Monthly Archives: October 2013

fog

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Cloudy, with periods of fog. Evening fog. No rain.

Our reference on Fog as an abiotic factor can be found at: http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/abiotic/fog/fog.htm

3 elephant seals decided to come up off the boat ramp today. It started with Cranky-Pants (the seal with the scabby molt) and she was followed by two of the larger females. They spent the afternoon lying in the grass next to the desalinator bunker.

Still seeing the White fronted goose and the Cackling goose. The larger Canada geese bully the two smaller geese, but they still tend to move around the island in a group.

Off station from 1230 to 1430 to get food

mammal count

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10kts NE wind. Cloudy, but still no rain.
Tour boats: 5
Dive boats: 2

Marine Mammal Count
Stellar Sea lion: 272
California Sea lion: 396
Harbour seal: 78
Elephant seal: 8

Harlequin Duck: 4
Sanderling: 1

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Sanderling (Calidris alba) and a Black Turnstone

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Another breakfast eagle sighting this morning.

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Sea lions on the North-Eastern flats of Greater Race Rock

-tidied boat shed

 

cloudy

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Cloudy, but still no rain. Light NE winds most of the day. No fog.
First day it actually felt like Fall. It didn’t get above 10C today.
Water temp 9.8C. Visibility is still pretty good, but nothing like it was last week.
Tour boats: 14
Dive boat: 1

Fly over by an air plane midday. NE to SW. Low.

The Elephant seals are still camped out on the boat ramp. The small females are always next to the juvenile male. But the larger females are less interested in him. Still no sign of Misery.

The seagull with the broken wing has taken to following me around the island.

The outer rocks/islands have almost no sea lions on them. They have all moved to the North-East flats next to the Keeper’s house and on the South side of the student house.

-Ran desalinator
-Pressure washed South side and reachable West side of keepers house

fog

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Fog all day. Light winds. Calm seas.
Tour boats: 8

The sea lions have taken up on the flats on the North-East in front of the keepers house again. Proportionately more Stellars than Californias.
No boat count for a second day in a row due to fog.

After several weeks of leaving the Marigolds (aka Calendula) I pulled them off the edges of the paths today. I left them up until now because they were always covered with honey bees. And I figure it’s always good to help the bees in any way you can, even if it’s just leaving some flowers so that they have a few more weeks of food. I’m not sure if there is a bees nest on Race Rocks (I haven’t found one) or if they fly over from Bentick Island or another area on Vancouver Island.

-Washed solar panels
-Cleared paths of Marigolds
-Washed North side of keepers house (walls and soffits)

birds

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Morning fog. Moderate East wind. Sunny the rest of the day.
Tour boats: 4

It seems that, as the sea lions are leaving, more gulls and birds are moving onto Greater Race Rock. There have also been a lot of dense groups of gulls and diving birds on the water in and around the reserve.

The juvenile elephant seal with scabby molt (aka ‘Cranky Pants’) has returned to the boat ramp. Her skin has healed up a bit since she was last here a few weeks ago.

Kayakers next to South Rock

Kayakers next to South Rock-This kind of approach regularly scares birds and the seals and sea lions form the rocks.

-took the boston whaler in, traded it for a zodiac
-loaded the boat dolly onto Second Nature with Erik
-ran desalinator
-cleaned and scraped the zodiac
-tidied basement

Trial Island

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Trial Island Lighthouse (link) has been put forward for protection under federal Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act. The deadline for submissions for support for this nomination is may 29th 2015.

There is now a facebook page (link) that has been setup by a friend of mine who is volunteering fro the Oak Bay Heritage Foundation. They are collecting information to justify the nomination of Trial Island Lighthouse for heritage protection.

So if you are an avid supporter of Canadian maritime history, and appreciate lighthouses then help spread the word about Trial Island.

breakfast eagle

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Sunny, light NE wind. Calm seas

An eagle spent the morning on top of the derrick. We saw it fly  away once out towards the West and pester the seagulls, then landed back on the derrick. It left a few minutes later, flying towards the West.

Breakfast eagle

Breakfast eagle

Tour boats: 4
Off station from 1400 to 1500 hrs to pick up scaffolding

Another lovely sunset this evening. Always fun to check out the ships heading past.

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Sunset panoramic from the tower

Norwegian cargo ship 'Goya'. Bound for Balboa, running at 14 kts. AIS shiptracker is great.

Norwegian cargo ship ‘Goya’. Bound for Balboa, running at 14 kts. AIS shiptracker is great.

 

 

-tidied crane shed
-set up slings for boat cradle

Cackling Goose

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Light NE wind, sunny, calm

A single Cackling Goose arrived today. It has been hanging out with the Canada geese.

 

Tour boats: 7

-washed solar panels
-ran desalinator
-worked on the electric fence
-started improving the boat
-started tidying the boat house