Author Archives: Kendra Luckow

May 15th Census (and Farewell for Now)

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I can’t believe it’s my last day! Where did the time go?! I’m already looking forward to coming back. 

As always, it’s been an honour to be out here and spend time on this little rock. 

May 15th Census:

Mammals:

  • Steller sea lion: 21
  • California sea lion: 24
  • Harbour seal: 66
  • Elephant seal: 3 female 
  • Cetaceans: 1 grey whale, reports of many harbour porpoises in the area

Birds:

  • Gulls: 391 (these have increased a LOT in number this week) 
  • Pigeon guillemot: 78
  • Cormorants: 29
  • Canadian geese: 10
  • Bald eagles: 10
  • Harlequin duck: 2
  • Oyster catcher: 6 

That’s all for now! 

 

Happy Tuesday!

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My time here is flying by (as per usual). 

It’s been a busy few days with great weather, lots of outdoor cleaning and weeding and searching as hard as I can for whales.

I’ve now seen a few humpbacks so they are slowly but surely making their way past. 

Still have the 3 female elephant seals, and the two young ones have finally finished their moult!

Ollie is doing what he does best – relaxing, and the pelicans have multiplied, there are now 4 here. I’ve never had them stick around so long before but I love that they are! 

Vessels:

  • Ecoguardian: 11

Facility Work:

  • Cleaned solar panels 
  • Topped up battery electrolytes
  • Added diesel to generator 

Visitors:

  • Greg for diesel drop off (yesterday)

Saturday Update

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A bit of a grey day to start but turned out to be quite nice! 

The early morning rain helped with cleaning the solar panels and windows, so I can’t complain. 

Ollie is back in his usual bed of kelp behind the student house, and after the strong winds, the pelican has also returned to the rocks near the jetty. 

I haven’t seen the entangled Steller in a few days but I’m hoping he reappears so we can help him! I did see a whale finally today, I think it was a humpback but I just saw one quick spout and it was very far away. I’m still here for a few more days so hopefully get more! 

Facility Work:

  • Topped up battery electrolytes and took specific gravity readings 
  • Ran and equalization charge on the batteries 
  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Cleaned main house windows (they always get so salty after windy days) 
  • Fixed the electric fence on the jetty 

Vessels:

  • Ecotourism :6
  • Private: 4

May 8th Census

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I postponed my census from yesterday until today due to weather. I think yesterday’s wind must have blown away all the animals, not a single sea lion out front! 

Today was much nicer for counting and way more animals, although this may be the longest I’ve gone without seeing a whale here. Not a single one yet and its been a week! 

Mammals:

  • Elephant seals: 3 females
  • Harbour seals: 32
  • Steller sea lions: 37
  • California sea lions: 21

Birds:

  • Gulls: 114 
  • Cormorants: 19
  • Pigeon guillemots: 153
  • Oyster catchers: 8
  • Canadian geese: 6
  • Bald eagles: 3
  • Raven: 1
  • Harlequin ducks: 6 

Gulls are starting to build their nests!

I will note that 2 brown pelicans have been hanging around the last few days, and Ollie the sea otter as well but I did not see any of them today. 

Vessels:

  • Ecotourism: 5
  • Private: 4

Tuesday Update

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Nothing too wild to report today! 

4 student groups from Pearson came over today which is always fun, and it was the perfect day for it! Sunny and no wind. 

Everything animal wise is status quo, the elephant seals seem to take turns at the boat launch dipping in the water. There are 2 pelicans that have been here the last few days and I will never not get excited when I see them! 

Sadly (but planned) my dad headed back to the mainland today so its just me and the animals out here now! It was so nice having him out here. 

Today’s facility work:

  • Topped up generator with diesel 
  • Cleaned solar panels 
  • Checked and topped up batteries
  • Weed whacked the pathways 
  • Started gardening between the bricks of the old wheels

Tomorrow is supposed to be windy and rainy so preparing for an inside day. 

Sunny Sunday

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What a day! Finally no wind, so much sun, and the glassiest water you’ve ever seen. If there were any whales out there we for sure would’ve seen them but unfortunately there were none to be found! 

Speaking of unfortunate, I did spot an entangled Steller who happens to be the same one spotted here in August. Hopefully we can arrange a rescue soon! 

Ollie is still snuggled into the kelp patch, and the harbour seals are suspicious as usual. 

Lots of fishing boats out and about but only a couple came through the reserve and were very respectful of the animals hauled out. 

I cleaned the windows and solar panels, and started on some gardening with lots more to come! 

 

 

Back on the Rock!

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Hello again! 

I arrived back at Race Rocks and couldn’t be happier! I brought my dad again for the first few days and its been lovely so far. 

There are 3 female elephant seals, one of which is tagged L334, I reported her last year and found out she came from California. Last May they told me she was 1 year old so now she is 2! The other female is the same size as her and there is also one adult. 

Ollie the sea otter has been spending his days in the kelp behind the student house, and I’m always happy to see him. 

We’ve also had a brown pelican hanging out near the jetty which is always exciting! Poor guy spent the day being harassed by gulls though. 

 

It’s been pretty windy since we arrived and I’m already looking forward to a break from it on Monday when it slows down. I still got some work done, split wood, topped up the battery electrolytes and got myself situated. 6 ecotourism vessels in the reserve today despite the strong wind. No whales though! 

Last Day!

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That week flew by – I am heading home tomorrow and my time spent here was amazing as always! 

 

Vessels:

  • 1 Private 

Facility Work:

  • Filled generator with diesel
  • Cleaned main house windows 
  • Hauled up logs for firewood 
  • Cleaned house/prepped for next Ecoguardians

Saturday Update

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Today’s weather has been significantly better than yesterday although its still grey and quite cold. The logs at the jetty are slowly breaking up a bit but there are still a ton down there. I did manage to drag in a couple more for firewood while the tide was low. 

There have been 20-30 eagles here lately which is pretty neat to watch, but still no elephant seals! 

The little entangled Cali is sticking around which makes me hopeful we’ll be able to to help her. I also spotted a juvenile Steller on the jetty today with a large fish hook and lure in his lip. A hooked lip is far better than him having swallowed the hook but its still not great. I expect that it’ll get stepped on or ripped out before we can do anything for him but I’ll keep an eye on it regardless. The young Stellers LOVE to play with anything they find, I’ve been watching them carry sticks around and chunks of fish, and unfortunately some plastic debris as well. They’re like curious little toddlers and I love watching them play – I’d just prefer it not be with garbage! 

Nothing too wild going on today! Chopped some wood, and got a few tasks done inside. No vessels in the area today, everyone seems to be laying low. 

Stormy and Cold

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Not much of an update today. Woke up to strong winds and sideways rain that I’m surprised didn’t turn to snow with how cold it felt. Definitely a stay inside kinda day! 

The entangled Cali is still here, hopefully it sticks around until we have calmer weather to organize a rescue. 

One thing I have noticed thats changed since October is how many more Steller sea lions appear to be here as opposed to California sea lions. There are also a lot more young/juvenile Stellers than the fall as well, super interesting and I wonder if Race Rocks will ever become a rookery?

Very young Steller resting on a California sea lion

Slightly older juvenile Steller