Author Archives: Riley Strother

Weaner’s Derrick Ride

Posted on by

Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 0-10 knots North
  • Water: rippled
  • Sky: mix of sun and cloud

Ecological

  • After analysing the elephant seal pup on Great Race, I am fairly certain that it is a male pup.
  • Mum and pups on Great Race and Middle Rock were alone most of the day.
  • For the first time, I saw a bald eagle eating from the dead elephant seal pup out on the rocks.

Maintenance

  • Stacked firewood.
  • Cleared the ramp three times.
  • Started replacing dead light bulbs in the Student’s House.
  • Moved the weaner’s body away from the main house with ropes and the derrick, helped by Chris, Jeff, and 3 volunteers from the college.

Boats

  • Second Nature came by for a couple of hours in the afternoon, crewed by Chris, Jeff, the IT guy, and 3 volunteers. They helped move the weaner and checked up on various electronic systems.
  • One eco-tour came by in the late afternoon.

Other

  • There were 6 more DND blasts today.
  • Two massive blasts that shook the house at 10:15 and 10:17. Birds and mammals quite disturbed, but they settled back down.
  • Two small blasts at 11:31 and 11:34.
  • Two medium blasts at 14:40 and 14:45.
Massive DND blast.

Massive DND blast.

Powerful DND Blasting and Bald Eagle

Posted on by

Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 20-25 knots NE
  • Water: 2′ chop
  • Sky: overcast

Ecological

  • The newest female elephant seal was gone this morning.
  • Chunk mated with the current mother on Great Race today. Unlike the other times I have seen him initiate mating, the female did not fight back or try to get away. She seemed okay with it, and her pup lay beside her as it happened.
  • Chuckles spent the day on the south-east corner of Great Race.
  • Status quo on Middle Rock with the mum and pup.
  • Lady left the island at 3:30, just after the 5th and 6th DND blasts.
  • Watched a bald eagle tear away at weaner’s head for over half an hour at dusk. This was the first time I had seen an eagle approach the corpse. Fascinating.

Maintenance

  • Mopped up the remaining water in the Energy Building.
  • Stacked more firewood in the water shed.
  • Cleared logs and debris off the ramp three times.

Other

  • There were 6 very powerful DND blasts today coming from Bentinck Island. They came in three pairs, each pair spaced out from the other. I was outside for the first two and they hurt my ears. I was inside for the final four, and they shook the house considerably.
  • After when I walked around the island, I noticed that nearly all the birds and sea lions had disappeared. There was only 1 sea lion on Great Race, and he appeared to be injured, which would explain why he was the only one who stayed. There were about 10 sea lions left on South Island, and 20 Harbour Seals. No cormorants. The blasting must have scared the rest off.
Smoke from blasting

Smoke from blasting.

Branded Sea Lion 443Y

Posted on by

Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 5-10 knots W
  • Water: 1′ chop
  • Sky: mostly clear

Ecological

  • Spotted 9 immature bald eagles on South Island with one mature eagle a bit farther away.
  • Status quo with the elephant seals, although I have my suspicions that the female whom Chuckles tried to mate with yesterday is not the grieving mother, but a different one arrived the night before, and the grieving mother departed.
  • The pup out on Middle Rock seems to be getting quite large. Perhaps he’ll become a weaner soon?
  • There were over 50 harbour seals in the reserve today.
  • Saw a northern sea lion branded with 443Y.

Maintenance

  • More cleaning in the Student’s House.
  • Stacked firewood in the water shed.

Boats

  • No eco-tours today.
  • One fishing boat passed nearby.
  • A large container ship seems to be anchored out in the strait towards Victoria.

Rain and Foghorn

Posted on by

Weather

  • Visibility: 1 mile
  • Wind: 5-10 knots NE
  • Water: 1′ chop
  • Sky: fog, rain most of the day

Ecological

  • Chuckles attempted to mate with the grieving mother on Great Race.
  • Chunk appeared to be mating with the mother on Middle Rock.
  • Lady, mum and pup still on Great Race.

Maintenance

  • Continued cleaning in the Student’s House.
  • Discovered a leak in the main house; positioned a bucket to catch the water.
  • Did the old method of water sampling along with the regular one.

Boats

  • One fishing boat passed through the reserve today. It appeared to be going too fast, but conditions were worsening rapidly, so it appeared they were just trying to get into harbour.
Fishing boat speeding?

Going too fast?

Other

  • The foghorn went off today from 12:37 until about 13:00.
  • Discovered quite a bit of water on the floor in the entrance ways to the Energy Building. I checked for leaks in the ceiling but found none; I presume the water seeped in under the door. With near constant rain all day, the entire island is turning into one big puddle.

Some of the water in the energy building

Census

Posted on by

Weather

  • Visibility: 5 miles, later 15
  • Wind: 5-10 knots SE, late afternoon up to 33 knots from the West
  • Water: rippled, later wavy
  • Sky: foggy in the morning, overcast in the afternoon

Ecological

  • Chunk spent the day on Middle Rock with the mum and pup.
  • Lady, Grieving mum, mum and pup, were in the same spots on Great Race.
  • Chuckles arrived on Great Race in the late afternoon.
  • Conducted a census.
  1. California Sea Lions: 87
  2. Northern/Stellar Sea Lions: 50
  3. Harbour Seals: 21
  4. Elephant Seals: 8
  5. Cormorants: 742 (of the 742, I think that at least 10 were Male Brandt’s, 131 Double Crested, and 200 Pelagic; my identification is improving, but many were either too far away, or indistinguishable to me.)
  6. Seagulls: 605 (131 had darker plumage and therefore must be immature gulls?)
  7. Pigeon Guillemots: 50
  8. Bald Eagles: 30 (23 juveniles, 7 adults)
  9. Black Oystercatchers: 13
  10. Canada Geese: 10
  11. Harlequin Ducks: 8 (4 male, 4 female)
  12. Black Turnstones: 6
  13. Surfbird: 3 (unless they were Rock Sandpipers?)
  14. Raven: 2
  15. American Pipit: 2

Maintenance

  • Did some more cleaning in the Student’s House.

Boats

  • In the morning, one fishing boat passed through the reserve. The occupants did not fish in the reserve; they were going slow and appeared to be observing.
  • In the afternoon, one large eco-tour boat came through the reserve.

Daffodils and Rain

Posted on by

Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 5-10 knots SE, later N
  • Water: rippled
  • Sky: overcast, rain in the afternoon

Ecological

  • One lone seagull has been pecking away at the weaner. Nature at work.
  • Chunk attempted to mate with the grieving mother. Then he left the island at 17:00.
  • Great Race mum and pup, Lady, and Middle Rock mum and pup still present. No sign of Chuckles today.
  • Noticed about 12 harbour seals out on the rocks. It’s not everyday that they’re here.
  • The daffodils started to open up today. Purple crocus and various other flowers have been open for over a week.

Maintenance

  • Started organizing and tidying up the Student’s House.

Boats

  • The HMCS Whitehorse was out near Albert Head in the morning.
  • Two eco-tours came by in the afternoon. The second boat seemed too close to a group of sea lions, half of whom then stampeded into the water.

Highest recorded temperature, Fuel inventory, and Supplies

Posted on by

Weather

  • Visibility: 5 miles, later 15
  • Wind: 5-10 knots, later 25, West
  • Water: rippled
  • Sky: rain and/or sun throughout the day
  • According to the Davis Weather Station, today had the highest recorded temperature at Race Rocks for any February 12th since the station was set up in 2006. Today’s high was 11.6 C, beating last years record of 9.8 C.

Ecological

  • In the morning Chuckles went over to Weaner’s corpse and looked at him, rolled him around, and sat on him. Then he left the island.
  • Chunk came back and rejoined the two females and pup.
  • Middle Rock mum and pup still there.
  • I decided to start calling the new female Lady.

Maintenance

  • Conducted a fuel inventory list for Jeff of Maintenance. Good news: there is more than enough fuel to last until after I leave.
  • Scraped rust off of the two empty 55 gallon diesel barrels and spray painted them to extend their useable life.

Boats

  • Jeff and an assistant came by at about 14:00 to drop off food supplies, a ramp for the diesel tanks, and to have a look at the Davis Weather Station wind reader. Unlike the other day though, the wind reader seemed to be working just fine.
  • One eco-tour boat came by at about 15:00. It seemed to be closer to the sea lions than the guidelines allow.

Too close?

Sea Lion Jumping

Posted on by

Weather

  • Visibility: 10 miles
  • Wind: 15-25 knots NE
  • Water: 2′ chop
  • Sky: overcast in the morning, raining after noon.

Ecological

  • Observed several sea lions surfing and jumping arcs in the water by the South Seal Rocks in the afternoon.
  • Chunk and Chuckles were both on Great Race today.
  • The new female has moved to the bottom of the lighthouse stairs. She needs a better name.
  • The fourth mum and pup, and the grieving mother, are still together along the path.
  • Mum and pup still visible on Middle Rock.
  • Chunk went into the water at 17:00.

Maintenance

  • Stacked the collected driftwood by the tank hut to store for future firewood processing.
  • Cleared logs off the ramp once.

Other

  • An ambulance helicopter flew over the islands at about 13:00.

Ambulance Helicopter

Male Elephant Seals: Island Swap

Posted on by

Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 0-10 knots, at various times from the N, W, S, and E.
  • Water: calm
  • Sky: overcast, then rain, then sunny.

Ecological

  • Chuckles spent the day lying on the grass on the SE corner of Great Race.
  • Chunk attempted to mate with the grieving mother in the morning.
  • After mating, Chunk chased the new female and seemed to wound her slightly, before giving up the chase and going into the water.
  • Chunk spent the rest of the day on Middle Rock with the mother and pup.
  • The newest (fourth) pup is still doing well.

Maintenance

  • Finished stacking firewood under the stairs of the Students’ House.
  • Hauled away many small chunks of wood from near the ramp.
  • Noticed that the wind direction meter seems to be malfunctioning at the Davis Weather Station. Looking into what can be done.

Boats

  • One eco-tour boat passed by at 14:00 heading West, before returning at 15:30. At times it seemed to be closer to the rocks than is permitted.
Closer than the mammal watching guidelines?

Closer than the mammal watching guidelines?

New Female Elephant Seal

Posted on by

Weather

  • Visibility: 15+ miles
  • Wind: 10 knots E
  • Water: 1′ chop
  • Sky: clear

Mt Baker & Gulls

Ecological

  • There was a new female elephant seal in front of the house this morning. She appears to be too small to be pregnant. Perhaps she already birthed a pup elsewhere and departed, or maybe she is too young to give birth yet.
  • The other four elephant seals remained over by the path all day.
  • Chuckles, mum and pup still on Middle Rock.
  • Spotted about 12 harbour seals on South Rock/swimming nearby.

Maintenance

  • Continued stacking the newly prepared firewood under shelter so it can dry.
  • Picked up plastic and styrofoam from the ramp/jetty area.
  • Vacuumed up hundreds of fruit flies in the basement near the composting toilet. I think from now on this will be a daily chore, rather than a maintenance action worthy of note.

Boats

  • The HMCS Ottawa was out again most of the day.
  • Made the appropriate inquiries into yesterday’s pleasure craft fishing and eco-tour boat observations.

Other

  • There seemed to be some mild DND blasting around noon.