Monthly Archives: November 2014

Pinnipeds galore

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There was a moderate breeze for most of the day.  The barometer dropped slightly throughout the day. There was a low cloud cover and occasional light rain.

There was only one whale watching boat seen in the reserve today.

Two juvenile bald eagles took the rocky perch on the South Islands that was occupied by the adult bald yesterday morning.  Occasionally one of the eagles would assert its authority over the gulls by flying around Great Race and sending the thousands of gulls skyward into a panic.

The pinnipeds are still occupying the reserve in large numbers.  Perhaps wanting solitude from the cacophony of sea lion barking, a lone california sea lion parked itself in the middle of the island for the whole day.

This afternoon, a group of five harlequin ducks were hanging out by the kelp beds to the west of the jetty.

It looks like I'm not the only one excited about the arrival of the new desalinator pump. This California sea lion spent the whole day in the middle of the island.

It looks like someone else is also excited about the arrival of the new desalinator pump. This california sea lion spent the whole day in the middle of the island near the desalinator bunker.

A male elephant seal making a splash.

A male elephant seal making a splash.

Flake, the elephant seal, flaking out on the ramp near the tank room.

Flake, the elephant seal, flaking out on the ramp near the tank room with the lighthouse in the background.

A cuddle puddle of elephant seals. Notice the two tags on the seal in the foreground: 7688 and 7625.

A cuddle puddle of elephant seals on the boat ramp. Notice the two tags on the seal in the foreground: 7688 and 7625.

A Good Day for the Birds

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As the sun rose, the wind and sea were calm. The wind picked up throughout the morning to become a moderate breeze with light rain and choppy seas during the afternoon. The barometer rose during the morning and dropped slightly in the afternoon, levelling out at 1014 hPa in the evening.

Eight boats were seen visiting the ecological reserve: 4 whale watching boats, 1 pleasure craft, 2 visits from SCUBA divers at Ogden Point Dive Centre and one boat from Pearson College to pick up Rikka, a student who was visiting for the last four days.

Maintenance tasks were performed today: chopping driftwood for the fire, daily seawater salinity test, running the generator and cleaning the houses.

Two crows were making their rounds on the reserve throughout the day. A juvenile bald eagle flew around Great Race at 0800, landing on Turbine Rock. An adult bald eagle landed on the high point of the South Islands at 1345 and took watch for an hour.

A bald eagle and sea lions on South Islands

A bald eagle and sea lions on South Islands

October 2014 Seawater Data

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Station: Race Rocks  Ecological Reserve —–October, 2014,
Recorded daily by the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve Ecoguardian on behalf of Pearson College UWC
Submitted monthly to: Peter Chandler, Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney, BC.
This file may be copied and pasted into a spreadsheet for further analysis. Find other monthly records here:

Date Time Sea Jar Hydro- meter No. Observed Density YSI Salinity YSI Temp °C
Temp. Temp.
°C °C
1 18:26         30.1 11.0
2 13:36         31.7 11.0
3 13:36         31.5 11.5
4 13:21         31.4 10.9
5 13:37         31.4 11.1
6 13:14         31.3 10.8
7 13:36         31.5 10.3
8 14:16         31.6 10.1
9 14:42         31.4 10.2
10 15:16         31.7 10.0
11 15:47         31.3 10.2
12 16:14         31.3 10.2
13 15:58         31.3 10.2
14 10:53         31.4 10.1
15 11:38         31.2 10.2
16 12:03         31.3 10.4
17 12:08         31.3 10.2
18 12:12         31.3 10.4
19 12:37 11.8 11.8 10802 240 31.2 11.3
20 12:38         31.3 11.1
21 12:55         31.0 10.7
22 13:24         31.2 10.4
23 13:39         31.0 10.7
24 14:01         30.4 12.7
25 14:07         30.9 11.8
26 13:37         31.2 10.6
27 14:04         31.2 10.7
28 14:44         31.9 10.9
29 15:31         31.2 10.9
30 10:50         31.2 11.2
31 10:55         31.1 11.3
Mean*           31.3 10.7

Clear Skies

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As the daylight broke, the fog began to burn off near the entrance of Pedder Bay and to the west of Race Rocks. The wind rose slightly throughout the day to a medium breeze of 11 knots in the evening. Clear skies prevailed through the day as the barometer rose slightly.

Maintenance tasks were performed throughout the day, giving me a chance to spend lots of time outside: painting, tidying, sweeping, cleaning the solar panels, and topping up the batteries with the generator.

There were ten boats in the seen in the reserve. Several whale watching boats passed by. The Juan De Fuce Warrior from Ogden Point Dive Centre spent a few hours with two groups of divers. Two boats from Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue (RCMSAR) Station in Sooke passed through Middle Channel at noon. A sailboat went against the current through Middle Channel at 15:30.

Divers from Ogden Point Dive Centre with curious California Sea Lions looking on

Divers from Ogden Point Dive Centre with curious sea lions looking on

sailors

A sailboat heads northeast by Middle Rock

Elephant seal

Flag at half mast with the sunset in the background