Author Archives: Mike Robinson

Ouch, ouch, ouch…

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Update: The young e-seal seems to be doing well. I was just in the water clearing kelp from near the jetty and was able to observe it closely. Elephant seals are extremely tough and resilient; its abrasions are almost fully healed already! The one change in its behaviour I have noticed is a reluctance to come ashore. He has spent the last 48 hours in the shallow water at the foor of the boat ramp.

Animals have accidents just like we do. I happened to witness a tumble this morning when a lounging juvenile elephant seal lost its bearings and fell from the jetty. I was trying to photograph pigeon guillemots, sitting on the rocks across from the seal. When I saw it tumble I ran over and at first glance thought it was dead. It was stuck pretty good and having a tough time rolling over. After 30 seconds of struggle I used my boot to help steady it until it could roll over… I am sure it would have made it on its own but I couldn’t watch it suffer in the position it was in, and it was clearly in some distress. I normally let nature’s dramas play out on their own but the jetty is a man-made object and contributed to the seal’s predicament…. At the moment the unhappy little tyke is recovering in the water and looks like it will be OK, but it has to be hurting. I’ll monitor its recovery. Here are the pictures:

Such a lovely morning until

 

 

 

 

 

Such a lovely morning until-2Such a lovely morning until-3Such a lovely morning until-4Such a lovely morning until-5Such a lovely morning until-7

Bertha is Back

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And more beautiful than ever!

Bertha and gang avoiding the strong Westerlies

Bertha and gang avoiding the strong Westerlies

Bertha's Scar

Bertha’s Scar

This morning 5 elephant seals were on the island, probably seeking some degree of shelter from the 35 knot Westerly wind that has been blowing all day. 4 are juveniles, but in the middle of the pile lies Bertha looking sleek and glossy-brown. She is easily identified by the large scar on her chest and her clouded left eye. Last year she arrived on Great Race on April 15th. I think she has been in the reserve for a little while now but I had not been able to identify her while she rested on Middle Rocks.

 

 

 

Biding their time...

Biding their time…

 

We appear to have about 300 Glaucous-winged Gulls on the island this spring. My estimate is that there are about 25% fewer individuals than last spring, when I counted about 200 breeding pairs. Other animals noted in the past few days have been several Dunlins, a small flock of Barn Swallows, a Whimbrel and what resembled a Solitary Sandpiper. I also saw for the first time a Mink (Mustela Vison) on Great Race; quite a swim for the little athlete!

Erik and I did an oil and filter change on the generator. Hopefully it will be the last one and we will soon be able to afford to install a wind generator to provide the last 20% of energy we require. We run the generator about 2.5 hours a day this time of year.

We had 3 groups of student this month, 2 roofers, 3 techs from Environment Canada, and several college staff. Tour boats and fisherfolk are being seen more regularly in the reserve as the nicer weather begins. We had to ask one group of fishers to pull their lines and leave the Reserve. Infractions are almost always due to ignorance and I am lobbying the government to post a few signs which, unattractive as they may be, could go a long way towards ameliorating those infractions.

Birdyfull Sunset

Birdyfull Sunset

Unsettled Weather

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The last few days have seen many extremes in weather, from 50 knot Westerlies with hail to gorgeous, clear, sunny and warm afternoons. I enjoy watching the squall fronts marching up the Juan de Fuca Strait, passing over me, and then moving on to affect Victoria.

Stunning cloudscapes
Stunning cloudscapes
Race Rocks Tidal Rips
Race Rocks Tidal Rips

We were visited by a red-tailed hawk a few days ago. I didn’t observe it preying upon anything; the gulls are a bit too big for it to take on I think….

Hawk landing on the Anemometer
Hawk landing on the Anemometer
Hawk perched on the Anemometer
Hawk perched on the Anemometer

There are about 15 Elephant Seals in the reserve at this time, mostly juveniles. 3 of them are using Great Race as their haul-out while the others are on Middle Rock and can be observed using the live webcams: http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/video1.htm

3 Juvenile E-seals April 2013 including Tag 5086, a visitor from last spring.
3 Juvenile E-seals April 2013 including Tag 5086, a visitor from last spring.

 

Misty April

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March ended beautifully but early April has been mostly cool and at times misty. The roofers are here today finishing off the Guest House roof, and I continue to putter away cleaning up and reorganizing everything.

Race Rocks in Fog

Race Rocks in Fog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The surfbirds have left but several Mergansers have been making the island home.

Common Merganser

Common Merganser

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was lucky enough to see a Steller Sea Lion tearing apart an octopus and I caught a few pictures of a brief encounter between the sea lion and an eagle looking for scraps…

Eagle and Gull checking out a Steller's octopus lunch

Eagle and Gull checking out a Steller’s octopus lunch

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apex predators face to face

Apex predators face to face

 

 

Back for Spring

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It is good to be back on Race Rocks after a winter on the road in Mexico. It seems I am not the only one returning as the Pigeon Guillemots have been returning over the last few days as well. I am planning a special entry focused on them in the next week so stay tuned!

Surfbird (Aphriza Virgata) in breeding plummage

Surfbird (Aphriza Virgata) in breeding plummage

These birds usually eat invertebrates so this picture of one eating Sea Lettuce (ulva lactuca) a bit unusual.

These birds usually eat invertebrates so this picture of one eating Sea Lettuce (Ulva lactuca) is a bit unusual.

For now I think a census of the last few days is in order:

Steller (Northern) Sea Lions: 30

Harbour Seals: 100

Elephant Seals: 10

Orca: 6

River Otter: 1

Mergansers: 2

Pigeon: 1

Cormorants: 40

Glaucous-winged Gulls: 200

Pigeon Guillemots: 60

Northwestern Crow: 2

Raven: 2

Rufous Hummingbird: 1

Black Oyster Catchers: 20

Bald Eagle: 10

Harlequin Ducks: 10

Black Turnstones: 30

Sanderlings: 4

Song Sparrow: 6

Canada Geese: 14

Surfbirds: 40

 

Seawater Data: Temperature and Salinity November, 2012

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We will be including our monthly submissions  on daily seawater temperature and salinity as it is provided to IOS from the daily sampling by the Ecoguardians at Race Rocks.

See the PDF file:seawaterdatanov2012

For the daily data for past months presented on this log, see:
https://www.racerocks.ca/category/seawater-data-2/

Past records of seawater Temperature and Salinity may be viewed at: http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/abiotic/temperature/seatemperature.htm

For monthly means for temperature and Salinity since 1921: http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/science/oceans/data-donnees/lighthouses-phares/data/racerockday.txt

 

 

Last days of November, and my shift…

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Well my 3 month shift is almost over and plans are being made for Alex’s arrival for the winter. The station is looking pretty good and all systems are working well. The time of the Sea Lion fades and the time of the Elephant Seal begins…

A few pelicans remain including this second banded individual, R41. You can learn more about pelican conservation at: http://blog.bird-rescue.org/ (and many other birds…)

King Misery is quietly staking his territory, going back and forth between here and Middle Rocks. The young male Chunk is about, and being cautious, but Misery hasn’t pummelled him yet as far as I can tell… there are about 8 E-seals in the Reserve.

We have had beautiful and oft-changing weather over this last week. I caught this double-rainbow the other day… Note pelicans on rocks beneath…

Double Rainbow over Pelicans and Gulls

What is your best guess?

Bunting perhaps?

And finally these sparrow-sized birds were about for a few days, feeding voraciously. These are snow buntings, down from their summer range in the Arctic.

 

 

 

 

 

Pelicans

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As mentioned earlier, a flock of Brown Pelicans are enjoying the fine fishing and mild weather of this November. I counted 14 yesterday and got a lucky shot of a tagged individual in flight! As a big admirer of pelicans I am delighted to observe them here on a daily basis over the last few weeks, rather than be obliged to migrate to warmer climes. A harbinger of a mild winter?

I reported a blue-banded specimen to: http://www.bird-rescue.org/contact/found-a-bird/report-blue-banded-pelicans.aspx

They are occupying the eastern-most point of Great Race and it is possible you can view them by going to : http://racerocks.com/racerock/video1.htm   The camera can be controlled by your computer!

Adult Male Brown Pelican RR Nov 18/12

Preening

The Dance

Banded Brown Pelican R36

Pelicans and Owls and Misery!

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It is mid-November isn’t it? So why did 9 pelicans just fly by the window? And yesterday a Snowy Owl showed up for the night. Is there something going on with the weather or climate that is encouraging this? We live in interesting times… and speaking of interesting, Misery returned the day before yesterday. I noticed him down at the boat-ramp and we had a little chat! I felt he recognized me! Later he lumbered up onto the lawn looking very fat and sleek, well-prepared for his 2-3 month fast ahead while he stakes his territory, fights off potential challengers, and “courts” any females that might around.

Snowy Owl

Snowy Owl

 

Lastly the other day I heard a commotion in the kitchen and upon investigation I discovered a bird in the oven vent. I removed the cowling and this European Starling appeared and flew around the house for a while. Starlings are a species introduced from Europe (Sturnus vulgaris)in 1890. About 60 were released into New York’s Central Park in an effort to introduce every bird species mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare. By 1945 they were appearing in the Pacific Northwest. About 200 million are thought to exist in North America presently.

European Starling – Good owl food?