Author Archives: Anne Stewart

Battery Power

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The fog came and went again today but overall there was enough sunshine to keep the solar panels producing power. There was very little wind, always less than ten knots and often less than five. The direction was quite variable: in the morning it came from the north, then switched around to south and was blowing westerly at sunset. Now in the late evening it has turned back to a three-knot north wind. The barometer rose gradually most of the day so we are back up where we were a couple of days ago. The forecast is for increasing clouds with some sunshine tomorrow.

Today, I was not able to monitor vessel traffic in the Ecological Reserve as well as I usually do, nevertheless, 23 whale watching boats were observed in the Reserve, several visiting multiple times.

I did a large animal census, today and will report on it tomorrow as it is late now.

The middle of the day was taken up with battery room maintenance. Courtney showed me how to do it by doing 24 batteries and then I did the rest while the electrician and his apprentice were there. They checked on me to make sure that I was okay, working in that dangerous environment. All 96 batteries were checked and topped up with distilled water. Other chores included the usual daily tasks, seawater sampling, generation of electricity with the Lister and launching the boat. Once the electricians were finished, I gave them a ride into Pedder Bay. In spite of fog, there was a bit of a sunset. Here’s the shot.

As the tide ebbs, the sun sets through the fog reflected in the boils and rips.

As the tide ebbs, the sun sets through the fog reflected in the boils and rips.

Fogimatrix.

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The weather here was dominated by fog today. It lifted in an interesting way this morning so that you could see out and under the fog for several miles yet there was thick fog above, at very low elevation. The rising sun shone through this clear layer, creating a weird and wonderful lighting effect from below. By mid-day the fog had burned off and sunshine prevailed at sea level. There was still fog in the shipping lane and the tops of the Olympic mountains were visible. The fog flowed back in by mid-afternoon and thickened steadily after that, pushed in by a westerly fog wind. During the day there wasn’t much wind until late afternoon/early evening when it picked up to 15 to 20 knots from the west. The barometer continued its slow trend downward that started a few days ago and the forecast looks relatively good until rain on Friday.

There was a fairly steady parade of whale watching boats in the Ecological Reserve today. They were looking at Humpback Whales, Harbour Porpoise and of course the Sea Lions. Sixteen tour boats were noted although I may have missed some in the fog. One of the tour operators had the chance to see a really big (tyee) spring salmon swimming through the kelp forest.

There were sports fishers catching Coho, Spring and Chum Salmon to the south and west of Race Rocks and many sea lions were also busy catching salmon while at the same time helping to feed the gulls with their scraps, not out of any benevolence, just because they are messy eaters.

There are many gulls here now including Glaucous-winged, Glaucous-winged hybrids and Thayer’s gull which are challenging to distinguish. I look forward to doing the census first thing tomorrow to try and figure out how many of which species. The Heerman’s Gulls continue to benefit from sea lion salmon treats which they certainly can’t do where they breed in Mexico. I like watching them. They are very beautiful and have a interesting feeding behaviours that they may have learned from birds like skimmers where they live rest of the year. They fly with their lower bill hanging down just above the water and occasional skim the water with it, catching small prey.
There are many sea lions on the west side of the island now and the westerly wind carries the dusty grime from them onto everything in its path. The Savannah Sparrows feed in and around the sea lions.

These little Savannah Sparrows forage through the sea lion waste picking up morsels and probably a few parasites.

These little Savannah Sparrows forage through the sea lion waste picking up morsels and probably a few parasites.

Elephant Seals have been hauling out on Middle Rock for over a month and now some are back on Great Race again. There was a small one hauled out on the northeastern side and a bigger one on the railway with the sea lions.

This Elephant Seal is napping with California Sea Lions on the marine railway.

This Elephant Seal is napping with California Sea Lions on the marine railway.

Washing the solar panels took a long time this morning. They were really dirty. I will do them after the census and it will probably take even longer, tomorrow as I want to shovel off the organic stuff that has accumulated before the electrician arrives to work on the panels. Today I readjusted to life on Race Rocks, finished the month-end report for September, did the seawater sample, made freshwater with the desalinator, ran the Lister generator and sorted photos as well as sea lion brand and entanglement data.

This entangled California Sea Lion has been spotted repeatedly since the end of August.

This entangled California Sea Lion has been spotted repeatedly since the end of August.

Out of the Fog

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I returned to Race Rocks today after attending the Trans-Atlantic workshop on Ocean Literacy and the European Marine Science Educator’s conference last week, in Gothenburg, Sweden. I am refreshed and inspired to finish off my shift at Race Rocks.
It was warm and sunny when Courtney and I left Pearson College in Pedder Bay this morning but as we drove southeast towards Race Rocks, we were soon enveloped in the cool, damp fog. As the sunny peaks of the Olympic Mountains slid out of view, obscured by fog, the dark shape of North Islet emerged and behind it came Great Race and the light-tower, out of the fog. It is great to be back and was just as great for Jeff, who was filling in, to leave.
It was foggy on and off all day with a few periods of sunshine with visibility of over a nautical mile. Throughout the day, the foghorn blew and I could hear ships signaling as they navigated the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the fog. There was no wind for most of the day but it has been consistently blowing about ten knots out of the west for the past several hours and the fog is thickening.
The fog did not deter the whale watching boats as there were Humpback Whales feeding in the area today and the last cruise ship of the season in port. One smaller Humpback was diving and presumably feeding right in the Ecological Reserve diving against the flooding tide. I wonder if they can use the flow to their advantage in feeding more efficiently with less effort? Natural history speculation aside, the count of observed whale watching boats from 11:00 to 19:00 (dusk) was thirteen with some vessels visiting more than once.
The Chum Salmon run started in earnest while I was away and there appears to be fewer sea lions hauled out than there were before. There are many in the water however. Sea lions of both species are very busy eating Chum Salmon with most of the kills I observed, happening right in or at the edge of the tidal flows. They thrash the fish and rip it apart at the surface and swallow large chunks tail last at the surface as well. This source of scraps, of course attracts gulls. Several species of gull were seen in these sea lion driven feeding flocks today; Glaucous-winged, Hermann’s, Thayer’s and Ring-billed Gulls. There were three or four fairly hefty Elephant Seals hanging around the marine railway today. They have such huge eyes and such clean looking pink mouths. Many of the Sea Lions have serious tooth decay and oral disease.

While I was away there were several a visits to the island. The Victoria Natural History Society made it part of their birding trip on September 27, sixteen friends of the Royal BC Museum made a visit October 4th and a family visit was made by by Mike and Carol Slater, one of their daughters and several grand-children. Mike and Carol were the last light-keepers at Race Rocks and the first Eco-Guardians. They survived some epic storms and I am sure they have some great stories to tell. If you are interested in the “contemporary” history of Race Rocks, there is a lot of information on this web-site, including ancient videos, images and even historic weather events.

My main tasks today were to get moved back into the house, to do the seawater sampling, fix the pier fence and run the generator for a few hours in order to top up the batteries. There is new clean oil in the Lister gen-set and new filters etc. thanks to Jeff. The old Lister seems to run better than ever tonight a I finish my last task, posting this blog..

Gray on gray.

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It was a bit of a gray day with some thick fog and even a few patches of sunlight, which made fog-bows. This is my made up word for the colourless, rainbow-like arches made by the sun in the fog. Winds were light and swung around out of the north, northeast and over to the east, with the northeast predominating, at about 5 knots. The barometer was fairly steady today and the forecast for tomorrow is for more of the same only more southeast, also with showers.

There were Dall’s Porpoise and Humpback Whales nearby late in the afternoon, which brought a few whale watching boats with a total of nine noted in the Ecological Reserve. The operator of the vessel King Salmon, of Great Pacific Adventures needs to review the regulations for operation in the Ecological Reserve.

The newcomers today were four Greater White-fronted Geese. This species nests in the arctic west of Hudson’s Bay and the western populations winter from here down to Mexico.

Greater White-fronted Geese were resting and recovering here today.

Greater White-fronted Geese were resting and recovering here today.

Today was the day, for the weekly census of megafauna and these are the results:
Steller’s Sea Lion 176
California Sea Lion 406
Elephant Seal 6
Harbour Seal 168
River Otter 2
Canada Goose 4
Greater White-fronted Goose 4
Double-Crested Cormorant 18
Pelagic Cormorant 8
Cormorant sp. 2
Black Oystercatcher 8
Black Turnstone 11,
Killdeer 2
Surfbird 28
Common Murre 4
Thayer’s Gull 113
Glaucous-winged Gull 22
Heerman’s Gull 6
California Gull 1
Western Gull 1
Gull spp. 256 (probably in similar proportions to above, unable to tell due to distance and fogged glass in the tower)

Fence maintenance takes quite a bit of time right now as new sea lions arrive for the winter and learn to stay away from the houses and off the jetty. They would probably prefer to be right here in the kitchen but that is a trade-off with having a guardian here. Fresh-water production and electrical generation continue to be a priority. Today was also the day for month-end report, house cleaning and packing. I am off to Scandinavia to share and learn more about Ocean Literacy. Thanks to all the PC Marine Science students who were willing to share their thoughts with the participants of the gathering at the University of Gothenberg.

Real Rain

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There was measurable rain last night and this morning for the first time in a long time, followed by fairly thick fog. Eventually the fog burned off and the northeast wind chased it out of the Strait. Although it is now blue sky above, it seems to be the donut hole with clouds all around, so expect more showers and outflow winds. The barometer started climbing out of the hole early this morning and kept climbing most of the day, until leveling off late afternoon. On the satellite, it looks like the first pineapple express of the season and we are in the lee of the Olympic Mountains.

Rain, sunshine and fog, with god-rays for good measure.

Rain, sunshine and fog, with god-rays for good measure.

There was only one whale watching boat today ‘Gold Wing’, one recreational boat and a couple of commercial charter vessels.

The second of three first year Marine Science classes came for a field trip today. Their quest was similar to yesterday’s class; to make first-hand observations and enter their notes and drawings into their field journals and to add to their species lists. I added consumption of warm fruit crumble, with very Canadian maple syrup to their to do list and the students seemed to enjoy the whole process.

Students making discoveries.

Students making discoveries.

Canadian student observing from the top of the tower.

Canadian student observing from the top of the tower.

Journal and camera at the ready for marine science observations.

Journal and camera at the ready for marine science observations.

Hang on to that journal. You will need to keep track of it for two years.

Hang on to that journal. You will need to keep track of it for two years.

Class meeting at the ecoguardian house.

Class meeting at the ecoguardian house.

The crew

Second Nature departing with Courtney at the helm.

Second Nature departing with Courtney at the helm.

The California Sea Lions seem to be disturbed by the rain and spent the night making a lot of noise. In the morning most of them moved into the water when the rain started again. Could it be that there hasn’t been much rain where they have been? So far we have brands from the Channel Islands, Rogue Reef in southern Oregon and the Columbia River in northern Oregon.

We had some new arrivals today in the form of a flock of very tired Surfbirds. They slept most of the day. Their breeding grounds are in the mountains of the Yukon and in Alaska and they winter here on the coast.

Surfbirds arrived today and rested.

Surfbirds arrived today and rested.

There were also a couple of Western Sandpipers flitting about today. They breed in western Alaska and are heading south, just passing through here. If they are looking for biofilm, Race Rocks is covered in it, even though with its’ high current and rocky substrate, it is the opposite of a mudflat, it has such a massive concentration of life that there is food for eveyone. I saw more Black Oystercatchers today than I have in a couple of weeks. They are one of my favourite birds.

Black Oystercatchers are very jazzy birds. They have the most spartan nests imaginable. The adult pairs are quite site fidel.

Black Oystercatchers are very jazzy birds. They have the most spartan nests imaginable. The adult pairs are quite site fidel.

I am preparing to attend an international workshop on ocean literacy, followed by the European Marine Science Educator’s Conference. Also trying to trouble-shoot the Davis wind direction data, which is reading greater than 360o. All the normal, potential problems seem fine, so it is still a mystery. Regular tasks like making power, making water, testing the seawater, taking photos of branded animals and generally fighting entropy, continue. Here is another photo for Garry of sea lions in the foreground and shipping in the not too distant background.

Race Rocks Ecological Reserve is located adjacent to a very busy shipping lane.

Race Rocks Ecological Reserve is located adjacent to a very busy shipping lane.

Marine Science Students Visit Race Rocks

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Coming from Bamfield, I expect large volumes of water when the barometer drops and it starts to blow southeast. It was grey and wet today but the wheelbarrow I left out to collect rainwater only has about 500ml of water in it at the end of the day. The barometer is still sliding so maybe I should be careful what I say. The wind did turn around to westerly for a while as it cleared in the late afternoon and is now flowing out from the northeast with more drizzle approaching real rain. From Environment Canada’s forecast it looks like the trend for this week.

Although there are still plenty of recreational fishers around, only one was noted in the reserve today and they were looking at sea lions. There was only one whale watching boat noted in the reserve.

Laura brought the first of her three marine science classes, from Pearson College to Race Rocks today. Courtney masterfully landed Second Nature at the very unforgiving pier and we had a wonderful field trip with a student:teacher ratio of 4:1. The students were really good at moving with stealth so as to not startle the sea lions. This allowed for good sea lion observations, which were noted in their journals. They saw all four species of Pinnipeds and added to their growing species lists with Black Oystercatchers, Black Turnstones, Glaucous-winged, Heerman’s and Thayer’s Gulls. They spotted new (to me) branded California Sea Lions including three branded in the Channel Islands. All of the students had a bird’s eye view from the top of the light-tower thanks to Courtney and we finished off with warm cinnamon buns at the keeper’s house.

After the visitors left, I caught a glimpse of these two Steller’s Sea Lions entangled in sports fishing gear. Those are salmon flashers hanging out of their mouths, which is not good news, as these cannot be disentangled the way the neck-rings can. The individual with one flasher has been hauling out at this same spot for a few weeks now. The one with two flashers, has not seen before today.

I will be watching out for this animal over the next month.

I will be watching out for this animal over the next month.

 

Today was the first time this animal with two flashes was seen here. It will be easy to distinguish it from the one with only one flasher.

Today was the first time this animal with two flashes was seen here. It will be easy to distinguish it from the one with only one flasher.

Equinox

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Today was a quiet day, weather-wise, with none of the drama of yesterday. We are slipping quietly into autumn with light winds. The wind has gone almost full circle today, from southeast and rain in the early morning to light westerly in the afternoon and now light to northeasterly breezes as the sun sets. The barometer climbed a little out of its slump and is beginning to fall again as day ends.

There was quite a bit of traffic in the reserve today with whales to the west. A total of 17 tour boats were noted, stopping by to view seals and sea lions. Many more went by fast, well on either side of the reserve.

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A field of Epiactis prolifera, showing the high variability in colouration– photo by Ryan Murphy.

Few ecological observations were made today, although I did notice Cross-jellies in the water off the jetty when I was sampling seawater. Cross-jellies or Microcoma cellularia, have four radial canals which make an X on their fairly flat bell which is why they are called cross-jellies. They are one of a few hydromedusae that have been shown to seek out food by smell or chemosensory reception. They were in the very smelly, sea lion “gack” water and probably pulled in here by the tidal currents but it is cool to contemplate that an animal with no brain can make choices and behave in certain ways to achieve things.

The marine invertebrate life at Race Rocks is really rich. Even the inter-tidal is spectacular and the sub-tidal has even more species and layres. Even though it is fairly close to Victoria, the marine ecology of the Reserve is more like the wave-exposed open coast habitat that I am used to in Nuu-chah-nulth-aht territories. A lot of the productivity and diversity here has to do with the amazing currents and the upwelling they produce.

Today was a day of small projects including getting the EPIRB information off of the Whaler, stowing gasoline, doing radio checks and radio watch for CAS, fixing the fence and trying to fix the wind direction indicator input. I am really looking forward to working with three first year Marine Science classes from Pearson College this week and the first students arrive tomorrow. I hope they enjoy observing the sea lions and adding to their journals with new species entries.

Last Blast of Summer

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Tomorrow is the equinox and it was a glorious last day of summer today on Race Rocks. In the morning, outflow northeasterly winds soon gave way to westerlies, which gained momentum creating whitecaps and active seas in the afternoon. Both yesterday and today there was also an ocean swell, indicating a storm out at sea. Some of the surges created large, standing waves in the tidal flows. The barometer continued slide today and a change is on the way with showers forecast to start by tomorrow evening.

There were only a few whale-watching boats today, four observed in total. The Ogden Point Dive Centre’s charter boat ran a dive right off the jetty today. A few recreational boats stopped to watch the sea lions and three were speeding in the reserve, as they came into and left the area. A Pedder Bay, Oak Bay Marine Group rental boat didn’t bother to slow at all and sped through the area packed with sea lions.

After picking up calipers at the floating lab, I was able to almost complete meristic data collection for the Glaucous-wing Gull mortality study. Measurements were made of over 50 gulls in order to determine the age range and location at death. It has been so dry for so long, that the birds were basically mummified, not nearly as gross as standing up-wind of the living sea lions.

Several opportunistic brand photos were taken today and census photos were taken to validate against the more traditional census technique.

Sometimes the brands are easier to read with binoculars than in the photo. This one is 1032.

Sometimes the brands are easier to read with binoculars than in the photo. This one is 1032.

It seems that more Steller’s Sea Lions, Thayer’s Gulls and Double-crested Cormorants are arriving daily As you can see from this photograph of one the main California Sea Lion sleeping areas they are packed in tightly and not strictly segregated by species.

Sea lions pack into sleeping areas. This big Steller's Sea Lion caused a ruckus by walking over the Californians.

Sea lions pack into sleeping areas. This big Steller’s Sea Lion caused a ruckus by walking over the Californians.

The more mundane tasks of washing the solar panels, building up the compost, washing windows and mending the fences were done in the morning and it was actually hot, hmmm, just like summer. The seawater data was collected in the afternoon as the sunshine powered the solar panels which in turn powered the desalinator to make fresh water out of salt water. As the sun set south of Cape Flattery now, the classic Lister generator topped up the batteries for the overnight period.

From fog into sunshine.

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Today started overcast and foggy but cleared by noon and stayed sunny and warm until the spectacular sunset. The outflow winds were light to moderate and mostly southeast during the day and have now dropped to a light northeast breeze with clear starry skies. The barometer took a dive today and that may be reflected in the forecast of cloud and rain for next week. One last day of sunshine forecast for tomorrow and then more fall-like for the equinox.

There were only three tour boats today and a few recreational fishers.
Large flocks of Thayer’s Gulls can be seen feeding on zooplankton right along the edges of the kelp beds, now. Maybe they will inspire the Glaucous-winged Gulls to get out and about instead of picking through sea lion poo. It was hard to see what exactly the Thayer’s Gulls are feeding on but the strong currents really kick up food to the surface.

These planktivorous Thayer's Gulls are picking zooplankton out of the surface water kicked up by the tide.

These planktivorous Thayer’s Gulls are picking zooplankton out of the surface water kicked up by the tide.

The California Sea Lions seem to swim effortlessly underwater and are really fast. Here is a photo of one gliding above the surf-grass Phyllospadix scouleri, in-shore of the beautiful bull kelp, Nereocystis lutkeana.

This diving California Sea Lion is cruising over gorgeous surf-grass. going with the tide inside the kelp bed.

This diving California Sea Lion is cruising over gorgeous surf-grass. going with the tide inside the kelp bed.

I worked more on the brand data and photographs. I have taken way too many photos and need to clean up the folders. I also cleaned more windows, raked hay for the compost, brushed walkways and ran the desalinator on solar power as well as the usual fence mending and generator running. A quick trip to Pedder Bay for recycling and fuel rounded out a busy day.

Transition to the last few days of summer.

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Today was a transition day with the wind not doing much, but shifting from west-southwest to west and the barometer slowly rising. There were both clouds and low marine air but it did not really rain. The high humidity made it really easy to wash the solar panels this morning and this evening I see hope for a beautiful sunset as it clears to the west. There may be fog in the morning tomorrow but the forecast is for clearing, sunshine and strong westerlies by noon.

Only two whale-watching boats were noted in the reserve today. There was no illegal fishing observed although two boats were speeding in the reserve which has a 7 knot speed limit within 400m of the rocks. Both speeders were sports fishers, one a rental boat from Oak Bay Marine Group 14K40098 and one a commercial charter boat called Cool Change of No Limit Charters 13K1116940.

This what I am looking for when photographing branded animals. This California Sea Lion was branded in the Channel Islands just northwest of Los Angeles.

This what I am looking for when photographing branded animals. This California Sea Lion was branded in the Channel Islands just northwest of Los Angeles.

I managed to photograph a few new (to me), branded sea lions today and got a few more shots with sea lions in the foreground and ships in the background. The Strait of Juan de Fuca is an incredibly busy shipping conduit. I also spent some time organizing data and photographs, a large job that I need to spend more time on. Routine maintenance, cleaning and fighting entropy filled the rest of the day.

sea lions and shipping lanes

There were no visitors today. I would post a sunset photo but it is giving me error messages. As the sun goes down it is beautiful aloft with mauves and crimsons defining perspective on the bottom of the clouds. It is very mysterious looking at water level with a thick fog coming in from the open ocean. The west wind is blowing 17 knots so it will soon be here.