Census Time Again

Posted on Thursday,September 10, 2015 by Anne Stewart

The fog rolled in last night after dark and it was gone but not far away by mid-morning. Very light winds of 5 to 10 knots came from the south, southeast, southwest and west finally settling into a west southwest pattern.

The barometer spiked mid-day at 1018 hPA and then settled to 1016. The forecast is for light a variable winds, patches of fog dissipating late morning Friday in sunshine.

Only four whale watching boats were observed visiting the Ecological Reserve today. Two of the vessels were zodiacs and two were larger vessels packed with passengers. The same vessel that has been observed and photographed speeding in reserve before, was at it again today as well as almost sitting on top of the sea otter so the clients would get a good view. The owners and insurers of that vessel might be concerned if they knew about this operator’s risky manner. Three sports fishing vessels were also spotted and recorded, speeding through the go-slow zone. There are hundreds of animals in the water inside the reserve right now and reckless vessel operation puts them at risk as well as the people in the boats.

There were explosions at Rocky Point today with minimal impact on animal behaviour here.

Today was census day and here are the results.

Steller Sea Lion 313

California Sea Lion 726

Harbour Seal 157

Northern Elephant Seal 6

Sea Otter 1

River Otter at least one (assumed, not seen but evidence of it seen)

Southern Resident Killer Whale ~15 (Part of L-pod – during count week)

Humpback Whale 3 (during count week)

Canada Goose 4 full time (2 adults 2 goslings) (no other flocks visited)

Harlequin Duck 0

Double-crested Cormorant 7

Pelagic Cormorant 5

Brandt’s Cormorant 0

Black Oystercatcher

Black Turnstone 11

Ruddy Turnstone 0

Western Sandpiper 5

Kildeer 2

Glaucous-winged Gull 303 total (221- adults; – 82 juveniles)

California Gull 73

Herring Gull 1

Ring-billed Gull 1

Western Gull 0

Heerman’s Gull 7

Peregrine Falcon 1

Common Raven 1

Savannah Sparrow 12

Moulting Time Again: Fur and Feathers Fly

Posted on Wednesday,September 9, 2015 by Anne Stewart

Fog gave way to sunshine by early afternoon and the west wind continued to increase from ~10 knots in the morning to 18 knots by mid-afternoon. The barometer, which has been sliding down stepwise since mid-day Monday made another step down today but remains relatively high at 1016 hPA. The forecast for Central Juan de Fuca is for more of the same but sunnier.

Except for Island Explorer, which did go through Middle Channel against the current today, there was no whale watching activity here today and no other vessels were noted in reserve.

More post-breeding gulls from other breeding areas are showing up daily including California, Heerman’s, and occasional Herring and Ring-Billed Gulls. Glaucous-winged Gull adults that are still feeding chicks are looking battle weary and changing into winter plumage. Some of their heads are a mess from constant begging and pecking by the young ones. There are still territorial disputes going on between adults and young gulls that are not their own. Fresh remains of Glaucous-winged Gulls are seen daily in different spots so I guess in a way those adults with young are the lucky ones. The gulls that are flying are feeding on salmon bits provided by the sea lions and many of the feeding flocks here are dominated by juvenile Glaucous-winged Gulls.

The sea lions are firmly into their moult now as well and spending lots of time ashore. Middle Rock is almost exclusively Steller Sea Lions except for a small hold-out at the top by Northern Elephant Seals. Large male Stellers are encroaching on their space again today but it appears more about finding a quiet place to sleep than the more aggressive interactions I saw with younger male Stellers who were scared off yesterday. Turbine Rock is also mostly Stellers while Great Race and South Islands are populated by both species together. The Harbour Seals are hauled out wherever there is a bit of separate space on North, West and South Rocks with a few on Turbine and Middle as well.

I continue to get brand, tag wound and entanglement photos of the sea lions while they are ashore. I am curious about the biomass hauled out here right now. It is a pretty incredible concentration and one of the reasons that it is a special area worthy of conservation as an Ecological Reserve. It is an honour to be here and witness what goes on a daily basis. Some of the other conservation reasons are underwater and less accessible but we are working on getting camera 2 back up and running to give a glimpse into that world too.

Chores today were routine maintenance and there were no visitors.

A Whale of a Day.

Posted on Tuesday,September 8, 2015 by Anne Stewart

The weather on Race Rocks was variable today. We started with drizzle, overcast and fog. The fog came and went until early afternoon when it cleared. The wind, which was westerly, picked up a bit in the afternoon and was still blowing 15 – 20 west, as I finished up the log after sunset. The barometer started a descent yesterday that continued today ending at 1016 hPA. This matches the forecast which is calling for showers tonight. There is also a strong wind warning in effect and overall it looks like more good weather coming.

There were 18 observed visits by whale watching boats to the Ecological Reserve today. Most of the operators work carefully, respectfully and sustainably, they slow right down on entering the reserve and go even slower when there are seals and sea lions in the water. If there are whales in the Protected Area they do not enter into the Ecological Reserve and if whale enter while they are inside they carefully and slowly leave using extreme caution to avoid interacting with the animals. They stay in the centre of Middle Channel going with the current and never try to wedge themselves between Great Race and South Islands (their insurance companies probably like this too). They are respectful of their distance to the animals and a role model for other companies and vessels on the water. In the long run, this is good for business and good for the animals. It means that this kind of commercial activity might be able to sustainably continue to use the Ecological Reserve for profit making.

Today was a day with lots promise for Southern Resident Killer Whale recovery. L-pod has another brand new calf, born sometime on or before September 5th. The significance to Race Rocks is its’ central location to this babies’ first few days of observed activities. This is the fifth Southern Resident calf born since last December and it renews hope for recovery of this very endangered population. To give you an idea of how significant this is: 1977 was the highest ever recorded year for Southern Resident calf production with nine calves born. According to the Center for Whale Research no calves survived in 2013 and 2014, so 2015 is a boon.

Killer whales and salmon are both almost iconic to our identity in this part of the world and of course they are completely linked together, especially here at Race Rocks, which is an oceanic salmon funnel, a condensed part of one of the planet’s largest salmon runs.

While celebrating this success, let’s also do more to continue their recovery by modelling more fundamentally sustainable behaviours, like using less water, eating sustainable seafood, recycling, using fewer harmful chemicals, electricity, fuel and plastic, doing shore cleanups and working for positive change through democracy. I have digressed, so back to biology: this new calf was seen with L91 (probably the mother) and has been officially named L122.

At this stage of writing the log, I looked up to see several Humpback Whales going through the Ecological Reserve from west to southeast. It looked like three animals; a very large one, (probably “Big Mama” a name used by whale watchers) and two others, one much smaller, which may have been a calf. I headed out to photograph the whales and witnessed some whale watching vessels making a bee-line for them, even though the whales were inside the Ecological Reserve. Speaking of sustainable behavior, the agreement states that if there are whales inside the reserve, the whale watching boats stay outside. Two vessels came up tight behind them and a third came in around the front of their path, the other vessels following the whales dropped off staying outside as per agreement.

The whales were in fairly shallow water between South Islands and Rosedale Reef, next to a kelp bed, so didn’t have a lot of maneuvering room with two boats behind and one in front. I went up the tower and took more photos. I totally commend the vessels that left the whales and turned to travel outside of the reserve instead of following the whales and other vessels into the Ecological Reserve.

I did a few chores and went back to writing. This time when I looked up there was a pod of Killer Whales heading into the reserve on basically the same track as the Humpbacks but a little closer to Great Race. I went back out for more photos and saw a group of about fifteen Southern Resident Killer Whales, members of L-pod according to the whale watchers. There was a little calf travelling at the back of the pack with a small adult animal, probably a female (?). Not sure if it was the newest one.

I took a lot of photos today and will share them over the next while. It was a busy day with regular chores, spotting and phtotographing the 10 Elephant Seals that have recaptured the top of Middle Rocks and are scaring off sea lions, photographing sea lion tags and brands, gulls and of course the whale shows. With all that going on it seems odd to say, there were no visitors.

Fresh Flag Flies

Posted on Monday,September 7, 2015 by Anne Stewart

The day started with fog to the south and west and it soon crept onto Race Rocks. Sun quickly prevailed over fog and it was a beautiful day with high overcast forming late in the day. The wind didn’t do much more than 5 – 10 knots from the WSW in the morning and then turned blew gently from the south before dying off altogether mid-afternoon. It rose again from the southwest as I wrote the blog. The barometer remains over 1020 hPA after climbing slowly for a week. The forecast is calling for showers beginning late this evening, but the larger picture is much sunnier after tomorrow and there is a strong wind warning for westerlies which often bring good weather.

It was much quieter here today with only four whale watching tour vessels visiting the reserve while I was here. Five sports fishing boats transited. All stopped to look at the sea lions and no one was observed speeding in the Rockfish Conservation Area today. There were two vessels that appeared to be fishing in reserve and observations, photographs and data were collected for the enforcement team. Race Rocks is closed to fishing and is part of a DFO-enforced Rockfish Conservation Area. The islets and the sea-floor are protected by the province of BC through BC Parks.

The sea lion moult continues to be the big ecological event on shore but the timing of their visit and choice of haul-out location is no coincidence to what is going on at sea. Most of sea lions are also off foraging for part of the day and the Race Rocks haul-out is in a biological hot spot, which becomes a fish funnel for incoming migratory fish at this time of year. All six species of Pacific Salmon pass right by the front door right and there is a plethora of other species to choose from the rest of the year. Race Rocks is not a breeding haul-out nor is it a true winter haul-out as the sea lions start to arrive in earnest in July and stay into winter and early spring. There are actually some animals here all year but late summer and autumn is the busiest leading up to the peak during the chum salmon run at end of October.

There are still some Glaucous-winged Gulls that have not left the roost but most of them are flying now and there are fewer here every day. That is probably a good thing for them as the predator that is picking them off is taking at least one per day. They are out foraging in groups trying to figure out how to feed themselves.

I went ashore for a couple of hours today and was otherwise busy with routine tasks. There are a lot of chores here and one of the challenges of living at Race Rocks is living sustainably and minimizing our ecological footprint. To do that we are very frugal with electricity and water, compost all organics, even using a composting toilet because when you make your own water by desalination it doesn’t make sense to just flush it away. Both have their chores too. Most of the electricity is generated with solar panels, which brings another set of activities to keep things going. We also pack everything out and are slowly removing unsustainable legacy items left by the light keepers over the years. A favorite chore is putting up a fresh new flag and there is one flying today.

Fresh flag today.

A Busy Day at Race Rocks

Posted on Sunday,September 6, 2015 by Anne Stewart

A northeasterly wind gusting 20 – 25 knots brought clouds and moisture in the morning and against the flooding tide it really made the waves in Middle Channel stand right up, creating a bit of a roller coaster effect. It was much nicer in the afternoon as the northeast dropped to ~ five knots and remained calm through sunset.

The barometer continued to rise today and reached ~1018 hPa before steadying. The forecast calls for light westerlies and some sun tomorrow with periods of rain on Tuesday.

There was quite a bit of whale-watching activity today: 20 visits by commercial operators were observed in the reserve. The sea otter is a definite attraction as are the sea lions. Island Explorer out of Port Angeles takes the sustainability prize for the day, travelling at a very low speed, staying in the middle of the channel and giving the wildlife a respectful distance. Seven sports fishing boats were observed in reserve today. Of those, four of them were speeding and one was fishing and then speeding in reserve. Time for more communications to the boating public who might not be as aware as the commercial operators about rules of conduct in the Ecological Reserve.

The sea lions continue to crowd ashore to moult and wedge themselves in tightly together in order to raise skin temperature for their important hair change. The soil here is full of sea lion hair, moulted Northern Elephant Seal skin with very short fur and is rich in guano from the nesting seabirds. No wonder the spring flowers are so spectacular. A Great Blue Heron visited Great Race today, an unusual sight here on the rock.

No visitors today. Chores were routine and entropy fighting.

Steller Sea Lions sparring in the water. Note the forward pointing vibrissae (whiskers). These animals spend hours play fighting.

Steller Sea Lions sparring in the water. Note the forward pointing vibrissae (whiskers) of the animal on the right. These animals spend hours play fighting.

Collection of sealion brand observations continues. This Stellers was branded as a pup in southern Oregon.

It is possible that this California Sea Lion is recovering from having a plastic strap removed from its neck. Veterinarian Marti Haulena of the Vancouver Aquarium removed straps from several individuals last year. Aquarium

Sea lions silhouetted by a beautiful Race Rocks sunset.

Sea Otter Seen

Posted on Saturday,September 5, 2015 by Anne Stewart

The morning weather went from still and overcast at dawn, to clear with a light west wind that brought the fog in for a few hours, then cleared to sunshine for midday. By sunset a high overcast had developed with high altitude clouds piling up on distant mountains and on the horizon at sea. The barometer continued to climb today and reached over 1016hPA.

Wind direction swung around a few times then settled on a blow from the west rising at times to 28 knots. A gale warning forecasts strengths up to 35 knots this evening. Sunday has a 70% chance of showers and the wind is expected to drop overnight to light winds by the afternoon.

Seven whale watching and one tour/party boat were observed working in the Ecological Reserve today. One vessel, Fantasea VI a party boat cum tour boat, according to the sign affixed to it, spent an hour in the Ecological Reserve feeding many, many loaves of bread to the gulls. They were still flinging bread out as they returned towards Victoria. BC Parks act as stewards of protected areas including BC’s Ecological Reserves and they note that feeding wildlife is illegal.

We found the killing ground for Pigeon Guillemots today with the remains of six adults in breeding plumage found near their nesting area. All of them had the neck skin inside out over the head and were the handy-work of the same predator that is feeding on juvenile gulls this week. This might explain the lack of nesting activity by Pigeon Guillemots. I will investigate further to see how many more corpses there are in the greater area.

Chores were routine maintenance and fighting entropy today.

: Pelagic Cormorant resting and preening on rocks near Camera 5.

: Ventral view of dead Pigeon Guillemot, back of base of skull visible in front.

: Dead Pigeon Guillemot dorsal view.

: Dead adult Pigeon Guillemot in breeding plumage, killed in the same manner as juvenile gulls.

: This adult male Sea Otter is resting and grooming in the kelp bed next to Middle Rock. (Top left.)

: Spot the Sea Otter?

Blues Skies.

Posted on Friday,September 4, 2015 by Anne Stewart

The weather at Race Rocks was good for generating solar power today with clear skies overhead and a gentle west wind. At the same time, massive cloud formations were building over the Olympic Mountains to the south and the Coastal Ranges to the east. The barometer stayed up at about 1015 hPa today and the forecast is calling summer-like winds with a gale warning posted for tonight and Saturday. It is supposed to be sunny tomorrow and then return to rain for a few days.

Two whale watching boats were observed visiting the Ecological Reserve today and there might have been more. At least three sports fishing boats were in to look at all the animals in the water and on the rocks. One vessel was actively fishing in the Race Rocks Rockfish Conservation Area.

Ecologically, the transition into autumn seems to be happening with more migratory birds passing through and stopping by. The Savannah Sparrow count jumped up to ~ 15 birds today and Surfbirds to 25. Northern Phalaropes were observed feeding in the tide slicks near the reserve boundaries and more gulls in post-breeding migration, like Heerman’s Gulls and California Gulls seem to be arriving daily. See gallery below for more photos.

The weather, sea conditions and currents were also excellent for launching the whaler and doing a test run. I went ashore today and picked up Alex after doing most of the regular maintenance in the morning and finishing on return. The underwater Camera (2) mysteriously came back on-line today after unplugging and plugging back in everything Max and I could think of, to jump start it. When I checked today it wasn’t working.

: Oldtimer, Stellers Sea Lion in a deep sleep.

: This battle wound was fresh August 30 and seems to be healing now.

: The long facial whiskers (vibrissae) lying back here, point forward when the sea lion is swimming or when it greets another sea lion on land. (Faire la bise.)

: Photo-identification of branded and tagged sea lions is a daily activity that contributes to knowledge about migration and populations.

: According to the literature, these Northern Elephant Seals are not here at this time of year. (hmmm)

: California Sea Lions and Northern Elephant Seals pile up together on the marine railway. Makes launching the boat interesting.

: A mixed species flock of Surfbirds and Black Turnstones resting on the south end of Great Race in the evening.

: This tiny Western Sandpiper has a wounded left leg. The foot doesn’t come forward and it walks on it tucked under and dragging. Resting and feeding before crossing the Strait southward bound.

: Standing guard for thee since before Canada was a country.

Making Sense of the Census.

Posted on Thursday,September 3, 2015 by Anne Stewart

The sun shone through a bit more today even as clouds and much needed rain continued. West winds blew at about 10 knots most of the day as the clouds were pushed steadily inland. The barometer is now back up to where it was last Friday before the big nose-dive into Saturday’s storm. The forecast looks a little brighter for Friday and Saturday before a return to wet and cool.

Whale watching activity in the Ecological Reserve was very subdued today as the black and whites moved north and east yesterday. Only four visits by commercial whale watching boats were observed in the Ecological Reserve. One sports fishing vessel and a couple of rental boats also came through obviously oblivious to the speed reduction zone within the reserve boundaries .

Thursday is census day and here are the results of this week’s animal census.

Steller Sea Lion 497

California Sea Lion 522

Harbour Seal 81

Northern Elephant Seal 2

Sea Otter 1

River Otter 1 seen (probably more)

Southern Resident Killer Whale 7 (during count week)

Biggs (Transient) Killer Whale 5 (during count week)

Humpback Whale 1 just outside of reserve but may have transited border

Canada Goose 4 full time (2 adults 2 goslings) (24 visited once during count week)

Harlequin Duck 1

Double-crested Cormorant 11

Pelagic Cormorant 12

Brandt’s Cormorant 1

Black Oystercatcher 29

Black Turnstone 95

Ruddy Turnstone 1

Western Sandpiper 3

Kildeer 1

Dunlin 1

Glaucous-winged Gull 276 (193 – adults; 83 juveniles)

California Gull 61

Western Gull 1

Heerman’s Gull 26

Peregrine Falcon 1

Common Raven 2

Savannah Sparrow 3

It is of note that there have been no Pigeon Guillemots seen since I arrived. Last year there were chicks, still being fed by their parents, on the nests in the rubble area just west of the jetty at this time of year and later. I am hoping that the river otters have not been visiting these ground-breeding birds and will look for evidence of what has been going on there.

Maintenance work was routine and the only other visitors to the reserve were the Pearson College students having their orientation by vessel. Courtney kindly delivered paper, which was appreciated as there was none.

Pearson College students doing orientation week activity at Race Rocks Ecological Reserve.

High Seas and Mystery Birds

Posted on Wednesday,September 2, 2015 by Anne Stewart

There was a large sea running today with at least a one-meter swell surging up the ramp and over the smaller islets. This was in turn reflected by a dramatic sky constantly changing with everything from downpours to brilliant sunshine, rainbows and some rumbling thunder thrown in for good measure. The barometer tentatively climbed to above 1010h Pa and the forecast is calling for continuing drama tomorrow including lightning and a strong wind warning.

There were 18 visits by commercial whale watchers noted, within the Ecological Reserve . Again it was a pleasure watching the respectful operators move slowly with the currents in the Ecological Reserve, keeping a sharp lookout for the hundreds of animals in the water and giving their guests the best views of the wildlife. Most (94%) of the skippers were respectful of the guidelines that the industry itself came up with for sustainable use of the Ecological Reserve. I took photos of the one that wasn’t.

Other than the usual cast of characters, Great Race was treated to a visit by a very swift Peregrine Falcon, which was hunting young gulls. I didn’t see it take one but found another of the “turtleneck” mystery mortalities first thing this morning. Still betting on the River Otters for that modus operandi.

I photographed a shorebird that I wasn’t sure of the identification today. I posted a photo here and one on twitter and received a tweet almost immediately. Dick Cannings of Bird Studies Canada knew right away that this is a Ruddy Turnstone. I have only seen them from below (in the boat), in breeding plumage, in mixed flocks with Black Turnstones at Baeria Rocks Ecological Reserve and never in the vegetation, from above here at Race Rocks. That is my excuse and I’m sticking to it. Of course it is a Ruddy Turnstone, what else could it be?

Ruddy Turnstone looking for insects in the vegetation.

No visitors today and chores were either routine or fighting entropy.

September 1st Eco-guardian Log

Posted on Tuesday,September 1, 2015 by Anne Stewart

It was a fairly quiet, dark and damp day at Race Rocks. The wind had still not done much by 18:00 but it rose out of the west later on blowing 20 – 25 knots. Although the ceiling was generally much higher than yesterday, solar radiation levels remained low, compared to the rest of the week, including stormy Saturday. The barometer dropped a little today, but remained above 1005 hPa and the forecast is for strong afternoon west winds to also bring much needed precipitation until Friday.

The weather pages on this racerocks.ca web site have lots of good data. If you like graphs or if you would like to learn to like graphs, check out the weekly solar radiation data graph to see how dark it has been lately.

It was another busy day for commercial whale watching activity in the Ecological Reserve with 17 visits observed. The main concerns were with a couple of vessel operators who are in a hurry and speed up before exiting the reserve. I really enjoy watching the better operators. They take their time; use the current to enhance their visit and make sure that their clients have a good experience, while assuring a sustainable future for their industry in the Ecological Reserve.

Four groups of Pearson College students visited the Ecological Reserve today as part of their orientation week activities. They were in the two vessels Haiku and Second Nature.

More sea lions appear to be arriving daily and I look forward to doing the census later this week. I have also documented a number of branded and tagged sea lions and data that will be shared with NOAA biologists. Today there were two Northern Elephant Seals on the island, the young male from the ramp yesterday moved up behind the boathouse and a similarly sized individual arrived on the ramp today with a crowd of California Sea Lions. Only one Elephant Seal was visible on Middle Rock, surrounded by Stellers Sea Lions.

Other less welcome arrivals were ~24 Canada Geese. I guess now that there are a few green shoots again; they are here to eat them. There is still a family of five, whose goslings were late to hatch, that looks like it hasn’t left yet.

I was busy with minor chores today, including the usual plus repairing the jetty fence twice, cleaning the camera, running the generator to bring the batteries back up and assessing generator use, de-salinator hours and various fuel quantities on hand for month end. I did make time to take a few photos and have included them in a gallery for your viewing pleasure.