Author Archives: Don + Nina

Early Morning Orcas

Posted on by

Weather

A fine day out at RR today. Winds of between 5-12 kts in varying easterly directions. The barometer dropped from 102.4 this morning to 101.9. Winds increasing tonight to up to 20kts, with midnight fog, forecast to dissipate by Saturday morning.

Boat activity

  • Six tour boats (3 of which spotted the Orcas that were hanging around the reserve this morning)
  • Two pleasure fishing vessels. One moved a little too quickly out of the reserve. We encourage all vessels to travel at a maximum of 7kts within the reserve (we don’t want butchered Sea Lions :)

Ecological happenings

  • 3 Orca’s spotted well within the reserve this morning at 10am.
  • Two bald eagles at North Rocks

Maintenance

  • We continue to trouble shoot the water system in the student house. The pump is now installed, but there is a mysterious leak. Stay tuned……

Visitors

  • Two friends of the eco-guardians are visiting the island today (Carole and Flo). One is a renewable energy consultant and will be checking out the island’s system for improvements. Like all visitors they are awestruck by the island’s energy and beauty.

Animal Census Day

Posted on by

Weather

Lovely day on RR. Strong swell along the coast of the reserve. Winds of around 5kts in varying directions throughout the day. The barometer was mostly consistent at around 102.5. Light winds forecast for tonight and Friday, otherwise another sunny day ahead.

Boat activity

  • Five tour boats
  • Three pleasure crafts

Ecological happening

  • Strong currents and large ocean swell on the coast of the reserve

Maintenance

  • Don replaced the water pump in the student house
  • Old water filter replaced in the student house to ensure clean water is being consumed on the island!

Visitors

  • Courtney Edwards (Pearson’s Waterfront Officer) arrived with some supplies and was accompanied by a volunteer

ANIMAL CENSUS

Steller Sea Lions 305
California Sea Lions 647
Harbour Seals 25
Elephant Seals 10
Cormorants 140
Gulls 2648
Bald Eagle 1
Canada Goose 2
Spotted during the week
Whales (likely Humpback) 3 (apprx 2nm from reserve)
Dunlin 3
Killdeer 3
Black Turnstone 15
Sparrows 12
Oyster Catcher 9

 

Lasting Fog

Posted on by

Weather

Mostly foggy today. Winds below 6kts, though picked up to 12kts by 20:00, in varying directions, with a couple of hours of calm in the early afternoon. Barometer reading was mostly consistent at 102.0. A strong wind warning is in effect for tonight and tomorrow.

Boat activity

  • 6 tour boats
  • 1 pleasure vessel

Maintenance

  • Electric fence repairs on the south side of the island. The fence was also extended as sea lions, are creeping further up onto fresh clean grass.
  • Old water pump was removed in the student house, and the new pump will be installed tomorrow.

No visitors today.

Fencing Success!

Posted on by

Weather

Fog early this morning, turning into a fine day. Varying winds of up to 11kts between North and East directions. The barometer got up to 102.6, dropping back to 102.4. A strong wind warning is in effect for tonight and tomorrow (Wednesday), as well as forecast showers.

Boating activity

  • Helicopter over the reserve early morning
  • 5 tour boats today (2 of which were travelling quite fast within the reserve)
  • Only one pleasure craft spotted

Ecological happenings

  • One whale spotted between RR and Port Angeles

Maintenance

  • Several attempts were made at rewiring the electric fence around the dock ( 2nd time lucky!). We now have zero – as opposed to eight – Sea Lions on the dock)
  • Paths on RR were swept
  • We have commenced a critical equipment check for the island

No visitors today.

I Dream of Electric Fences

Posted on by

Weather

Foggy morning, building throughout the day with poor visibility in parts (the fog horn sounded). Winds from the NNE to 15kts. The barometer climbed to 101.8 kPa. Forecast for light winds overnight and into the morning.

Boat activity

  • Fishing vessel spotted with lines in the water within the reserve.
  • Four tour boats, after the fog faded.

Ecological happenings

  • There appeared to be more Sea Lions today, or they are just more rowdy.
  • Continued looking for tangled Sea Lions in preparation for DFO visit on Oct 28th.
  • Spotted a flock of fifteen Black Turnstones.

Maintenance

  • Once again, Sea Lions continue to make their way onto the jetty by knocking the electric fence over. This time they have actually broken it, too. A daily battle

Fog horn drum

Posted on by

Weather

Light fog early morning, building to thicker fog throughout the day with poor visibility (the fog horn sounded for a few hours). Winds were generally <5kts. The barometer was at 101.6 for most of the day dropping to 101.5. The marine forecast shows winds picking up to 10-15kts and rain for Monday.

Boat activity

  • Not so many fishing vessels on the water this Sunday with all the fog (total count of 4)
  • 7 tour boats, mostly in the afternoon as the fog faded

Ecological happenings

  • Two Californians spotted with relatively fresh gashes
  • Californian seal lion brand 8329 and 9776 spotted (need to verify whether this record has been collected)
  • Commenced looking for tangled sea lions in preparation for detanglment on Oct 28th
  • 3 Dunlins spotted

Maintenance

  • Cheeky sea lions continue to dismantle the electric fence and drop equipment into the water, so we’ve been on top of mending it.
(possible) Sandpiper and Black Turnstone

Dunlin and Black Turnstone

Sleepy sea lion

Posted on by

Weather

Light cloud cover this morning and mostly sunny in the afternoon. Wind was variable – light in the early morning picking up towards the afternoon to as high as 16kts @ 17:00. Barometer was up a little to ~1012hPA. Forecast is for winds steadying between 10-15kts, and a chance of showers this evening and Sunday.

Boats in the reserve

15 Pleasure vessels, one of which was fishing in the reserve. After failed attempts to make contact on VHF16, DFO will be notified. There were also 3 tour boats and trawler activity around the reserve.

Ecological happenings

  • New Californian Sea Lion tag sighted (C733) – no photo yet
  • Two gulls spotted with broken wings
  • Harbour seal hanging out close to RR docks

No visitors today.

CBC Visits Race Rocks

Posted on by

It was an absolutely stunning day at Race Rocks, with light winds (<5kts) from the southeast and a clear sky until dusk (it has now clouded over). The barometer fell further today, to ~1010hPA. The forecast is for increasing westerly winds (10 to 20 knots near midnight) then light by Saturday morning, with a chance of rain.

It was a busy day in the reserve, with nine whale watching boats stopping by. One of the operators was even flying a drone around the island. No doubt, collecting promotional footage. Seven pleasure craft passed through going slowly, mostly. It is important to remember the speed limit in the reserve is <7kts.

We continued our training today. Learning more about the systems that keep this place running as sustainably as practicable. Don dropped Anne and Alex off at Pearson College in the afternoon, while Nina showed a CBC film crew the lighthouse. Students came out to the island at lunch for a field trip, and another group went diving off the jetty later in the day.