Author Archives: Kendra Luckow

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

High Tides and Logs Galore

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Over the past few days I’ve noticed how many logs and driftwood seem to be out in the ocean this time of year. I’ve heard its significantly worse than previous years but thankfully not too much has been accumulating at the jetty (as I’ve been told it can). Until today. 

Yesterday afternoon there were a few small bits of driftwood/logs but nothing out of the ordinary, however the tides and wind must have been combined in all the right (or maybe wrong) ways over night. This morning when I woke up there was enough logs and debris around the jetty to open up my own lumber mill. I’ve never seen anything like it. For the better part of the day the waves have been crashing directly into the jetty making it impossible for any of it to be pushed out. In the afternoon I pulled a few of the reachable logs up to use for future firewood but it barely made a dent in whats there. Hopefully some of it gets pushed out tonight! 

The fur seal has not shown up again, so I guess he was just passing by, although I’m hopeful we’ll see him again one day! Ollie is still around and a few humpbacks are passing by each day. 

I haven’t seen the entangled sea lions today, but the Cali was around yesterday and the Steller the day before. 

Vessels:

  • Ecotourism: 2

Facility Work:

  • Topped up battery electrolytes 
  • Cleaned/organized inside main house 
  • Hauled in logs for firewood 

Otters, Whales, and a Fur Seal…Oh My!

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It’s the last day of 2024 and we are finishing it with a bang!

This morning I spotted an imposter among the sea lions near the jetty…a northern fur seal!

You may be wondering why thats significant, and its because this is the first northern fur seal documented on Race Rocks in 44 years! Northern fur seals are a pelagic species, meaning they live offshore and are not seen near the coast.

Occasionally they have been sighted in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the young or sick ones have stranded along the coast in previous years. However, a healthy adult male hauled out in front of the house here? Very rare! So rare that it hasn’t been seen since 1980 which I still haven’t quite wrapped my head around.

He’s been in and out of the water throughout the day, lots of grooming (they have a fur coat similar to that of a sea otter), and even nipped at a few California sea lions. I’m looking forward to seeing if he sticks around!

Speaking of sea otters, Ollie is also back! After spending the past few months  near William Head, I saw him on the South side of the island early this morning. I’m hoping to see more of him before I leave.

It appears not all of the humpbacks have gotten the memo that they should be somewhere warm, cozy, and tropical by now. I saw about 7 in total today which was a very nice surprise.

As for the rest of the animals around here its been status quo. Still no elephant seals but I’m not giving up hope yet. Doing my best to manifest one (or ten) arriving before I leave.

Happy New Year!!

December 2024 Seawater Data

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DAILY SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE AND SALINITY OBSERVATIONS
Station: RACE ROCKS
Observer: Derek Month: December
YSI ID: 15 Year: 2025
YSI YSI
Temp Sal
Day Time ºC ppt
1 13:30 9.1 32.7
2 14:00 9.0 32.7
3 14:30 9.1 32.6
4 15:00 9.0 32.6
5 15:30 9.1 32.7
6 16:00 9.1 32.9
7 16:30 9.3 32.9
8 17:00 9.1 32.9
9 n/a n/a n/a
10 n/a n/a n/a
11 n/a n/a n/a
12 n/a n/a n/a
13 n/a n/a n/a
14 n/a n/a n/a
15 13:00 8.7 33.0
16 13:30 8.6 33.0
17 14:15 8.8 32.7
18 15:15 8.8 32.9
19 16:00 8.9 32.7
20 17:00 8.7 32.6
21 17:00 8.6 32.7
22 19:30 8.9 32.6
23 9:00 8.9 32.3
24 8:30:00 AM 8.7 32.6
25 9:30 8.9 32.3
26 10:00 9.1 32.3
27 11:00 8.9 32.4
28 12:30 9.4 31.7
29 n/a n/a n/a
30 10:45 8.7 31.7
31 n/a n/a n/a