Newly hatched oystercatchers on the south side of the main island last
Rain gutters pre-cleaning
Whale watchers near Middle Rock
Branded California sealion #B101
Cleaning the cable for underwater camera 2
Young male elephant seal with bloody mouth
Orca dorsal fin and onlookers
Branded California sea lion #8595
Dead gulls. Seems to be a high number this year.
Black Oystercatcher near the jetty
Juvenile Black Oystercatcher on the north side of the main island
Lots of rain this morning and heavy fog all day. Winds dropping from 15+ knots in the morning to zero this afternoon. Winds tomorrow forecasted to be 10-15 knots with fog in the morning.
17 whale watching boats
2 recreational boats
Two electricians came to the island from today to tilt another row of solar panels. We loaded Second Nature with a load of trash/junk from the tank shed for its return trip. Continued on tidying the tank shed.
In August, 2014, the Trans Mountain Pipeline consultant Tera submitted a “Supplemental Traditional Marine Resource Transportation Technical Report.
In it, a chart is presented with areas of traditional use by the Esquimalt First Nations is presented. This is the first time this kind of map has appeared, and it is rather interesting since the Esquimalt FN remained uninvolved throughout the Race Rocks MPA Advisory Board meetings .
“EXECUTIVE SUMMARY An Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment was completed by TERA, a CH2M HILL Company,and was submitted as part of the Application to the National Energy Board (NEB) in December 2013 for the proposed Trans Mountain Expansion Project (referred to as TMEP or the Project). The NEB will conduct a detailed review and hold a Public Hearing to determine if it is in the public interest to recommend a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for construction and operation of the Project. Pending regulatory approval, Trans Mountain Pipeline ULC (Trans Mountain) plans to begin construction in 2016 and go into service in 2017.Trans Mountain will continue to engage Aboriginal communities through all phases of the Project. Traditional Marine Resource Use (TMRU) information received from participating communities will be reviewed in order to confirm literature results and mitigation measures. Additional issues of concern, TMRU sites or features identified through ongoing engagement with Aboriginal communities will be considered for incorporation into Project planning under the guidance of existing marine transport regulations and mitigation recommendations. The results of these ongoing engagement efforts will be provided to the NEBin future supplemental filings. Further information is provided in Technical Report (TR) 8B-5 in Volume 8B, Traditional Marine Resource Use Technical Report of the Application. ”
This report contained a map of the traditional use areas of Esquimalt First Nations which shows use of the Race Rocks Area as well as the adjacent coastline. It is shown in this link:
Click for large version
Winds between 5-15 knots for most of the day. Barometric pressure peaking midday. A few showers forecasted for tomorrow and risk of thunderstorms tonight.
18 whale watching boats
3 recreational fishing boats
A float plane did laps around the island this morning around 0900h taking counts on some marine mammals. Another one passed through the reserve this afternoon.
More than two hundred sea lions on the main island now and more on Middle Rock. I noticed today that although the population on the main island is mixed Stellar and California, there is a higher density of Californias on the main island and a higher density of Stellars on Middle Rock. A tagged elephant seal arrived today but I could not get close enough to its tags without frightening it.
The PSYL coordinators arrived around 1900h this evening and will be here two nights.
Our viewer from England, Pam Birley, sent us this image image of a branded Northern Sea lion (Steller’s) that she had taken with the remote control camera 5 today. She noted that this is the first time this particular one has shown up in her records which she has been keeping for several years now.
For other posts on branded sea-lions, see this link: https://www.racerocks.ca/tag/branded/
For our taxonomy file and gallery of images on this sealion see our archived file: http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/eco/taxalab/nufar.htm
Also for an explanation of why the tagging program goes on see this link also on our website: http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/marmam/sealion/tracking/tracking.ht
Branded Northern sealion # 183R
Clear in the morning and overcast a bit in the afternoon. Low winds getting up to 10 knots in the evening. Barometric pressure dropping during the day. Strong wind warning in effect for tomorrow and forecasted fog.
7 whale watching boats
5 recreational fishing boats
The was a Rhinocerous auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata) in the water off the north side of the island. Haven’t seen many of these this summer. There was also a small flock of Surfbirds (Aphriza virgata) on the SW end of the main island just after sunset.
Worked on the tank shed a bit today. Talked with Environment Canada and Coast Guard regarding maintenance issues. Everything is now in order.
Mostly clear skies. Fog late morning into early afternoon. Winds between 10-15 knots most of the day. Barometric pressure rising the first half of the day and falling in the afternoon/evening.
6 whale watching boats (hard to say with fog though)
2 recreational fishing boats (PBM rentals)
2 recreational dive boats
Down to three elephant seals on the island currently. The sea lions have crept further up the east side of the island. There are an estimated 60-70 on the island now. The fence is still deterring them from the jetty, etc. Big moon tonight (supermoon tomorrow) but still the bioluminescent phytoplankton is visible!
Northwest winds dipping down to 10 knots midday and back up to 15 knots in the afternoon. Barometric pressure climbing since late Thursday. Forecasted fog for tomorrow and winds from 10 to 25 knots in the afternoon.
Animal Census:
272 Gulls
32 Guillemots
4 Elephant seals
381 Sea lions (Steller and California)
3 River otters
2 Double-crested cormorants
273 Harbour seals
13 Black oystercatchers
The otters appeared in the early evening again, taking at least two gull chicks. The sea lions, both Steller and California, have started making their way onto the main island. The electric fence is set up to deter them from the jetty, the winch pad (and hydraulic pipes) and the main residence.
We’ve had issues with one of the inverters in the generator room this week which have meant limited power, internet and phone access.
Northwest winds increasing from midday to 35 knots this evening. Barometric pressure in a downward trend since Wednesday at noon. Some fog this morning. 20-25 knot winds forecasted for tomorrow with some fog.
37 whale watching boats
11 recreational fishing boats
3 recreational boats (including a dive boat)
A pod of orcas passed through the reserve on the north side of Middle and Turbine Rocks. There were at least 7-8 of them in front heading east through the channel with a few more trailing a few hundred metres behind. Four elephant seals on cite at the moment. No eagle visits today but a number of California sea lions have started arriving.
Topped up the batteries and did the monthly report.
Northwest winds dipping to 10 knots around midday. Barometric pressure decreasing since mid-morning. Intermittent fog until noon. Forecast calls for fog until noon tomorrow and gale wind warning in effect.
6 whale watching boats
7 recreational fishing boats passed through
Business as usual on the reserve today. A juvenile eagle visited the island this afternoon. Yesterday I was off the island from 0900h to 1700h to pick up two visitors and get groceries in town and the crew was out again to finish with replacing windows. Cleaned off the cable that we pulled out from the water that goes to video cam 2.