Morning Wx: wind – N 7kts, sky – Ovrcst
Saturday evening when collecting the water sample, I noticed the familiar glow of Noctiluca scintillans, a type of dinoflagellate that when agitated by movement in the water, lights up; a process known as bioluminescence. A curious mammal approached me on the jetty when I realized it was a female elephant seal, which haven’t frequented the island for a number of weeks now. The female didn’t come onto the main island until the following afternoon, and I suspect she is the same one that came most recently about a month ago in early July. She has returned to her usual hangout spot next to the hose box.
Juvenile female elephant seal
Illegal fishing on the reserve is hard to moderate although remains an important role of the reserve. Today I came across two Glaucous-winged gull chicks picking at what seemed to be a worm, but turned out to be fishing tackle some adult gull had probably returned with from the kelp beds.
Fisher in a kelp bed near West Race Rocks
These unexpected fisherman, above, claimed ignorance when I approached them about fishing poles in the water.
Sea lions at sunset
California sea lions have joined the Stellars on the southern rock.
This past week, we delivered over 4000L of diesel to the island. Even though Race Rocks tries to source its energy from more sustainable practices like our solar panels, often they’re not sufficient to completely power the island. During the dark cloudy days we see so often in winter we rely on our diesel powered generator. Erik Shauff collects thousands of litres of diesel per load in a large metal container from Pedder Bay Marina and delivers it to the reserve by boat. Then we use an electric pump and hose system to transfer the diesel across the island into its holding tank. Pictured above is Misery supervising the process. Erik surveys the yellow diesel tank in the background.
We also had a whale sighting in the past week. A pod of orcas (with at least one calf) passed through the south side of the reserve on Friday. As always, orcas attract alot of boat traffic. I noticed a cluster of whale watching vessels before the orcas. When the pod moved towards the reserve the whale watchers didn’t follow but instead kept their distance and motored ahead to the next point they calculated the pod to be.
Orcas and boaters on the south side of the island
One private boat-owner, however, chased the whales right through the reserve.
Caught on Underwater Camera 2 by Adam Harding
On one of the trips for diesel, Erik also brought his dive gear to clean the Underwater Camera 2.
Mike left last week and I will be taking over for the next two months. My last shift was a year ago and it’s great to see how well Mike and Alex have taken care of the place.
Over the past number of days, Misery and Chunk have been pretty subdued with the exception of Thursday when both headed into the water and had a 6-hour long feud. There are no females on the island so my assumption is that Chunk is testing Misery’s role as alpha-male (which he’s proven to be in check).
The two contenders: Misery and Chunk
Sea lion near the jetty during sunset
The first sea lion of the summer has been hanging around on the main island and the southern rock.
Oystercatcher with 3 chicks
Another first of the season are the newly hatched oystercatchers, pictured right. This nest is on the north side of the island and there is another on the south side that still has its 3 eggs intact.
For boat traffic, there averages 10-20 vessels per day in the reserve (weather depending). In the photo below, the gathered whale-watching boats to the west of Race Rocks implies a whale-sighting although it was too far for any good views from the island itself.
Whale watching vessels to the west of the island
Another note on boat traffic, this morning four curious boaters from Pedder Bay Marina wanted to explore the island unaware it’s not for public use. I explained the rules of the reserve and sent the apologetic boaters on their way. Pam Birley took some snapshots on Camera 1.
Today I used the new seawater pump to fill the cistern which had gotten pretty low. We de-salinate water here for household purposes as there is insufficient rain and the roofs are quite contaminated with gull poop!
The reserve is busy today with tour boats and divers. I had to call one of the companies to ask their operator to slow down at the edge of the reserve. Usually they are pretty good but occasionally a new driver doesn’t realize the reserve boundaries. More troubling are the recreational boaters who frequently speed through the reserve. The problem is that unless you are a local it is unlikely you will know the guidelines. As much as I dislike signs this seems a reasonable place for a few “5 knots” and ” No Fishing” signs. There is simply no way I can ask them to slow down from my perch on Great Race Island…
The California and Steller sea lions are here in droves. I counted more than 175 Stellers in the reserve. The vast majority are bulls but there are a few cows and in the last few days a number of yearlings have shown up. I will get some pictures for the next entry. The view from the tower shows the commotion outside my house!
Hundreds of California Sea Lions adorn the lawn.
In other animal news, quite a few glaucous-winged gulls remain but i think all the chicks can fly now. A few cormorants have returned and about 50 black turnstones wander about between the sea lions picking off insects. I also observed some type of sandpiper picking insects off a dead gull chick. Very resourceful!
Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala)
Well it is good to be back on this beautiful little island, though the 100 California Sea Lions cuddling under my window are a tad boisterous and noisy. More arrive everyday…
Dozens of California Sea Lions around the house
The Steller Sea Lions tend to congregate on the south side of the island near the engine room. They truly are magnificent creatures, sort of the equivalent of an ocean grizzly bear. In fact I think “lions” is a misnomer and we should call them “Sea Bears”. What do you think?
Steller Bull congregation
Currently 5 young elephant seals are making good use of the boat ramp. Word is getting out amongst the species that this is a good place to relax and to get your picture on the Internet!
Young Elephant Seal
Perhaps because it is Labour Day weekend and the weather is so nice, there are lots of boats in and around the reserve. Sadly quite a few violate the rules about fishing or speeding in the reserve and unfortunately there is little I can do, except wave or gesticulate at them. Launching my boat is rarely an option, unless I want to disturb the elephant seals, and the boats that are speeding are long gone… As much as I dislike signage, we might be wise to post “No Fishing” and “5 knots” signs to alert the ignorant. It is hard to blame someone who doesn’t know the guidelines.
Many thanks to Julie who worked diligently over the summer to maintain the infrastructure and keep a close eye on things. She is off to southern climes for adventure and learning.
Mid-morning of 16 August a pod of orcas passed eastward on the north side of the island. There were only a half dozen or so, suggesting a transient pod. Of course, there were many whale watching vessels in the area. It saddened me to see some approach closer than the recommended 100m and not turn their motors into neutral and it sickened me to see an Eagle Wing Tour boat actually chase alongside the pod in the reserve. There should be more respect for these marine mammals, especially while in the reserve.
Orcas east of Race Rocks
Nonetheless, it was an amazing sight!
The sea lions have crept their way further up from the water. The image below was captured 18 August.
18 August 2012
Also, for the past 3 nights the bioluminescence of the phytoplankton (Noctaluca) in the water was been remarkable. The outline of the sea lions glow when they take to the water. This is curious because normally for phosphorescence to occur there needs to be rain and then sun and until today there has been no rain.
Slowly the sea lions, both Stellar and California, are making their way to the main island from West Race Rocks. I’ve decided to take regular shots of their progress. The first image is August 7, after the first night of their arrival, and the next is of August 10.
7 August 2012
10 August 2012
The second is a notably less clear image because of the fog. Over the past week the fog has been incredibly thick mostly in the morning and late evenings. Just a few moments after that photo was taken the sea lions disappeared altogether.
The fog provides an obstacle for mariners which is why I was surprised to note half a dozen whale watching boats appear near the jetty at times of less than 50m visibility.
The last image illustrates only a glimpse of how dense the fog can be. It is taken from the tower facing westward.
Fog after sundown, 11 August 2012
Harbour seals are frequenting the kelp beds regularly with their new pups. I have spotted a half dozen pups so far. Harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) are most often found in estuaries and shallow bays but here in the reserve there are approximately 35 right now. They feed at hide tide and rest during low tide usually somewhere within the south-eastern part of the reserve.
Habour seal with pup
Marine traffic has increased significantly this week. Today, whale watching boats alone exceeded 40 in the reserve and there were around a dozen private boaters as well. In the last post I mentioned the whale tour boats are well mannered though unfortunately speeding between North Race Rocks and Great Race Rocks has become much more common in the past week.
There is a count of 9 elephant seals at the moment, which dropped from 11 earlier in the week. Some, like Misery (our largest male), seem to spend equal time in water and on shore now.
Also, 3 groups of student visitors came out on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for tours to learn about the reserve, its importance, and to get a peek at the elephant seals. The tours were kept brief as to not disturb the gulls who are still rather anxious to protect their young.
Marine traffic in the reserve over the past month has increased mainly with a rise in visiting whale watchers. On days of good weather there have been as many as two dozen whale watching boats pass through the reserve. However on days like today when the wind has averaged around 30 knots, or yesterday when there was fog until late afternoon, only one boat toured through.
Illegal fishing on reserve
Whale watching boats usually abide by the rules of the reserve by not speeding and being respectful of marine mammals. But this week there were two boating infractions by private boaters. Fishing in the reserve is not permitted. Two boat renters from Pedder Bay marina, despite being reminded by marina owners of the regulations, were fishing off the southwest side of the main island.
Speeding in the reserve
The speed limit in the reserve is 7 knots. This white zodiac, right, sped through the reserve last week at about 15 to 20 knots. The reason for the speed limit is to create as little disturbance for the marine mammals as possible. When boats speed through the harbour seals in particular react by fleeing to the water.