One question eco-guardians often get is about visitors to the island – often there’s many days without any, and then suddenly there’s a lot of action in a day! Today was such an occasion, with two visits.

In the morning, the Coast Guard came from Victoria for maintenance work on the lighthouse…

Ready to fix the light!

… and in the afternoon, I was joined by Greg, Richard, and Bella who came out to work on various tasks on the island. It was great to catch up and learn more about their work Race Rocks.

Greg and Bella on Pedder Explorer

Richard installing a new battery room threshold

Before they departed, we set up the fire pump to top up the cistern for desalination.

Facility work

With the end of March quickly approaching, it was time to prepare for the end-of-moth reporting – collecting data on water and fuel consumption, generator and desalinator hours, water produced &c… it’s also the time to collate and submit the daily water sample results

March water samples

Desalinator data

I got very lucky with the weather, and managed to run the desalinator off solar for a couple of hours!

A solar run!

After a pretty busy week, today has been a quieter day – the generator came on early in the morning, so I managed to run the desalinator for nearly 4 hours to replenish water stocks.

The elephant seals

One of the joys of this trip has been the opportunity to share the Rocks with two elephant seals – an adult female, hauled out to moult, and the female pup born here a few weeks ago. They have both settled into their respective routines: the adult spends most of the day in the bushes close to the flag pole, with the occasional trip down the jetty to blow some bubbles. Pup, on the other hand, is much more adventurous, actively exploring all of the island’s nooks and crannies. I have spotted her by the firewood pile, in front of the water tank, and even on the east side of the island, behind the keeper’s house!

little adventurer enjoying the sunrise

Facility work

• Seawater sample
• Desalination (while generator running during early daytime hours)

Weather

• Wind: 15 WNW (calm earlier)
• Mostly overcast, a few rain drops
• Air temp: 6C

As Race Rocks is an off-grid facility, there’s always plenty of things to look after – including, for example, a bi-weekly check of the batteries, topping up fluids where necessary on Tuesday and Saturdays.

The Race Rocks power bank, freshly topped up and cleaned

This week, we also had the annual visit from a technician to check all of the fire extinguishers on the island – quite a fun task to track them all down, including one right on top of the tower!

It passed!

Regular readers of the blog will be aware of our weekly animal census, usually taking place towards the end of the week or over the weekend. As the Pearson students had already been counting different species on their boat trip they were keen to join, and  I decided to bring it forward a bit – with great results. Thank you everyone for your help!

Census in action

Pedder Explorer arrived at 9am to pick up Christie and the students and take them back to campus, and I found myself alone on the island (insofar as humans are concerned…) for the first time since my arrival.

Animal Census Thursday, March 26, 2026:

Mammals:

• Steller sea lion: 71
• California sea lion: 13
• Harbour seal: 57
• Northern Elephant seal: 2 (Baby and adult female)

Birds:

• Glaucus-winged gull: 343
• Herring gull: 12
• Brandt’s Cormorant: 292
• Pelagic Cormorant: 118
• Double-crested cormorant: 18
• Black oystercatcher: 40
• Harlequin duck: 6
• Ruddy turnstone: 4
• Canadian goose: 10
• Surfbirds: 12
• Bald Eagle: 1 adult, 1 juvenile
• Pigeon guillemots: 43

The pigeon guillemots (my favourite bird!) had evaded Karyssa on previous census days, so I went out early in the morning to count them.

But what kind of cormorant is it?

Facility work

• Animal census
• Fence repairs
• Seawater sample (last one with Pearson students)
• Solar panel cleaning

Weather

• Wind: 5-10kts SW to W
• Mostly sunny
• Air temp: 10C
• Sea state: calm

Vessels: 6 eco-tourism, Pedder Explorer (to pick up students)

I first came to Race Rocks nearly 24 (!) years ago, as a first year Pearson student. Imagine then my joy at learning that I would be joined this week by biology teacher Christie and a group of her students, out on the Rocks for CAS week. Based in the science building on the westerly side of the island, they spent five days exploring fauna and flora.

Pearson students by the tide pools

On Thursday morning, Richard came out in Pedder Explorer to take everyone on a field trip. Conditions were spectacular, though with other visitors on the island (more on that in an upcoming post) I had to stay behind. But at least I got to see the pack of five orcas transiting south of the island from the tower, with Pedder Explorer in the background.

Pedder Explorer on her way

In the afternoon, I joined everyone in a detailed exploration of the tide pools. We have had really low tides during the day recently, which makes for excellent explorations of the intertidal zone – thank you Christie for your fascinating and entertaining insights into the complex ecosystems of the island!

Christie and Pearson students in the best outdoor classroom in the world

Facility work

• Health and Safety Checks
• Fire extinguisher re-certification
• Desalination (using both generator and solar power)
• Seawater sampling (with student assistance)

Weather

• Wind: 6kts NNE
• Predominantly sunny
• Air temp: 10C

Vessels: more than half a dozen Eco-tourism boats, Pedder Explorer

My first night on the Rocks coincided with some pretty impressive weather – while a storm front was moving in from the Pacific, the island enjoyed an hour of complete calm and sunshine.

The calm before the storm

Notice something different? When windspeed is set to exceed 25kts, the Flag is lowered to protect it – but as soon as things calm down, it is hoisted again.

Hoisting the flag

The system moved through fairly quickly, giving rise to some beautiful colours throughout the day. It’s always interesting to note what a difference tides make to waves around Race Rocks when the wind is up – a westerly wind with the flood, for example, can create an illusion of calm; whereas similar winds create impressive standing waves when the waters are ebbing.

Sun and the storm

Facility work

• Determine fuel levels across the island, transfer fuel to generator building, top up generator
• Desalination while generator is running
• Top up drinking water in science building
• Seawater sampling (with student assistance)

Weather

• Wind: 25-35 SW and W overnight, calming to 15 SW by evening
• Overcast, occasional rain showers
• Air temp: 7C

With a storm brewing and the tides receding, we worked hard to get out to Race Rocks as early as possible in the morning – my first ride on the new Pedder Explorer.

A first glimpse of Race Rocks

I don’t think I’ll ever tire of the excitement of coming out of the Bay, and catching the first glimpse of the lighthouse…

The Welcoming Committee

During a quick walk-through, Greg and Karyssa updated me on current operations and various recent changes I’m looking forward to exploring during the week ahead – and then, as the tides were about to fall below 1m (the safe minimum for Pedder Explorer), they were off. A big thank you to Karyssa for getting everything ready and perfectly set up for a smooth transition!

Facility work

• House Move-In
• Battery top-up
• Seawater sampling (with student assistance)

Weather

• Wind: 10kts W (picking up significantly into the night)
• Highly variable
• Air temp: 11C

Vessels: several Eco-tourism boats, Pedder Explorer

We awoke to another beautiful day on Race Rocks, which I was immensely grateful for as it’d be my last full day to enjoy this little piece of heaven. It was a busy one, as we had a group of students coming out for their week-long stay and I had to make sure everything was ready for handover to the next incoming Eco-Guardian. After giving an orientation for the students about life on the island, I took them for a tour as we looked at the different ecosystems and wildlife around the island that might inspire their biology projects. Thankful for my background in nature guiding, I happily answered their questions about the animals and environment around us. I was sad to be missing out on the rest of the week as I’m curious to see what their projects end up becoming! What an amazing opportunity for students to learn in the field and have their classroom in nature.

Humpback Whale

Later in the day I was lucky to spot some humpback whales off the East side of the island. I notified the students and we watched the two swimming along in the currents. My first whales of the season, perhaps the first this year at Race Rocks? Very exciting nonetheless!

Facility work

• Generator check and fuel
• Wash basement floors
• Clean house
• Final inventory of supplies
• Seawater sampling (with student’s help)

Weather

• Wind: 3-7kts ESE
• Mostly sunny
• Air temp: 6C

Vessels: 5 Eco-tourism boats, 2 private vessels

DND Activity: 3 blastings

Farewell Race Rocks!

Although I’m sad to be reaching the end of my stay at Race Rocks, today was exciting as I had my very good friend arrive to join me for my last couple days. I was also happy to have some help to do the animal census on this gorgeous sunny day. Perhaps because of the great weather and calm waters, there seemed to be a lower count of animals as they were out foraging.

Animal Census Saturday, March 22, 2026:

Mammals:

• Steller sea lion: 26
• California sea lion: 17
• Harbour seal: 135
• Northern Elephant seal: 2 (Baby and adult female)

Birds:

• Glaucus-winged gull: 278
• Herring gull: 3
• Brandt’s Cormorant: 106
• Pelagic Cormorant: 89
• Double-crested cormorant: 21
• Black oystercatcher: 6
• Harlequin duck: 12
• Black turnstone: 7
• Canadian goose: 10
• Surfbirds: 5
• Bald Eagle: 3 (2 Juveniles)
• Savannah’s Sparrow: 1

Again the pigeon guillemots evaded me on census day…but I saw more than a dozen by the jetty the day before. We also came across a Steller sea lion with a massive growth hanging out of it’s eye – while it seemed to otherwise be in good condition I did report this animal as it’s one to keep an eye on.

Facility work

• Animal census
• Batteries top-up
• Seawater sample
• Washed solar panels
• Washed outside windows

Weather

• Wind: 5-15kts NNW
• Mostly sunny
• Air temp: 7C
• Sea state: calm

Vessels: 1 canoe/rower who circumnavigated the island, 1 kayaker, 1 eco-tourism