Monthly Archives: January 2023

Animal Census

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  • Bald eagle adult                       6
  • Bald eagle juvenile                  8
  • Black Turnstones                   28
  • Surfbirds                                 28
  • Black Oyster Catchers           42
  • Gulls (mostly Iceland)            62
  • Cormorants                             87
  • Canadian goose                       8
  • Ravens                                      2

Mammals

  • Steller sea lion                                98 (mix of large, medium, and small)
  • Harbour seal                                    13
  • California sea lion                           45
  • Male Elephant Seal (yearling?)       1
  • Female Elephant Seal  adult            2
  • Newborn Elephant Seal (Dec 26)     1

 

Second Expecting Elephant Seal

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Slow internet not allowing upload of photos right now

Ecological Notes:

  • 2 Adult Elephant Seals, a new, expecting Female showed up on Saturday
  • 1 Calf , 2 weeks old 
  • 1 Young (yearling?) Male Elephant Seal, drawn to where the others are hanging out, but often chased away be the first Female, minor wounds showing she caught him at least once.

Facility Work:

  • Working on Electronics in Desalinator room
  • Weekly battery maintenance 
  • Re-working fencing around the crane building

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Sailboats looping around the reserve
  • Private vessels visiting the reserve for sightseeing

Visitors:

  •  The Shorefront Coordinator dropped off groceries and supplies, and checked on Desalinator room.

Weather Events:

  • Primarily N/NE winds for the last week, overcast with lots of snow
  • Saturday January 7:
    • Sky: Overcast with occasional sunny periods
    • Wind: N/NE winds 10-20 Kts
    • Sea: 1 meter swells
    • Temperature Low 6 oC, High 9 oC
  • Sunday January 8:
    • Overcast with a mix of sunny periods, very light rain showers
    • Wind: Morning NNE 15-20knts, Afternoon/Evening veering through 360 degrees back to N, dropping to 2-5knts
    • Sea:  1 meter waves
    • Temperature Low  5oC, High  9oC
  • Monday January 9:
    • Overcast with occasional sunny periods, 
    • Low distant haze, Visibility to about 10kms
    • Wind: Early NNE at 25 kts, shifting to E 35 kts by noon
    • Sea:  chop to 1 meter
    • Temperature Low  6oC, High  11oC

 

Weather – Current:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

 

Weather – Past:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

Waves and wood

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Ecological Notes:

  • Female Elephant Seal and pup
  • Juvenile Male Elephant Seal just napping.
  • For the past couple months, there have been a daily morning “crew” of eagles actively hunting gulls on the main island. Normally there are between 8 and 12, mostly immature, but  a couple of adults too. There have been less lately as they have pretty much taken/scared away most of the gulls. I was finding up to 2 or 3 carcasses a day in the central area.

Facility Work:

  • Replaced motherboard on the desalinator unit.
  • Quick-fixed some of the siding that was peeling off the buildings.
  • Far from good, but good from afar!
  • Due to king tides, predominately high N/NE winds, and sheer amount of logs and debris in the water, made the long overdue decision to just pack up the pier electric fencing until spring. It’s easier to just move the Sealions off often when the tide is higher.

 

Weather Events:

  • Thursday January 5
    • Sky: mix of cloud and clear skies in the morning. turning to overcast mid day. Visibility 20 – 25 kms, low clouds obscuring the Olympic Peninsula
    • Wind E 25 to 35 knots veering to SE 30 to 40 late in the afternoon …. gusts to 50knts ”” drop tp calm late in the evening
    • Sea: up to 2 meter waves on top of swells from the southeast. You DO NOT want to be taking a boat from here to Victoria in that!
    • Temperature Low 8 oC, High 13 oC
  • Friday January 6:
    • Overcast with a mix of sunny periods, clear skies after dark
    • Wind SE 5-10 knots in the day, then increasing to SE 25 to 35 knots early  evening.
    • Sea:  Flat calm in the morning (wind with tide),
    • Temperature Low 6oC, High  10oC

 

 

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

 

Weather – Current:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

 

Weather – Past:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

Happy New Years!

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Ecological Notes:

  • Adult Female Elephant Seal and Pup are doing well …. the pup is filling out rapidly

A milk mustache

  • A young Male Elephant Seal has come up onto the main island, Momma keeps him on the run and chases him if he gets within her eyesight.

“Keep your distance!”

  • Orca were hunting actively in the reserve, circling the main island very close to shore, before heading to the outer rocks. Thanks to one of the Ecotourism captains for keeping me in the loop to their location.

Nervous Sea Lions!

Facility Work:

  • Weekly battery maintenance.
  • Monthly Equalization charges of the batteries.
  • Troubleshooting the desalinator, power to the control box, but the input panel is non operational. Located replacement motherboard to install.
  • Collecting wood from the shore and boat ramp.
  • Moving fuel and restocking the reserves.

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • A few Ecotourism vessels, and at least 1 private vessel.

 Noted Infractions:

  • Private vessel got a little close to the sea lion haulout, but backed away as soon as the sealions started to move.

 

Weather Events:

  • Lots of blustery days, with winds 20 to 30 knots, mostly NE/E
    • Sky: Overcast with occasional light showers
    • Sea: 1 meter swells
    • Temperature Low3 oC, High 6 oC

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

 

Weather – Current:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

 

Weather – Past:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

December 2022 Seawater Data

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DAILY SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE AND SALINITY OBSERVATIONS
Institute of Ocean Sciences, North Saanich, B.C., V8L 4B2
Please email monthly to Sebastien.Donnet@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Station RACE ROCKS
Observer Derek Sterling December
YSI ID: 27 Year: 2022
YSI YSI
Temp Sal
Day Time ºC ppt
1 9:20 8.8 32.5
2 10:00 8.7 32.1
3 10:55 8.1 32.3
4 11:45 8.3 32.3
5 12:30 8.0 32.4
6 13:10 8.6 32.5
7 13:45 8.2 32.4
8 14:20 8.3 32.5
9 bad storm. Pier awash
10
11 16:00 8.3 32.3
12 17:00 8.1 32.4
13 14:00 8.1 32.6
14 14:45 5.2 32.4
15 8:00 8.1 32.1
16 8:30 8.2 32.3
17 9:30 8.3 32.6
18 10:00 7.9 32.4
19 11:00 7.9 32.5
20 11:45 8.1 32.1
21 12:30 8.3 32.4
22 13:15 8.0 32.3
23 14:00 8.3 32.6
24 14:45 8.1 32.4
25 15:30 7.9 32.3
26 16:30 8.0 32.1
27 17:45 7.8 32.4
28 19:00 7.8 32.6
29 8:00 7.9 32.3
30 8:30 7.8 32.5
31 9:30 7.8 32.4