Author Archives: Carol and Mike Slater

swells

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Wednesday, November 21, 2001
Good evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 10.0ºC — Min. 8.1ºC — Reset 8.3ºC — Rain 6.4 mm getting close to the 100mm for the month
MARINE LIFE:Although the wind was fairly light most of the day (E 06),there was a low easterly swell until just before dark when the wind picked up to 28-31 knts.Another noisy night as the swells have now also begun to build high enough to roll the logs around on the shore. We counted 87 Northern,and 44 California Sea Lions hauled out on Middle Rock with another 30 Northern on Gr.Race.One of the Northern Sea Lions,a very large fellow hauled out in the small east bay,has an open wound approximately 30cmX40cm on his lower chest.Looks like a raw red patch with the fur completely gone. The edges of the wound are quite smooth. One of the 5 California Sea Lions that spent most of the day on the dock has a yellow tag on his right flipper with the #791.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:15 PM
Good morning
WEATHER: Sky overcast — Vis. 15 mils — Light rain — Wind south 3 knots — Sea rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:21 AM

seagull prey

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Tuesday, November 20, 2001
Good evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.0ºC — Min. 8.7ºC — Reset 9.3ºC — Rain 5.4 mm
MARINE LIFE:the wind abated somewhat this morning but the 1-2 metre swells were still coming in from the east and the Sea Lions favoured the relative calm of the kelp beds on the south side just below the engine room.Through out the day there were several large groups rafting in that area until approximately 15:30 when the wind increased to 30knts.and the swells to 3-4 metres.5 Bald Eagles(3 mature) visited today but stayed only 21/2 hours.One adult gull was caught and eaten(by one of the mature eagles) just in front of the learning centre.One of the juvenile Eagles looked very thin and shaggy.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:16 PM
Good morning
WEATHER: Sky overcast with occasional brake — Vis. 15 mile — Wind south east 12 knots — Sea 1 foot chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:26 AM

Large swells

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Monday, November 19, 2001
Good evening
TEMPERATURE: Max 11.0ºC — Min. 7.1ºC — Reset 10.0ºC — Rain 10.2
MARINE LIFE: Except for a few Sea Lions most of the marine mammals preferred to stay in the water yesterday and today.The familiar growls and barks have been replaced by the roar of the 4-5 metre swells crashing along the shore.Some of the swells bring large logs that make quite a bit of noise as they grind against the rocks and when the tide is high the waves even move boulders around -definitely not boating weather!
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:09 PM
Good morning
WEATHER: Sky overcast — Vis. 10 rain — Wind north 23 G 30 knots — Sea 5 foot moderate – moderate north east swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:28 AM

Rafting sea lions

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Saturday, November 17, 2001
Good evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 9.0ºC — Min 4.7ºC — Reset 7.5ºC — Rain 0.2 mm
MARINE LIFE:Today half the Sea Lion population spent most of the afternoon ‘rafting’ about in the kelp bed on the East side of Gr. Race.What at first glance looks like driftwood and tangles of kelp floating by are actually groups of from three to eight or nine Sea Lions floating just below the surface with their flippers sticking up like little sails.This behavior is evidently associated with heat transfer from their hairless flippers.
HUMAN INTERACTION:1 Dive charter boat with 6 divers -West Race -10:00–14:30
3 Tour boats approx. 39 passengers
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:11 PM
Good morning
WEATHER: Sky clear — Vis. 15 miles — Wind north east 7 knots — Sea rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:28 AM

Branded sealion

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Friday, November 16, 2001
Good evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 10.0ºC — Min 7.9ºC — Reset 8.5ºC — Rain 3.4mm
MARINE LIFE: The Sea Lions have moved higher along the shore as the higher tides and sea swells cover their usual rocky haul-outs.Just before nightfall there were 34 Northern and 16 California Sea Lions in the East Bay area,one group of 7 Northern and 2 California on a grassy area 3 metres from the house and about 5 metres from the shore.Another gathering of 27 Northern,21 California and 2 juvenile Northern Elephant Seals have hauled out on the south side of Gr. Race on a flat area by the fog horn tower about 5 metres above sea level.One California Sea Lion has a brand on it’s rump which is difficult to read -first 2 numbers 73 are clear,the last number could be 1
HUMAN INTERACTION:there were 2 Pleasure craft through the M.P.A. today
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:12 PM
Good morning
WEATHER: Sky cloudy — Vis. 15 miles — Wind west 7 knots — Sea rippled with a low north east swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:42 AM

Eagle predation

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Thursday, November 15, 2001
Good evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 12.1ºC — Min. 9.1ºC — Reset 9.3ºC — Rain 8.2
MARINE LIFE:Just after 9:00 this morning a mature Bald Eagle entered the M.P.A.,it’s arrival ‘announced’ by a mass ‘lift-off’ of the 500+ gulls and cormorants.The 22 Black Oyster Catchers also took flight ‘sounding’off with their characteristic shrill whistling,also alerted were the ever present Starlings,Crows and Black Turnstones that scurried among the rocks to be as inconspicuous as possible.The Eagle took up it’s ‘post’ on the rocky ridge along the east shore of Gr. Race and things were quiet until about 9:40 when he took off and was immediately joined by 250-300 gulls.In a dive among the circling gulls the Eagle ‘took’ an immature gull landed on the ridge,spent 15minutes feeding then left the carcass to eager Crows.The Eagle flew to the high point on the SE rocks and sat there until about 11:30 when he again took flight-one circle around the shore of Gr. Race with the gulls in pursuit the Eagle swooped down over the rocks in front of the Learning Centre. When he came back into view there was an immature gull hanging from his talons.The gulls continued to circle the Eagle harrassing it to the point where instead of setting down it flew about 100 metres out over the water where it lost hold of the gull. The Eagle made 4 attempts to retrieve the gull caught up in the tide and moving quite rapidly eastward. The 5th and as it turned out final attempt at reclaiming it’s prey was only partly successful. The eagle did manage to grab hold onto the wing but could not maintain it’s grip and the gull dropped again into the choppy water. I don’t know if the Eagle gave up because of fatigue or the constant interference by the gulls,maybe a combination of the two,but he flew off towards Bentinck Island.A lot of energy expended in the search for food,quite a contrast to the leisurely stroll down the well stocked aisle of the corner grocery store most of us take for granted! The small east bay was popular again today as a haul-out area,by nightfall 57 California and 13 Northern, very noisy Sea Lions were gathered together no more than 6 metres from the house.Might have to resort to earplugs tonight,at the very least will have to sleep with the window closed.One California Sea Lion has the number 768 branded on his rump-an indication he must have made a nuisance of himself, possibly near a fish ladder.
HUMAN INTERACTION:1 Tour boat through M.P.A. at 16:40
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:09 PM
Good morning
WEATHER: Sky overcast — Vis 15 miles — Wind north 9 knots Sea rippled low east swell –occasional rain shower
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:19 AM

Seabirds feeding in large numbers

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Tuesday, November 13, 2001
Good evening

Max. 10.5ºC — Min. 8.3ºC — Reset 9.4ºC — Rain 7.6 mm
WEATHER:The day started off fairly calm but by 14:00 there were 3-4metre swells pounding the eastern shore-this sea condition due to the 40-45knot winds from the weather system 15kms to the east.Our wind never rose above E 22 and then it lasted only 30minutes.
MARINE LIFE: 1500-1800 sea birds,mostly gulls and cormorants,spent the morning feeding in the large kelp bed on the east side of Gr.Race but when the large swells started rolling in and breaking, most came ashore and settled along the ridges on the south side.The 2 Northern,13 California and 3 Northern Elephant Seals hauled out in the small east bay went into the water after 15 minutes or so of rollers breaking over them. Maybe the 35-40 Harbour Seals that frequent this small area will ‘reclaim’ their their spot!
The Sea Lions and Seals do often share haul-out areas but since it is a very small bay I think the smaller seals feel intimidated as the number of Sea Lions gets past 4 or 5.Several years ago one of the Harbour Seals was crushed to death when 30 or so Sea Lions ‘stampeded’ into the water because of a boat passing too close to shore.
An immature Bald Eagle caught an immature gull in the SE rocks area a little after 11:00, spent 15-20 minutes eating and putting the run on 7 crows trying to share in it’s good fortune. Finished eating, the eagle circled the island once then headed towards Whirl Bay.
As the swells roll through the kelp beds much of it is breaking away and floating by in big clumps-a sure sign of winter on it’s way!
HUMAN INTERACTIONS: U.Vic Lifetimer boat with students again today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:21 PM
Good morning
Sky overcast — Vis. 12 miles — Light rain showers — Wind north 13 knots — Sea 1’chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:35 AM

Project week ends

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Saturday, November 10, 2001
PC STUDENTS: Our last full day in the kingdom of Race Rocks. We completed a little repair work on the line to the artificial tide pool as well as covered the pipe that leads to it. Kiprop presented his new film of our week at Race Rocks to our web audience. We enjoyed adding the music to the clips where we felt the tunes were most appropriate and laughed the entire time while making it. Cleaning up is complete and most of us are turning in for an early night. Hannah, Salla and myself (Sarah) are looking forward to the dive tomorrow. It has been a wonderful week even if we all are going to be blackmailed by Kiprop’s sneaky film clips of us at our worst moments. It’s been fun, we survived, ate well, slept lots and managed to get some work done in between. -Sarah
posted by Sarah Gross at 11:58 PM

Harlequin Ducks return

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Wednesday, November 07, 2001

MARINE LIFE: Over 150 Northern Sea Lions were on Middle Rocks in the mid afternoon, another 15 on North Rocks. Harbour seals are scattered in several little pockets an various islands usually no more than 8 in one area. Many of the Californian Sea Lions have moved to the rocky beach just South of the Tower. I also saw for the first time this fall, the flock of 20 Black Oyster Catchers high on the Rocky shore, to the sw of the engine room.
posted by Garry Fletcher at 9:53 PM
WEATHER: The day was part cloudy and windy with max. temp of 9.3 ºC and min. temp. of 7.1 ºC .
MARINE LIFE: Five Harlequin Ducks have arrived back for the winter. We were filming them as they patrolled through the kelp beds around the edge of Great Race Rocks.
PC STUDENTS: Our fourth day at Race Rocks has just ended. Today, we managed to finish off refilling the oil tanks and this should take us until April. Garry came over to deliver the G3 Powerbook for a webcast later this evening.
HUMAN INTERACTION: One boat with eight people passed by Race Rocks.
posted by Michael Kiprop at 6:43 PM

Pelicans visit

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Tuesday, November 06, 2001

WEATHER: It was a bright day Max temp – 9.4 Min temp – 8.5 ºC
PC STUDENTS: Yet another day at Race Rocks! Today, we had the pleasure of refilling the oil tanks with the assistance of Mike and Chris. Garry and I managed to restore the remote camera which had jammed.We are looking forward to yet another interesting day tomorrow at Racerocks..HUMAN INTERACTION:Two boats each with seven people passing by Racerocks
posted by Michael Kiprop at 9:52 PM
Good morning
WEATHER:Sky overcast — Vis 15 — Wind north 7 knots — Sea rippled — ocl. brk.
MARINE LIFE: Two Brown Pelicans observed today sitting out with the Mew gulls .
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:44 AM