Author Archives: Christine Chourmouzis

Fun times, happy people

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Three boat loads of Pearson’s students, instructors and a couple of parents visited today. They learned about the sea lions, elephant seals, gulls, the history of the lighthouse, climbed the lighthouse and toured the facilities to learn how fresh water and energy are produced and stored on the island. On one of the trips an ROV was launched off the pier. It was super cool to catch a special glimpse of the dancing kelp underwater world and have a view of the sky with gulls flying overhead seen from below the water surface.

Race Rocks students (tiny specks) at the base of the lighthouse.

Wildlife notes:

Several young eagles visited the island early this morning. I found it interesting that once an eagle had landed, the gulls seemed complacent and even sat or stood nearby. The oyster catchers however were not as accepting and continued to harass the unwelcomed intruder. Their determination and insistence may by due to the fact that some of the oyster catchers have already laid their eggs, while the gulls have little invested at this point, being only in the nest building, pairing and mating stages. Or maybe the young eagle I watched sitting amongst the gulls was just an inexperienced hunter or it is only eagles in flight that are a danger to the gulls …all day I watch the creatures here and wonder why – never any closer to understanding.

Oystercatcher swooping at a young eagle on South Rocks.

Facility work

  • cleaned the solar panels, too busy with the boats and visitors for much else

Vessels (partial count)

  • ecotourism: 2
  • private: 1

Weather

  • moderate westerly breeze throughout the day, partial clouds. Day time temperature: high 11, low 9.

 

Visitors

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A group of Pearson College students were dropped off today to explore the island as an end of semester special treat. It was fun to watch thirteen very happy people wander about. I am glad the elephant seals were in the grass when the students arrived as there was much interest in these sleeping giants.

Two year old female elephant seal

Two of the visitors were alumni who stayed on the island for two weeks in 2016. Watching their glowing faces and hearing their stories of an unforgettable time spent surveying gull chicks and painting the jetty fence was extra special for me for they truly understood the power of this extraordinary place.

Pearson College’s new landing craft, the Pedder Explorer, leaving with a group of students

Facility work

  • cleaned the windows inside the Keeper’s House
  • weeded brick pathway at the Energy Building
  • transferred diesel to the generator and refilled the tidy tank

Vessels

  • ecotourism: 15
  • private: 0

Weather

Winds calm in the am to westerly 15 in the evening. Skies partly cloudy, short scattered showers. Daytime temperatures: low 9, high 11.

fringed redmaids

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There are many spring and early summer flowering plants to observe on Race Rocks but most of them are introduced species. I has happy to find the fringed redmaids (Calandrinia ciliata) growing in a dense mat near the top of east beach. This small annual flowering plant species is one of the few native species found here.

I have started on the thistle removal program again, only this year I am starting off double-gloved! It has heightened my awareness of how many introduced species there are on the island. It would be impossible to remove them all. Below are photos taken today of some of the introduced “weedy” plants in flower.

Facility work

  • weeding/clearing walkways
  • thistle removal

Vessels

  • ecotourism: 8
  • private: 1

Weather

Winds calm in the am building to WNW 25 in the pm. Skies partly cloudy. Day time temperature: low 9, high 12.

 

 

Sunday surprise

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Wildlife notes

A new slightly larger female elephant seal arrived today!  We now have two older females and two youngsters enjoying the grassy field.

The whole gang. From front to back: molting female, new female to the group, the two young ones.

I rarely have the chance to see Ollie, the sea otter and when I do he is just a speck in the distance. Today I had the chance to watch him snooze, arms in the air. He seemed to have himself hooked onto a bull kelp for an anchor. It reminded me of once seeking refuge in a kelp patch, having no option but to bow and stern tie my little 18′ foot sailboat to the kelp to wait out the weather and rough seas. Unlike Ollie, I wasn’t relaxed about it or sleeping through it.

Facility work

  • cleaned solar panels
  • weeding the front of the keepers house

Vessels

  • ecotourism: 0

Weather

Winds moderate breeze, veering from WSW 30 in the morning to WNW 25 in the afternoon, becoming variable in the evening. Scattered clouds. Day time temperature: low 9, high 12

Saturday’s special visitor

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Wildlife notes

A wandering tattler (non-breeding visitor) was seen on the east shore rocks this afternoon! It was a brief, blurry photo visit.

Wandering tattler

Range of wandering tattler (source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wandering_Tattler/maps-range)

 

Unlike the wandering tattler, the two brown pelicans (non-breeding visitors) have been on the island for a week or so and were easy to photograph.  These massive birds have a 7 foot wing span and were flying about today in the 30+ knot winds. To catch their meals, they are known to dive into the water from heights of up to 50 feet in the air but today I only saw them land on the water surface. These pelicans have made an amazing recovery since the 1960’s. For a sad story on the recent plight of these birds see  https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/brown-pelicans-starvation-20295659.php

Brown pelican range map (Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Pelican/maps-range)

Facility work

  • top up battery fluid levels
  • organize and clean house

Vessels

  • ecotourism: 1

Weather

Winds westerly 20 to 30, gusting to 39 knots, partially cloudy with scattered showers.

Spring time!

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It is lush, green and peaceful on Race Rock – a stark contrast to late August 2024 when I was last here. The gulls have are only started to build nests and without territory to defend or chicks to protect, they are quite mild-mannered. With few sea lions and a smaller gull population compared to last August, the air smells almost fresh.

Armeria maritima – Thrift in bloom at Race Rocks.  The thrift was once on the British three pence coin.  If you were “thrifty” you would be able to buy something with this small amount of money.  Source: Armeria maritima – Wikipedia

I was thrilled to see two young female elephant seals sleeping side by side, freshly molted and shining silver. They will be good company and fun to watch. An older mid-molt female is also present but she mostly keeps to herself.

Two by two – Pairs of gulls, geese and elephant seals

 

Facility work

  • cleaned the solar panels
  • getting familiar with the site and modifications to the water and power systems

Vessels

  • ecotourism: 17
  • private: 1

Weather

  • Overcast, periods of rain, NE light to moderate breeze

It is my time to leave

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Once again, this is my last night on Race Rocks.

Wildlife notes:

The sea lions are steadily increasing each day and the sea gulls might have doubled in number in the last week. More gull chicks have fledged, leaving their parents guarding the old empty nesting areas. The female elephant seal may also have moved on as I have not seen her for a couple of days.

Facility work:

  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Ran generator and desalinator, fresh water tank is full with 4500L
  • Operation walkway – work in progress

Vessels:

  • 23 Ecotourism, 3 private

Weather:

Periods of fog until early afternoon then partial cloud. Wind direction variable, light to gentle breeze. Daytime temperatures: low 12, high 16.

 

I will miss this magical place

 

 

Drizzle

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Wildlife:

Today was a quiet, moist, calm day. I found a few more wet dead gull chicks, some quite decayed and a recently killed gull about 6 weeks old. I also discovered another wounded CA sea lion by the Jetty. He is known as Friar Tuck and was disentangled by the Marine Mammal Rescue folks in 2023.  I hope his wounds heal better than the one who hurt its flipper. This is the fourth sea lion I have seen with a past or present entanglement.

Facility work:

  • For the first time I did not clean the solar panels. The rain did it!
  • Worked on tasks to help the next Ecoguardian – started on month end report, data entry for seawater data, washed floors, tallied supplies etc.
  • Operation walkway–work in progress

Vessels:

  • 19 Ecotourism, 1 private

Weather:

Winds moderate NE in the morning, gradually veering throughout the day to light W by early evening. Periods of light rain or drizzle throughout the day. Daytime temperatures: low 13, high 15.

Whales!

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Wildlife notes:

About six killer whales cruised the eastern shoreline passing through the channel between Great Race and the South Islands. It was first time I had seen the whales so close to shore and was very surprised by the behaviour of the sea lions. They did not make a mad rush to get out of the water. Instead, they dove in, grouped up, and seemed to guard the shore and pursue the whales. They followed them through the channel around the west end of the South Islands and along the southern shores of the South Islands until the whales left the area. The ones left on shore continued to sleep or just casually gazed out. It was incredible and not at all what I expected.  Maybe they are like the gulls, drawn to a spectacle, and were just out there to watch the drama of something being attacked and killed.

Going around the west side of South Islands

In pursuit on the south side of South Islands

Whales leaving the area, heading east.

Facility work:

  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Cleaned windows Keeper’s House and Student House
  • Operation walkway – work in progress

Vessels:

  • 25 Ecotourism, 4 private

Weather:

Fog <1/4 mile visibility in the morning, dissipating by 11:00 then scattered clouds.  Winds variable, light to moderate most of the day.  Fresh NW fresh in the early evening. Daytime temperatures: low 14, high 18.

Population shift

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Wildlife notes:

On Wednesday’s Census, there were 155 sea lions on Great Race Rocks. Today there are 296. They aren’t just grouping near the Jetty but on a variety of beaches, stretches of the shore line, around the fog horn and even the helicopter pad which seems quite the hike from the shore. The turnstones and surfbirds have been forced up higher on East Beach as the sea lions move in. East Beach has been a great place to observe new bird species. I wonder if the new birds will still visit this area with the sea lions there. They are calling for rain tonight and tomorrow. I look forward to this and hope it will reduce the aroma in the air.

Sea lions starting to collect on East Beach.

Sea lions on the Helicopter Pad.

The two Birthday birds photographed yesterday are now only one. Either they are still vulnerable at this age or the one has fledged. I am hoping for the latter and wish this young bird well on its journey.

There were whales in the area about a mile to the south as evidence by the collection of ecotourism vessels.

A collection of ecotourism boats presumed to be whale watching

Facility work:

  • Clean solar panels
  • Operation walkway – work in progress

Vessels:

  • 27 Ecotourism, 1 private

Weather:

Clear skies in the morning, partial clouds early afternoon, rain clouds in early evening. Gentle SE breeze until early afternoon, fresh SW in the early evening. Daytime temperatures: low 14, high 19.