Monthly Archives: April 2025

Animal Census

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  • Bald eagle adult                     2
  • Bald eagle juvenile                3
  • Black Turnstones                  18
  • Gulls                                       83
  • Cormorants                            56
  • Pigeon Guillemots                22
  • Oyster catcher                        8
  • Canadian goose                      7

 

Mammals

  • Norther Fur Seal                      1
  • Steller sea lion                       18
  • Harbour seal                            42
  • California sea lion                   20
  • Elephant seal female            2 juveniles (adult female has not been seen in a while)

Elephant Seals and Northern Fur Seal

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Ecological Notes:

  • 2 Juvenile female Elephant Seals coming and going daily, Haven’t see the full adult female in a few days…… Last couple days she was here, she spent a lot of time bellowing from a high point on the rock, maybe she heard other animals in the distance(?)

  • The Northern Fur Seal was hauled out on the most north west rock in the reserve (reported to me by an Eco-Tourism vessel)… but is now on the rocks next to the crane shed (just east of the jetty)
  • Sunday, the Fur Seal spent most of the afternoon rolling and grooming in the water off the end of the jetty

  • Many of the Sea lions spent the afternoon rafting and thermo-regulating in the water

  • It seems each day I find new blooms

Visitors:

  • 2 technicians from Environment Canada  came twice, to service all relevant equipment and attempt to get the display unit in the Eco-Guardian residence up and running – returned a couple days later to reset the system

Facility Work:

  • reset the wind indicator/ reporting system up in the tower via phone instructions from EC
  • replaced the rest of the fencing on the jetty

  • Moved drums to prepare for diesel delivery
  • Weekly battery maintenance, including electrolyte top ups

DND events:

  • Several radio broadcasts simulating emergency situations….. the first couple were a little concerning, as they didn’t announce the simulations before hand!

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Several Eco-tourism  vessels
  • A submarine travelled south of the reserve on the surface, un-escorted though.

  • Kayak group, I monitored while they were in and out of the various currents. The group leaders were very good, and responded well when ever anyone got caught in a bad current.

 Noted Infractions:

  • None. I’ve let vessels know the Sea lions around the jetty area seem to be extra touchy, and vessels all responded appropriately. There are lots of really small ones and females in the groupings.

Weather Events:

  • Wednesday, April 09:
    • Sky: High overcast with sunny periods
    • Wind: Variable calm – 5 kts
    • Sea: rippled to 2′ chop
    • Temperature Low 9oC, High 11oC
  • Thursday, April 10:
    • Sky: Low overcast, shifting to low fog to the south and west mid afternoon, scattered rain showers, followed by sunny breaks
    • Wind:E 5-10kts shifting to W 15-25kts mid day
    • Sea:  morning chop 1ft, flattening as the wind shifted to W, then rising to 3-4 ft swells and chop on top
    • Temperature Low 9oC, High 12oC
  • Friday April 11:
    • Sky: Although cloudy on both shorelines, the area above Race Rocks and the strait was mostly clear and sunny all day
    • Wind: W 20-25 kts
    • Sea:  2-3 ft chop and swell
    • Temperature Low 9oC, High 9.5oC
  • Saturday April 12:
    • Sky: Heavy clouds to the north and south, but mostly clear and sunny overhead
    • Wind: W 20-35kts
    • Sea:  light chop turning to high waves by evening
    • Temperature Low 7.5oC, High 10oC
  • Sunday April 13:
    • Sky: light haze,  but overall sunny
    • Wind: W 5kts shifting to E by mid morning
    • Sea:  flat calm plus current
    • Temperature Low 7oC, High 11oC

 

 

** Any 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?

More signs of spring and a surprise visit!

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Ecological Notes:

  • 3 female Elephant Seals, 1 adult and 2 juveniles, still coming and going, no full haul out
  • A surprise visit from a Northern Fur Seal!

  • In addition to the more regular Black Turnstones, noted some Ruddy Turnstones today

  • The Pigeon Guillemots are showing up in larger numbers, with many frequenting the rock pile where they like to nest
  • Not that long ago, we would say ” this is an all male haul out area” ….. sources tell me this is in fact, Male, females, and yearling pups(haven’t seen nursing yet today, although I’ve photographed a few here doing that too)

  • The Black Oyster Catchers are mostly paired up as well

  • It appears that 2 of the 3 pairs of Canada Geese have given up on egg laying for the season (the gulls have been raiding the nests), but the one pair by the crane shed still has 2 eggs they are taking care of.

Facility Work:

  • swapped out an electrical switch to restore light to the room I prefer to sleep in

  • Checked and topped up the battery electrolyte levels
  • Moved and stacked some of the split firewood
  • Done before I got here, but a straight forward “why didn’t I think of that” solution to the storm rattled doors on the water tank shed

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Some Eco-Tourism vessels visiting the reserve.
  • 1 private vessel noted

 Noted Infractions:

  • Private vessel approached the haul out area by the crane a bit too close and straight on, startling all the animals off into the water, including the rare (to this area) Northern Fur Seal

Weather Events:

  • Sunday April 06:
    • Sky:Overcast, low clouds on the Olympic Peninsula, rain showers started in the morning, more squalls as the wind rose later in the day
    • Wind: N 5-10 kts, shifting and rising to W 25 kts by early evening
    • Sea: rippled to 2′ chop
    • Temperature Low 8oC, High 13oC
  • Monday April 07:
    • Sky: Overcast with sunny breaks, low cloud over the Olympic Peninsula, light rain in the afternoon
    • Wind:mostly N 5-10 kts, switching to west and rising to 25 kts in the afternoon before dropping back down during the evening
    • Sea:  light chop
    • Temperature Low 9oC, High 10oC
  • Tuesday April 08:
    • Sky: Overcast with sunny breaks, heavy cloud to the south, occasional showers
    • Wind: N 5-15kts, rising to 25kts, gusting to 25kts, from the West late afternoon
    • Sea:  2 ft swells from the north during the day, switching to 2-3 ft chop late afternoon
    • Temperature Low 9oC, High 11oC

Animal Census

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Birds

  • Harlequin duck                       6
  • Bald eagle adult                     4
  • Bald eagle juvenile                7
  • Black Turnstones                  34
  • Ruddy Turnstones                 8
  • Gulls                                       112
  • Cormorants                            74
  • Pigeon Guillemots                 48
  • Oyster catcher                        12
  • Canadian goose                      7

 

Mammals

  • Norther Fur Seal                      1
  • Steller sea lion                       19
  • Harbour seal                            36
  • California sea lion                   23
  • Elephant seal female             3, 1 adult, 2 juveniles 
  • Sea otter  – while not at the reserve, Ollie was reported to me as being over by william head

Back again!

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Happy to be back at my home away from home!

Ecological Notes:

  • 3 female Elephant Seals, 1 Full Adult and 2 juveniles
  • The Gulls are slowly pairing off, no full courtship displays or nest building noted yet

A few squabbles here and there

  • So far, I’ve only found 2 of the 3 previously noted active Canada Goose nests…. I think the one by the composting are has been abandoned

The gulls are quite quick to take advantage of spoiled eggs

  • The harbour seals on the southern rocks seem to be very skittish …… wondering if there have been undocumented orca hunts in the reserve, maybe at night(?)

Visitors:

  • Just the waterfront coordinator during the Eco-Guardian exchange/transfer

Facility Work:

  • fuel transfers
  • Monthly report levels checks
  • general quick facilities check on arrival, moving to scheduled routine checks

DND events:

  • Heavy Blasting one one day

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Some eco-tourism vessels, all following good practices and procedures
  • 1 private vessel exploring the reserve

 Noted Infractions:

  • Private vessel approached the haul out area by the crane/jetty area a little close and head on orientation, startling the sea lions, all moving and several entering the water…. I feel the nervousness of the sea lions was increased by the previous days blasting though

Weather Events:

  • Thursday, April 03:
    • Sky: sunny and clear, very occasion cloud patches
    • Wind: Mostly W, 5-10 kts in the morning, dropping to very light in the afternoon, rising to near 20kts over the afternoon/evening
    • Sea: calm seas
    • Temperature Low 8.5oC, High 10oC
  • Friday, April 04:
    • Sky: Mostly clear, with some high overcast at times
    • Wind: NE shifting to E 5-15 kts
    • Sea: calm seas
    • Temperature Low 7oC, High 11oC
  • Saturday, April 05:
    • Sky: Bright, high overcast
    • Wind: W/WSW 16-37 kts
    • Sea:  calm seas
    • Temperature Low 8oC, High 10oC

 

 

** Any 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?

Wildlife Census

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Woa, last week on Race Rocks. 3 months has FLOWN by, marked with very few intense winter storms and no resident Elephant Seals over the breeding season. We had a big female come ashore and do a bunch of feeding over the last month, and then a new (smaller) seal showed up on March 31st. She looks like a survivor of ‘scabby moult’ and she’s tagged! It’s a green tag (L334) meaning she was tagged in Año Nuevo, and probably 3-4 years old. We were so excited to have more than 1 Elephant Seal around we were very suprised to wake up this monring to another small Elephant Seal female! Could this be the begining of the moutling season for Race Rocks? Stay tuned to find out!

We figured if it’s the end of our time here, better try and leave the place better off than we found it. We installed Greg’s new electric fence concept on the jetty, and re-habed the N fence perimeter. Cleaned up a bunch of the scrap materials from previous infrastructure projects, and put the ladders away. We’re very fancy like that.

The Canada Geese have begun the laying season, which means a marked increase in their aggression as they start to defend their nests. It’s a battle between the Geese and the gulls (who are also getting ready to start laying), and we often wake up to a freshly cracked egg on the main walkway.

Mammals:

  • Stellar Sea lions: 12
  • California Sea lion: 14
  • Harbour Seal: 30
  • Northern Elephant Seal: 3

Birds

  • Gulls: 122
  • Cormorants: 68
  • Eagle: 8 Adult, 6 Juvenile
  • Turnstones: 20
  • Canada Geese: 7 – 3 breeding pairs
  • Oystercatcher: 18

It has been a LOVELY time on Race Rocks, and we’re always so grateful to get to spend time here. It’s such a beautiful spot with so much history, and it has Elephant Seals some of the time! We look forward to seeing a new Beachmaster take charge of the island, and for the opportunity to return.

 

Tristan & Courtney

Elephant Seals LOVE the smell of sawdust.