Author Archives: Eva Cowley

Sea Lion Disentanglement

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The long-awaited window of fair weather and coordinated schedules finally arrived late this morning, allowing the Marine Mammal Rescue Society (VAMMR) team to carry out an operation for the sea lion caught in plastic line near the jetty. It’s been a few weeks since he was first spotted, and luckily he hung around long enough for this incredible group to come and bring some relief!


Dense morning fog initially cloaked the shoreline and outer rocks, lending the islands a soft, sunlit glow while complicating the search.
Because of all the activity around the jetty, the entangled sea lion had moved away from his usual resting spot. The team started by surveying the perimeter by water before launching a drone search once conditions calmed.

Finally! He was spotted playing in the shallows near the southwest corner by the energy building. Just a few metres away from another sea lion sporting a clean scar from a prior, successfully healed entanglement. Let’s hope our friend has a good recovery and long life as well.

Rather than attempting a risky water intervention, the shore crew monitored the lion from a distance while the support boat stood by in the bay.

He looked to be thinking about hauling out several times, but there was no chance to safely tranquilize him before he headed back out!
Luckily, he swam back around the rocks and hauled out in his usual spot on the concrete jetty, where access was significantly safer and more manageable.

The crew moved in swiftly to carry out the procedure. Marty must have been taking lessons from the seagull chicks, as from my vantage point in the lighthouse (and through the fog) he did a pretty bang-on job of blending in.

After administering a tranquilizer to safely restrain him, they cut away the constricting plastic line from his neck, collected a small blood sample for analysis, and applied a new identification tag so we can monitor him in future sightings. Once the reversal was administered, he woke up a bit groggy but was visibly relieved to be rid of the plastic before it caused further injury. The entire intervention drew a curious audience both in and on the water.

To cap off a demanding day of careful planning and execution, the crew were sent off with the breathtaking sight of a transient orca pod hunting and breaching in the rips just off the rocks. It’s inspiring to see all of the hard work and dedication to our wild neighbours here on the coast- this would not have been possible without the incredible caring people with VAMMR and the DFO.

Facility notes
-Cleaned panels
-Continued repair of fence

Weather
Rolling fog banks throughout the day, sunny otherwise. Winds mainly from the west, from 15 to 25 knots. Temperatures 11 to 12 degrees.
Vessels
Ecotourism: 5
Private: 2

Taking Flight

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Wildlife
The number of fledgelings taking to the air is growing almost as quickly as the number of sea lions coming to haul out. The juvenile gulls can be identified by their distinct mottled plumage and endearingly abrupt water landings.

Meanwhile the lions are proving to be just as raucous a crowd as the gulls; the patch of flat ground outside the bedroom window is alive all night with the barks (California) and growls (Steller) of rowdy haul-outs. This morning, I spotted the arrival of a new California sea lion scarred deeply from an entanglement- so deeply that I thought for a moment there was still material caught around his neck. The entangled male at the jetty is still hanging around, and will hopefully be sorted out by Monday.

Facility notes
-Cleaned panels
-Topped up battery levels
-Scraped energy building roof- just the first row filled half a bucket!

Weather
Clear skies and a growing wind. Westerlies from 16 to 33 knots, gusting 38. Daytime temperatures from 11 to 16 degrees.

Vessels
Ecotourism: 22
Private: 4

Friday August 14 Census

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California sea lion: 174
Steller sea lion: 168
Harbour seal: 93

Cormorant: 98
Pigeon Guillemot: 81
Oyster catcher: 12
Turnstone: 138
Rock sandpiper: 13
Bald eagle: 2
Seagull (adult): 1230
Seagull (juvenile): ~400

Wildlife
The chicks are taking to the sky! Many of the older gulls have been taking advantage of the recent strong winds and getting some good flight time in. The three chicks by the main house path pictured below are only a handful of the young’ns hopping about all over the place. I watched this one stay off the ground for a solid few seconds during a particularly strong gust.

Facility notes
– Cleaned panels
– Water desalination
-Generator fuel check

The jetty fence faced its first challenger this afternoon. I watched as a California sea lion braved the section next to the boat ramp, moved along the length of the jetty, and jumped off the end into the water, taking a bit of the fence with him. The spot fixes have already begun!


Weather
Misty morning opening up to strong winds all afternoon. Westerlies from 16 to 35 knots. Temperature from 11 to 14 degrees.

Vessels Observed
Ecotourism: 18
Private: 2

Two weeks of wonder

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Today marks the end of my second week here on the rocks! How time flies when your every moment is filled with wonder. Morning mist fills the air with mystery, the afternoon sun dances across wavetops into the corner of your eye, and the evening sky bursts with stars far from any city lights. The last few nights, we’ve even been lucky to catch some late-summer meteor showers. All around, wild creatures chatter away and go about their lives in ways I never imagined seeing in person. I can’t wait to see wonders what the next two weeks of life here reveal.

Wildlife

Facility notes
– Cleaned Panels
– Finished student house kitchen deep clean

Weather
Very foggy! Hard to see much, but the rumble of ship whistles throughout the day served as a ghostly reminder of the rest of the world just out of view. Westerlies from 5 to 26 knots, daytime temperatures between 12 and 16 degrees.

My partner came up to help this morning with the solar panels- the usual gorgeous morning view was unfortunately nowhere to be found!

Vessels
Ecotourism: 6
Private: 3

Ramping up

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Wildlife
There’s a seagull chick I’ve named “Phelps” due to its tendency to escape into the water next to the jetty every time someone approaches from the path- I have watched this little one sprint to the water and hop right in at least once a day. It’s down has slowly given way to progressively more feathers, and Phelps is noticeably bigger since my arrival, but still far from big enough to take on a whole lineup of California Sea Lions!
This is becoming an issue. Now my path down to the end of the jetty involves a sort of sideways sneak-around, to avoid scaring Phelps off the side of the jetty into the busy waters below. This is complicated by the crowd gathered on either side of the raised concrete pathway, which set the nesting parents and chick itself much more on edge than before. I hope this little one survives the increasing popularity of its shoreline nesting site.

Facility notes
– Cleaned panels
– Cleaned main+ student house windows
– Finished student house kitchen inventory/ food storage
– Topped up batteries

Visitors
Greg and Richard came by to troubleshoot and fix up the jetty fence; we’re operating at pretty much full power now. A friend from the College came with, taking the opportunity to spend an hour or so away from the hustle and bustle of the UWC reunions and pre-term prep. Little did she know just how much hustle and bustle there is here with all the seagull chicks!

Weather
Sunny, dry, clouds. Strong Westerlies from 19 to 29 knots. Daytime temperatures from 12 to 18 degrees.

Vessels
Ecotourism: 12
Private: 1

Party on the rocks, in the pantry too

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Wildlife
More and more are showing up to haul out every day. The outer edges of the rocks are all populated with sea lions now. They’re still concentrated on the Northeast corner, but every shoreline has a least one or two.

Facility notes
– Cleaned panels
– Ran desal pump
– Generator fuel check
– Started inventory of student house pantry
Unfortunately, it seems like a thriving community of pantry beetles of some sort also moved in over the summer months; going through the student house kitchen to make an inventory revealed a fair amount of inhabited dry foodstuffs. We cleared out anything left open with visible unwanted additional protein, and wiped inside the cabinets and drawers to discourage their continued residence.
Tomorrow I will finish the task with the arrival of some solid, watertight storage bins for future pantry staples.

Weather
Sunny. Strong West-North-Westerly winds from 21 to 36 knots all day. Temperatures between 12 and 15 degrees.

Vessels
Ecotourism:
Private:

Visitors
A wonderful delivery came in on the Pedder Explorer this afternoon! My partner has been dropped off to come visit for a few days. He doesn’t seem too eager to be outside with the birds so far- but he’ll be wielding his seagull broom like a pro in no time.
Laura and Sara from the Pearson Science Centre also came out for a brief tour of the student building, in preparation for the school term visiting program.

Jetty-son

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Wildlife
The lions have started moving in on the jetty already! It’s time to plug the electric fence back in. It took a moment to reconnect some of the wiring with a quick-fix move before the Pearson crew comes out to re-vamp the whole system for the upcoming season. I took Christine’s advice as a fellow small human being and used the wheelbarrow as a loud, barrier-providing discouragement aid for the ones who had already hauled out onto the jetty.

Facility notes
– Cleaned panels
– Cleaned windows
– Reconnected jetty fence

Weather
Sun and clouds. Strong West by-North-Westerly gusts ranging from 19 to 38 knots. Temperatures from 12 to 17 degrees.

Vessels
Ecotourism: 17
Private: 5

Look out, but don’t look up!

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It finally happened, after a solid week’s streak of avoiding of solid streaks. Today’s strong wind and the decision to head out without a brimmed hat or broom ended in this unfortunate reminder to stay vigilant during gull nesting season! Lesson learned.

Needless to say, today was a bit more of an inside day after that.

Facility notes
– Cleaned panels
– Cleaned windows
– Topped up battery levels / Generator inspection
– Main house pantry clean / inventory

Weather
Windy! Mix of sun and clouds, winds West-by-Northerly from 13 to 35 knots. Temperatures 12 to 20 degrees.

Vessels
– ecotourism: 13
– private: 4

August 07 Census

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California Sea Lion: 92
Steller Sea Lion: 116
Seal: 47

Seagulls (adult): 750 (+another 300 or so chicks)
Oyster catcher: 13
Rock Sandpiper: 12
Black Turnstone: 141
Cormorant: 47
Pigeon Guillemot: 112
Bald eagle: 1

I noticed from the lighthouse an interesting nesting pair; I am not entirely certain but they’re either Western Gulls or hybrids of some flavour. I’m still only beginning to get familiar with the various types of gulls and their identifiers- what an incredibly deep rabbit hole to explore. This guide from Bird Studies Canada : Identifying Hybrid & Immature Gulls in Coastal B.C. is a great place to start.

Visitors
Two technicians came to work on the CODAR SeaSonde from around 11:00am to 2:30pm today, accompanied by two of the Pearson waterfront folks and two others from campus.

The CODAR SeaSonde is a coastal radar system that monitors ocean currents and wave conditions like height, direction, and period. It works by sending out radio waves and analyzing the signals bounced back from waves that are half the radar’s wavelength. Combining data from multiple stations like the one positioned on the South-West corner of the rocks allows it to calculate total ocean current speeds and directions where coverage overlaps. You can go to this post from 2018 for more information about the setup and project as a whole.

Facility notes
– Cleaned house decks
– Cleaned panels

Weather
Heavy fog, strong gusts in the morning, opening up to a calm sunny afternoon. Winds mostly west-by-southwesterly, from 15 to 33 knots. Temperatures from 10 to 15 degrees.

Vessels observed
Ecotourism: 22
Private: 3

Hazy Days

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A rolling fog mixed with wildfire blanketed the rocks intermittently, bringing the horizon in and out of view all day.

Facility notes
– Cleaned panels
– Generator ran automatically from 5am to 11:30pm
– Ran desal pump (full tank now!)

Weather
Hazy, foggy and everything in between. Wildfire smoke has settled in, mixing with an intermittently heavy fog throughout the day. The extra precipitation was great this morning for cleaning panels.
A westerly wind blew from 6 to 18 knots, picking up to 25 in the evening. Temperatures from 10 to 13 degrees.

Vessels
ecotourism: 10
private: 3