Author Archives: Julie Bowser

Human Presence on the Reserve

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Diesel fill up with e-seal_

This past week, we delivered over 4000L of diesel to the island. Even though Race Rocks tries to source its energy from more sustainable practices like our solar panels, often they’re not sufficient to completely power the island. During the dark cloudy days we see so often in winter we rely on our diesel powered generator. Erik Shauff collects thousands of litres of diesel per load in a large metal container from Pedder Bay Marina and delivers it to the reserve by boat. Then we use an electric pump and hose system to transfer the diesel across the island into its holding tank. Pictured above is Misery supervising the process. Erik surveys the yellow diesel tank in the background.

Pod heading east

We also had a whale sighting in the past week. A pod of orcas (with at least one calf) passed through the south side of the reserve on Friday. As always, orcas attract alot of boat traffic. I noticed a cluster of whale watching vessels before the orcas. When the pod moved towards the reserve the whale watchers didn’t follow but instead kept their distance and motored ahead to the next point they calculated the pod to be.

Orcas and boaters on the south side of Great Race Rocks

Orcas and boaters on the south side of the island

 

One private boat-owner, however, chased the whales right through the reserve.

 

 

 

Caught on Underwater Camera 2 by Adam Harding

Caught on Underwater Camera 2 by Adam Harding

 

On one of the trips for diesel, Erik also brought his dive gear to clean the Underwater Camera 2.

Lots of littluns!

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Glaucous-winged gull chicks, newly hatched

Glaucous-winged gull chicks, newly hatched

The glaucous-winged gulls have started hatching all over the island. Stressed parent gulls are VERY protective, dive-bombing any passersby. And for good reason because the juvenile bald eagle has paid a few visits in search of lunch.

 

There are generally 3 eggs to a nest although many only have two.

Oystercatcher chicks

Oystercatcher chicks

The oystercatchers on the south side of the island hatched on Sunday mid-morning. Notice the similarly coloured eggshells. Even though the two chicks have different nesting environments, a similar pattern camouflages them in their surroundings. The oystercatcher shells are also considerably smaller in size.

 

Although we’ve had less whale-watchers these past few days, a number of dive boats have visited the underside of the island. Don’t be fooled–the weather might look nice, but the water’s still only 10 degrees celsius!

Dive boat in the currents between the Race Rocks and North Race

Dive boat in the currents between the Race Rocks and North Race

 

 

 

Strong Wind, DND, Coast Guard, Elephant seals, and Oystercatchers

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30 knot winds at North Race

30 knot winds at North Race

The wind since Sunday evening has been very strong and even reached over 50 knots on Monday just before midnight. The photo shows North Race during a 30 knot wind. As the wind carries the water in the photo, it also sprayed the house windows which now are in sorely need of a clean.

 

During the winds, the Coast Guard paid a vist.

Coast Guard Helicopter passing by

Coast Guard helicopter passing by a quick visit to the island, hovering over the helicopter pad for several seconds without landing and then taking off again. It looked like it was having trouble with its stability in the wind.

Another noise-maker for the past two weeks have been the blasts on DND. There have been as many as 5 or 6 per day on severals days since my arrival June 24.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Juvenile female elephant seal

Juvenile female elephant seal

A new female visitor came to the island Wednesday night. I noticed a juvenile elephant seal

Tuesday evening resting near the fire hose box. She was gone the following day but returned at around 22:30 when I ran into her with Chunk and Misery in the shallow water near the jetty while taking a water sample. Something that has been interesting upon her arrival is that Chunk and Misery have both changed their regular resting spots. Possibly just a coincidence, Misery has always been the one closest to the female.

Parent oystercatcher with chick

Parent oystercatcher with chick

On a bird note, the new oystercatchers have left the nest. The two have been exploring the jetty and surrounding area accompanied by two adults who become very vocal when any danger is in sight. The eggs on the opposite side of the island have yet to hatch.

 

Oystercatchers Hatched, Chunk and Misery still sparring!

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Mike left last week and I will be taking over for the next two months. My last shift was a year ago and it’s great to see how well Mike and Alex have taken care of the place.

Over the past number of days, Misery and Chunk have been pretty subdued with the exception of Thursday when both headed into the water and had a 6-hour long feud. There are no females on the island so my assumption is that Chunk is testing Misery’s role as alpha-male (which he’s proven to be in check). 

The two contenders

The two contenders: Misery and Chunk

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sea lion near the jetty during sunset

Sea lion near the jetty during sunset

 

The first sea lion of the summer has been hanging around on the main island and the southern rock.

 

 

 

Oyster catcher with 3 chicks

Oystercatcher with 3 chicks

Another first of the season are the newly hatched oystercatchers, pictured right. This nest is on the north side of the island and there is another on the south side that still has its 3 eggs intact.

 

 

For boat traffic, there averages 10-20 vessels per day in the reserve (weather depending). In the photo below, the gathered whale-watching boats to the west of Race Rocks implies a whale-sighting although it was too far for any good views from the island itself.

Whale watching vessels to the west of the island

Whale watching vessels to the west of the island

 

 

 

 

Another note on boat traffic, this morning four curious boaters from Pedder Bay Marina wanted to explore the island unaware it’s not for public use. I explained the rules of the reserve and sent the apologetic boaters on their way. Pam Birley took some snapshots on Camera 1.

 

 

 

Guardian Changeover

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I am making final preparations for my departure tomorrow and Mike’s return. The past two months have been very enjoyable being surrounded by the wildlife here and beautiful landscape.

The sea lions seem to be occupying every side of the island except the jetty. The right image is the rocky shore to the East of the house, the centre is the south side of the island, and on the right is West Race Rocks.

 

 

We now have 5 elephant seals on the island, although no big males have returned.

The past two days have been overcast and there was a light drizzle today. Sure makes for a beautiful sunset, though!

The return of the elephant seals

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Elephant seals (on left is 8 foot female)

Over a week ago the last elephant seal had departed so I was surprised to see a new untagged seal arrive August 23. Since then, two have joined it and they all appear to be female. I recognize none of them and the larger one I measured to be nearly 8 feet long. The 3 don’t appear to have been fasting either and the 8-foot female in particular is quite large.

The new Glaucous-winged gulls born in late June are now flying all over the place and their parents are far less protective. The two pictured are the same from my earlier posts.

On a different subject, the island’s bird calls have been almost completely replaced by the sea lions’ barking now.

Glaucous-winged gulls

The sea lion numbers have grown and since August 21 have gradually moved from the jetty to the rocky shore on the East side of the island.

Sea lions on rocky East shore

 

Orca Sighting

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Mid-morning of 16 August a pod of orcas passed eastward on the north side of the island. There were only a half dozen or so, suggesting a transient pod. Of course, there were many whale watching vessels in the area. It saddened me to see some approach closer than the recommended 100m and not turn their motors into neutral and it sickened me to see an Eagle Wing Tour boat actually chase alongside the pod in the reserve. There should be more respect for these marine mammals, especially while in the reserve.

Orcas east of Race Rocks

Nonetheless, it was an amazing sight!

The sea lions have crept their way further up from the water. The image below was captured 18 August.

 

 

18 August 2012

Also, for the past 3 nights the bioluminescence of the phytoplankton (Noctaluca) in the water was been remarkable. The outline of the sea lions glow when they take to the water. This is curious because normally for phosphorescence to occur there needs to be rain and then sun and until today there has been no rain.

August 13 Update

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Slowly the sea lions, both Stellar and California, are making their way to the main island from West Race Rocks. I’ve decided to take regular shots of their progress. The first image is August 7, after the first night of their arrival, and the next is of August 10.

7 August 2012

10 August 2012

The second is a notably less clear image because of the fog. Over the past week the fog has been incredibly thick mostly in the morning and late evenings. Just a few moments after that photo was taken the sea lions disappeared altogether.

The fog provides an obstacle for mariners which is why I was surprised to note half a dozen whale watching boats appear near the jetty at times of less than 50m visibility.

The last image illustrates only a glimpse of how dense the fog can be. It is taken from the tower facing westward.

 

 

 

Fog after sundown, 11 August 2012

Marine mammals and vessels

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Stellar and California sea lions near sunset

The sea lions have moved in! Last night more than a dozen spent their first night on the main rock. Around sunset there were over 20 on rocks across from the jetty and in close waters. About 50-75 are still camped out on North and West Race Rocks.

I’m unsure if it is a coincidence, but the sea lions’ arrival was directly after the elephant seals’ departure. Although there are still 3 juveniles on site, our 2 alpha males and half dozen other seals haven’t returned since Saturday, 4 August.

Two of the 3 elephant seals left on the island

On another note, a Canadian Coast Guard vessel was tied up to the Rosedale Reef buoy on the edge of the reserve yesterday for a couple of hours late in the day. It’s the first time I’ve seen the buoy being used since my time out here.

On Sunday 37 whale watching boats entered the reserve as well 3 private boats. It’s a lot of activity for such a small area and I wonder about the effects it has on the wildlife. A new 2-deck whale watching ship of Orca Spirit Adventures has a capacity of 200 passengers. I can’t help but think the noise pollution created by this vessel that advertises its indoor dining area and dance floor does harm to the very animals they are in search of.

Coast Guard vessel at Rosedale Reef Buoy

Seal Pups and traffic

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Harbour seals are frequenting the kelp beds regularly with their new pups. I have spotted a half dozen pups so far. Harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) are most often found in estuaries and shallow bays but here in the reserve there are approximately 35 right now. They feed at hide tide and rest during low tide usually somewhere within the south-eastern part of the reserve.

Habour seal with pup

Marine traffic has increased significantly this week. Today, whale watching boats alone exceeded 40 in the reserve and there were around a dozen private boaters as well. In the last post I mentioned the whale tour boats are well mannered though unfortunately speeding between North Race Rocks and Great Race Rocks has become much more common in the past week.

There is a count of 9 elephant seals at the moment, which dropped from 11 earlier in the week. Some, like Misery (our largest male), seem to spend equal time in water and on shore now.

Also, 3 groups of student visitors came out on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for tours to learn about the reserve, its importance, and to get a peek at the elephant seals. The tours were kept brief as to not disturb the gulls who are still rather anxious to protect their young.