My 10 days on Race Rocks in coming to an end. Its been a great learning experience and I have enjoyed the animals (most of them). Tomorrow Christine will return and the sea lions can test some else’s patience. I’ll miss my friends that lay at the top of the ramp. I can walk right past their noses and they don’t move. However, if I tell them they need to move, they will. They are probably the most trained seal lions regarding where they are allowed to go.

These are the regulars. Sometimes the noses are right at the line.

Started the day the usual way with running the generator and cleaning the solar panels. The panels were a bit more dirty this morning. I have been trying to corelate the amount of soil vs. the weather. Do the seagulls spend more time on the panels on a calm day vs a windy day? Does the sun or cloud cover affect their roosting? I haven’t found an answer, but it’s good research.

Greg stopped by later in the morning to tour some guests around the island. Michael Pearson (grandson of our namesake Lester B. Pearson) and his wife Kerry Buck (retired Canadian diplomat, formerly Canada’s Ambassador to NATO) are in town and the College wanted to show them the Ecological Reserve. After their island tour they went around the reserve to view the outer islets. They picked a great day for a tour; the weather was warm and the sun was shining.

And what would a Saturday be without a census. After spending a week with these mammals since the last census, I can pretty much tell the California Sea Lions from the Steller Sea Lions. I was surprised when I walked around the island looking for shore birds and found the Black Turnstone hiding place. They seemed to multiply throughout the day.

Mammals:

• California sealion: 476, plus ~164 on the outer islets
• Stellar sealion: 94 plus ~54 on the outer islets
• Harbour seal: 32
• Humpback whales: 3 inside the reserve, there are many more outside throughout the day

Birds:

• Gulls: 339 plus 132 on outer islands
• Cormorant: 377, more may be just out of view
• Black turnstone: 109; I found where they like to hide
• Savannah Sparrow: 6
• Other shorebirds: 3

Facility work

• Clean solar panels
• Run gas generator
• Fence repairs in a few places
• Removed concrete forms

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 23
• Private: 6

Weather

Sunny throughout the day.  Winds 9 to 16 knots, predominantly West. Daytime temperatures 12 to 14 degrees.

Woke up to a foggy morning. By the time I got outside to start the generator and clean the solar panels the fog had cleared and the sun was out. I thought about not running the generator, since the sun was so bright. However, the base load on the system is around 1200W and the system normally doesn’t produce that amount until 10-11am, so I would be still using power. It was a good thing I started the generator because the sun didn’t last for long. I could hear the Point Wilson/Port Townsend fog horn and see the fog on the horizon. It wasn’t long before the fog rolled in up the Strait and we were covered again. I wore the earmuffs around just in case our fog horn started; fortunately the fog didn’t last long enough to activate the horn.

The sea lions seemed to behave last night and I didn’t have any fence repairs this morning. They did try the fence throughout the day though, so there was some adjustments to be made. Every time they test the fence, it pulls the line from down the line (think of the finish line ribbon that trails behind the runner). Yesterday when they were “testing” the jetty fence I noticed a few areas where we could better affix the line so that it doesn’t get pulled as far. One additional issue is that pulling the line creates a short and the rest of the line is less useful. This makes it very important to stay on top of maintaining the perimeter fence.

Richard came out this morning and we did the second pour of concrete on the sidewalk. The concrete just needs to set and the sidewalk will be good as new. The new cistern water line can run under the sidewalk through the clay drain tile and eliminate a tripping hazard.

New sidewalk section. The clay drain tile is shown on the right

Facility work

• Fence maintenance
• Clean solar panels
• Ran gas generator
• Checked batteries
• Split firewood

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 17
• Private: 1 (sailboat)

Weather

Scattered clouds.  Winds 7 to 18 knots from the west, increasing throughout the day. Daytime temperatures 10 to 16 degrees.

This morning was the last morning that I had to get the water sample early in the morning. I usually wake up, open the blinds and check if the sea lions have breached the fence overnight. I will say,  while laying in bed they always sound like they are just out the window, so this morning when I looked out I was sure they had broken the fence and were lounging on the front yard. My heart sank and I quickly got dressed, ready to get them to move; then I realized it was the shadows between the rocks I was seeing and the sea lions were fine!

I came in from the water sampling and had TWO cups of coffee with breakfast to get me going this morning. I was then off to the usual work of starting the generator and cleaning the solar panels. I find it so peaceful outside on the rock in the morning. There are a few fishing boats out, but not much else. The air is crisp and the day is just beginning. I ran the generator for only a few hours today and the sun took care of the rest.

I walked the fences and made sure everything was still holding up. The sea lions seem to be accustomed to the new fence and leave it alone for the most part. Certain groups are less comfortable with my presence and so I must walk slow and be aware of their changes in behaviour. I feel bad when I startle one and the group takes off to the water. Often on the walk I find a new tagged or branded sea lion, and this stampede hinders my effort to note the number and get a picture. I will usually go back later and try to view from a high rock, or climb the tower so that I can look down on the group and not disturb them.

With the dry weather I haven’t been able to clean some of the seagull guano that has been accumulating on the steps and decks. I was actually hoping for a day of rain while I’m here to help with the cleaning (remember fresh water is a scare resource on an island). There is one spot at the top of the lighthouse steps that has been bothering me with the accumulation, along with the decks around the house. I found a garden hoe that I could use as a scraper to clean the large deposits. This will help to reduce the tracking on our shoes and should make it much easier when the rain does come to wash away the guano.

Richard came in the afternoon and we worked on getting the passage under the sidewalk for the water line completed. We installed the clay drain tiles and poured the first layer of concrete to hold them in. Tomorrow we will pour the concrete to replace the sidewalk we chipped out.

Facility work

• Clean Solar Panels
• Run gas generator
• Clean seagull guano
• Water line and sidewalk repairs
• Brought rest of wood into house

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 16
• Private: 3
• Personal Watercraft: 2

Weather

Clear and sunny.  Winds 2 to 11 knots, starting from the NE in the morning and shifting to the SE by afternoon. Daytime temperatures 12 to 19 degrees.

Another early start to the morning. Still a bit later than the max flood time, but we are in a dark sky area and I need to wait for daylight to be able to see what I am doing. I was able to see a beautiful sunrise, so it was well worth it.

Sunrise over Race Passage

There was a heavy dew last night so I gave the house windows a quick squeegee when I went out later. This also helped with cleaning the solar panels; I didn’t have to use much water to get them clean today. The re-configuration of the fence also make it much easier to access the panels on the back of the powerhouse.

We were so busy with the fence yesterday that I forgot to check the batteries. I remembered today, and they were good. Only a few needed to be topped with water.

I walked the new fence and ensured it was all still intact. It seems the sea lions have figured out the new “no go” areas and are avoiding the fence. I did witness a few sea lions try out the fence and promptly leave the area. I think we have successfully trained most of them to leave the fence alone.

Taking down the old fence left a mess of used line, posts and concrete stands. I discarded most of the dirty, spliced line and piled the posts and stands by the buildings today.

During the morning eco-tourism outings one vessel reported a sea lion with fishing flasher in its mouth. I wasn’t able to locate the sea lion in the area they reported. Later in the day I used the binoculars to survey the sea lions and found the sea lion on Middle Rocks. I wasn’t able to asses how attached the line was, but I could see the flasher.

Facility work

• cleaned solar panels
• ran the gas generator
• fence cleanup
• battery check

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 20
• Private: 3
• Paddleboard: 1*

*this is the 3rd day in a row I have seen a paddleboarder out here. I’m not sure I would want to be in Race Passage on a paddle board!

Weather

Mainly sunny throughout the day. Winds calm to 13 knots variable direction. Daytime temperatures 13 to 20 degrees.

Started the day early with the water sample before breakfast. The sample was due at 0500, but Morning civil twilight was 0620, so I was out at that time instead. Even at that time I had a headlamp to make sure I could see clearly.

The weather showed a similar forecast as yesterday, so I ran the generator longer to ensure I can get enough charge in the batteries. The solar panels weren’t very dirty this morning, so that was a quick job. In the end the sun came out most of the afternoon, so I probably could have reduced the generator usage.

Overnight the sea lions breached the perimeter in one location, so I made a quick repair. The plan is to have the new fence working in that section today.

Greg and Richard came out in the morning and started working on the new fence line. The new line runs closer to the shore, so we had to push some animals back to work. We got the section from the helipad to the jetty and from the jetty along the northeast side completed before lunch. After lunch we worked on the helipad to the west section and got it all set up for the end of the day. Some additional fencing material is required to complete the perimeter and cover the south and east sections.

The elephant seal departed today around noon. Not sure if it will come back

Facility work

• cleaned solar panels
• ran the gas generator
• fence repairs
• Worked on new fence line

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 19
• Private: 4
• Paddleboard: 1
• Personal Watercraft: 2

Usual start to the day with the generator running and the cleaning of solar panels. There were a few sea lions that rolled under the fence, so I sent them back to their side and repaired the damage.

The elephant seal is still on the jetty and hasn’t really moved since yesterday. I will keep an eye on it to see if there are any changes in behaviour.

Later in the morning most of the sea lions that lounge around the jetty area had moved out, so I took the opportunity to bring the rest of the driftwood log up on shore. I found a hand winch in the shed and winched the log up a bit higher. There are a few rocks that make an excellent cutting jig to raise the log for the chainsaw. I slowly pulled the log up, cut a few rounds, then pulled it some more until the log was all cut up. Another small log washed ashore yesterday, so I brought it up a little higher also.

Late in the afternoon Greg and Richard came by. The seal was still lounging on the jetty and the offloading of supplies necessitated moving the animal. Since Greg and Richard were coming from the water side, they pushed the animal to the shore area and onto the rocks beside the jetty. Hopefully it sticks around, it’s a beautiful animal with is big round eyes.

The guys brought a bunch of supplies, but the main task was working on the new electric fence. Richard worked on shortening the new poles, while Greg ran the new line for the jetty. The system was tested and the se lions should be deterred from climbing on the jetty now. They brought me some new trimmer line, so I completed the clearing of the walkways.

Ended the day running the generator again. The forecast was for a sunny afternoon, but it wasn’t enough to bring the batteries up to a comfortable level for the evening. While the generator was running I had to repair a few spot in the fence that the sea lions messed up this afternoon.

Facility work

• cleaned solar panels
• ran the gas generator
• fence repairs
• Cut wood
• Trimmed along sidewalks
• Worked on new fence line

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 19
• Private: 4
• Paddleboard: 1

Weather

Mainly cloudy with periods of sun. Winds WNW 5 to 14 knots. Daytime temperatures 12 to 14 degrees.

I was greeted by a windy morning; the predicted 20-25 knot winds were at 25 knots. I started the generator and did a quick cleaning of the solar panels, hoping to harvest what I could today.

Being less welcoming outside, I decided to do some inside work and washed the basement floor. Christine mentioned it was due, and it allowed me to keep busy.

Christine had cut up some wood by the jetty, so I decided to bring the rounds in and perhaps split them later. When I got to the woodpile there was a sea lion (or so I thought) resting against the pile. I walk towards it and it didn’t want to move; I could have literally walk over and pet it. This is not normal sea lion behaviour. I backed off and tried to figure out why it wasn’t moving. It appears to be injured. I also noticed it wasn’t the same as the other sea lions…it’s a juvenile elephant seal. Awesome, a new friend! I took a few pictures and sent them to Greg to check out. The message was forwarded to VAMMR and they have asked me to monitor the seal. For now, the seal is resting on the Jetty

The seal was bleeding above the front flipper and on the flipper

Facility work

• cleaned solar panels
• ran the gas generator
• fence repairs
• washed basement floor
• split and stacked wood

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 26
• Private: 7

Weather

Cloudy in the morning, then Sunny in the afternoon. Winds WNW 17 to 33 knots. Daytime temperatures 14 to 18 degrees.

Started the morning by starting the gas generator. The weather shows mainly cloudy today, so I will run it for a few hours to build up charge this morning. While the generator was running, I went about the duties for the day. First up was walking the fence and moving the rouge sealions back to their side of the fence, then repairing the sections they knocked down.

Hoping to see some sun later in the day, I climbed up and cleaned the solar panels. Perhaps early morning is a good idea, as they still had a bit of moisture from the dew. It was my first day cleaning the panels, so it took a few panels to get my technique figured out.

Lots of eco-tourism boats today. I climbed the tower at one point and could see boats of various sizes all around. There were lots of Humpbacks, so they were in different areas viewing the whales. I spent some time viewing and identifying the wildlife from the top of the tower. Tomorrow is the census, and I wanted to figure out how I will view all the wildlife on the outer islands. Anyone who has climbed the tower knows it’s a workout; I counted the stairs on one of my trips up…91 to get to the ladder, then 8 steps on the ladder.

I did some weed whacking of the pathways to remove the overgrowth. With the nesting seagulls, we didn’t want to disturb the nests, but now the paths are being overtaken by the foliage. I systematically trimmed and then saved some battery, so that I could use the blower to remove the mess. I did about half of my goal before I needed a battery recharge. And then once I resumed, I ran out of trimmer line. I’ll pick up this task another day once I get new line.

After gathering the water sample today, I closed the shed door and the handle came off in my hand! Fortunately the door hadn’t closed, so I could push it open. I recalled seeing spare handles in the house, so I went on a hunt to remember where they were. Replacing the handle was a bit of a challenge with he salt water having rusted everything.

With the salt water. the door handle gets pretty corroded.

Saw the sea lion that had the plastic around his neck earlier. They seem to be doing well and the wound has healed. The sea lion has an obvious ring around its neck for life now.

Sea Lion is doing well, but will have a scar for life

Facility work

• cleaned solar panels
• ran the gas generator
• checked batteries
• fence repairs
• Some weed whacking
• Fixed maintenance shed door knob

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 24
• Private: 6

Weather

Cloudy with sunny periods.  Winds 2 to 8 knots, direction variable. Daytime temperatures 12 to 14 degrees.

Spent my first afternoon on the rock getting oriented with the animals and the fencing. The water sample was the first order of business, as I took over about 30 minutes before the sample time. The first order of business was telling one of my new friends that they needed to vacate the jetty so that I could get to the sampling location. They knew they needed to move, and it didn’t take much cajoling.
I walked the fence and made sure everything was set correctly, then went into the house to unpack my stuff and settle in. Later I went out to do some work and one silly sealion was in the middle of the jetty! I tried to gently coax him back into the water, interested in how he got there. He didn’t go slowly, and took out the fence. Now I had a repair to do…such is life.

Facility work

• fence repairs in a few places
• brought driftwood log up that Christine cut

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 23
• Private: 5

Weather

Scattered clouds.  Winds 12 to 19 knots, predominantly West. Daytime temperatures 12 to 16 degrees.