Author Archives: Derek Sterling

Fall Day

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Ecological Notes:

  • Sub-adult Male elephant seal has taken a couple days off island now.
  • Several adult and juvenile Bald Eagles present and hunting gulls on the island. Appeared to be teaching young, as sometimes adults were swooping without attempting to grab prey, followed closely but juvenile who was attempting to grab prey. Each time a juvenile did grab a gull, there was a frenzy of the other juveniles swooping in to try to take the prey.

Facility Work:

  • Serviced Battery system and checked solar panels.
  • Chopped firewood previously salvaged and bucked up.
  • Serviced chainsaw.
  • Troubleshooting on hard-line (voip) phone system. Checked routers and reset each phone. Passed onto the IT department for further input.
  • Has been near impossible to maintain the pier electric fence! High winds and swells continuously wash the pier, and the posts, breaking wires and losing posts into the water. Had to go down late at night when the tide was low enough to recover post and concrete blocks. Hopefully overall weather will subside a bit soon.

In a subdued state

 

Weather Events:

  • Westerly winds, dropping from 20knots early morning to  5 knots mid day. Raising over the afternoon to 30 knots by early evening. Overcast, with occasional rain squalls in the strait. Clear visibility.

 

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

 

Weather – Current:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

 

Weather – Past:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

Census

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Birds

  • Bald eagle adult                          6
  • Bald eagle juvenile                     5
  • Turnstones                                   24
  • Dunlin                                           14
  • Gulls, Glaucous and Western    132
  • Cormorants                                   37
  • Canadian goose                           12

Mammals

  • Steller sea lion                             78
  • Harbour seal                                48
  • California sea lion                       432
  • Elephant seal male (sub-adult)  1

Firewood, and Rockfish Conservation Area

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Ecological Notes:

  • Sub-adult Male Elephant Seal appears to have left this island early morning. Will see if he returns tonight

  • For some reason, there are lots of adult and immature Bald Eagles on the rocks today. I have checked for any carcasses or other reasons, but could not find any.

Facility Work:

  • Changed oil and filters on the main generator, checked all connections, and cleaned drops etc.

  • Daily rounds of electric fences.

  • Chopped and stacked more firewood, trying to get ahead of the game for the next Ecoguardians.

  • Diagnosed and fixed problems with some of the newly installed windows. Several of the vertical window spaces had horizontal windows installed on edge. Because of this, they did not drain water as it was accumulating in the lower tracks (that should have been side tracks) Weepholes added to the outside of the windows did not reach said tracks, so I had to add new weepholes from inside the track to reach the outside.

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • 4 Ecotourism vessels enjoying the  reserve, as well as 5 private vessels.

 Noted Infractions:

  • One private vessel with 5 passengers onboard, spent a considerable time fishing, well within the Rockfish Conservation Area, ignoring warnings via radio and blowhorn. At times, they were within 150 meters of the main Island here. (yes I happen to have a laser rangefinder here with me.)

Weather Events:

  • Westerly winds at 15-20 knots, rising to 25-30 knots later in the afternoon, bringing a full mixture from sun and clouds, to intense rain squalls. Slight fog and clouds to the south, but the Olympic Peninsula is still visible at the water level.

Rain squalls moving through

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

 

Weather – Current:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

Weather – Past:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

Maintenance and Repairs

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Ecological Notes:

  • The younger Elephant Seals left after just a short visit. The adult female stayed and rested for about 4 days.

  • The sub-adult male is still onsite, nestling in the bushes in the center of the island. At one point, the contractors left the basement door open on the main house, and we caught the male bee-lining for the door! Luckily, he stopped once someone called out to him.

    As he slowly turned back towards his favorite spot by the tall bush.

  • Sealion numbers are down to about 1/3 since the big storms left (will do a count on Monday)

  • Many Black Turnstones present at this time.

    Many nestled in the rocks

Visitors:

  • Window Contractors, and deliveries by both Greg and Jeff.

Facility Work:

  • Almost continuous repairs and upgrades to electric fencing.

Sometimes it’s lucky and they just knock down the posts without damaging anything.

  • Collecting wood brought in by the storms.

Pulled up by hand and pipe pole!

  • I keep an eye on the Web Cams by checking them daily. A little water got in, and this happened!

 DND events:

  • Detonations most of the week, some very heavy ones. Marine Mammal Observers were on the water, keeping an eye out for cetaceans. Noted sealion disturbance, they have seemed to be very edgy since the storms subsided.

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Mostly just daily visits from Ecotourism operators, and a couple private vessels, also primarily looking at the birds and wildlife.

Weather Events:

  • Variable weather, medium winds and rain showers.

 

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

 

Weather – Current:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

Weather – Past:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

Race Rocks CAS week 2021, including Wildlife Census

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8 students, 2 elephant seals & over 1200 sea lions for 1 week

The Ecological Reserve hosted instructor Laura Verhegge and 8 IB students from Pearson College for 5 days of learning, exploring, and fun!

Ecoguardian Derek also included some naturalist-level sharing of information about Race Rocks, pinnipeds, bull kelp, and even great views of humpback whales and Southern Resident Killer Whales (Orca)!

 And the students did the Wildlife Census

A busy week!

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Really hit the ground running this time! Many things going on at the same time, as well as getting myself re situated in the ecological reserve!

Ecological Notes:

  • California Sealions taking over any area available to them. The Steller Sealions pretty much keep to the outer edges and off-island rocks

    California Sealions wanting to hold their ground

  • Now  4 Elephant Seals working their way up the ramp towards the grass area. Looks like an almost mature Male, a fully mature female, and 2 sub-adults. They’re all a little timid, so I’m giving them lots of space.

3 Elephant Seals, just before the male showed up (the sealions are not impressed)

  • Also 1 large male I can hear frequently but can’t find, (maybe he is staying in the water and circling the island as he bellows in the evening.)

Visitors:

  • Various contractors working on replacing windows.

Facility Work:

  • Window replacements on the main house, and soon proceeding to the student building as well.
  • New toilet in the student building!
  • New electric fencing from the power building, around past the outside of the lighthouse, then back to the corner of the main house. Really important as there were up to 300 California Sealions between the student house and the lighthouse, totally blocking off access to the power building (until they were persuaded to leave, but would return the minute the coast was clear)

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Many Ecotourism vessels and private vessels enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve this time of year.

 Feature Event:

  •  Canadian Coast Guard checked in with us, as they kept a watchful eye on the smoke level and direction from the freighter at Constance Bank that had a fire in some of it’s containers.

Weather Events:

  • A varied week, ending in 2 days of stormy weather with strong winds (up to 50 Knots), and swells from the southeast.

 

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

 

Weather – Current:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

 

Weather – Past:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

Time for fencing

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Personal Note:

  • On my last day here at the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve, I’m very thankful for the opportunity and experience provided to me. My normal employment calls me back, but I hope to return to continue experiencing the reserve in a different season!

Ecological Notes:

  • 1 Male Elephant Seal and one Female Elephant seal in the grass area up by the power building

    Enjoying the sun

  • Although I’m sure there are more, I caught a quick glimpse of some Pigeon Guillemot chicks as they scurried back into their rock den.

Facility Work:

  • Existing electrical fence routes redone and repaired. The north field had all the fencing replaced, and a couple new gates added. A new section will be added to the south (lighthouse side) when supplies are available. As the sealions start to return, fencing plays an important roll in protecting the plant life, and structures and equipment on the island. There is also a huge safety factor for the Ecoguardians when moving around accomplishing their daily tasks.
  • Although not a pleasant topic, removed 2 old Sealion carcasses  from high above the waterline. The warmer weather really increased the smell, but the wind and heat (and bugs)  really help them to break down to an almost manageable weight for dragging. Respectably returned to the ocean.

DND events:

  • 6 to 10 detonations over Monday and Tuesday, all sealions moved from the middle rocks to the southern rocks.

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Several Ecotourism vessels and at least 6 private vessels sightseeing in the reserve.

 Feature Event:

  •  Lots of  cleaning and organizing in preparation for the new Ecoguardian arriving Thursday! A warm welcome to Sierra!

 

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

 

Weather – Current:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

 

Weather – Past:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

Census

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Birds

  • Bald eagle adult 4

  • Bald eagle juvenile 3

  • Black Turnstones 6

  • Ruddy Turnstones 3

  • Surfbird 9

  • Western Sand Piper 8

  • Gulls, Glaucous and Western 110

  • Many Gull chicks, too difficult to count

  • Cormorants 42

  • Pigeon Guillemots 74

  • Oyster catcher 16

  • Oyster catcher Chick 2

  • Canada Goose 7

Mammals

  • Steller sea lion 8

  • Harbour seal  117

  • Harbour seal pup 19

  • California sea lion 3

  • Elephant seal male 1

  • Elephant seal female 1

  • Sea otter 1

  • River otter 1

Turnstones, Surfbirds, and Pipers

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Ecological Notes:

  • 1 Big Male Elephant Seal up by the student house, juvenile Female Elephant Seal down by the Jetty
  • Seeing more Harbour Seal pups every day.
  • 1 River Otter cruising around the shoreline, most likely looking for gull chicks.
  • 2 groups of migratory birds seen the last couple days, including Ruddy Turnstones, Black Turnstones, Surfbirds and Western Sandpipers.

Facility Work:

  • Working on the next section of electric fence, as the Sealions are slowly starting to show up.

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • 4 Ecotourism vessels and 6 private vessels sightseeing in the reserve today.

Weather Events:

  • Winds Westerly 20- 25 knots most of the day, rising to 30 knots in the evening. Clear skies with slight haze to the south. Some chop when the wind was against tide.

 

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

 

Weather – Current:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

 

Weather – Past:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

High Winds

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Ecological Notes:

  • 1 Male Elephant Seal, and 1 juvenile Female Elephant seal on land.
  • The male doesn’t take notice of where the Gull nests are (of course), so the gulls really harass him if he’s too close! I couldn’t capture a good picture showing the gulls, but this was his reaction!

“Leave me alone!”

  • Steller and California Sealions on middle rock (until DND blasting).

  • Seeing some small migratory birds now, photos and ID’s tomorrow

Facility Work:

  • Second run and close monitoring of the Desalinator, everything work as expected.

DND events:

  • 6 – 8 heavy blasts today. As noted, The sealions all left middle rock at the time of the blasts. Waiting to see if they settle on the southern rocks.

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Several Ecotourism vessels and 3 private vessels noted in the reserve sightseeing. All proper procedures followed.

Weather Events:

  • Westerly winds averaging 30 knots all day, rising to 40+ in the evening. Wind against tide brought 1 meter chop, while wind with tide brought chop on top of 1-2 meter swells at times. Mainly clear skies with slight haze to the west and south.

 

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

 

Weather – Current:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

 

Weather – Past:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?