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Last Day!

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That week flew by – I am heading home tomorrow and my time spent here was amazing as always! 

 

Vessels:

  • 1 Private 

Facility Work:

  • Filled generator with diesel
  • Cleaned main house windows 
  • Hauled up logs for firewood 
  • Cleaned house/prepped for next Ecoguardians

Saturday Update

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Today’s weather has been significantly better than yesterday although its still grey and quite cold. The logs at the jetty are slowly breaking up a bit but there are still a ton down there. I did manage to drag in a couple more for firewood while the tide was low. 

There have been 20-30 eagles here lately which is pretty neat to watch, but still no elephant seals! 

The little entangled Cali is sticking around which makes me hopeful we’ll be able to to help her. I also spotted a juvenile Steller on the jetty today with a large fish hook and lure in his lip. A hooked lip is far better than him having swallowed the hook but its still not great. I expect that it’ll get stepped on or ripped out before we can do anything for him but I’ll keep an eye on it regardless. The young Stellers LOVE to play with anything they find, I’ve been watching them carry sticks around and chunks of fish, and unfortunately some plastic debris as well. They’re like curious little toddlers and I love watching them play – I’d just prefer it not be with garbage! 

Nothing too wild going on today! Chopped some wood, and got a few tasks done inside. No vessels in the area today, everyone seems to be laying low. 

Stormy and Cold

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Not much of an update today. Woke up to strong winds and sideways rain that I’m surprised didn’t turn to snow with how cold it felt. Definitely a stay inside kinda day! 

The entangled Cali is still here, hopefully it sticks around until we have calmer weather to organize a rescue. 

One thing I have noticed thats changed since October is how many more Steller sea lions appear to be here as opposed to California sea lions. There are also a lot more young/juvenile Stellers than the fall as well, super interesting and I wonder if Race Rocks will ever become a rookery?

Very young Steller resting on a California sea lion

Slightly older juvenile Steller

High Tides and Logs Galore

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Over the past few days I’ve noticed how many logs and driftwood seem to be out in the ocean this time of year. I’ve heard its significantly worse than previous years but thankfully not too much has been accumulating at the jetty (as I’ve been told it can). Until today. 

Yesterday afternoon there were a few small bits of driftwood/logs but nothing out of the ordinary, however the tides and wind must have been combined in all the right (or maybe wrong) ways over night. This morning when I woke up there was enough logs and debris around the jetty to open up my own lumber mill. I’ve never seen anything like it. For the better part of the day the waves have been crashing directly into the jetty making it impossible for any of it to be pushed out. In the afternoon I pulled a few of the reachable logs up to use for future firewood but it barely made a dent in whats there. Hopefully some of it gets pushed out tonight! 

The fur seal has not shown up again, so I guess he was just passing by, although I’m hopeful we’ll see him again one day! Ollie is still around and a few humpbacks are passing by each day. 

I haven’t seen the entangled sea lions today, but the Cali was around yesterday and the Steller the day before. 

Vessels:

  • Ecotourism: 2

Facility Work:

  • Topped up battery electrolytes 
  • Cleaned/organized inside main house 
  • Hauled in logs for firewood 

Otters, Whales, and a Fur Seal…Oh My!

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It’s the last day of 2024 and we are finishing it with a bang!

This morning I spotted an imposter among the sea lions near the jetty…a northern fur seal!

You may be wondering why thats significant, and its because this is the first northern fur seal documented on Race Rocks in 44 years! Northern fur seals are a pelagic species, meaning they live offshore and are not seen near the coast.

Occasionally they have been sighted in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the young or sick ones have stranded along the coast in previous years. However, a healthy adult male hauled out in front of the house here? Very rare! So rare that it hasn’t been seen since 1980 which I still haven’t quite wrapped my head around.

He’s been in and out of the water throughout the day, lots of grooming (they have a fur coat similar to that of a sea otter), and even nipped at a few California sea lions. I’m looking forward to seeing if he sticks around!

Speaking of sea otters, Ollie is also back! After spending the past few months  near William Head, I saw him on the South side of the island early this morning. I’m hoping to see more of him before I leave.

It appears not all of the humpbacks have gotten the memo that they should be somewhere warm, cozy, and tropical by now. I saw about 7 in total today which was a very nice surprise.

As for the rest of the animals around here its been status quo. Still no elephant seals but I’m not giving up hope yet. Doing my best to manifest one (or ten) arriving before I leave.

Happy New Year!!

December 2024 Seawater Data

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DAILY SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE AND SALINITY OBSERVATIONS
Station: RACE ROCKS
Observer: Derek Month: December
YSI ID: 15 Year: 2025
YSI YSI
Temp Sal
Day Time ºC ppt
1 13:30 9.1 32.7
2 14:00 9.0 32.7
3 14:30 9.1 32.6
4 15:00 9.0 32.6
5 15:30 9.1 32.7
6 16:00 9.1 32.9
7 16:30 9.3 32.9
8 17:00 9.1 32.9
9 n/a n/a n/a
10 n/a n/a n/a
11 n/a n/a n/a
12 n/a n/a n/a
13 n/a n/a n/a
14 n/a n/a n/a
15 13:00 8.7 33.0
16 13:30 8.6 33.0
17 14:15 8.8 32.7
18 15:15 8.8 32.9
19 16:00 8.9 32.7
20 17:00 8.7 32.6
21 17:00 8.6 32.7
22 19:30 8.9 32.6
23 9:00 8.9 32.3
24 8:30:00 AM 8.7 32.6
25 9:30 8.9 32.3
26 10:00 9.1 32.3
27 11:00 8.9 32.4
28 12:30 9.4 31.7
29 n/a n/a n/a
30 10:45 8.7 31.7
31 n/a n/a n/a

Last Census of 2024 & 2 Entangled Sea Lions

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Gorgeous day today!

Since it looks like it’ll be my only sunny day of my trip out here, I spent most of it outside. It was also the perfect day for an animal census.

While out and about today I unfortunately came across two entangled sea lions. Both have been reported to the right groups and I will be monitoring them over the next few days to see if they stick around.

Facility Work:

  • Topped up battery electrolytes
  • Repaired electric fence
  • Dug up weeds
  • Washed main house windows

Vessels:

  • Private: 1
  • Ecotourism: 3

Dec 30 Census:

Mammals:

  • California sea lions: 182
  • Steller sea lions: 339
  • Harbour seals: 24

Birds:

  • Bald eagles: 25
  • Canadian geese: 15
  • Gulls: 531
  • Turnstones: 47
  • Cormorants: 132
  • Oyster catchers: 6
  • Harlequin ducks: 8

Back Again!

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Hello again!

What better way to ring in 2025 than to spend it here on the rock? I’m only here for a week, bridging the gap between two other Ecoguardians but I’ll take any time out here that I can get!

I arrived around noon and the tide was so high it was nearly over the jetty which I’ve never seen before (secretly hoping for a good storm this week). Spent the afternoon settling back in and spent a fair bit of time outside in the afternoon and exploring whats changed in the past couple of months.

Certainly less sea lions but still more than I was expecting, no elephant seals (yet), and all the humpbacks seem to have gone off to warmer waters – I don’t blame them, it is freezing out here.

I did get a lovely welcome home pass by from transient killer whale T49C Neilson who is one of my favourites around here!

Looking forward to finding more creatures this week!

Bye to 2024

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Ecological Notes:

  • 30-35  eagles here each morning!

  • I assume the last storm, combined with he high number of eagles, have led to a temporary lack of many shore birds right now

Facility Work:

  • Stacked the firewood for splitting, you an see how waterlogged most of the recovered wood is.
  • Swept and cleaned the generator building floors,the flies gather at windows in the buildings and student building, ongoing to keep it tidy
  • Swept and cleaned the main house basement
  • Sprayed down part of the walkway with algae remover, but unexpected light rain may negate the effect

Weather Events:

High tides and big wells move the big logs around like nothing. This is exactly why I removed the jetty fencing!

  • Wednesday, December 25:
    • Sky: Overcast, with brief sunny breaks
    • Wind: N 10-15kts in the morning, veering to E 15-20kts in the afternoon
    • Sea: 6 foot swells and mixed as the tide changed
    • Temperature Low 5oC, High 9oC
  • Thursday, December 26 :
    • Sky: Early morning rain.Overcast with sunny breaks, and quick rain squalls during the day
    • Wind: Overnight winds from the East to 45kts, daytime W 25-30kts, dropping to near 0 by evening
    • Sea:  3-5 ft swells,flattening out by late afternoon
    • Temperature Low 6oC, High 10oC
  • Friday, December 27:
    • Sky: High overcast, light rain by evening
    • Wind: NE 10-15kts in the morning, dropping to 5-10kts over the day
    • Sea:  light chop
    • Temperature Low 7oC, High 10oC
  • Saturday, December 28:
    • Sky: clear patches and sun in the morning, mostly low overcast
    • Wind: S 10kts in the morning, jumping quickly to W 30kts by 11am
    • Sea:  calm in the morning, 2-3 ft swells in the afternoon
    • Temperature Low 7oC, High 10 oC

 

** Any wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

 

Weather – Current:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

 

Weather – Past:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

Race Rocks ANIMAL CENSUS December 23

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Race Rocks ANIMAL CENSUS
2024-11-25 2024-12-16* 2024-12-23*
Elephant Seal(male)
Elephant seal (female) 1
Steller’s Sea Lion 289 310 335
California Sea Lion 263 243 180
Harbour Seal 23 10 27
Sea Otter
Orca 5 (3 days ago)
Humpback 3 2
Gray Whale
Species 1
Species 2
Species 3
Canada Geese 27 15 15
Harlequin Duck 4 5
Black Oystercatcher 12 18 0
Black Turnstone 228 37 12
Surfbird 3
Whimbrel
Killdeer 3 4
Dunlin
Black-bellied Plover
Ruddy Turnstone
Species 1
Species 2
Species 3
Species 4
Pigeon Guillemot
Common Murre
Rhinoceros Auklet
Species 1
Species 2
Species 3
Species 4
Glaucous Winged Gull
Western Gull
Glaucous X Western Gull Hybrid
Iceland(Thayer’s) Gull
Heerman’s Gull
California Gull
Short-billed Gull
Gull Species unknown 226 89 187
Gull Species 2
Gull Species 3
Cormorant total 147 123
Brandt’s Cormorant
Double-Crested Cormorant
Cormorant species unknown 228
Pelagic Cormorant
Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle Juvenile 6 11
Bald Eagle Adult 6 3 4
Peregrine Falcon
Raptor Species 1
Raptor Species 2
Raptor Species 3
Western Crow 3
Raven 2
Purple Martin
Barn Swallow
Pacific Wren
Savannah Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
very fast, unable to get pic, wren size 4
Species 2
Species 3
Species 4
Other Species 1
Other Species 2
Other Species 3

* Numbers reflect taken after a large storm surge, animals and birds dissipated,