Author Archives: Alex Fletcher

Pressure Drop

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whale watching boat near sealions on south islands

Whale watching boat, sealions on south islands

Atmospheric pressure rose from around 1004 hPa yesterday to top out around 1020 hPa near Saturday night. Pressure has been falling today; winds up to 45 knots expected Tuesday.

Most of the sealions are out on the south islands now.  There are still a few on the main island, bellow the fog horn and the engine room.

Boats in the reserve: 2 dive boats, 1 whale watching boat, and 1 sailboat under motor.

Moved fire wood, cleared boat ramp and took down more electric fence.

 

North wind

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Wind N 15 building up to over 25 knots in the evening. Barometer over 1010 in the morning falling to 1005 in evening. Overcast with heavy mist in the morning reducing visibility to below 1 mile.

Did some more unpacking, checked the boston whaler electrical, took down electric fencing around the jetty and put away concrete footings, cleared wood and debris from jetty, harvested driftwood and moved firewood.

Shift change, census

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Wind NE 15-20 knots becoming N 10-15 knots in the afternoon. Sky cloudy with periods of rain.

Courtney brought me out this morning in Second Nature to start a 3 month winter shift. She brought Nick back after I was able to get a quick update on systems and supplies.

Census:
California Sea lions: 20
Northern Sea Lions: 155
Harbour Seals: 1
Elephant Seals: 7
Cormorants: 70
Canada Geese: 5
Gulls: 252
Bald Eagle: 1
Harlequin Ducks: 2
Black Turnstone: 2
Sparrow: 1

3 Branded northern sealions observed: 870R, 347Y, and 975? (last symbol not visible)

Spent most of the day moving in, unpacking and getting reacquainted. We brought two full propane tanks out in the morning. Running diesel this evening.

The house is clean and things look to be in order here. Thanks to Nick, Ann, Jeff, Julie, and Courtney for their work out here since my last shift.

Project Week

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Despite the difficulties of dealing with the pup this week it has been a pleasure to have a group of 5 Pearson College students out here for project week.  The students have been working on some creative projects, have helped with daily tasks of seawater measurements and boat counts and have helped with a few projects including moving driftwood, counting animals in the reserve, running the fire pump, breaking down and de-nailing crate wood, pumping diesel for the furnaces, and assisting with the pup rescue.  We have been fortunate to have some really nice weather so they have spent lots of time outside appreciating this special place.

Animal Census-March 11
california sea lions: 7
stellar sea lions: 25
harbour seals: 25
elephant seal: 1
gulls: 107
cormorants: 59
Bl turnstone: 20
canada goose: 18
eagles: 3
Harlequin ducks: 10
Pigeon Guillemots: 23

Pup Deceased

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Since the last update about the pup its condition continued to deteriorate.  On Wednesday March 12, the pup appeared to be losing coordination and mobility.  Its movement was very laboured and its behaviour seemed distressed.  In the afternoon it made its way to a puddle on the North side of the main house and went into convulsions.

While I had been sending updates and photos each day to DFO on Wednesday I sent two videos http://youtu.be/zv–ICW0TDc and http://youtu.be/nht2zTgkYrU to show its behaviour and movement.  I expressed concern that the pup may be going into paralysis. DFO was able to coordinate and get authorization for the Vancouver Aquarium to intervene the next day.

On Thursday March 13th the Marine Mammal Rescue team from the Vancouver Aquarium was deployed.  They arrived at the Pedder Bay Marina around 1600.  The marina had generously agreed to send out one of their boats and a staff volunteered to captain it.  I met them at the marina in the station boat and we brought the rescue team of 5 with gear out to Race Rocks.  Upon arrival they could tell that the pup was in critical condition. One of the team members told me they had never seen one in such bad shape.  They gave it a sedative and moved it onto a sling to transport it to the Pedder Bay Marina boat. Once back at the marina they set the pup down and gave it further treatment and washed out the wounds.  They left around 17:45 and made in time to catch the 19:00 ferry to Vancouver.

At 8:47 PM they sent the following update:

“Alright, we are just about to go off the ferry and drive toward MMR. The animal is still in critical shape. He is minimally responsive to stimuli…The animal is having episodes of full blown seizure lasting up to 2 minutes.”

Just after 11 pm they sent a final update:

“Unfortunately, our little guy did not make it. We treated him aggressively en route to the rescue center, but he arrested at 10:45 PM. Emergency resuscitation was attempted unsuccessfully. I am so sorry to have to share the sad news of his death.  Thank you so much to everyone who chipped in to help with his rescue today.”

I am  very grateful to everyone who was involved in this difficult situation and who helped try to rescue him.  The Vancouver Aquarium team were remarkably caring and dedicated; they did all they could do, it was too late.

My 3.5 month shift ends today. The highlight of the last few months has been watching this beautiful little creature every day since its birth in January.  Watching and listening to it die over the course of the past two weeks, right outside our house, has been more difficult, stressful and frustrating than I could have ever imagined.   I wish I could have done more for him. Living here with these creatures is like a blessing and a curse.

Pup update

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The pup appears to be getting worse with swelling in his head and one eye.  As the rain has let up the wound has started drying out and the damaged flesh dying back to reveal the extent of his wound and infection.  He has been moving around more today but is not behaving the same as he used to.

Images from Monday and Sunday:

Update: past week

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On Friday Erik brought out a new wood stove and two guys to install it in the main house. The diesel furnace has turned been off since then and we are plenty warm.  This is a great addition to the island and another positive step Pearson College has taken to reduce its dependance on fossil fuels, reduce the risks of diesel contamination in this sensitive environment and improve financial sustainability of operations.

A group of Pearson College students arrived on Saturday afternoon with Erik on Second Nature to spend their project week at Race Rocks.  They will be helping out with daily tasks, doing some maintenance projects and working on their own creative projects.

On Sunday I picked up Garry and brought him to the island to get a closer look at the pup and to give the students a short marine bio and history tour.

DND blasting occured on March 4th, 5th, and 6th (945, 1030, 1310 big blast, 1350)

Eco tour vessels visited the reserve Feb 27 (x2), 28th, March 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 9th (x2)
Private vessels entered the reserve March 7th, 8th and 9th

Past Week projects and maintenance:

-harvested, cut firewood
-clean and prep for students arrival
-coordinating for project week
-cleaned out oil traps in propane lines of main house
-worked on boat console
-recycling offload to campus
-picked up peat moss and maintenance supplies
-completed month end report and data entry
-2 full propane tanks to island
-assist with wood stove supplies and install

Pup injured by Chunk

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On the night of Saturday March 1st the pup started making more noise than usual. He had been on the path by the flag but when I went outside to check he was close to the main house and Chunk, who hadn’t been on the island in several days, was a few feet behind him. The pup was frightened and bleeding with several puncture wounds and scrapes from chunk biting him. Chunk’s mouth and teeth were covered in blood.

It is hard to make sense of this behaviour. After Chunk left the island we installed electric fence around the jetty to keep him out. The pup made his way onto the cistern, leaving a trail of blood, and has remained there all week.

While most of the wounds dont seem too bad there are two nasty gashes around the pups neck with deep cuts from Chunks teeth. Over the past few days these cuts have continued to release liquid, remain open and seem clearly infected. As the pup is not going into the ocean yet he doesnt have the benefit of salt water to flush his wounds. While they are resilient creatures it is still concerning; we are keeping a close eye on him.

These photos taken four days after the attack.

On Thursday Chunk tried to come back on the island via the boat ramp and got as far as the electric fence.

electric fence-8128

Inverter back online

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For most of last week we had steady westerly winds reaching upwards of 40 NMPH. We got a break in the weather on Friday and Saturday some flurries began and the wind shifted back to North East and cold. It has been upwards of 20 NMPH NE today and the past two days. Today it is sunny for a change.

On Tuesday February 18 there were three heavy blasts that appeared to come from behind Christopher Point, not the usual blasting location.

On Friday Feb 21st Erik brought a group out to Race Rocks that include Ric the electrician and his apprentice. The inverter which had been repaired in Vancouver had shipped overnight and arrived on campus just in time to make it out here. We were able to re-install and test run the inverter, replace a broken solar pane- using adapter cables-on the roof of the engine room  and repair a failed light circuit in the assist house. Jonathan also came out and replaced the switch in the assist house and did some troubleshooting of the internet system. He also brought out a replacement conduit access box for Camera 5.  Five other guests from the college also came to visit for a total of 9 visitors including Erik. Erik returned in the afternoon with a group of student divers from the college; they dove near the jetty and brought the electrician and company back to campus. I picked up 3 guests form Pedder Bay and brought them for an overnight visit.

On Saturday, in the morning I counted over 200 Pigeon Guillemots along the shore of race rocks.  I have seen and heard them a few times this year but this was by far the most i have seen. There were at least 3 eco tour vessels in the reserve, there have not been many lately.  I went off island for a few hours in the afternoon.

-fixing running light wiring in boat
-finished building and painting box for GPS console on boat
-coordinating with DFO for tagging elephant seal
-measurements for adapter cables for replacement solar panel
-coordinating with electrician, assisting with gear, installation, etc
-communications about wood stove
-moving back into main house/clean up
-cleaning up jetty more frequently due to NE wind