Author Archives: Anne Stewart

The Race Pushes out Illegal Fishers

Posted on by

The day started and ended beautiful and clear, with thick fog coming and going, in between. The westerly winds were unabated and are still gusting over 25 knots as I write this at 21:30. The barometer ended up a little lower than it started with a few ups and downs. It looks like more of the same for tomorrow.

There were only three tour boats noted today and they were following Bigg’s Killer Whales to the west. With lots of Southern Resident Killer Whales, in the Gulf Islands that is probably where the main fleet was working today.

There was another Pedder Bay Marina rental boat with three male Asians fishing illegally in the Rockfish Conservation area today but by the time I tried to hail them on the radio and find the number for DFO Observe, Record, Report, the tidal flow had booted them out of the reserve. They tried again but were repulsed again by the mighty Race. Go tide. I also watched a small, skillfully sailed vessel virtually fly through with full sails and the westerly astern plus a big flood tide whipping him along.

Moving the 100 lb. propane tanks yesterday bugged my knee so I had a slow day today and learned how to use the camera (a little). Here is a photo requested by the Eco-Reserve Warden, Garry Fletcher. He asked for a photo with sea lions in the foreground and a ship in the background. Voila. (Okay, next time the horizon will be level.)

Seals and Sea Lions in the foreground, ship in the background.

Seals and Sea LIons in the foreground, ship in the background.

There are still a few technical details to figure out on how to make an electric fence to keep the big sea lions from leaning their way into the basement of the Science House. I am trying to train them to stay off the house by tapping two rocks together but they are not easily intimidated and some of them are downright ornery.

L86 was seen with the first new SRKW calf since 2012

Posted on by

The great weather with gentle outflow conditions continued for today but looks like we will be back to westerlies tomorrow and that may bring back the fog. The barometer slowly slid all day but is still relatively high.

There were only three tour boats today with the Bigg’s Killer Whales gone from this area and the Southern Resident Killer Whales in the Gulf Islands.

Several boaters were reported fishing illegally in the Race Rocks Close Conservation Area today. Juan de Fuca Warrior approached one of those boats and they pulled up and left the reserve. The people in the Juan de Fuca Warrior dropped off SCUBA divers just off of Great Race. I had to go on the VHF radio for the other two, both rentals from Pedder Bay Marina, other folks on the radio were supportive and eventually the poachers left.

Later when there were no fishers in the reserve, a Fisheries boat passed to the south and the Becher Bay Fisheries Patrol came through the reserve. Good to know that there are allies out there.

I completed the first part of the Glaucous-winged Gull mortality study today and didn’t have much time for any other substantial observations. Chris Blondeau came out with family visitors and delivered propane, food and other supplies. One thing we saw together was a California Sea Lion with and orange flipper tag on the left, front flipper and a ring around its neck or at least a mark from a line of some sort. It may have been healed but there was still an obvious mark. The orange tag means the individual had been at a rehabilitation centre in California, maybe the neck line was removed. Right now in California, many sea lions are having seizures and dying and some are being rehabilitated at Marine Mammal Centers, they are tagged on release too.. The illness is due to domoic acid poisoning from algal blooms.

Good news from off the rock but in the ‘hood’ today, as reported by the Center for Whale Research, L86 was seen with the first new calf in the Southern Resident Killer Whale population since 2012. That is really good news. right here is where they used to be captured for aquarium shows back in the day. Great to see that endangered population growing again.

Chores completed included simple things like fixing the hoses so they could be used without losing water like paper bags, adding peat moss to the compost and wetting it down so it won’t blow away immediately. The solar panels got an extra special fresh water cleaning today and I worked a bit on the jetty fence and science house perimeter.

Standing Waves

Posted on by

The fine weather continued today with light outflow winds and clear skies. The barometric pressure rose to almost 1020 hPa by mid–morning and then started to slowly slide back down. This pattern is forecast again for tomorrow.

I counted 32 tour boats in the reserve today and may have a missed a few as I was busy. I talked to the Garry Fletcher, Ecological Reserve Guardian and learned a great deal.
There were Biggs Killer Whales out to the west again so many of the boats broke up their trips coming or going with a stop at Race Rocks. A few recreational fishers went through at low speed but no poaching today. The only transgression noted was a Grady White speeding. The man with the white hat and red rubber boat was back but stayed just outside the line.

Just before sunset, an enormous aircraft carrier headed past and on out to sea. Ahead of it was a container ship and behind a schooner. The volume of goods and people coming and going in Juan de Fuca Strait is really amazing and it all passes by Race Rocks. Port Metro Vancouver alone trades $184 billion in goods and then there is Seattle, Victoria, Bellingham, Spokane etc..

Corrections to yesterday’s log: 1. There are still at least two Pigeon Guillemots feeding young. 2. I forgot to count in the four Canada Geese that are here daily. 3. I got a good look at the Black Turnstones from the tower today and counted 23.

I did some research today, starting with reading a few papers on Steller’s and California Sea Lions and looking at a paper on Glaucous-winged Gull chick mortality. I talked to Race Rocks Ecological Reserve Guardian, Garry Fletcher, learning a great deal. I started a Glaucous-winged gull survey today and found 30 so far. It is important to get this done before it starts getting too damp.

The practical side of the day involved more cleaning and starting a perimeter fence for the science house. The doors of the house are no match for a 2200 pound sea lion.
I watched the creation of large, breaking standing waves today, right in front of the house/jetty. The tide was flooding in and there was no wind so there must have been some ebb pushing out against it. Pretty spectacular for a few minutes then it calmed down.

Killer Whales and Sport-fishers to the West

Posted on by

Another glorious day on the rock with good visibility, calm waters and a clear sky. The barometer rose gradually until noon and then dropped slightly. Barely perceptible outflow winds kept the fog out at sea and it looks like a similar forecast for Friday.

There was a lot of activity in the Reserve today with whale watching boats stopping by to see the sea lions en-route, back and forth between Victoria and the two pods of transient (aka Bigg’s) Killer Whales off to the west. The smaller pod had four individuals and passed close to the reserve heading west spending the day between Becher Bay and Beachy Head. A second larger pod was reported from further west near Otter Point by days’ end. A total of 37 tour boats were noted in the reserve and many more passed by at speed outside of the boundaries. They keep constant contact with the whales during the day and pass off to each other, on leaving the area.

A couple of recreational boats spent time in the reserve today, one photographing sea lions for several hours and the other jigging. The conservation area is bounded by the 40 meter contour, and no jigging is allowed. Jigging targets territorial fish such as rockfish and lingcod although you can catch coho that way too. The Conservation Area is enforced by DFO and is there to protect long-lived, territorial fish like rockfish and lingcod, so that their offspring can disperse to other areas with the currents. A Marine Protected area like Race Rocks becomes a source of recruitment of young fish to nearby areas that don’t have protection and this ultimately makes the fishing more sustainable.

It was census day today.
Biggs’ Killer Whales 4
Steller’s Sea Lions 243 (7 brands noted)
California Sea Lions 334 (7 completed brands noted, 1 incomplete)
Total sea lions both species = 577
Harbour Seals 142
Elephant Seal 1 (pup)
Savannah Sparrows 8 (seemed to fly off to the south across the Strait after visiting)
Double-crested Cormorants 11
Pelagic Cormorants 4
Black Turnstones 7
Sandpipers 5
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Glaucous-winged Gulls 99 (4 chicks still begging)
Heerman’s Gulls 5
California Gull 1
Black Oystercatchers 7
The Pigeon Guillemots were not spotted today so I assume that the chicks finally fledged and have headed off to sea. I will miss them. It is fun to watch them ride the currents and carry crazy-looking fish to their young.

There were no visitors today, although both Second Nature and Hyaku made multiple trips within a stone’s throw of the jetty, as part of student orientation week.

Sediment Filters Installed

Posted on by

What a beautiful, warm, summer day. The early fog to the south and west disappeared and it stayed calm and got warm. The smoke and particulates made for another spectacular sunset, this time without a cloud. The barometer has been slowly rising since last night with a bit of a leveling this afternoon and evening. It looks like they are forecasting outflow winds for tomorrow and that might keep the fog at bay.

There were 17 tour boats today and most of them were very respectful of the seals and sea lions that they were watching in the reserve. The recreational fishing fleet seemed to be off to the west towards Beechy Head and the Bait Shack. Although a few boats passed through slowly, no one was jigging in the reserve today.  Second Nature and Hyaku made several trips out and around the reserve with groups of students rotating through their orientation activities.

There were military explosions during the late morning and early afternoon.

There were only 99 adults Glaucous-winged gulls at sunset and I could only spot three young ones, (still actively begging). The rest have moved on. There is still one demented gull that is trying to nest, bringing bunches of grass and acting agitated. I wonder what happened to its internal clock? I also spotted both Heermann’s Gulls and California Gulls today. The number of cormorants, both Double Crested and Pelagics continue to rise. Every night a mystery bird arrives after dark and calls a bit. I would love to figure out what it is. It almost sounds like a Greater Yellowlegs but it is the wrong kind of habitat. I wonder if it flies out here because it is a safe(ish) place to sleep?

A lot of maintenance work was accomplished today. I started by washing the basement floor where plumber was going to be working. Courtney brought the plumber out in Second Nature in the morning and while he plumbed Courtney and I dealt with propane tanks and electric fences. It was good to be able to chat with this veteran eco-guardian who now works on the waterfront at Pearson College. I learned a lot. Now both houses have big cartridge filters in-line in and it looks like really professional.

 

Thunder and Lightning

Posted on by

It was a dramatic day weather-wise with near-gale westerlies and a heavy downpour that dropped almost one centimetre of much needed rain. Just before the sun went down there were intense rainbows. The barometer continued its slide but a nice sunset and the westerly wind warning, mean sunshine for tomorrow.

With no killer whales in sight, the whale watching boat numbers dropped to three. There were no recreational boaters fishing in the closed Conservation Area today. There were some big blasts from the military site today late morning and early afternoon. They had a vessel standing off to the northwest of the reserve talking to boaters. Although there were no visitors ashore, Second Nature came within a stone’s throw of the jetty and I waved to Courtney and the Pearson College students aboard.

This morning when I got up there were no sea lions on the jetty for the first time so I will continue my territorial patrols. I scanned for brands/tags from the top of the tower again today, and added more to the growing list. Eventually I will put a finders’ curve together to see if I am approaching the asymptote.

I was a bit grossed out to see the GW Gulls and Black Turnstones foraging in the Sea Lion messes this morning. I wonder what their parasite load is mmm? At least one of the sea lions had evidently been eating krill.

All but one of the young gulls are flying now and it was fun to watch them ‘getting a flying lesson’ from the raven this morning. Okay, I know that is way too anthropomorphic. They were all following raven who seemed to be playing the trickster, (maybe hoping they would crash for breakfast). Ravens are so good at doing aerial flips and such but young gulls are still a bit wobbly. There are still two Pigeon Guillemots carrying food to nest sites. they bring a variety of benthic fish: so far I have seen little flatfish, large gunnels a variety of sculpins and maybe a prickleback.

Other than the routine chores, more window cleaning and moving heavy concrete blocks today, I did some trouble-shooting on the computer and deleted over 11,000 items from the trash which sped things up. I started to read the camera manual with camera in hand. Yesterday’s passing Killer Whales inspired me to learn how to use the camera with the big lens.

Recovery of species and spaces at risk.

Posted on by

Another glorious day at Race Rocks with westerly flow, basically a repeat of yesterday weather-wise. The barometer has dropped a bit over the evening and the wind has shifted to the southwest. Here is a graph of the atmospheric pressure that can be pulled up on the racerocks.com website. Tomorrow looks similar, windy with a chance of showers.

barometer

There were 33 tour boats today including a few that may not have been commercial. Some of the tour boats are really enormous and barely fit in the passage. There were at least 17 recreational fishers, again with some jigging by the rentals in the closed conservation area. Amazingly, a DFO patrol boat passed by and did nothing while these folks were slaying bottom fish in the reserve. I was up in the tower and couldn’t get the K-numbers as they are only painted on one side of the boat.

I did record another four sea lion brands in between chores and spotting killer whales travelling and feeding from the southwest to the southeast. There was one large bull, one little one with (probably) its mother and at least two others. I wasn’t close enough to identify them but if they were southern residents they are very endangered.

I was thinking about their chances of recovery when I noticed they were perfectly lined up with the Elwha River valley across the Strait in Olympic National Park. It reminded me of that Margaret Mead quote “Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” The recovery of the Elwha ecosystem is a remarkable story.

Not so remarkable, was the rest of my day; cleaning windows, killing flies, trying to learn how to use the camera, attempting to “train” the sea lions to get off the jetty and pursuing the regular drill of fighting entropy.

What’s your number?

Posted on by

It was a day without fog at Race Rocks and as the westerlies continue, some serious clouds can be seen piling up on far horizons. The barometer rose all day, which bodes well for tomorrow but there may be a few needed showers.

It was a busy day on the water with 26 whale watching boats visiting the reserve. From the expressions on the tourists’ faces, they seemed to enjoy watching the sea lions. All the skippers were respectful except for two travelling together who did not heed the go-slow zone.

There were so many recreational fishing boats that I could only keep track of the ones who were in contravention of the DFO Rockfish Conservation Area closure which runs around the reserve at a 40m depth. Many of those fishing inside the boundary were in rental boats but some of the other speed boats were doing what they do best…speeding. The Pedder Bay Marina is really good about talking to folks who rent from them and informing them about the conservation area.

I looked for tagged and branded sea lions again today and can report another nine California Sea Lions and four Stellers’ Sea Lions bringing the total number of branded individuals sighted up to 29. Eventually we will know a bit more about their stories from those numbers they carry. There are also two Stellers with neck rings cutting into their flesh and one with a flasher hanging out of its’ mouth. There are individual Harbour Seals, as well as both species of sea lions with major wounds. Speaking of wounds, there were two new, (to me), very small Elephant Seals on the ramp today, probably young of the year, judging from the size.

A few Pigeon Guillemots are still carrying into fish into the large boulder area by the jetty. The chicks must leave for sea at night as I haven’t seen any on the water and most are probably fledged by now. Each day, there are more Pelagic and Double Crested Cormorants roosting on the southwest side of the island.

The desalinator worked for a couple of hours during the sunshine today, making fresh water thanks to the solar panels.

Month end inventory was conducted today with measurements taken of all the fuel, fresh water, and equipment run times recorded.

My other task was to try and stake out a small territory on the jetty so that I can come and go and do the sampling. The elephant seals are no problem, they just sleep as you pass, or open one eye. Keeping the more belligerent California sea lions off the jetty seems to be a losing battle and has made getting out to the end of the jetty to sample seawater, extra challenging.

Fog and sunshine

Posted on by

There was a tiny bit of rain with fog early today and then it switched back to near gale westerlies with heavy fog interspersed with sunshine. It is a beautiful starlight evening and the westerly continues to drop. The barometer held fairly steady today with a slight increase this evening. Environment Canada says that a strong westerly wind warning stays in effect for Sunday with a chance of showers.

There were ten whale watching boats in the Reserve today and they were all well behaved. A dive charter boat with eleven divers aboard came through the reserve but I am not sure where they dove.

Two male kayakers , one in a green kayak and the other in a reddish-brown kayak came through the passage on the south side of Great Race in the early afternoon and caused a sea lion stampede. They then proceeded to fish right in the closed conservation area. There were also two recreational boats fishing in the marine protected area.

A few more sea lion brands were observed today including one seven year-old female Steller’s Sea Lion that was branded as a pup in 2007 at Rogue Reef , near Gold Beach in southern Oregon.

This was my first day to not see Elephant Seals and California Sea Lions have taken over the jetty and marine railway. Some of them are a bit scary looking and do not want to move so that I can do seawater data collection.

Three River Otters were out and about in daylight today. Usually you don’t see them and just guess that they are around in the evening as all the gulls lift off and call. There were two young, very healthy-looking animals with an adult. Maybe that it why there are so many Glaucous-winged gull chick mortalities here? (Just a guess.)

Alex was quite excited to see some of the old lighthouse artifacts including parts of an old Fairbanks-Morris engine. He also pointed out where the old granite light-keepers house had been removed from its attachment to the base of the light tower.

The tasks today were the basic, regular tasks of  cleaning the solar panels, running the generator, launching and bringing the boat back up in order to drop off Alex, repairing the jetty fence (twice) and taking the salinity measurement. Tomorrow is month-end report time.

 

 

Trustee Tour Day

Posted on by

The wind was out of the west today although it did swing to the southwest a few times and is trending that way now. The barometer has been slowly dropping for a few days. A few real clouds made another gorgeous sunset with a super crescent moon low in the west.

There were three tour boats today and one recreational fishing boat was noted fishing inside the reserve boundary today. They must have known as they stopped as soon as it was clear that they were being observed. There was military blasting today.

An animal census indicated 200 fewer sea lions than last week and brought to light 17 tagged and branded animals, with nine complete tag numbers recorded and seven partials. One of the Northern Sea Lions appears to have a badly embedded line around and growing into its’ neck. Only seven Glaucous–winged Gulls remain unfledged although some of the adults, presumably with failed nests are still carrying around nesting material and acting broody. At least one Pigeon Guillemot is bringing fish into the large boulder scree just west of the jetty, presumably they have a late chick there that they are feeding.

The struggle for sustainability continues and the solar panels contributed well to the island’s energy needs today even though it was not sunny all day.

Chris brought out a family group of 11 people with at least three generations today on Second Nature. They were delighted to make first hand observations of sea lion and elephant seal behaviour and enjoyed the beauty of the place.

Maintenance work consisted of the routine cleaning of solar panels, mucking out the waste, repairing the jetty fence line, collecting seawater salinity data and making biological observations. The generator was only run for an hour and a half, thanks to the solar panels.