Author Archives: Nick Townley

July 13 and 14 – Weekly Census

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Ecological Notes:

  • The sea lion population is growing. For the past few days there have been 18 Steller sea lions hauled out on Middle Rocks. That is up from four sea lions one week ago. One of the sea lions has a brand. It appears to say 620R, although the researcher I contacted in Oregon mentioned it is what they call a bad brand and he was unable to determine the brand from the photos I sent. I will keep a look out for the sea lion and see if I can get a better view. The researcher will check his records to see if he can identify the sea lion and be able to record the resighting.
  • The super moon on Wednesday night rose in the southeast at 10:00pm. It was a big bright orange orb that looked more like the rising sun, than the moon.
  • Today’s extremely low tide of -0.2m or -0.7′ was at 10:13am. The overnight high tide at 00:55am was 3.0m or 9.8′. It is apparently the lowest tide in a decade. I was fascinated to see the extended edge of the water all around the many islands. I looked at the exposed intertidal zone from a distance and up on the jetty, so as not to disturb the many delicate species.
  • See the photo gallery below for more ecological happenings from the past two days.

Weekly Census Results from July 13:

  • Steller/Northern sea lions: 18
  • Sea otter: 1
  • Harbour seals: 133
  • Bald eagles: 2 (1 juvenile and 1 adult)
  • Canada geese: 9 (5 adults, 4 goslings)
  • Black oystercatchers: 11 (8 adults, 3 chicks)
  • Cormorant: 4
  • Glaucous-winged gulls nesting on the main island: 247
  • Glaucous-winged gull chicks: approximately 200 (it is hard to get an exact number due to their camouflage in the grass and hiding under their parents)
  • Gulls not nesting (some glaucous-winged and some other species) on the south end of the main island and outer islands: 96
  • Pigeon guillemots: 142
  • Black turnstones: 2
  • Western sandpiper: 2

Weather:

  • Yesterday (July 13):
    • Sky: Part Cloudy
    • Wind: W 12-32 kts
    • Sea: rippled, then up to 3′ waves in afternoon and evening
    • Temperature Low 12oC, High 16oC
  • Today (July 14):
    • Sky: Part Cloudy
    • Wind: W 15-27 kts
    • Sea: rippled, then up to 2′ chop in afternoon
    • Temperature Low 11oC, High 13oC

Visitors:

  • No visitors

Facility Work:

  • Scrubbed and squeegeed solar panels, routine tidying and checking infrastructure around the island.

Vessel Traffic:

  • Many Canadian and American ecotour boats have been nearby and heading through the waters of the ecological reserve.

Here are photo highlights from the past two days. Click on the photos for larger views and captions.

July 11 and 12

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Ecological Notes:

  • I believe most of the gulls eggs have hatched, based on the nests I can see with one to three chicks and discarded empty eggs nearby. The gull parents feed fish to their young. I am impressed how many whole little fish a gull catch then regurgitate for their chicks.
  • I am seeing more nursing harbour seals and pups around the south and east sides of the island. Today, I heard a pup communicating with its mother by little grunting sounds.
  • This afternoon, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a river otter scurry along a path by Tank Shed. I could not see if it was heading for the water or underneath the boardwalk, as they are elusive.
  • See the photo gallery below for more ecological happenings from the past two days.

Weather:

  • Yesterday (July 11):
    • Sky: Clear
    • Wind: W 1-33 kts
    • Sea: rippled, then 2′ chop in evening
    • Temperature Low 11oC, High 20oC
  • Today (July 12):
    • Sky: Clear, fog between 08:45-09:30 with foghorn
    • Wind: W 16-39 kts, gusts up to 44 kts (81 km/h)
    • Sea: 1′ chop in morning, then up to 4′ waves in afternoon and evening
    • Temperature Low 12oC, High 15oC

Visitors:

  • Yesterday, Greg came from the college to refill the diesel tank.

Facility Work:

  • Scrubbed and squeegeed solar panels, routine tidying and checking infrastructure around the island. With the clear days, the solar panels have been fully charging the batteries.

Vessel Traffic:

  • Many Canadian and American ecotour boats have been nearby and heading through the waters of the ecological reserve. There were much fewer boats today, with the high winds.

Here are photo highlights from the past two days. Click on the photos for larger views and captions.

July 9 and 10

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Ecological Notes:

  • On Saturday afternoon, a southern resident orca pod went through Race Passage, just north of the ecological reserve. Someone was warning boats over the VHF radio to reduce their speed, as they were “in the path of endangered southern resident killer whales.” All boats appeared to oblige. For a while, the very large pod was spread out from the Bentinck Island, at the west side of the mouth of Pedder Bay to well past William Head to the east, at least 4km or 2NM. I watched the pod for a while through binoculars and saw an orca fully breach out of the water. I did not get a photo of the breach, but it was spectacular. Then the pod travelled south to the east of Race Rocks, based on the group of ecotour boats I could see watching the pod from a safe distance.
  • The gull chicks are still popping out, with many nests having one to three chicks. There are still some gulls tending to eggs.
  • See the photo gallery below for more ecological happenings from the past two days.

Weather:

  • Yesterday (July 9):
    • Sky: Overcast, then cloudy throughout rest of day
    • Wind: W 15-30 kts
    • Sea: rippled, 1′ chop in evening
    • Temperature Low 13oC, High 16oC
  • Today (July 10):
    • Sky: Part cloudy
    • Wind: W 3-24 kts
    • Sea: rippled, 1′ chop in afternoon
    • Temperature Low 14oC, High 17oC

Visitors:

  • No visitors.

Facility Work:

  • Scrubbed and squeegeed solar panels, topped up water in battery bank, routine tidying and checking infrastructure around the island.

Vessel Traffic:

  • Many Canadian and American ecotour boats have been nearby and heading through the waters of the ecological reserve.

Here are photo highlights from the past two days. Click on the photos for larger views and captions.

July 7 and 8

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Ecological Notes:

  • With the help of the visitors yesterday and some gathering ecotour boats, I spotted a sea otter hanging out in the kelp bed off the east side of the island.
  • This morning, as I was walking along the path from the house, I saw four large birds flying overhead. Their distinct shapes made me realize right away they were brown pelicans. They looped around and flew off to the east. Maybe they thought  it was too crowded to land at Race Rocks with all the gulls nesting.
  • See the photo gallery and captions for more details on the ecological happenings over the past two days.

Weather:

  • Yesterday (July 7):
    • Sky: Part Cloudy
    • Wind: W 8-23 kts
    • Sea: rippled in morning, 1′ chop in afternoon
    • Temperature Low 12oC, High 15oC
  • Today (July 8):
    • Sky: Part Cloudy
    • Wind: W 12-21 kts
    • Sea: rippled in morning, 1′ chop in afternoon
    • Temperature Low 12oC, High 15oC

Visitors:

  • On July 7, Greg, Lawrence and Gretchen visited from the college to help transport supplies and do maintenance tasks on the island.

Facility Work:

  • Scrubbed and squeegeed solar panels, tidied around island, desalinator maintenance, and detached old generator exhaust pipe.

Vessel Traffic:

  • Many Canadian and American ecotour boats have been nearby and heading through the waters of the ecological reserve.

Here are photo highlights from the past two days. Click on the photos for larger views and captions.

Census July 6

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Ecological Notes:

  • I am seeing more gull chicks everyday. Many gull parents are frequently feeding their two or three chicks.
  • I seem to have come to an understanding with some gulls. If I approach near them on the path at a slow speed, we both ignore each other. There are other gulls who freak out if I even look in their direction. As I do necessary work, I limit my movements around the island and avoid certain paths that have nearby nests and chicks.
  • See photo gallery and captions for more details on the ecological happenings over the past two days.

Weekly Census Results:

  • Elephant seal (juvenile male): 1
  • Steller/Northern sea lions: 4
  • Harbour seals: 113
  • Bald eagles: 6 (4 juveniles and 2 adults)
  • Canada geese: 11 (7 adults, 4 goslings)
  • Black oystercatchers: 10 (8 adults, 2 chicks – probably more that are camouflaged)
  • Cormorant: 2
  • Glaucous-winged gulls nesting: 172
  • Glaucous-winged gull chicks: approximately 50 (also hard to spot in the grass and under their parents)
  • Gulls not nesting (some glaucous-winged and some other species) on the south end of the island and outer islands: 97
  • Pigeon guillemots: 123
  • Surfbirds: 3
  • Killdeers: 2
  • Western sandpiper: 1

Weather:

  • Yesterday (July 5):
    • Sky: Fog in morning, Part Cloudy in afternoon
    • Wind: W 0-12 kts
    • Sea: calm
    • Temperature Low 11oC, High 17oC
  • Today (July 6):
    • Sky: Overcast in morning, Part Cloudy in afternoon
    • Wind: W 8-22 kts
    • Sea: rippled in morning, 1′ chop in afternoon
    • Temperature Low 12oC, High 15oC

Visitors:

  • No visitors over the past two days

Facility Work:

  • Installed bird deterrents on new solar panels, scrubbed and squeegeed solar panels, emptied composting toilet, fixed screen door at basement entrance.

Vessel Traffic:

  • Many Canadian and American ecotour boats have been nearby and heading through the waters of the ecological reserve.

Here are photo highlights from the past two days. Click on the photos for larger views and captions.

Gull Chicks Everywhere

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It is great to be back as the Ecoguardian at Race Rocks. I have been lucky enough to spend a total of almost seven months here between 2014 and my last shift which ended on September 1, 2020. I have been spending the past three and a bit days reacquainting myself with the island and infastructure. I have not stayed here before in July, so it is taking some adjustment to live in harmony and not disturb hundreds of nesting gulls. It drastically limits where I can go on the island.

Ecological Notes:

  • The glaucous-winged gull population is increasing everyday with lots of chicks hatching. I do my best to avoid getting close to the nests. I move quickly by the ones near doors and pathways on which I need to travel to get to the energy building, jetty and lighthouse.
  • A pod of orcas swam westward through the ecological reserve on Saturday, July 2, then went eastward in Race Channel. The orcas continued to head eastward, with at one point 14 ecotour boats viewing them from a safe distance.
  • A juvenile male elephant seal, tagged D018/D019, has been hanging around here for a while this spring and early summer. I noticed the tags this weekend, so I could confirm it was the same seal that Ecoguardian Joan spotted on the seal’s arrival on the island on May 19. Here is a link to the tagged resight histories, when I spotted this seal in April 2020 and reported the details to the Director of the Año Nuevo Reserve, in California. The brief version is he was tagged in February 2017 as a pup in Año Nuevo. He was first observed at Race Rocks in April 2018. He was again spotted here in April 2019, December 2019, and April 2020. His proboscis (nose) and body has grown a lot in the past couple years. I wonder what adventures he has gone on in that time.
  • I know of two black oystercatcher chicks that I have seen through the binoculars and  long lens of the camera. One is hanging out near the jetty with its parents. The other is hanging out near east bay with its parents. The dark grey fluff ball chicks are hard to spot, as they blend in well with rocks.
  • See the photos below for these and more ecological sights.

Weather:

  • The wind has been consistently coming from the west over the past four days that I have been here.
  • Friday and Saturday were part cloudly with lots of sun to fully charge the solar panels by 17:00 both days.
  • Sunday and Monday were overcast with periods of rain and fog.
  • The temperature in the past four days has ranged between 11 to 14 oC.

Visitors:

  • Greg drove the boat on the afternoon of Friday, July 1 to do the shift changeover between Jillian and I. Thanks, Jillian, for leaving the place in such great shape.

Vessel Traffic:

  • Many Canadian and American ecotour boats have been nearby throughout this long weekend.

Here are photo highlights from the past few days. Click on the photos for a larger view.

Seawater Data June 2022

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DAILY SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE AND SALINITY OBSERVATIONS
Station RACE ROCKS.                     June 2022
Observer Derek/Jillian
Day Time Temp ºC Salinity ppt
1 3:45 9.2 32.2
2 4:15 9.2 32.3
3 5:00 9.3 32.2
4 5:30 9.3 32.1
5 6:35 9.4 32.2
6 7:30 9.4 32.0
7 9:00 9.3 32.1
8 10:00 9.4 32.2
9 10:30 9.6 31.9
10 11:20 9.7 31.7
11 12:00 9.7 31.7
12 12:45 9.2 32.2
13 1:30 9.7 32.4
14 2:25 9.5 32.2
15 3:00 9.6 32.1
16 5:35 9.5 32.2
17 4:45 9.3 32.5
18 5:40 9.3 32.5
19 6:35 9.7 32.1
20 7:35 9.9 32.1
21 8:00 10.1 31.7
22 8:45 10.1 31.7
23 9:10 10.2 31.5
24 11:05 10.1 31.7
25 11:55 10.1 31.8
26 12:38 10.4 31.5
27 1:20 10.6 31.3
28 1:40 10.1 31.5
29 2:50 10.4 31.0
30 2:40 10.4 31.3

August 31 – Weekly Census and Shift Change

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Wind: W 2-15 knots
Sea State: calm
Visibility: 5-15 NM
Sky: partly cloudy in early morning, then clear
Temperature: 11-17 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 411.90 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

Census results recorded this morning at low tide for the mammals and throughout the day for the birds:
26 steller sea lions
110 california sea lions
1 sea otter
290 harbour seals
1 Canada goose
7 pelagic cormorants
1,232 california gulls
251 glaucous-winged gulls
98 gull chicks
2 black oystercatchers
7 black turnstones
1 song sparrow

There were a lot of eco tourism boats passing through the ecological reserve today. An outrigger canoeist paddled through the main channel in the mid morning and again in the early afternoon.

Tomorrow is my last day as the Ecoguardian. Mara and Kai are returning for a few months. I have enjoyed being back on this wonderful island for the past 17 days, learning on the edge where the land meets the sea meets sky. Race Rocks is a unique place that couldn’t exist without the work of Pearson students, staff, faculty, alumni and volunteers.

Here are some sights from around the island today:

 

 

 

 

August Daily Seawater Surface Temperature and Salinity Observations

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Day  Time Temp ºC Salinity ppt
1 13:30 11.1 30.8
2 14:15 10.7 31.3
3 14:30 10.5 30.5
4 15:00 10.1 31.8
5 15:40 10.4 31.8
6 16:50 11.6 31.1
7 17:00 11.2 31.3
8 17:55 11.1 31.5
9 18:30 11.5 31.3
10 18:45 11.7 30.9
11 20:00 11.6 31.4
12 8:30 11.8 31.1
13 9:45 12.2 29.6
14 10:15 12.5 29.2
15 12:00 12.5 29.6
16 11:35 12.5 29.5
17 12:14 11.3 30.6
18 12:53 10.8 31.2
19 13:37 10.9 31.3
20 14:29 10.6 31.6
21 15:34 10.3 31.8
22 16:14 10.6 31.8
23 17:02 10.5 31.9
24 18:34 11.1 31.6
25 6:56 10.2 31.8
26 7:41 9.9 32.0
27 9:20 10.8 31.4
28 10:42 10.6 31.7
29 11:40 10.9 31.2
30 12:30 10.9 31.3
31 13:04 11.0 31.3

August 30

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Wind: variable 1-18 knots
Sea State: calm in morning, rippled  in afternoon
Visibility: 10-15 NM
Sky: clear, overcast and rain in evening
Temperature: 11-14 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 411.94 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

Here are some sights from around the island today: