The island is busy with activity. Spring is seeing a rise in the bird population. California sea lions are back after the snow has melted. Here is the census:
Mammals
Birds
Dive boat in reserve.
Private boat speeding in the reserve.
Private vessel with two divers Sunday.
Three Eco tour vessels respectively viewed animals in main channel.
Solid whit caps around the island seas 4 to 5 foot with a big swell. Scatter clouds and sun patches.12 NM visibility.
The wind has stopped for a day.Wind NE .50 calm seas ski clear visibility 15nm
small boats fishing Pedder bay Beachy Head and halibut spots.
The island is full of life today. Elephant seals have been busy moving all over the island. Birds are very active today. Gaggles of Canadian geese are arriving to the island. Pigeon Guillemots are looking to nest , lots of eagles today. Spring is in the air at Race Rocks.
Feb 23 2021 Woke up to the rumble of a earth quake this morning. Wind from the west all night all morning steady 30+ knots. 10 nm Visibility with rain sun cloud hail all morning. Sea state 3 to 4 bigger in tide lines.
Animal Census: Feb 17 2021
Gulls 68
Cormorants 738
Pigeon Guillemots 54
Eagles 12
Black Turnstones 28
Harlequin ducks 7
Steller sea lions 77
California sea lions 39
Pacific Harbour seal 62
elephant seal male 2
elephant seal female 2 pups
orca 4
Biggs orcas 7 East bound Southern Resident Lpod J, k pod west bound.
wind west 20 knots sky over cast and rain visibility 10 nm sea state 3 foot chop.
[44] The Juan de Fuca Eddy has been described as an “upwelling center”, allowing water to be raised from deeper depths than in classical wind‐driven upwelling [Freeland and Denman, 1982]. Upwelling in the eddy enriches the deep waters that flow into Juan de Fuca Strait as part of the estuarine circulation return flow. The penetration into the strait of this nutrient‐rich water mass is evident in a vertical section of ambient nitrate concentration measured in September 2003 (Figure 13). At the mouth of the strait, nitrate concentrations below 100 m (the approximate depth of the division between inflow and outflow) are >34 μM. Similar concentrations are present in bottom water along the strait axis, reaching ∼150 km east of the Strait entrance where strong mixing in shallow regions of high tidal currents mixes them upwards.
Figure 13
Vertical section of nitrate concentration measured in an along‐axis Juan de Fuca Strait transect (18 September 2003). Station names are across the top of the section and geographically in the insert figure. Continue reading
Well I was wrong. I should have spent more time looking for the injured elephant seal pup my bad. We still have 4 elephant seal pups on the Island. The one female elephant seal did leave boat ramp. Some of the southern resident L pod where west bound passing by Saturday in the morning. Heard that J and K pod were coming my way. So I stay up on top of the light till dusk looking no luck spotting them.
Wind is from the west this morning steady 22knots and raining.
Feb 20 2021 winds west 25.5 knots.
The oldest elephant seal pups mom came back to the boat ramp yesterday. Her pup had bad bite marks on his rump. All day yesterday the gulls would pick at the teeth mark spots on his rump.. I had hoped that he would go to the ocean. After seeing what he was going through it was the safest spot for him. Some time in the night mom and pup swam out to sea. We now have 3 pups 1 female 2 males.