Company's Coming!

I was up very early this morning to finish writing up both the Ecoguardian Log and my own blog before sunrise. I hadn't meant for it to happen that way, but I fell fully asleep after just lying down for a short rest.  Right.  I still had my jacket on when I woke up! It worked out okay, though, as I had a lot to get done before my weekend guests arrived.

Hundreds of California Gulls were amassed off the southwest corner of the island. The same thing happened last year at this time. 

The solar panels were not as bad as yesterday, but still had a lot to clean up.  The fog rolled in shortly after I started making the job a whole lot easier.  Fog wets down the  panels, aiding in the removal of the gull poop. I had time to get them all done AND the windows on the researcher residence, all before breakfast!

I spent most of the rest of the morning straightening up before Carl and Brady Hughes arrived for the weekend. I know they have wanted to do this since I was out here last year.  While I was waiting for them, I snapped a few photos of some familiar subjects.

Triple trouble with my panel-washing cloth.

Pigeon Guillemot

Branded Steller's sea lion-continuing visitor to Race Rocks since 2014!
 https://racerocks.ca/branded-sea-lion-183r-shows-up-at-race-rocks/

Ruddy Turnstone

Greg brought Carl and Brady over on the Second Nature, along with some supplies and a 600L tank of water.  The desalinator is waiting for a part, so fresh water must be brought over from Pearson College.  What a feat!  Fire hoses are laid out from the holding tank here at Race Rocks all the way down to the dock where a special pump has to take the water from a tank on the boat and pump it all the way up the hill. Six hundred plus litres later, Greg had to turn around and load up again for a return trip.  When all was said and done, we had 2000 L in the tank and should be good until repairs happen.

It was fun playing tour guide for Carl and Brady.  I showed them all the important places on the island, and we even made a trip to the top of hte lighthouse. Carl got busy right away spotting some good birds. Let's see if we can find any new species this weekend.

Sunrise!

Mushu's spot of the week

Gifts from the gulls

The best news though is that Mushu took an instant liking to both of them.  In no time, he was curled up in Brady's lap, and sitting next to Carl. I think things will work out just fine!

Tomorrow will be another early morning, with a seawatch planned before we get to work. Come on, birdies!  We're looking for you!