Monthly Archives: May 2017

Cenusus Day

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Weather

  • Visibility: 10 Miles
  • Wind: Morning 0-5 NW picked up in the afternoon, varied between 10-20 knots NW
  • Sky: Overcast, bit of rain throughout the day
  • Water: calm

Ecological

  1. Steller (Northern) Sea Lions: 45
  2. Harbour Seals: 30
  3. California Sea Lions: 37
  4. Elephant Seals: 11
  5. Seagulls unspecified: 278
  6. Pigeon Guillemots: 125
  7. Cormorants unspecified: 16
  8. Canada Geese: 19
  9. Savannah Sparrows: 12
  10. Harlequin Ducks: 0
  11. Black Oystercatchers: 8
  12. Bald Eagles: 2 (2 adults, 1 immature)

Boats

  • had a few eco tours come through morning and late afternoon

Maintenance

  • Scrubbed some of the solar panels

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Couple Days on Race Rocks

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This Log will cover May 9 and 10 the Photographs are from both days

May 9

Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 5-10 knots West during the day, 20-25 W in the evening.
  • Sky: mostly cloudy
  • Water: calm

Ecological

  • 10 elephant seals

Boats

  • A few eco-tours came by today.

May 10

Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 15-20 NW throughout the day
  • Sky: mostly cloudy
  • Water: calm

Ecological

  • 11 elephant seals

Boats

  • More ecotours came around today

My Final Day: Seal Show

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 5-10 knots West during the day, 20-25 W in the evening.
  • Sky: clear and sunny
  • Water: calm

Ecological

  • Ten elephant seals on Great Race.
  • Three elephant seals on Middle Rock.
  • A few of the seals put on a good display of water battles.

Maintenance

  • Cleaned the solar panels.
  • Swept loose debris off the pathways.
  • Ran the desalinator.
  • Cleaning etc. in preparation for shift change tomorrow.

Boats

  • Several eco-tours, pleasure craft, and fishing boats came by today.

Farewell to Race Rocks, and good luck to Laas!

Riley Strother

Saturday

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 15-30 knots West all day
  • Sky: mostly quite sunny
  • Water: 1′ chop

Ecological

  • The eleven elephant seals became ten at some point during the day.

Maintenance

  • Ran the desalinator with sunshine power.
  • Cleaned the solar panels.
  • Lots of general shift change preparations.

Boats

  • An eco-tour or two came by.

 

Windy Friday

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 20-40 knots West all day.
  • Sky: mostly overcast, sunny in the late afternoon.
  • Water: 1′, later 2′ chop

Ecological

  • The same eleven elephant seals on Great Race.

Maintenance

  • Ran the desalinator.
  • Was going to clean some algae, but it was too windy to be up a ladder.

Boats

  • Two brave eco-tours came by.

The Census of Birds and Mammals

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Weather

  • Visibility: 10 miles, later 15 until…
  • 19:35 onwards foggy, 100 yards.
  • Fog horn sounded for over 3 hours.
  • Wind: 0-5 knots South East.
  • In the evening 15-25 West.
  • Sky: overcast, then sunny, then foggy.
  • Water: calm

Mount Baker near sunrise.

Strangely disturbed water.

Ecological

  • Census day! Counting stuff!
  • Found what to me is a solo mystery bird.
  • Surprised to see no Black Turnstones around today.
  1. Steller (Northern) Sea Lions: 53
  2. Harbour Seals: 35
  3. California Sea Lions: 29
  4. Elephant Seals: 13 (11 on Great Race, 2 on Middle Rock)
  5. Seagulls unspecified: 304
  6. Pigeon Guillemots: 225
  7. Cormorants unspecified: 21
  8. Canada Geese: 18
  9. Savannah Sparrows: 10
  10. Harlequin Ducks: 9 (6 males and 3 females)
  11. Black Oystercatchers: 7
  12. Bald Eagles: 2 (2 adults, 1 immature)
  13. Mystery bird: 1
  14. Black Turnstones: ZERO!

Maintenance

  • Ran the desalinator.

Boats

  • Lots of eco-tours cameth by today. Over 10!
  • Some of them were perhaps a bit too close to the mammals at times?
  • Kyle brought me my final food order; milk, red and green bell peppers, sour cream, and onions.
  • Eerily reminiscent of the Thin White Duke’s diet..

Visitors

  • Kyle with food stuff.

Eleven Elephant Seals

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Weather

  • Visibility: 10 miles, later 15
  • Wind: 0-5 knots West, later 5-10 knots NE
  • Sky: overcast, mist in the morning and evening
  • Water: calm

Ecological

  • The ten elephant seals were joined by an eleventh. He is very big!

Maintenance

  • Did a bunch of goose work.
  • Sprayed 30 second spray on one side of the main house and then pressure washed it. Not very effective against lichen compared to algae.

Boats

  • Several eco-tours came by.
  • Noticed the HMCS Regina in the mouth of Pedder Bay.

Navy Submarine!

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 15-20 knots North East
  • Sky: overcast
  • Water: 1′ chop
  • Borderline fog in the evening.

Ecological

  • The same ten elephant seals on Great Race today.
  • Through the window I saw a small flock of black songbirds perched in the bushes, but they had flown away before I could take a photo.
  • I went outside to try and find them, but by then they were gone.
  • Perhaps they were red-winged blackbirds? That’s the only predominantly black songbird that has previously been recorded in these parts that would fit what I saw.

Maintenance

  • Finished up and submitted the April report.
  • Hand pumped diesel into the day tank.
  • Goose work.

Boats

  • A few eco-tours came by.
  • One boat was fishing in the reserve, but I have seen it before, and I am pretty sure that it is a First Nations boat.
  • What I can only assume was a US Navy submarine with an escort passed through the strait south of Race Rocks shortly before 18:00.

May Day

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 0-10 knots West
  • Sky: overcast
  • Water: calm

Ecological

  • Ten elephant seals on Great Race today!

Maintenance

  • Worked on month end reports.
  • Hand pumped diesel into the day tank.

Boats

  • A few eco-tours came by today.