Author Archives: Kendra Luckow

Thanksgiving Update

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So much to be thankful for out here! 

With Greg’s help we managed to get the algae off the student building, still needs a bit more to do but looking great! We also filled the water tank with 5 loads of water which is always a great feeling. 

The weather has been great, a bit windy and rainy yesterday but supposed to be gorgeous all week long so will get lots done on my last few days here! 

The female elephant seal is still hanging around, and I finally saw a sea otter today! It was quite far away but doesn’t appear to have a pink nose like Ollie and he was apparently seen elsewhere today so not sure who this is! 

I’ve also sadly found an entangled sea lion so working with all the right people to hopefully get that sorted for him. 

Lastly, here is the census from Oct 11 – it was a rainy day so numbers are low. 

Mammals:

  • California sea lion: 487
  • Steller sea lion: 221
  • Harbour seal: 15

Birds:

  • Gulls: 288
  • Cormorants: 770
  • Bald eagles: 3
  • Canadian geese: 10
  • Turnstones: 6 

And if you made it to the bottom, here is a photo of my surprise doorstep visitor a couple nights ago! He kindly made his way back to his side of the fence when I asked nicely. 

 

Busy Day on the Rock!

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Got lots done today! The next few days are supposed to rain so spent most of the day outside. 

Scrubbed and sprayed the algae on the main house, tank shed, and wooden walk ways (at least where I could reach). They aren’t perfect and will need a good pressure wash when the desalinator is back up and running, but they are better than they were! 

Richard dropped off 3 loads of water which is about 2,100L which is awesome. The hardest part of that task is keeping the sea lions off the hose! 

I ran the generator during the day today so I could do an equalization charge on them which is good to do once a month to keep the batteries healthy. 

DND did some blasting today, 5 in total. The sea lions flushed into the water on the first one but after that were just on high alert/sitting up when the rest would go off. 

The little elephant seal L334 was hanging out on the jetty today, I hope she’ll come up onto the grass but the sea lions are currently blocking her path!! 

Tuesday Update!

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It’s been a great couple days here as always, and the best weather I could ask for! 

A bit of wind just picked up now as I write this and its the first I’ve had in the week I’ve been here. 

I had two groups of students visit day from Pearson which is always great, tons of humpbacks for them to see! I also spent a good portion of the day working on getting the algae off the buildings so stay tuned for before and after photos! 

Additionally I topped up the battery electrolytes, fixed the fence (multiple times), and transferred some diesel up to the gen room.

Was a great day! 

Beautiful Sunday

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Today was gorgeous! 

No wind, warm, and glassy ocean with whales galore. After getting a few things done I spent the majority of the day outside taking advantage of the weather. 

The elephant seal was hanging out around the jetty this morning but no fur seal today! I did have a few humpbacks pass by right off the jetty though, definitely the closest I’ve seen them! 

Vessels:
Ecotourism: 14
Private: 9
1 paddle boarder 

Saturday Update & Census

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It’s been a busy couple of days out here!

The humpbacks have been breaching, tail lobbing, lunge feeding, and lounging in and around the reserve. You really can’t look out any window here and NOT see one.

Yesterday we had a diesel drop off, the battery room door is now new and functional, and we have a new YSI that turns on!

An oil change was also done on the generator so we are good to go!

This morning the fence didn’t need any repairs (a true miracle), and thanks to a text from my cousin who happened to be on a nearby ecotourism boat, I saw a fur seal!

A northern fur seal doing what we call “jug handling”

The Pearson students arrived this afternoon and will be staying until tomorrow morning, it’s always nice to have visitors!

Facility Work:
Topped up battery electrolytes
Diesel delivery
Topped up diesel in generator
Oil chance generator

Vessels:
Private: 5
Ecotourism: 16

Census:

Mammals:

  • Steller sea lion: 455
  • California sea lion: 902
  • Harbour seal: 105
  • Elephant seal: 1
  • Northern fur seal: 1
  • Humpbacks: 20+

Sleepy elephant seal

 

Harbour seal defending its rock!

Ouch

Birds:

  • Gulls: 520
  • Cormorants: 832
  • Canadian geese: 10
  • Oyster catcher: 1
  • Sparrows/Swallows: so many but I can’t ID them without a photo and they were flitting around too fast for me to get any!

Home Sweet Home

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I’m back for two weeks and so grateful that its during my favourite month to be at Race Rocks!

The weather today started off a little stormy and then the sun came out and never left. The water was glassy and I lost count of how many humpbacks I saw. They were in and out of the reserve all day long, it was incredible!

Tons of sea lions, and even one lone elephant seal hanging down on the rocks. She is tagged L334 and this is the third time I’ve seen her here which is super fun! It’s like I get to watch them grow up.

Not too many repairs needed on the fence today but did have a few spots were a couple California sea lions managed to sneak through.

I’m keeping a close eye out for the little sea lion we disentangled last October and hoping he shows up again!

No island visitors today but it sounds like the next week or so will be busy and fun!

Vessels:
Ecotourism: 15
Private: 1

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