim along the north shore and if the currants are not too strong they go half way around Gr. Race. Once this morning and again 3 times in the late afternoon a mature Bald Eagle tried to hunt the Race but the gulls drove it back each time - as soon as the eagle is spotted the gulls start squawking and the chicks head for cover, the adults all take to the air with a smaller group breaking off to dive at the eagle which they will do until another group takes a turn.With the eagle chased far enough away the gulls settle down and all is quiet until the next time.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 5 pleasure craft, 2 ecotour boats today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:03 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 5 Knots Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:25 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 25.0 șC »» MIN. 10.9 șC »» Reset 23.1 șC
MARINE LIFE: Another hot day with the birds panting and the chicks seeking any shade they can find be it under an adult or next to a rock. Not only do they get the heat from the sun above, the rocks they sit on heat up and retain that heat long into the night.Again no wind in the evening to cool things down. The geese spent most of the day following the shade around the buildings,also went swiming twice this afternoon. Still not flying but a lot of wing flapping in preperation, will be interesting to see that first try.The California sealion spent most of the day hauled out on the southeast rocks with quick dips in the sea every couple of hours and still hearing at least one elephant seal during the night down by the dock.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 13 ecotour boats and 9 pleasure craft through the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:06 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind South East 3 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:06 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 23.0 șC »» Min. 10.3 șC »» Reset 14.5 șC
MARINE LIFE:The Orca were in the area again today and with the boat from Marine Mammal monitoring the whale watchers, things seemed well under control. Did hear some boat operators report sightings of a couple of Minke Whales but did not see anything in or near thereserve.A couple of transient Orcas passed through just on the southern boundry in the afternoon, they seemed to be moving fairly steady pace. The was a lot of boat traffic, mostly recreational fishers, in the area all day. One California and one Northern sealion hauled out on the south tip of the southeast rocks, unfortuately a rental boat from a marina moved in too close and sent them into the water.Ryan who had a group out for a tour in the Hyaku went along side and informed the sightseers of the guidelines.Feel sorry for the birds in this hot weather,they all sit around with their beaks open, panting - didn't even get the evening westerly we look forward to cool things down.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 23 ecotour boats and 11 pleasure craft through today,also the Hyaku, M3 and station boat to Pedder Bay and Back
posted by Carol or Mike S at 8:17 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind North East 8 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 4:59 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 14.1 șC »» Min. 10.2 șC »» Reset 12.3 șC
MARINE LIFE: The fog rolled in this morning and really didn't disperse until after 17:00 when the afternoon westerly got the air moving, so mostly only able to hear what was going on around us.There were no eagles today, the birds were fairly quiet. The chatter on the VHF radio alerted us to the Orca passing by again but they were traveling outside the reserve and because of the fog didn't even see any of the whale watching boats- did hear a few - there were a few times that the fog lifted a bit, counted 5 Ecotour boats and later in the day there were 2 pleasure craft through the reserve.The past few nights the moon has been especially beautiful, because it is so low in the sky this time of year it looks unusually large.It is also very orange, I wonder if the smoke from all the forrest fires has anything to do with the colouring.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:15 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis 8 Miles »» Wind West 13 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:20 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 17.1 șC »» Min. 11.2 șC »» Reset 13.5
MARINE LIFE: There are a fair number of gull chicks surviving inspite of the relentless attempts to hunt by the eagles during the day and the otter which continues to make the nightly tour of the island.The young geese are doing a lot of wing flapping, building the muscles they will need to fly off, soon we hope, as the food situation is not the best for them now.The Orcas were in the area again today but did not come through the reserve, they were heading west and spent some time in the mouth of Pedder Bay, feeding in the kelp beds there although it was hard to tell as the wind was blowing 20-25 knts. and the sea quite choppy. There was the usual flotilla following along, included in the group was the inflatable from the Marine Mammal Monitoring program which had to stop one pleasure craft and advise them of the whale watching guidelines.The pleasure craft was travelling in the path of the whales either unaware or in spite of the presence of the mammals.
HUMAN INTERACTION: there were 37 ecotour boats through the reserve and 5 pleasure craft. The station boat made a trip to Pedder Bay and back.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 10:02 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 19 Knots »» Sea 2 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:25 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 16.1 șC »» 10.7 șC »» Reset 14.3 șC
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:15 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind South West 10 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:03 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 16.0 șC »» Min. 11.0 șC »» Reset 12.1 șC »» Rain tr
MARINE LIFE: Was nice for a change not to have the wind today,don't mind the clouds, certainly good weather for the chicks- not too hot.The food supply seems to be holding out see lots of nice fresh fish being brought back by the gulls and everywhere you look Pigeon Gillemots returning with blennies. Some of the gulls are going quite a distance at times judging by the clam shells rolling off the roof ! They drop the clams onto roof and the sidewalks to break them open,quite noisey and very messy.
HUMAN INTERACTION: The Hyaku was in this morning,Ryan brought some mail and supplies from the college Ryan brought a group through the reserve in 2nd Nature in the afternoon but did not come ashore. This morning there were a couple of kayakers through and unfortunately they ignored the guidelines with respect to staying the proper distance from shore. This time of the year it is particularly important to follow the guidelines so as not to interfer with feeding birds and harbour seals with pups and those about to give birth.The noise from power boats at least give fair warning but kayakers approach so quietly they can startle the wildlife-please remember maintain at least 100 metres from any maine animal or bird and back off at the first sign of disturbance or agitation.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:35 PM

Good Mornng
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis 15 Miles »» Wind West South West 15 Knots »» Sea 1 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:01 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 15.9 șC »» Min. 10.0 șC »» Reset 13.7 șC
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:18 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 23 Knots »» Sea 2 - 3 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:05 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 15.0 șC »» Min. 9.9 șC »» Reset 13.1 șC
MARINE LIFE: Still the main activity centres around adult birds feeding chicks. The gulls announce their arrival and the chicks run from their hidding spots. Getting the food entails somewhat of a ritual, the adult nods it's head a few times,then pecks at the ground a few times while the chicks gather around and finally the food is reguritated but the chicks have to be fast because as they are attempting to pick at the food with their bills the adult is also snatching up the goodies.The first time I watched this feeding process I thought the adult was just plain mean to dump the food ,then gobble it up again as the chicks are trying to eat but I see the purpose of the exercise is to teach the chicks to be quick.It would seem the chicks that learn the fastest, grow the fastest! Survival of the fittest.There were three harbour seal pups born on the rocks along the north shore of Gr.Race today.At about 17:00 there was a lot of gull squawking and most of them were diving at an eagle sitting just at the waters edge on the northeast tip of Gr. Race. The gulls kept up a constant barrage on the eagle which ducked and put up it's wings for protection. The eagle was trapped head first in a crevice , unable to take flight. The assault from above by the gulls continued for about 10 minutes before the eagle managed to manuver around enough to take off but even then with the gulls diving at it's head it could not really fly and was forced down again but this time out of our sight. All but 3 or 4 gulls settled back down but not seeing the eagle fly away I was curious to see what happened so carefully -with sou'wester firmly in place, and not to keep the rain off- I moved slowly along the rocks to have look. The eagle was busy eating the placenta left from one of the seal births earlier in the day.I backed off quickly and left the poor bird to eat in peace which it did and then flew off towards Bentinck Island about 20 minutes later.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 3 pleasure craft in the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:09 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis 10 Miles »» Wind West 19 Knots »» Sea 2 - 3 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:59 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 16.5 șC »» Min. 10.7 șC »» Reset 14.5 șC
MARINE LIFE: One mature bald eagle flew overhead late evening and as usual the gulls drove it off but the birds took 30 minutes or so to settle back down.The Pigeon Gillemots take off to sea when the eagles are around and are quick to dive if the big bird flies near. This morning one of the Elephant seals hauled out on the boat ramp next to the boat house door,it took him a while to find just the right spot,but once he found it he settled in for the rest of the day. The last couple of nights we have heard snorting and bellowing coming from the dock area and it sounds like more than one elephant seal but even with a fairly strong flashlight can't see well enough to tell for sure.This evening there were 4 female harbour seals with pups in the water by the dock, at high tide it is a fairly sheltered area,away from the swells coming in from the west.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 6 pleasure craft, 3 Ecotour boats and 1 boat with 7 or 8 divers.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:07 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 25 Gust 33 Knots »» Sea 4 Foot Moderate
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:09 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 16.3 șC »» Min. 9.8 șC »» Reset 13.3 șC »» Rain 0.2 mm
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:39 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis. 8 Miles »» Wind West 21 Knots »» Sea 2 - 3 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:43 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 14.0 șC »» Min. 9.1 șC »» Reset 10.0 șC
posted by Carol or Mike S at 8:35 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Partly Obscured »» Vis. 1 Mile Fog »» Wind West 15 Knots »» Sea 2 - 3 foot Chop »» Remarks Vis. North → South East 10 Miles
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:34 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 15.0 șC »» Min. 10.1 șC »» Reset 12.5 șC
MARINE LIFE: As rough as the seas were with the 40+knt winds a few hardy souls enjoyed the Orcas as they moved along the shore past Albert and William head with a stop in the mouth of Pedder Bay to feed in the kelp.The whales were on their way west but did not pass through the reserve.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 13 ecotour boats through the reserve on their way back from viewing the whales.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:35 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis 10 Miles »» Wind West 37 Gust 43 Knots »» Sea 6 Foot Moderate with Moderate South West Swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:09 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 18.9 șC »» Min. 11.3 șC »» Reset 13.5 șC
MARINE LIFE: Two mature bald eagles made several attempts to hunt Gr. Race first thing this morning and as always the gulls drove them off towards Whirl Bay everything soon settled back to the rountine of feeding and sheltering the chicks.It would appear that there is a healthy suppy of fish as the gulls continue to return from sea with full gullets.With any luck at all we will see some chicks fledge this year although the otter is making it's rounds usually between 2 and 3 a.m. Most of the nests along the shore have been desimated but there are many nests farther inshore that have at least two surviving chicks.The dead seal pup has finally floated away however the female has remained in the dock area and has been joined by three other females with their pups. The geese are still here but with the vegetation so dry I wonder when they will leave for 'greener pastures'. This afternoon two Northern Sealions hauled out on the western slope of the largest southeastern rocks to soak up some sun but were gone by 19:00.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 5 pleasure craft and 6 Ecotour boats in the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:41 PM

Good Moring
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis 15 Miles »» Wind North East 3 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:19 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 19.0 șC »» Min. 9.9 șC »» Reset 16.5 șC
MARINE LIFE: The main activity in the reserve continues to be the feeding of the young birds, today the gulls were regurgitating good amounts of nice fresh silvery fish 7-9 cm long, to the eager chicks which are now spending most of the time out of the nest but in the same general area.There are still 3 large elephant seals on middle rock but no sealions, still hear elephant seal snorting near the dock after dark most nights while they are out on their feeding trips.The dead pup is still the focus of it's mother, she lays near it all day until the tide floats it and then she pushes it around in the water near the dock. There were three other females with pups swiming in the same area, one pup, obviously newly born but a very active swimmer approched the floating dead pup and was quickly warned off by the protective female.Anytime now the floating pup will get caught up in the current and will be taken further off shore.Will watch to see if the female remains in the dock area once the pup is gone.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 11 ecotour boats and 9 pleasure craft in the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:45 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind North East 9 Know »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:21 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 16.0 șC »» Min. 10.8 șC »» Reset 12.5 șC »» Rain 3.9 mm
MARINE LIFE: A cool and breezy start to the day, remnents of a very active weather system that roared in about 12:20 a.m. The rain was very heavy for about 25 mins, almost 4 mm, at least it cleaned the roofs somewhat and the air is much fresher. I watched very carefully for the gulls bringing food to the chicks and it's not too encourging- no abundance of silvery fresh fish so far.A few nests are empty of chicks and eggs -I suspect the otter. Have seen 8 seal pups,the females tend to stay fairly close to shore for the first week or so then when not hauled out to sleep and nurse the pups, they spend a lot of time in the kelp beds. The female is still with the dead pup and tonight as it floated in the rising tide she pushed it along with her in the water by the boat dock. Earlier this morning I went down to see and she was hauled out about 1metre from the pup, as I approached closer she moved up to the pup, patted it a couple of times with her front flipper then nuzzled it's face with her nose.While she was doing this she periodically looked up at me with those big, sad, dark eyes.I'm sure even seals feel loss and grieve, It affects me at any rate. The Orca were through the reserve on their way east.Saw about 7 pass by between Gr. Race and North Rocks. They moved along at a fair pace but saw some breaching and tail slapping. The tour boats were quite spread out and except for the 2 boats that were in the reserve ahead of the whales none followed them through.
HUMAN INTERACTION: there were 17 tour boats and 3 pleasure craft through the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:23 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 30 Knots »» Sea 4 Foot Moderate
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:13 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 20.0 șC »» Min. 10.5 șC »» Reset 12.0 șC »» Rain 0.4 mm
MARINE LIFE: There are 6 females with pups in the east bay area, 4 with red umbilical cords so very new but swiming like pros, they do have some awkwardness while trying to pull themselves up onto the rocks, several tries and they make it to be rewarded with a good feed! The dead pup is still by the boat ramp, the mother has not left it's side and continues to be very protective.There were three bald eagles this afternoon ( 1 mature ) which managed to land on the southeast rocks in spite of the gulls. The 2 juvenile eagles were fighting over some very bright red matter that looked like seal placenta,the adult raptor watched for about 10 minutes from about 20 metres then made it's move towards the two juveniles which backed off imediately and surrendered the prize scraps.The gulls were just too bothersome so the big bird took off flying low over the water with the 'food' clutched tightly in it's talons, the gulls did not give up the chase until they were well past North Rocks.
HUMAN INTERACTION: A fairly quiet day considering the water was so calm and a weekend. There were 5 pleasure craft and 9 ecotour boats, 2 dive charters -one that came through at 16:30 full speed and too close, left at about 17:40 again full speed, both times leaving a large wake! Will pass the boat registration number along to fisheries.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:11 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 5 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:09 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 21.0 șC »» Min 9.7 șC »» Reset 19.7 șC
MARINE LIFE: The birds were fairly quiet today except for trips out to sea for food, again a number of small fish balls mostly in and around the kelp beds to the east of Gr. Race. With several days now of sunshine and little wind the air is not as 'fresh' as one would like but we do get used to it after a while- air fresheners inside help, especially at meal time! Except for one or two small patches, the grass is brown and tinder dry.Still no seal pups in the dock area but sadly one female hauled out this morning with a dead pup which seems to be several days old. The female is very protective of the dead pup although she did let me close enough to have a look, I couldn't see any obvious wounds and it seemed to be average in size so don't know why it died. The mother stayed with the pup all day and often tried to push it's head up with her nose and patted it every once in a while as if to 'wake' it up. Have had pups die like this in past years and the female has stayed with it for three days or more, it's sad.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 1 dive boat, 21 ecotour boats and 9 pleasure craft today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:05 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind Calm »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:57 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max 16.0 șC »» Min. 8.9 șC »» Reset 14.7 șC
MARINE LIFE:The Pigeon Guillemots are busy feeing young while the gulls take turns nest sitting with eggs hatching everyday now.There have been 'fish' balls off and on all day mostly just outside the M.P.A. boundries, so far a good supply of food for the birds and their young.Only one bald eagle came into the area this evening but was driven off towards Whirl Bay before it could get close to Gr. Race, the gulls are hyper vigilant now that they have young and are on high alert to any threats. The gulls around our house are used to us coming and going but the others will dive at us to warn us away and happily use us as targets so it's hat season and not just to keep the out the uv rays! At night there is a lot of banging and clatter on the roof from the 35-40 gulls that spend the night up there. It is hard to believe there are just birds up there from all the noise. Did not hear the birds screeching last night so I guess the otter isn't coming around every night.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 23 ecotour boats and 9 pleasure craft through today; we made a return trip to Pedder Bay in the station boat and enjoyed another great sunset on a calm sea.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 11:05 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 6 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:27 AM

MARINE LIFE: 7 orcas (one calf) passed north of the MPA this morning at 9:30, several breached repeatedly sending huge waves into the air on their way west. Two whale watchers came speeding west from Victoria, though skirted the reserve and mostly obeyed the no-wake zone. As a pleasant change, the boats stayed away from the whales and went south to open waters. The whales themselves turned south at Church Point and disappeared west of Great Race.
The otter left a bloody gull sacrum in front of the tank room as the small touch tank was being cleaned. A bloody mass near the high tide mark near the docks is more evidence of the otter's nocturnal work.

HUMAN INTERACTION:24 tour boats and two pleasure craft through the reserve today. Second Nature dropped off relief for Mike and Carol today before 9 this morning.
posted by Ryan Murphy at 2:49 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind North West 7 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:32 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max 14.0 șC »» Min 9.9 șC »» Reset 12.0 șC »» Rain tr
MARINE LIFE: Don't mind the clouds and cool temperatures but really the constant westerly tends to wear on the nerves, the birds don't seem to mind it - they just tuck their bills under a wing and nap. Several gulls nests have chicks since yesterday, watched, from the front porch, the first chick hatch from the group of nests closest to the house. It's a fairly slow process, first a tiny, dark beak breaks through the egg and over a couple of hours the chick pushes it's way out. The adult is on and off the nest checking the progress and when finally the chick is free of the egg the shell is taken about 3 m away and discarded.In an hour or so the chick is dry with yellowy-brown down-totally unlike the adult.The Oyster Catcher chicks on the other hand look very much like the adults except for bill colour and slightly lighter plumage. The Gulls are usually 2-3 years before they take on all the characteristics of the adults.The dark cloud lurking over this wonderful new life arrives between 1and 2 a.m. creating havoc, devouring some eggs and crushing others, some chicks are crushed and some eaten all the while the adult gulls are in the air screeching piteously diving at the intruder to no avail- the otter is on the hunt again! Haven't seen the otter for several weeks, not even any signs of it like scat in the usual places- was really hoping it had moved on, maybe to Bentinck Island.Some resident Orcas were in the reserve this afternoon moving quite slowly along the south side of Gr. Race they did a lot of tail slapping,rolling and fishing in the kelp.There was the usual flotilla of whale watcher boats which for the most part abided by the guidelines - however after the Orcas had moved east away from the reserve at about 15:30, 2 ecotour boats went by too fast with respect to the no -wake policy and 3 others were too close to shore just west of the dock where there were feeding Pigeon Guillemots. 1 ecotour operator stopped in the kelp just off the northwest bluffs of Gr Race and pulled kelp into the boat for the passengers.Since this is a protected area such activities are not within the guidelines.
HUMAN INTERACTION: there were 5 pleasure craft through the reserve and 23 ecotour boats.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:07 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis 15 Miles »» Wind West 25 Gust 30 knots »» Sea 3 - 4 Foot Moderate
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:25 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 15.1 șC »» Min. 9.2 șC »» Reset 11.9 șC
MARINE LIFE:There were more Pigeon Gillemots diving for blennies today ,before long there will be a constant stream of adults to sea and back with food for the chicks.No Eagles until near 20:00 then one mature made several attempts at low flights over Gr. Race but was kept away by the gulls and Oyster Catchers.The gulls have the advantage in numbers but the oyster catchers are tenacious and to my eye sometimes get too close to the eagle when they dip and dive at it's head, they are so agile and fast.We should be seeing Harbour seal pups any day now, as of yet the 7 or 8 females that usually haul out on the boat ramp to give birth have not turned up .A fantastic sunset tonight -maybe a good omen ' red sky at night'.........? Would be nice to be rid of the wind ! but shouldn't complain, better than sweltering in the heat wave back east.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 4 ecotour boats, 7 pleasure craft some on their way to the halibut grounds just outside the M.P.A. boundries. 1 white inflatable # 2H79606 with divers, too fast and too close to shore,disturbed feeding birds.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:05 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 13 Knots »» Sea Rippled to 1 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:29 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.3 șC »» Min. 9.9 șC »» Reset 13.3 șC
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:02 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Clouldy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 16 Knots »» Sea 1 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:17 AM