Monthly Archives: March 2023

BCIT Media Students Visit

Posted on by

Ecological Notes:

  • Canada Geese putting together nests now

  • Gulls are still parading around, showing off their nest material collecting abilities, but now nests on the ground yet
  • Elephant Seal pups: 3

Visitors:

  • 2 BCIT Media students visited for 3 days to gather source material for a story on the life of an Ecoguardian

  • A Marine Biologist, BCIT Marine Studies student, and friend of mine, visited to enjoy some time between schooling and heading out for her 5 months sea time with a major cruise ship company.

Facility Work:

  • Weekly Battery Maintenance
  • Sweep and tidy all buildings
  • Replace weatherstripping on main house back door

DND events:

  • Ongoing Detonations

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Eco-Tourism Vessels
  • As weather improves, more sport fishers in the area, some entering the reserve to view wildlife, no new noted fishing violations though

Weather Events:

    • Full array of spring weather

 

 

** 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?

Vessel Visitors

Posted on by

Ecological Notes:

  • 3 Elephant Seal pups, camping out at the top end of the pier, with occasional visits to the water

Facility Work/Activity:

  • The sawbuck turns out very nice for bucking logs.

  • Stripping down, pressure washing and cleaning of the Natures Head from the main house, awaiting a new seal for between the halves
  • More nook and cranny clean up

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • 2 Ecotourism Vessels
  • 1 Sailboat did a pass on the outside, then back towards Victoria through middle channel (past the pier)

  • A private vessel spent time in middle channel, doing wedding photos with the main island and the lighthouse in the background

 Noted Infractions:

  • 1 vessel from a local boat charter company fishing in the reserve. No response to radio contact. When I contacted the charter company, they were already watching the boat on the RR web cam and trying to contact them….. they left shortly after the phone call.

Weather Events:

  • Saturday, March18:
    • Sky: Clear and Sunny, full visibility
    • Wind: ENE 5 kts, rising to 15 kts mid day, veering to S and dropping back to low late afternoon
    • Sea: rippled
    • Temperature Low 6oC, High 11oC
  • Sunday, March 19:
    • Sky: High overcast, full water level visibility
    • Wind: NE 15 kts,veering to N and dropping to 0 kts by evening
    • Sea:  Flat calm
    • Temperature Low 8oC, High 11oC

 

 

** 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?

Spring for Birds

Posted on by

Ecological Notes:

  • More Gulls showing up in pairs every day

  • Seeing some Brandt’s Cormorants in breeding plumage

  • 3 Elephant Seal pups, now exploring the shallows by the boat ramp

Facility Work:

  • Replaced all phones on the island
  • Continued on algae cleaning

Before photo of course

  • Spring cleaning of nooks and crannies
  • Made a sawbuck for easier firewood cutting, and safer as you’re not effectively leaning over the saw all the time.

 

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Both Eco-tourism and private vessels visiting the reserve
  • Some paddlers through as well

 

Weather Events:

  • Saturday, March 11:
    • Sky: mix of sun and high overcast
    • Wind: shifting during the day for N to NE, back to N then W … <5 kts
    • Sea: rippled to 2′ chop
    • Temperature Low 3oC, High 6oC
  • Sunday, March 12:
    • High overcast with light rain
    • Wind: ENE  15-25 kts
    • Sea:  light chop t
    • Temperature Low 3oC, High 7oC

 

 

** 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?

Special Guest Animal Census

Posted on by

Thank you to Andrew Jacobs and his associate for this onsite survey conducted on March 8 …..

It shows the difficulty in Gull ID’s, and why I normally report ### – “Gulls”

 

Total – Species – Stationary (on water or rocks staying in area) Flying (Flying around or past the area)

8 Canada Goose : 8 stationary

25 Harlequin Duck : 25 stationary

17 Black Oystercatcher : 17 stationary

64 Black Turnstone : 9 flying 53 stationary

17 Surfbird : 17 stationary

8 Dunlin : 4 Stationary 4 flying

14 Rock Sandpiper : 14 stationary

7 Common Murre : 7 flying

35 Pigeon Guillemot : 9 stationary 24 flying

1 Marbled Murrelet : 1 stationary

19 Short-billed Gull : 5 immature flying 14 adult flying

4 Western Gull : 2 adult stationary 2 immature stationary

2 California Gull : 1 adult stationary 1 adult flying

2 Herring Gull (American) : 1 immature flying 1 immature stationary

9 Iceland Gull (Thayer’s) : 4 adults stationary 1 adult flying 4 immature stationary

18 Glaucous-winged Gull : 3 adults stationary 3 adults flying 8 immature stationary 4 immature flying

78 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull : 10 adult flying 57 adult stationary 6 immature stationary 5 immature flying

1 Herring x Glaucous-winged Gull : 1 immature stationary

1 Red-throated Loon : 1 flying

121 Brandt’s Cormorant : 20 flying 101 stationary

53 Pelagic Cormorant : 6 flying 47 stationary

9 Double-crested Cormorant : 8 stationary 1 flying

13 Bald Eagle : 1 adult stationary 5 immature stationary 7 immature flying

2 Common Raven : 2 stationary

Harbour seal 23

California sealion 18

Steller’s sealion 19

Elephant Seal Pups 3

Sea Otter 1 (reported by Eco-Tourism Vessel)

Injured Sea Lion

Posted on by

Ecological Notes:

  • 1 Female Elephant Seal, returning occasionally late evening, spends lots of time bellowing
  • 3 Elephant Seal pups
  • 1 Sea Lion with an old injury and what looks like a tumour, spending a lot of time on the boat ramp …. moves only with front flippers, appears to be paralyzed from mid point down. Healthy looking build otherwise

Facility Work:

  • Month end battery maintenance, including equalization charge cycle

DND events:

  • Detonations during the m-f weekdays

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • An occasional Eco-Tourism vessel, including one on a regular educational tours
  • 4 different private vessels

 Noted Infractions:

  • Private vessels maybe a bit too close to the haulouts by the pier,but only minor disturbance noted

 

Weather Events:

  • Friday, March 03:
    • Sky: High overcast with sunny breaks
    • Wind: starting SW 25kts, dropping and backing to ESE 5kts by mid afternoon
    • Sea: rippled to 2′ chop
    • Temperature Low 3oC, High 7oC
  • Saturday, March 04:
    • Sky: High overcast
    • Wind: E/ESE 30-42 kts, gusting over 50 kts late afternoon
    • Sea:  large Easterly swells to 1.5 meters
    • Temperature Low 4oC, High 7o
  • Sunday, March 05:
      • Sky: Mostly clear, with clouds  skirting both sides of the strait in the morning,leading to overcast by afternoon
      • Wind:E  10-15 kts
      • Sea:  Calm
      • Temperature Low 5oC, High 7oC

 

 

Weather – Current:

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

 

Weather – Past:

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

DAILY SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE AND SALINITY OBSERVATIONS February 2023

Posted on by
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
YSI ID: 27 February Year: 2023
YSI YSI
Temp Sal
Day Time ºC ppt
1 10:30 8.0 32.2
2 11:00 8.0 32.4
3 12:00 7.9 32.2
4 12:30 8.1 32.4
5 13:00 8.0 32.2
6 14:00 7.8 32.2
7 14:45 7.9 32.2
8 15:30 8.0 32.4
9 16:15 7.8 32.1
10 17:00 7.9 32.2
11 17:45 7.8 32.1
12 18:40 7.8 32.1
13 19:30 7.9 32.2
14 20:30 7.8 32.4
15 9:00 7.9 32.2
16 10:00 7.9 32.2
17 11:00 7.9 32.4
18 11:45 7.8 32.1
19 12:30 7.7 32.2
20 13:30 7.8 32.1
21 14:30 7.6 32.4
22 15:15 7.6 32.2
23
24
25 17:45 7.4 32.2
26 18:30 7.1 32.2
27 8:00 7.1 32.1
28 8:30 7.2 32.2