Monthly Archives: May 2010

Oystercatcher’s territory

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‘Elephant Seal’, 5, ‘Fewer females are visible on Middle Rocks. The tagged female has returned to Great Race Island despite having completed her moult. The larger females on Middle Rocks are in various stages of their moults.’, ‘Ryan’, ’20:56:43 ,
-93, ‘2010-05-12’,

“Brown Pelicans are becoming a common sight at Race Rocks. See the log of May 12, 2010: Ryan Murphy

‘The diversity of bird life continues to increase with the appearance of
Dunlins, Brandts and Pacific Loons today.
Small groups of Brandts flew West throughout the day, followed by several large flocks numbering up to 100 birds in the evening.
A mature Brown pelican roosted here for the night, much to the gulls ” dissatisfaction.
There are still 2 pairs of Harlequin ducks spending their days around Great Race Island, plus
4 Whimbrels were again seen on the SW corner of the island where up to
3 Black Oystercatcher pairs have staked nesting territories. There are a total of
7 pairs of Oystercatchers with territories on the island, but only 2 confirmed nests so far, and of those only one nest with 2 eggs at the moment. Could be a bumper year as a maximum of 5 breeding Oystercatcher pairs have been recorded in the past. ‘,
‘Northern Sea Lion’, 10, ‘The numbers of Northern Sea Lions have been down the past several days, however they are still finding food in the reserve. A commotion right above the tidal turbine today attracted a number of gulls, and I could soon see a Northern sea lion was thrashing a large fish on the surface. Reviewing my photos it turns out the sea lion had captured a wolf eel! Long tasty filets on those protected fish, I can ”t say I ”m not envious!’,

‘Ryan’, ’21:10:38 ,

Calidris canutus: Red Knot- The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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This shorebird which is listed by COSEWIC as a Species at Risk has a long distance migratory route of 20,000 miles. It nests on the Canadian Tundra and uses both the Atlantic and Pacific flyways. It has made almost annual stop-overs at Race Rocks Ecological Reserve in the month of May last few years. It was first photographed there by Ecoguardian Raisa Mirza in May of 2010. You can see her other  photos on her Flickr site.

raisa2flyredknot

red knot Calidris canutus photographed at Race Rocks by Raisa Mirza on May 9, 2010.


Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom :Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class :Aves
Order :Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus :Calidris
Species :canutus
Common Name: Red Knot

See other posts tagged with Red Knot
Other Members of the Class Aves at Race Rocks.

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.

 

Diversity of Bird Life

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‘The diversity of bird life has increased greatly with the improving weather this week. Rock sandpipers, Western sandpipers, Red Knots, and Greater Yellowlegs have all been seen in the intertidal zone. Yesterday evening a juvenile brown pelican spent a number of hours on Great Race before heading towards Port Angeles just after sunset. Today around noon a peregrine falcon zipped by Great Race and scared most of the small bird species away for the day. The Black Oystercatchers are becoming very territorial with one another, and the nest above the cove on the E side of Great Race now has 2 eggs.’, ‘Ryan’, ’17:42:48 ,

Mammal census:

‘Elephant Seal’, 8, ‘8 females remain on Middle Rocks, still in various stages of their moults. The tagged female X201/X202 recently left Great Race Island after completing her moult, but was photographed yesterday on Middle Rocks with the other females. This year is a pattern reversal compared to last year when it was the sub-adult male -Misery) who completed his moult on Great Race and few if any female elephant seals were seen here during this time.’, ‘Ryan’, ’17:45:02 ,

Triteleia hyacinthina: White brodiaea–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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Triteleia hyacinthina, the white brodiaea, or fool’s onion is a native of the Pacific west coast of North America. These ones grow just east of the tower.10 metres.

Due to a late spring storm from the southeast three weeks ago, many of the early blooming plants show some effects of salt spray. Photos by Garry Fletcher May 9, 2010.

 

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Plantae
Superdivision Spermatophyta
DivisionMagnoliophyta
Class Liliopsida
SubclassLiliidae
Order Liliales
Family Lilaceae
Genus Triteleia
Species hyacinthina
(Lindl.)Greene
Common Name: White brodiaea, fools onion

 

Other Members of the Angiosperm at Race Rocks 
taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.

Garry Fletcher