Author Archives: Riley Strother

A Monday With Seals

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 5-10 knots West
  • Sky: overcast, sprinklings of rain in the afternoon
  • Water: calm

Ecological

  • Three elephant seals on Great Race, three on Middle Rock.
  • The newest elephant seal went over to the western part of the island, and seemed genuinely surprised to see me when I passed by.
  • The first time she saw me her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at me.
  • She had some fresh minor wounds on her back.
  • I saw five eagles sharing a kill on the South Seal Rocks. There was a sixth one nearby.

Maintenance

  • Some goose work.

Boats

  • Lots of eco-tours came by today. At least six.
  • I watched the odd looking Dutch cargo ship the Happy Ranger, with her Big Lift ability, wander through the strait.

Sunday

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  • Weather
  • Visibility: 15+ miles
  • Mount Baker clearly visible!
  • Wind: 15-20 knots North East
  • Sky: clear and sunny
  • Water: 1′ chop
  • A nice sunrise!

Ecological

  • Two elephant seals on Great Race.

Maintenance

  • Cleaned the solar panels.
  • Some goose work.

Boats

  • A few eco-tours came by today.

Saturday

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 5-10 knots North West
  • Sky: clear and sunny all day
  • Water: calm

Ecological

  • Two e-seals on Great Race.

Maintenance

  • Ran the desalinator.
  • Did some goose work.

Boats

  • A few boats wandered by.
  • The Mahimahi, a US container ship departed from Seattle, was especially noisy as it passed by.

The Return of Otter

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 5-10 knots North East, then from 15:00 onwards 15-25 knots West
  • Sky: mostly overcast
  • Water: rippled

Ecological

  • Census day!
  • This morning at about 7:00 I spied the Otter wandering along the wooden deck.
  • Later in the early evening I spied him again and got two photos!
  • Saw one branded California Sea Lion: X[?]60
  • Watched fascinated as two crows boldly flew up to two eagles and scampered about next to them!
  • Saw some seagulls muck about in a goose nest. I think they were eating the eggs.
  1. Harbour Seals: 70
  2. California Sea Lions: 70
  3. Steller (Northern) Sea Lions: 53
  4. Elephant Seals: 9 (2 on Great Race, 7 on Middle Rock)
  5. River Otter: 1
  6. Seagulls unspecified: 172
  7. Pigeon Guillemots: 138
  8. Surfbirds: 88
  9. Cormorants unspecified: 49 (all on Middle Rocks)
  10. Canada Geese: 19
  11. Black Turnstones: 14
  12. Harlequin Ducks: 9 (5 males and 4 females)
  13. Black Oystercatchers: 6
  14. Bald Eagles: 2 (2 adults, 0 immature)
  15. Savannah Sparrow: 2
  16. Crows: 2

Maintenance

  • Lots of intense goose work.
  • Pumped one 55 gallon barrel of diesel into the tidy tank.

Boats

  • A couple of eco-tours came by, as well as pleasure craft.
  • In the late morning, several kayakers entered the reserve.
  • Most of them stayed over by the North Rocks, but a few wandered down to South Rocks.
  • Some of them had difficulty dealing with the strong ebb tidal current, and had to renegotiate their route to rejoin the others.
  • Stay safe out there!

Seagull Fights

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Weather

  • Visibility: 10 miles, later 15+
  • Wind: 20-25 knots North, later 0-5 N
  • Sky: overcast, then sun, then overcast
  • Water: 2′ chop, then calm
  • Great view in the afternoon to the Cascades, 85 miles away!

Ecological

  • 2 elephant seals on Great Race.
  • Lots of geese looking to make nests.
  • Several seagull fights happening as well.

Maintenance

  • Ran the desalinator in the afternoon.
  • Goose work.

Boats

  • A couple of eco-tours came by.

Amazing Sunset

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 5-10 knots North
  • Sky: clear
  • Water: rippled
  • Amazing pink/red sunset!

Ecological

  • Just one elephant seal on Great Race today.
  • Three elephant seals on Middle Rock though.

Maintenance

  • Some goose work.
  • Set up and took away barrels for diesel transfer.

Boats

  • A couple of eco-tours came by.
  • Second Nature came out with diesel.

Visitors

  • Kyle and two English volunteers came out with diesel.
  • I gave the two lads a tour while Kyle transferred the diesel.

Other

  • Some DND blasting today.
  • Medium blasts at 11:30, 11:32, and 12:13.
  • Bigger blasts at 14:47 and 14:49.

Crows and Moon

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind at 7:00: 10-15 knots West
  • Wind at 10:00: 10-15 knots North East
  • Wind at 15:00: 5-10 knots South West
  • Wind at 20:00: 20-25 knots West
  • Sky: mostly clear, rain at 15:00
  • Water: 1′ chop
  • A rather large moon appeared in the early evening.

Ecological

  • One adult elephant seal departed, leaving just the one.
  • The weaner returned by the slightly unconventional route: north side of the jetty.
  • A murder of crows.

Maintenance

  • Some goose work.

Boats

  • A few eco-tours came by today.

Other

  • Some DND blasting today.
  • Blasts at 13:37, 13:39, and 14:15.

Jellyfish and Crow

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind in the morning: 10-15 knots North East
  • Wind in the evening: 20-25 knots East
  • Sky: mix of clear and clouds
  • Water: 1′ chop

Ecological

  • The weaner was gone today, so just the 2 e-seals on Great Race.
  • A couple of adult bald eagles were around today.
  • One crow was poking about the island.
  • I saw a bunch of tiny jellyfish in the water beside the jetty.
  • It was impossible to get a good photo of them though.
  • Perhaps they were Mitrocoma cellularia?

Maintenance

  • Some goose work.

Boats

  • A few eco-tours came by today.

Boat Mania

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind in the morning: 5-10 knots North West
  • Wind in the evening: 20-25 knots West, very cold air.
  • Sky: overcast
  • Water: 1′ chop

Ecological

  • The same 3 elephant seals on Great Race.

Maintenance

  • Finished topping up the batteries.
  • Ran the desalinator.

Boats

  • 6 different eco-tours came by today, including 3 at one time!
  • There was also a pleasure craft in the late afternoon.