Monthly Archives: August 2024

Entanglement

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Wildlife notes:

A Stellar sea lion entangled in fishing gear has been sighted several times since Aug 10 in the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve on Middle Rock and Great Race Rock. For a middle age female, which will grow very little after the age of 6, the outcome of entanglement may not be as bleak as for a young male which will continue to grow until the age of 11 (Kimberly et al 2009).  Rescues are extremely challenging and costly. Successful rescues have been carried out at Race Rocks in 2020, 2019, 2017 and 2009. Hopefully this sea lion stays here in a place where it can be accessed and helped.

To learn more and watch a disentanglement operation see

  • Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society video
  • SeaDoc Society, a program of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine video

 

Facility work:

  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Operation walkway – work in progress
  • Ran generator and desalinator

Vessels:

  • 20 Ecotourism, 3 private

Weather:

  • Overcast all day. Winds SW varying from gentle, moderate to fresh breeze. Daytime temperatures: low 12, high 17.

Back to the earth

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Wildlife notes:

The gull chick found dead on July 24th near “Intersection” gull is disappearing quickly. In just over 2 weeks it is hardly recognizable among the grass, sea lion hair and the bones and hard bits of other birds, fish and chiton.

The male elephant seal is still absent and the female has been sleeping in some odd places these days. Today she was lying against the woodpile.

A sea lion entangled in fishing gear and struggling to breath has been reported by the naturalists on the ecotourism boats. It was last seen in an area that I can’t access without causing terror and unnecessary gull chick attacks. I will search for it tomorrow morning.

 

Facility work:

  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Operation walkway – work in progress
  • Ran generator, desalinator and washed bedding and towels for next Ecoguardian

Vessels:

  • 27 Ecotourism

Weather:

  • Overcast in the morning, cloudy most of the afternoon, clear skies by sunset. Moderate SW breeze until early afternoon, fresh W breeze afternoon and evening. Daytime temperatures: low 12, high 17.

 

Sea lions are returning

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Wildlife notes:

I returned after 10 days away to find two notable differences. The male elephant seal is not here and there is an explosion in the sea lion population. It seems every time I look there are more and they are coming closer to the electric fence. I thought the gulls had a lot to say to each other!  It will be interesting watching them. The weather is the same as when I left and I am back to wearing long underwear, sweaters and a toque.

Unlike the elephant seal, this California sea lion is using its hind flippers for scratching.

 

Facility work:

  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Topped up battery fluid

Vessels:

  • 25 Ecotourism

Weather:

  • Fog with visibility less than 1/4 mile in the morning, lifting by 12:00 and clear skies by 14:00. Strong westerly breeze most of the day. Near gale westerlies in the late evening. Daytime temperatures: low 11, high 18.

August 3 – Station Boat

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The Race Rocks 14′ Boston Whaler boat has not been used in a while. After the elephant seals cleared the ramp for their post swim afternoon nap, I lowered the boat to the water with the electric winch. Once I made sure the motor was running properly, I took the boat out for a quick 20 minute ride, including idling to take photos and look in the binoculars. I had back up by VHF radio and cellphone in case anything went awry. Pearson’s boat Second Nature was in the area, taking alumni on tours around the Ecological Reserve. The station boat is running well. I look forward to more around the rocks tours over the coming weeks. I do need to troubleshoot the GPS/SONAR unit before I go out next. Oddly, it was working fine in the boathouse. Race Rocks would be boring if everything worked all the time.

The sea lion population continues to climb with 60 on Middle Rock and 13 on Great Race by the jetty. That is a big difference to yesterday afternoon when there were no barks or belches coming from the main island, just the occasional elephant seal bellow or sleep apnea snort.

Facility work:

  • Launch boat and take it out for a spin
  • Tidy boat house
  • Clean windows on ecoguardian’s house

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 27
  •  Private: 5

Weather:

  • Sea: up to 2′ chop
  • Sky: Partly cloudy, fog (and foghorn) from 20:26 onwards
  • Wind: W 16-30 knots
  • Air temperature: low 11°C, high 13°C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 10.1°C

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

August 2

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I will contact NOAA and DFO to report the resighting of the California sea lion with the tag 13-2. The orange tags mean the sea lion was rehabilitated. The tag on the left flipper means the sea lion is a male. I will update the log when I hear back about his history. The rest of the California and Steller sea lions are currently hauled out on Middle Rocks. Perhaps this guy needs a break from the frat party.

Facility work:

  • Clean solar panels
  • Check guest house for supplies and cleanliness

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 12
  •  Private: 3

Weather:

  • Sea: rippled in morning, up to 3′ chop in afternoon/evening
  • Sky: Partly cloudy
  • Wind: variable light winds overnight; from 07:00-12:00 westerlies 8-20 knots; afternoon/evening westerlies 20-31 knots
  • Air temperature: low 12°C, high 21°C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 11.0°C

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

August 1 Census

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Census Results:

Mammals:

  • Elephant seal: 2 (female and male)
  • Steller sea lion: 34
  • California sea lion: 11
  • Sea otter: 1
  • Harbour seal: 78

Birds:

  • Bald eagle: 1
  • Canada goose: 3
  • Cormorant: 33
  • Gull: 584
  • Black oystercatcher: 20
  • Pigeon guillemot: 131
  • Whimbrel: 1
  • Surfbird: 28
  • Black turnstone: 137
  • Song sparrow: 2
  • Least sandpiper: 1

Facility work:

  • Reacquaint myself with the standard operating procedures and various systems on the island
  • Check boat electronics, safety equipment, and winch
  • Clean solar panels
  • Sample seawater

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 23
  •  Private: 5

Weather:

  • Sea: Rippled
  • Sky: Clear in morning, then partly cloudy
  • Wind: Variable light winds overnight until sunrise ~06:00, when wind switched to easterlies varying from 3-14 knots throughout the rest of the day
  • Daytime air temperature: low 13 C, high 24 C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 10.6 C

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