Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind North East 15 Knots »» Sea 2 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:25 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 9.5 șC »» Min. 4.9 șC »» Reset 7.9 șC
MARINE LIFE: The population of Sealions is still down since the last series of blasts so it is fairly quiet,the animals hauled out by the winch house are quite nervous of any activity on or near the dock. With another series of blasts in the coming weeks they may just move away altogether. Saw only 5 small fish balls today and not many birds feeding, seem to have followed the food elsewhere for now. The geese were back, at least 6 of them.
HUMAN INTERACTION: The LGL observers arrived first thing this morning and left at 16:30 and as careful as they were the sealions closest to the dock took to the water.There were 8 Ecotour boats through today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:08 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind North East 7 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:12 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 10.0 șC »» Min. 7.1 șC »» Reset 9.3 șC »» Rain 0.4 mm
MARINE LIFE: Well what a change in the weather, was beginning to think we were going to miss out on the usual October Nor'easter! The breaking surf drove most of the seals and sea lions into the water and the bird population is down considerably.The temperature is really not that much different from yesterday but the wind is so cold. A lot of kelp was broken up in the 5 foot seas and has drifted away.We will soon be getting much of it back- tangled masses of driftwood and kelp on the dock- with the winter winds.
HUMAN INTERACTION: Believe it or not 5 Ecotour boats through today. Must have been quite a ride.Watched Naturally Salty 'bounce' through and did not envy them at all.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:22 PM

Weather Up Date :
Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis. 15 »» Wind North East 30 Knots Gusting »» Sea 5 Foot Moderate
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:32 AM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind North 13 Knots »» Sea 1 Foot chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:11 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.1 șC »» Min. 7.7 șC »» Reset 9.1 șC »» Rain 0.8 mm
MARINE LIFE: There are fewer birds today, saw only 3 fish balls in the immediate area but could see a lot of activity quite a distance to the east with the scope.Still about 2000 gulls and Cormorants in the MPA.
HUMAN INTERACTION: Angus over in the Hyaku with Scott and Ken working still on the Camera 2 system, also 5 Ecotour boats.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:15 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. 12 Miles »» Wind South Weast 5 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:01 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 9.1 șC »» Min. 7.0 șC »» Reset 8.0 șC »»Rain 0.8 mm
MARINE LIFE: Another day of birds coming and going, most of the feeding is taking place quite a distance outside the MPA boundries but still many birds setting down here on Gr. Race and surrounding rocks. Still too few Sea Lions for this time of year. Guess they are just too nervous to return, did hear that they have extremly good memories and are most likely avoiding the area because of the blasting.No sightings of the injured California Sea Lion.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 7 Ecotour boats and 4 pleasurecraft today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:31 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. 10 Miles »» Wind 11 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:06 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 10.2 șC »» Min. 7.0 șC »» Reset 8.1 șC
MARINE LIFE: Another good day for sea birds feeding, thousands of birds from Whirl Bay and as far as you can see to the east , every rock including Gr. Race 'covered' in birds.Counted over 500 Cormorants just on North Rocks and the rocks to the Southeast and most likely at least that many in the kelp beds. Not many Sea Lions have hauled out, only 15 along the north shoreline of Gr. Race, a group of 11 Northern are bunched together on the high point just east of the house but are very edgy.Most of the animals hauled out are on the middle rock.The injured California Sea Lion was gone at first light and we have not seen him all day. There were 7 geese today.There is no standing fresh water but they do enjoy the greens. A small group - 5 or 6 - Transient Orca were hunting in the entrance to Pedder Bay and took at least one seal. There were several pleasurecraft and 7 Ecotour boats watching the kill. After the boats left the Orca moved west along the shoreline quite slowly and at times rested on the surface for 5 minutes at a time. It took them a good hour to go from the east tip of Bentinck Island to Whirl Bay, I guess they continued west but did not see them again.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There was 1 dive charter in the West Race area, 13 Ecotour boats and 7 pleasurecraft through today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:59 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. 10 Miles »» Wind Calm »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:40 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 8.0 șC »» Min. 4.9 șC »» Reset 7.1 șC
MARINE LIFE: Still large numbers of sea birds but the fish balls are fewer and less frequent. Did see a Harbour seal catch a fairly large salmon along the dock on the west side. The activity attracted a hundred or more gulls,some we lucky and flew off with nice pink chunks of fish. The seal made short work of the salmon then hauled out on one of the flat rocks to rest and digest it's meal.The number of Sea lions hauled out is down dramatically although the conditions are very good, lots of food and calm weather. The one major problem is the effect of the blasting.These animals were getting used to the boat and people traffic but are now very stressed and spook very easily.So much for referring to this MPA as a wildlife refuge where the animals can expect to hunt, feed, communicate, socialize, rest etc. without disturbanceand interference.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 6 Ecotour boats and 4 pleasurecraft. The station boat made a trip to Pedder Bay and back
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:34 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. 3 Miles Fog »» Wind North West 5 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:41 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 7.9 șC »» Min. 5.0 șC »» Reset 6.7 șC »» Rain 0.8 mm
MARINE LIFE: The California Sea Lion with the injured hind flippers is still hauled out on the dock and keeps to it's self. The poor animal is most likely in pain- looks quite thin, probably not able to manouver too well to catch it's food.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 6 Ecotour boats, LGL observers boat. The Second Nature made two trips, one about noon With Garry and his class then again with Garry,Scott and Don to work on Camera # 2 system.

MARINE LIFE: (Reported by Garry Fletcher) I had the opportunity to be at Race Rocks twice today. On first arriving at 11:45 AM it was obvious that the DND had been conducting their explosions on Bentick island. We have gotten used to the sealions building up their numbers over the past few weeks. The main island to the East of the House , and the whole northeast front have been covered with animals throughout the daytime. The major concentration however has been on the middle island, which if you have been checking on camera 1 these days has been covered with a mass of bodies. By 11:45 today most of these areas were bare.. only a few brave individuals had crawled back up on the rocks we will see tomorrow how many have returned, but if it follows the patterns of other years, their numbers will start to taper off if the harassment continues. This year the DND has decided to check out our allegations of harassment of these endangered species -- yes that is the category the Northern Sea Lions now occupy in Canada. A contract has been let to the consultants of LGL to survey the effect of disturbances, so they have had observers in the tower on the two occasions of blasting this fall. Today the result was obvious. The irony does not escape one that this is an ecological reserve, an MPA and even that does not protect endangered species in Canada.. For a video of the effect of a blast on the behaviours of the birds and mammals at Race Rocks, go to one I recorded on October 7 - its in the marine mammals archive at: http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/archives/viddndblast.htm

posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:12 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Obscured »» Vis. 1/8 Mile fog »» Wind North East 3 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:33 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.1 șC »» Min. 6.9 șC »» Reset 6.9 șC »» Rain 0.4 mm
MARINE LIFE: Fog most of the day, so thick at times the vis. down to less than 200 metres.Birds still numerous but not as active. There is a California Sea Lion on the boat dock that seems to have a serious injury to the hind flippers-wonder if it was an encounter with one of the transient Orca that has been in the area lately. Have seen the Orca grab seal and sea lions by the tail and fling them so an injury such as this could easily occur. Injured and sick seals and sea lions tend to haul out away from the rest of their group.The 6 geese here again today.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 7 Ecotour boats and 4 pleasurecraft. We did make a quick trip to Pedder Bay when the fog was not so thick but the return trip was in fog so dense that we needed the help of Chris in 2nd Nature with radar which unfortunately was 'acting up' had it not been for the fog horn we would have been lost in the fog! Maybe the large vessels don't need the fog horns but the local boaters certainly do.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:47 PM

WEATHER UP DATE:
Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis. 10 Miles »» Wind North East 7 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 8:42 AM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Obscured »» Vis. 1/2 Mile Fog »» Wind North East 5 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:37 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.9 șC »» Min. 8.3 șC »» Reset 11.1 șC
MARINE LIFE: Still thousands of sea birds feeding at times in the 'fish balls' that are smaller and less frequent than the pass few days. Do not remember an October with this many gulls or cormorants in the reserve, usually we have more wind and rain but the very light winds and good supply of food fish have really provided optimum conditions for the birds.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 11 Ecotour boats, 5 pleasurecraft in the reserve. The station boat to Pedder Bay and back,also Garry and students out in Second Nature for late afternoon class.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:19 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind East 3 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:24 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.7 șC »» Min. 8.9 șC »» Reset 10.2 șC »» Rain 0.4 mm
MARINE LIFE: Today there are hundreds of gulls on Gr. Race and hundreds more on all the other rocks and perched on the kelp. Did see a few fish balls but mostly the gulls are just sitting on shore. The majority are juveniles. The 6 geese are here again -think they must have spent the night.
HUMAN INTERACTION: Garry was over this morning in Hyaku to work on the computer for camera #2 which has been 'acting up' the last few days. There were 5 Ecotour boats and 3 pleasurecraft in the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:01 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. 1 1/2 Miles fog »» Wind East 3 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:38 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.7 șC »» Min. 9.4 șC »» Reset 9.9 șC »» Rain 0.4 mm
MARINE LIFE: Could not see much of anything today- the fog was thick and wet and at times so thick could barely see the top of the tower or the Learning centre. 6 of the geese did manage to find their way in the fog and were around all day.Wonder what happened to the 7th goose.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:19 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Obscured »» Vis. 1/8 Mile Fog »» Wind North East 7 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:07 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.3 șC »» Min. 9.1 șC »» Reset 10.0 șC »» Rain 2.2 mm
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 8 Ecotour boats, 2 pleasurecraft and 1 charter dive boat in the reserve today.The dive boat came too close to shore along the northeast of Gr.Race and sent about 15 sea lions scrambling.Tried unsuccessfully to reach the boat operator on the marine radio but did talk to the charter office and asked them to please respect the wildlife viewing guidelines and maintain the 100 metre distance from any marine animals and birds.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:16 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. 4 Light Rain and Fog Miles »» Wind North East 15 Knots »»
Sea 1 - 2 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:18 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 12.7 șC »» Min. 7.7 șC »» Reset 9.9 șC »» Rain 0.4 mm
MARINE LIFE: There is a Northern Sea Lion on the middle rock with a large raw looking wound on it's back. Have not seen the goose that appeared to have a damaged wing,must have flown back to the mainland.Only a 3 degree drop in the temperature but the air is damp and feels much more like fall. The Sea lions are very quiet today, not as many birds today either.Did hear at least 2 Black Oyster Catchers vocalizing several times around 2 a.m. last night, I wonder what they are up to in the dark.
HUMAN INTERACTION:There were 8 Ecotour boats and 5 pleasurecraft through today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:16 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 17 Knots »» Sea 2 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:58 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 15.7 șC »» Min. 8.8 șC »» Reset 12.1 șC
MARINE LIFE: Still quite a few birds in the area feeding, counted over 130 Cormorants, most of them on North Rks. and the rocks to the southeast.The ones on North Rks. were scared several times by boats going by but the sea lions for the most part were undisturbed.One boat that comes into the reserve about once a week, a Lifetimer 14K 38596 did approach too close and 5 or 6 Sea Lions took to the water, many others were alerted and moved towards the water but as the boat moved back they settled back down.At about 11:45 an Ultralight made several passes over Gr. Race at times too low, scaring some sea lions into the water and most of the birds took flight. The aircraft was black with orange and yellow trim-C-1FQC
HUMAN INTERACTION: The observers from LGL spent the day in the tower and departed just after 17:00. There were 11 Ecotour boats, 6 pleasurecraft and the 1 research boat(Lifetimer) in the reserve today. Hyaku (Chris) over from campus to return the station boat-repairs completed.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:14 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind East 5 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:03 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 15.5 șC »» Min. 9.1 șC »» Reset 12.1 șC
MARINE LIFE: There are still thousands of sea birds in the area as far as one can see feeding in the fish balls occurring almost continuously.Masses of birds flying from one feeding spot to another then setting down in the kelp or on one of the islands to rest. About 80% of the gulls are juveniles of several different types such as the Heermann's, Mew, Glaucous-winged and Herring. Most of the feeding activity is outside the MPA boundries in the tide lines.There is a large Norther Sea Lion with brand on it's left side F200.Although partly healed the brand looks sore and ugly, maybe tagging would be more humane!
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 11 Ecotour boats and 4 pleasurecraft through today. The Coast Guard Ship Bartlett repositioned the Rosedale buoy at about 11:00
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:39 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind East 7 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:12 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 14.1 șC »» Min. 8.5 șC »» Reset 11.8 șC
MARINE LIFE: There are thousands of sea birds busy feeding in the many fish balls, a few inside the MPA but most of the action in about 1/2 to 1 mile past the boundries. Many of the birds come into the reserve to rest ashore and in the kelp so there is a constant flow of birds back and forth.A small group of Orca were sighted southeast of Gr. Race travelling westsouthwest.1 Canada goose came ashore up over the rocks by the winch house causing a stampeed of sea lions. The gulls and other birds move among the sea lions all the time but for some reason, the goose rising up out of the water waving it's neck and moving towards them was somewhat of a threat.The goose seems to have an injured left wing and moved into a protected area among some large boulders and except to pop it's heard up every once in a while for a look around has stayed put all day. Cannot get close to the goose to assess it's condition as any movement would disturb the 60 or so sea lions hauled out all along the shore.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 11 Eco tour boats and 7 pleasurecraft through the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:25 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind East 11 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:07 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.7 șC »» Min. 7.1 șC »» Reset 10.3 șC
MARINE LIFE: A perfect day for the thousands of sea birds feeding in the many fish balls, most of the action was some distance outside the reserve but many of the cormorants and gulls landed to rest in the kelp and along the shore.Birds coming and going all day, the fishing seemed good for the sea lions as well, saw several 8-10 lb salmon caught just off the end of the dock.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 22 Ecotour boats and 7 pleasurecraft in the reserve today. One pleasurecraft - open aluminum Girgor, approx. 4metres long 14K 33165 4 persons onboard were fishing in the reserve between Gr. Race and North Rocks.Reported this infraction to Fisheries.Near noon noticed a tug towing a log barge very close to the Rosedale light buoy, shortly after could not see the buoy and recieved several calls on the marine radio from sports fishers that they also noticed the buoy missing. Sometime later 'found' the buoy about 1 mile southwest of it's designated position. Called Coast Guard and hopefully they will soon reposition the buoy.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:37 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind East 7 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:22 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.1 șC »» Min. 6.5 șC »» Reset 10.7 șC
MARINE LIFE :Orcas sighted about 14:00 to the northeast of Gr. Race, could be the same group seen yesterday morning along the south shore.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 13 tour boats and 4 pleasurecraft through today. Second Nature in at about 14:00 to pick up students who spent the weekend. Hyaku and Second Nature in with group from CISTA .Yesterday there were 9 tour boats and one dive charter off West Race.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:04 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Clould »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind Calm »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:02 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.0 șC »» Min. 8.7 șC »» Reset 10.5 șC
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:08 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 25 Knots »» Sea 3 Foot Moderate
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:09 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max.11.5 șC »» Min. 9.1 șC »» Reset 10.1 șC »» Rain 0.4 mm
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:21 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis. 10 Miles »» Wind West 21 Knots »» Sea 2 - 3 Foot Moderate
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:12 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 10.7 șC »» Min. 8.3 șC »» Reset 9.7 șC »» Rain 0.6 mm
MARINE LIFE: Another unsettled day for the wildlife with another day of blasts at DND. The fog rolled in very thick last night and until just after noon we were only able to observe the sea lions and Harbour seals along the north shore of Great Race.The first blast at about 10:12 alerted the sea lions, the second blast about 1 minute later sent 35 of the 79 sea lions hauled out prior to the blasting into the water, of the 13 Harbour seals hauled out in the dock area 2 took to the water on the first blast,9 on the 2nd blast, the birds that we could see took flight 'en masse' and most settled back down fairly quickly. The second series of 2 blasts was approx 1 hour later and 9 more sea lions went into the water from those hauled out along the north of Gr. Race. The sea lions were unsettled the rest of the afternoon. Most of the Northern S.Lions stayed in the water swiming about in groups of 5 to 12. The ones still hauled stayed close to the water, they were very agitated, there was a lot of noisey head butting.Most days, left undisturbed the sea lions are fairly quiet. Just around 17:00 a small group of Orca appeared along the northeast boundry of the reserve, looked to be T10 and T11 group. There were a lot of seals and sea lions in the water, several groups of Northern S.L very close to the whales but did not see any hunting action. The Orca disappeared as quickly and quietly as they had appeared. There were 9 Ecotour boats and 3 pleasurecraft in the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:03 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. Miles 1 Mile »» Wind West 11 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 8:22 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.7 șC »» Min. 10.1 șC »» Reset 10.3 șC »» Rain 0.2 mm
MARINE LIFE: With the blasting on Bentinck the sea lions were unsettled, 'barking and growling' well into the afternoon. At each blast the birds all took flight but returned fairly quickly. There is a juvenile Heermann's gull with a broken wing, one California S.L. with a 16 cm scar near the right shoulder which looks fairly well healed. A Blue Heron spent some time sitting in the various kelp beds around Gr. Race, it was most likely here for the fish,as there is still a good supply of feed judging by the numbers of gulls and cormorants feeding. The seals and sea lions are catching some good sized salmon as well.
HUMAN INTERACTION: The LGL monitoring crew docked first thing in the morning, Garry over in Hyaku for most of the afternoon filming. There were 7 Pleasurecraft and 6 Ecotour boats through the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:07 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis. 10 Miles »» Wind West 10 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:45 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.7 șC »» Min. 8.0 șC »» Reset 10.3 șC »» Rain 0.4 mm
MARINE LIFE: California Sea Lion hauled out in group of about 80 ( 11 Northern ) has a brand # 823 and a yellow front flipper tag # 925.The Sea Lions are still being disturbed by boats approaching too close especially along the east tip of North Rocks and along the north shore of Gr. Race. They are very used to us coming and going along the dock, in fact there are 3 that particularly like the last step on the dock as a haul out spot and often stay put as we come alongside in the boat.Unfortuately the mess they leave behind does not always wash away with the high tide! Four Black Oyster Catchers spent several hours along the east ridge but were very quiet and did not see any of them feeding, mostly resting on one foot with bills tucked under their wings.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 11 pleasurecraft, 2 dive boats ( 1 charter, 1 milatary dive club ) also the LGL crew via zodiac - preparing for monitoring the DND blasting exercises tomorrow.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:07 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. 10 Miles »» Wind West 7 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:13 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 12.1 șC »» Min. 9.2 șC »» Reset 10.1 șC »» Rain 1.4 mm
posted by Carol or Mike S at 8:18 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind North West 10 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:11 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.5 șC »» Min. 8.8 șC »» Reset 10.0 șC »» Rain 0.6 mm
HUMAN INTERACTION: Fog most of the day, at times the visibility down to 100 metres, heard several boats but saw only 3 Ecotour boats which were quite-too close- to shore.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:11 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Obscured »» Vis. 0 Fog »» Wind East 5 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:12 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 12.1 șC »» Min. 9.9 șC »» Reset 11.5 ș C »» Rain 14.9 mm
MARINE LIFE: There is still good fishing for the birds and sea lions,in the span of about 1 hour saw 8 good sized fish taken by 5 California and 3 Northern Sea lions just off the end of the dock. The Northern Sea lions seem to spend more time in the water, maybe with their greater size they feed more often. The California S.L. sleep a lot during the day but judging by the noise during the night they are quite active coming and going.This afternoon one Blue Heron sat out on the kelp for almost 2 hours then headed back towards Pedder Bay.Nice to get the rain, the birds like it even if the puddles are small.
HUMAN INTERACTION:Second Nature out with some supplies, the station boat to Pedder Bay and back with a short stop at the campus.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:05 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. 3/4 Mile Lt. Rain and Fog »» Wind North 10 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:01 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.7 șC »» Min. 9.3șC »» Reset 11.5 șC »» Rain 0.8 mm
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:10 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind South West 11 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:17 AM

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.9 șC »» Min. 7.5 șC »» Reset 11.1 șC
MARINE LIFE: There were about 50 Cormorants in the reserve today some on North Rks. but the majority along the ridges of the Southeast Rks. There are also over 60 Heermann's Gulls. The geese family landed for a very short visit- about 15 minutes- but the real excitement was provided by the Orca, believed to be T10 group, transients. First sighted was the large bull near William Head just before 11:00. The Orca spent some time in the entrance to Pedder Bay then moved along the shore of Bentinck Island.After a wait of 10 minutes or so they then surfaced midway between North Rks. and the dock. While watching for the whales we listened to some of the tour boat operators on the VHF reporting the animals movements for the benefit of other boat operators.As the whales made their way heading east in front of the station the 'Wildcat' was entering from the west and followed the whales and at one point were so close I thought they were going to run over top of them! The whales moved south along the edge of the kelp bed to the east of Gr. Race then west along the southeast rocks and Gr. Race quite close to shore .2 boats Pr. of Whales(princess) and SeaFun Safaris followed along even though they were well within the reserve's southern boundry which is the Rosedale buoy.The whales moved through the reserve passed West Race to the Pedder Bay area again and then about 14:00 headed West. At last report they were near Secretary Island. With all the sea lions and seals in the water, some Northern Sea lions in tight groups following quite closely I expected the Orca to have a kill, but then there were all those boats coming and going and staying????? for hours!
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 4 pleasure craft and 28 Ecotour boats through the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:09 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Clouldy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind North East 5 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:14 AM