Stormy day –wind 25 to 30 knots from the east
When I entered the lantern room around 9 a.m. there was a wren. It went through the metal hatch on the floor where there is a hole but soon came back. eventually, I opened the door and it flew out.
The winter wren was previously recorded in October 2016 and April 2014.
Wind from the east at 25 to 30 knots
In the light house around 9 a.m. and noticed splashing to the south.
My binoculars caught the flukes of the whales hitting the water.
I watched and counted the flukes smashing the water 10 times.
Then the whales started breaching.
I counted 50 breaches. When I counted in the teens the 2 whales breached in synchrony, for about 3 breaches. Then one whale seemed to take a break and I saw a few breaths but the other kept leaping! After I counted 36 breaches both whales seemed to take a breath ( I saw 2 breaths ) then started up again until I counted 50.
So beautiful!
It was a wild, windy day
wind 11 knots north east
sky clear
water calm visibility >15
Started the day watching the sunrise from the light house as I have for the past 7 days. This was the first morning whales were not visible. the water surface was like a mirror. There was no wind. Many groups of birds, between 20 and 50, were headed south. In the course of 30 minutes I saw over 10 groups. They looked like Alcids and I suspect common murre. There is a poor picture below but when I enlarge it I can make out the markings..
I saw what I believe was a dolphin twice. Just a blow much smaller then the whales and almost no animal visible. I only saw each blow because I was looking through binoculars at the birds, otherwise I would have missed it.
About an hour later I took this picture of an immature eagle eating a gull and when I looked online I could see its’ tag.
The humpback whales were visible again around 10 a.m. and I watched 2 of them for about an hour. There were lots of pectoral fins,dives and mouths breaking the surface followed by bubbles.
Maintenance
Greg and Guy came out today and filled the water tank, pressure washed around the generator house. We cleaned up some oil that is leaking in the generator house from the coast guard abandoned machinery. Brought fuel up to the generator. This week I brought almost all the wood from under the porch into the house and today I started moving the pile of driftwood by the jetty up under the porch. Also I am planning to have the lighthouse stairs swept by tomorrow (20 left to go). Electric fence mending continues daily.
Whale Watching boats
I have been pleasantly surprised at how respectful the whale watching boats have been. There has not been one incident of the sea lions plunging into the ocean. The boats go slowly and seem to watch the sea lions behaviour and veer away if they notice any activity suggesting anxiety. BUT TODAY after I had watched the humpbacks a boat zoomed over way too close and kept following the whales. they did not drift but actively pursued the whales for over an hour within 10 metres of them or closer. I took lots of photos and will send them to Tyron Pile. it was upsetting to watch. Maybe a new driver?
visibility greater then 15 kms.
sky clear
wind 6 knots from the northeast
sea calm
Sea Lions 1072 (including the islets)
Gulls 1660
Cormorants 180
Canada Geese 21
Seals 36
Eagles 2
black turnstones difficult to count because they are so camouflaged (see picture below) but more then 50
Many humpback whales
?dolphin
4 distinct groups of whales this morning. Because they were so entertaining I watched them both from the lighthouse and the back porch for several hours. I also saw what I believe was a dolphin, it just broke the surface and it’s spout was much smaller then the whales. It’s spout was straight. I saw it blow several times about 5 minutes apart but I didn’t see it’s body. it was only about 100 mtres from the lighthouse nowhere near the whales.
harlequin ducks were seen yesterday 2 males and one female
Sandpipers
one group of about 200 sandpipers flying south today
I saw 5 groups on October 25 during gale force winds but none were as large as this group.Those were between 10 and 100 individuals.
Yesterday I spotted this sea lion when I was clearing the jetty
Today he looks worse. He is lethargic and thin. He does not ambulate normally. I did contact the marine mammal vet but I am not hopeful there is anything to be done. I am wondering about the diagnosis. Is there such a thing as a fractured baculum? I noticed online that genital cancer is a diagnosis in marine mammals.
There are over 1000 sea lions here and most look amazingly robust. it is expected that there will be disease and I noticed on this blog that many pictures of ill animals are posted. As this is my first time coming to stay here I was overwhelmed by the many many posts of sick, injured and neck banded sea lions. It is heart breaking but now that I am here and wrestling daily with the feisty beasts I am relieved that the posts, although necessary, certainly do not represent the majority! That is why I have added a sunset picture!
2 elephant seals were at the jetty today
they were both about the same size
below is a picture of one
the other had tags (?green) but I did not get a good look at them
Weather:
Boats/Visitors:
Ecological
GARRY FLETCHER
Marine science teacher and Race Rocks champion
BY MARIANNE SCOTT
To visit Garry Fletcher at his home requires a drive through the countryside of south Vancouver Island that seems hundreds of miles from the cities that house most of us. His house in Metchosin, near his son’s organic market farm, looks out over sheep trimming the meadow bordering the Juan de Fuca Strait. An espaliered kiwi vine hugs the deck, nectarine and peach trees provide fresh fruit, rhubarb thrives and herbs enliven meals. Garry grew up on a small Saskatchewan farm; it mixed growing food with raising cattle. Farm life inspired his interest in biology, which he studied at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. After earning a master’s degree in science curriculum, he taught in Swift Current where he met his wife Helen, who taught English. He was then invited to teach biology at the United Nations International School in New York.“They offer an internationally recognized baccalaureate degree,” he said.“But in 1976, after being mugged in the city, we accepted an offer to come to Pearson College, in Metchosin, thinking we’d be here for, maybe, four years.” But Pearson, its students, curriculum and nautical location ensnared him and he and his family have never left.
PEARSON COLLEGE is a special place. Located on south Vancouver Island’s Pedder Bay, it’s one of 18 United World Colleges and offers a two-year pre-university baccalaureate diploma that covers grade 12 and a gap year for up to 200 students.These students, who represent more than 150 countries, live, study and grow together. Pearson’s mission is to “make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.”
At Pearson, Garry began teaching biology, marine science and scuba diving. Jack Matthews, the then College head, gave teachers great freedom to develop their own sphere.“I was able to build an interdisciplinary marine science course that included chemistry, physics and biology,” Garry recalls.“We have this unique situation here at Pearson. Fresh and saltwater, marine ecosystems, forests. I took the class diving, 15 on a boat. We had substantial blocks of time.”
Meeting Trevor and Flo Anderson, lighthouse keepers at Race Rocks, further revolutionized his teaching and interests. Race Rocks, an archipelago of nine jagged islets lying eight miles from Victoria, is the southernmost point of Pacific Canada.The islands are the pinnacles of a large underwater mountain. The lighthouse was the second to operate in BC and was constructed of Scottish granite brought as ballast aboard British sailing ships.The Rocks are named after the passage separating it from Vancouver Island and has a tidal race reaching seven knots. When strong tides and winds oppose each other, standing waves can grow to 10 feet.The upwelling from the currents provides an exceptionally abundant environment for animal and plant life. Some of the islets are favourite perches for Steller and California sea lions, and elephant seals and harbour seals sunbathe here.
“My philosophy of teaching is to instill the concept of ecosystems’ integrity and sustainability,” Garry says.“I explain we’re not on a chain, we’re in a life web. I ask students to assess their project’s sustainability. Does it have biological integrity? Does it impact the food web or energy flows? What services do ecosystems provide? We must weigh what things will look like in 100 years, not just next year.”
THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS welcomed Garry and students to Race Rocks.“The Andersons knew the uniqueness of the region,”he says.“We dived near the rocks, although with the currents, it could be dangerous. We surveyed and created maps of underwater marine life and collected data on birds and marine wildlife.”
In 1980, this work led to connections with the predecessor to the Ministry of Environment. That ministry managed the “Ecological Reserves” program—areas set aside because of their exceptional natural features, and for their scientific and educational significance. Garry and his students asked the Ministry to add Race Rocks to the list of protected areas.
“Remarkably,”says Garry, grinning,“Prince Charles, the United World Colleges’ chair, came here for a board meeting. We told the ministry the Prince might announce that Race Rocks had become an ecological reserve. Our proposal was approved in record time.”Garry began serving as the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve warden and reported on the Pearson team’s ongoing research. He urges others to propose ecological reserves and has developed an“adopt an ecosystem”template to develop proposals, which can be found online.
MEANWHILE, A MICROWAVE tower delivering live video of island life was built.Two cameras still run today.
Race Rocks Lighthouse was one of the first two built in BC. Race Rocks Lighthouse was one of the first two built in BC. islands are too small for visitors,” says Garry.“So Pearson grad Ken Dunham developed the network that allowed live- streaming internet video—one of the first such projects in North America. During an Apple conference in New York, I was in a boat off Race Rocks live webcasting with a diver filming underwater (Apple later provided access to live streaming on their network). Our students were very hands-on and we delivered other live webcasts of Race Rocks’ intertidal and subtidal zones to schools. It was new and exciting at the time.”
IN THE ‘90S, David Scott (disclosure—my husband) and Ged McLean and grad students from the University of Victoria’s Institute for Integrated Energy Systems took on separate research studies on the feasibility of obtaining electricity from solar, wind and tidal energy at Race Rocks.“These were tests to determine if any of these alternative energy sources were feasible in this natural laboratory,” says Garry.
A BC ministry funded the solar panels and, with an array of batteries, provided the electricity to help power the islands, thereby reducing the diesel needed to run generators. With additional collectors, they still function today. “The 40 solar panels generate enough power in the summer to make the islands energy self-sufficient,” explains Garry. Solar was judged to be more practical than wind and no windmills were built.
THE CLEAN Current Tidal Power Demonstration Project at Race Rocks was the first such project in Canada and the sponsor, EnCana, wanted to assess if the turbine placed in Race Passage could produce electricity during both ebb and flood currents. UVic and Pearson students collaborated on the project.“This was a case study,” says Garry. “Our students dove often to apply coatings that might prevent fouling of the turbine’s blades.”
Alas, the experiment was discontinued after six years. Photos show that giant barnacles and other ocean life had colonized the turbine. “It was just too expensive to maintain,” says Garry.
Pearson continues its protection of Race Rocks. After the federal government destaffed the lighthouse, the College signed a long-term lease and pays for an eco-guardian to provide a constant human presence on the island.
GARRY, now retired, has been recognized for his imaginative and enthusiastic use of technology in the classroom. He’s active in environmental issues. He condemns the doubling of the Trans Mountain Pipeline and has been an intervenor at the National Energy Board hearings. He cultivates and sells mason bees to augment the population of pollinating insects. He’s analyzed the Race Rocks’ water temperature and salinity data collected since 1921.
“Every month, the median temperature is at least one degree Celsius higher than in 1921,” he warns. As a part of a UVic research program, he’s installed malaise traps on his property to help establish baseline data on insect biomass.
Further reading:
metchosinmarine.ca
ecoreserves.bc.ca
racerocks.ca
gfletcher.ca
Weather:
Boats/Visitors:
Ecological