Author Archives: Derek Sterling

Animal Census

Posted on by
  • Bald eagle adult                          2
  • Bald eagle juvenile                     4
  • Barred Owl                                  1
  • Black Turnstones                      10
  • Black Oyster Catchers                6
  • Gulls                                           148
  • Cormorants  mostly Brandt’s    87
  • Canadian goose                          22
  • Ravens                                          2
  • Surf Scoters                                 12
  • Dunlin                                            8

Mammals

  • Steller sea lion                          590
  • Harbour seal                                42
  • California sea lion                     380
  • Sea Otter                                      1

Several Humpback Whales visible from the reserve

Underwater Scenes

Posted on by

Ecological Notes:

  • Sea Lion numbers range up and down daily. Have notice more smaller sea lions this year, and can hear the higher squawks of younger ones. Unlike last year, I haven’t found any nursing pups yet.
  • Barred Owl is still here. For a couple days, there were zero other birds on the top area of the main island (Canada Geese, Turnstones, Gulls, or Dunlins)….. but they are gradually returning now. I suspect maybe the Owl hunted extensively one night and scared them all away(?)
  • Humpback whales still visible daily
  • On one day, in addition to the Humpbacks, Southern Resident Orca passed south of the reserve heading west, and Bigg’s (Transient) Orca passed heading East. While they were too far to get photographs, both groups were visible by eye (once I located them with binoculars)

Visitors:

  • Group of students and instructor from Pearson College visited for the weekend. They were primarily interested in mapping the kelp forests and how they are affected by Urchins and Sea Otters. They helped with other projects and used the ROV to view the underwater area off the jetty.

Siri, Finn, Maria, Annabelle, and Edgar

Always curious!

Sea Urchins

Young Bull Kelp

  • Contractors to work on the main house windows

Facility Work:

  • Now able to start bucking logs from the ramp area and moving to the full bucking area for firewood.
  • Cleaned and prepped the science house for the students visit
  • Did another full sweep of the main island to remove dead gull carcasses
  • Contractors continue the finishing work on the newly installed windows, moving primarily to the sills and finish on the inside.

  • Communicating with DFO in regards to the salinity measurements. They seem high, even though the meter was recently replaced. Tested with a meter owned by Pearson College and that meter showed numbers I would be expecting.
  • Ongoing spray down of walkways and decks to reduce slim and algae, but wondering if the cooler weather is reducing the effectiveness of the spray(?)

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Continued visits by Eco- Tourism vessels
  • Some private vessels transiting, some pausing to enjoy the nature in the reserve.

 Noted Infractions:

  • No attempted fishing detected
  • Transit and departure speeds all good

Weather Events:

  • Winds pretty consistent NNE 10-15 Kts
  • Mixes of partial cloudy, and some fog at night
  • Temperatures ranging 4 to 7 degrees

 

 

** 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?

Waiting on the storm(s)

Posted on by

Ecological Notes:

  • All Elephant Seals have moved along, I imagine they will return in December or January and stay for the moult season
  • Although I thought it was a random event, there has been a Barred Owl roosting under the tank shed deck for 3 days now

  • Sea lion numbers are down, and many moved to the southern rocks after heavy blasting at the DND site

Visitors:

  • Ongoing visits by contractors working on main house windows

Facility Work:

  • Working on gradual trimming and removal of plants from the walkways. the root systems can be destructive to the concrete and brick, as well as encouraging water leak into the buildings…. will scrub down the  paths with the next heavy rains
  • Diesel Generator oil change

  • Weekly battery electrolyte top up and check
  • Continuing to collect logs for firewood
  • Even in the less messy months, cleaning the solar panels every now and then helps

DND events:

  • Several very loud blasts during the week, noted more than average disturbance with the birds and sea lions. (maybe coincidental but it was the day of the loudest that the 3 elephant seals left)

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Ecotourism and education vessels in the reserve, most following guidelines well.
  • Several private vessels in the reserve. None were observed fishing, but they commonly exit the reserve at high speed.

Weather Events:

  • Friday, November 17:
    • Sky: Mostly sunny and clear, with slight haze and overcast far south in the strait
    • Wind: NE winds 10-15 kts shifting to ENE later in the afternoon
    • Sea: rippled to with minimal chop
    • Temperature Low 6oC, High 9oC
  • Saturday, November 18:
    • Sky: clear until mid-afternoon, with clouds and haze on the south side of the strait.clouds gradually increased in the late afternoon
    • Wind: early morning rising to NE 15 kts
    • Sea:  light chop turning to
    • Temperature Low 6oC, High 8oC

 

 

** 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?

First week back

Posted on by

Ecological Notes:

  • 3 Male Elephant Seals, 1 sub adult, 1 yearling, 1 3 year old(?) tagged – K646 (other tag obscured)
  • At least 20 Canada Geese, more adults than I have personally seen here before other than brief stop overs for migration
  • At least 6 Humpback whales, 2 well in the reserve

Visitors:

  • Contractors, working on the windows of the main house

Facility Work:

  • topped up battery electrolyte levels for solar storage

    Solar power battery bank

  • Took delivery of 1300 litres fresh water for the the storage tank

How we transfer water to the storage tank

  • Transferred a barrel of diesel to the main house tank, was a poor fall for wood salvage for the wood stove (so far)

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Still regular Ecotourism vessels, and the school educational vessel
  • 1 private vessel fishing in the reserve, left as soon as I contacted them on VHF

 

Weather Events:

  • Saturday, November 04:
    • Sky: Bright high cloud early, giving way  mixed high and low rain clouds by mid-morning
    • Wind: Low north winds in early morning, rising by noon to NW 35+ kts, dropping in the evening and overnight to light winds
    • Sea: Morning rippled to 2′ chop
    • Temperature Low 11oC, High 15oC
  • Sunday, November 05:
    • Sky: Early morning fog giving way to high cloudy overcast
    • Wind: morning NNW 5 kts, gradually shifting to N and rising to 20kts mid day
    • Sea:  light chop with a slight underlying swell
    • Temperature Low 10oC, High 12.5oC
  • Monday, November 06:
    • Sky: Foggy until mid-afternoon, clear and sunny to overcast
    • Wind: W/WSW 16-37 kts
    • Sea:  light chop turning to high waves by evening
    • Temperature Low 12oC, High 13oC
  • Tuesday, November 06:
    • Sky: Clear and sunny to overcast by afternoon
    • Wind: NNE 15 kts dropping and shifting to W 3kts through the day
    • Sea:  light chop , with underlying swell
    • Temperature Low 10oC, High 12oC

 

 

** 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?

November Returns

Posted on by

Happy to be returning to the Eco-Guardian position, after a summer on and off the ocean (and my motorcycles!)

Ecological Notes:

  • 3 Elephant Seals, one tagged

  • Large daily fluctuation of sea lions…… lots of forage fish in the area, and I believe some are moving further into the Salish Sea, as other regular haunts were low on sea lions last week
  • Did see “Ollie” the sea otter near one of the north west rocks
  • Deceased Sea Lion removed from boat ramp area ….. (untrained)observation looked like an older animal, in normal shape, with no visual injuries
  • Many Brandt’s Cormorants in the reserve
  • 3 Humpback whales in the pass between Race Rocks and Pedder bay, several more south of race, viewable by eye and binoculars

Visitors:

  • Contractors working on main house window replacement

Facility Work:

  • Contractors replacing windows
  • Perimeter fence maintenance
  • Moving maximum fuel to generator room, keeping it up to ensure easy access during the upcoming storm season
  • Opportunistically remove dead Gull carcasses from the island while performing other tasks
  • Solar working well, and batteries retaining levels well overnight

DND events:

  • none during this time period, but they were working there earlier in the week, and could account for lower sea lion levels mid week

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • 2 or 3 Ecotourism vessels
  • 1 Ecotourism  vessel with multiple visits while implementing their education program
  • 2 Kayakers out and about in the reserve

Weather Events:

  • Friday, November 03:
    • Sky: Clear in the morning, then filling in with high overcast and some clouds, light haze on the water by mid-day
    • Wind: Dropping during the night , to 5-10 kts mid morning, northerly,  building to 20-25 kts mid afternoon/evening
    • Sea: rippled to 2′ chop
    • Temperature Low 10oC, High 13oC

 

 

** 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?

Farewell and Adieu

Posted on by

Finishing up nearly 6 months here at Race Rocks. I have had an amazing time, especially being here for the winter snow storm, and the birth of 3 Elephant Seal pups! Visiting students, media students, colleagues and friends have broken up the long periods and only added to my enjoyment. I look forwards to returning next fall.

Link to one of the Elephant Seal births video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmDLPNDahyU&t=1s

Some photos taken from the blog:

Animal Census

Posted on by

Birds

  • Harlequin duck                                  7
  • Bald eagle adult                                2
  • Bald eagle juvenile                           5
  • Turnstones                                        11
  • Killdeer                                               2
  • Gulls                                                   64     
  • Cormorants                                        42
  • Pigeon Guillemots                             73
  • Oyster catcher                                     8
  • Canadian goose                                 10
  • Surf Birds                                             6

 

Mammals

  • Steller sea lion                             23
  • Harbour seal                                 47
  • California sea lion                        18
  • Elephant seal sub adult male      3
  • Elephant seal adult female          3
  • Elephant seal pups(2F 1M)          3

Visitors

Posted on by

Ecological Notes:

  • 2 Adult Female Elephant Seals (Believed to be moms from this season)
  • 3 Elephant Seal pups from this season
  • 1 very near mature Male Elephant Seal
  • 2 – 2to3 year old(?) Male Elephant Seals, one of which is not used to humans and was very vocal when anyone was near the ramp, then eventually moved to the sea lion haulout by the crane
  • The tagged Elephant Seal yearling from the previous post has left the reserve

Visitors:

  • 1 Alumni of Pearson College visiting and volunteering until Friday this week
  • 2 colleagues (and friends) of the Eco-Guardian also visited for 3 days

  • Seafront Coordinator brought extra help to remove and old Composting unit, empty propane tanks, items for recycling and disposal. Also delivered a spare gas engine to replace the one on the fire pump (used to pump sea water into the cistern)

Facility Work:

  • Cleaning and pressure washing of all sidewalks
  • Floor cleaning and washing of outbuildings
  • Deep cleaning of the Eco-Guardian house, including all window sills, screens, fridge, stove, and inside cabinets
  • Changed filters in the desalinator unit, gave us more consistent pump and pressure readings

  • Replaced engine on the firepump
  • Collected lots of recyclables from the tank shed
  • While bucking up firewood for splitting, introduced the Alumni guest/volunteer the basics of chainsaw maintenance and handling

Thanks to the guests for all their help!

DND events:

  • Ongoing, near daily, detonations

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • A dramatic increase in Eco-Tourism vessels, all following park guidelines.
  • Many private vessels also doing wildlife viewing
  • A group of 2 kayakers, and also 2 outrigger canoes visited as well.

 Noted Infractions:

  • 3 vessels fishing in the Rockfish Conservation area, 2 were politely reminded by me over the VHF radio and pulled up lines without responding when they saw my camera. 1 was spoken to by an ecotourism Captain when they didn’t respond or react to my calls.
  • Was a bad week for private vessels in the reserve area at higher speed, some slowed down when they saw my hand signals, at least 2 were again encouraged by Eco-tourism vessels

 

** 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?

Hawk and tag

Posted on by

Ecological Notes:

  • 1 Female Elephant Seal in the center of the island, looks like one of this years moms
  • 1 near mature Male Elephant Seal
  • 1 tagged yearling Elephant Seal male, tagged in California at the age of 23 days on 2022-02-19 …. reported to appropriate resource

Near adult male on left, tagged yearling male on the right

  • 3 Elephant Seal pups from this season on the boat ramp
  • A first for me here at Race Rocks …. noticed the panicking gulls were making a slightly different noise, and sure enough, instead of Eagles it was a Red Tailed hawk!

Visitors:

  • A Pearson College alumni (and past Eco-Guardian) is visiting Race Rocks for a couple weeks, for a visit and to offer time to volunteer on projects.

Facility Work and tasks:

  • Month end paperwork and reporting, including Seawater data
  • Monthly equalization charge and weekly battery fluids top up

DND events:

  • Ongoing detonations
  • Noted that when they do multiple blasts in close succession, there is a greater reaction from the Sea Lions and birds.

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Eco-Tourism vessels
  • 2 Kayakers,  that gave all wildlife a very good buffer, in the reserve at slack tide * note: they didn’t drop the fishing lure while they were in the reserve *

  • 3 private vessels visiting the reserve

 Noted Infractions:

  • 1 Private vessel did a highspeed bank turn and exited at full speed from well within the reserve…. Yes, this photo was taken after they left the reserve, and they had slowed a lot when they saw me come out with the camera

Weather Events:

  • Sunday, April 02:
    • Sky: Full range from high overcast, to clear with clouds to the south and north, to high overcast and mixed clouds
    • Wind: Variable calm-10 kts peaked to W 3 20 kts mid afternoon
    • Sea: lightly rippled
    • Temperature Low 4oC, High 8oC
  • Monday April 03, :
    • Sky:Mostly Clear to overcast
    • Wind: low WSW rising to W 30kts lat in the afternoon
    • Sea:  light chop turning to larger swells by evening
    • Temperature Low 4oC, High 7oC

 

 

** 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?

DAILY SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE AND SALINITY OBSERVATIONS March 2023

Posted on by
DAILY SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE AND SALINITY OBSERVATIONS
Institute of Ocean Sciences, North Saanich, B.C., V8L 4B2
Please email monthly to Sebastien.Donnet@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Station RACE ROCKS
Observer Derek March
YSI ID: 27 Year: 2023
YSI YSI
Temp Sal
Day Time ºC ppt
1 9:00 7.3 32.2
2 10:00 7.4 32.1
3 11:00 7.2 32.1
4 storm
5 12:30 7.3 32.4
6 13:20 7.4 32.4
7 14:00 7.4 32.5
8 14:30 7.3 32.4
9 15:15 7.4 32.4
10 15:45 7.2 32.2
11 16:30 7.3 32.4
12 18:00 7.4 32.1
13 19:00 7.3 32.4
14 20:00 7.3 32.1
15 8:00 7.4 32.4
16 9:30 7.3 32.2
17 10:45 7.4 32.2
18 11:45 7.4 32.2
19 12:45 7.3 32.4
20 13:45 7.4 32.4
21 14:30 7.4 32.2
22 15:30 7.4 32.4
23 16:00 7.3 32.1
24 16:45 7.3 32.2
25 17:20 7.4 32.2
26 18:00 7.3 32.4
27 18:45 7.5 32.5
28 20:00 7.6 32.4
29 9:00 7.5 32.4
30 9:30 7.4 32.2
31 11:00 7.5 32.2