July 5th 2015 –Tragic day around the rock

The day has been pretty warm, heavy with no wind at all and a little bit later it changed, coming from South.
Even if we are washing the solar panels everyday it became worse with sea gull droppings and now we need at least 2 full buckets of fresh water.

Around 9:30 I would say, we saw, as did everybody in Southern B.C., that eerie sky but I can tell you that it was like a Hitchcock movie here with the shouting birds all around.

Pretty sad day and what was to come was even sadder. We first saw a boat with divers close to Turbine and West rocks, followed by a Coast Guard zodiac and later a helicopter from Rescue Canada…So a serious matter was unfolding. A diver had not returned after his dive…Late into the night they continued searching. The helicopter flew by the island many times and birds were getting crazy. We even saw a Canadian Frigate, a Canadair plane and another plane too.
In the middle of all this traffic at one point we spotted 2 orcas on the way. It was the only comforting sight of the day.

In total all kinds of boats have been around today: 3 kayaks, 3 or 4 whale watchers, 1 sailboat and 1 small fishing boat in the middle of the passage playing in the current, 1 submarine, 1 diving boat,1 rescue boat,1 navy boat and above a  helicopter and 2 planes . What a busy day.

See Times Colonist Article: Searchers hunt for missing diver near Race Rocks

Update: July 9-The search is still going on for the missing diver.

Chunk ‘nd the Trunk

It was a glorious day at Race Rocks with westerly winds continuing from yesterday but with more moderate speeds of 15 – 25 knots and even lighter winds of 10 – 15 early in the morning. The sky was clear above although there was a ‘marine haze’, which reduced visibility early to less than ten nautical miles. As the winds picked up so did air quality leading one to wonder if the ‘marine air’ actually has an onshore and anthropogenic source.  Solar radiation intensity was high today peaking at over 900 W/m2. It is 19:00 hours as I write this, with more sunshine to come and the accumulated solar radiation for the day is already close to 700 Langleys. The forecast includes a westerly gale warning for tomorrow afternoon and evening with clear skies and a high UV index of seven.

Only one whale watching boat (from Sooke) was observed in the Ecological Reserve today.

There were more large and startling (at least to me)  explosions today, which did not result in even a visible flinch by the Northern Elephant Seals. The Harbour Seals got into the water and were looking around at the surface and the Pigeon Guillemots flew but quickly returned and recovered. Two vessels with containment booms, one travelling at a fairly urgent-looking speed towing some of the booms were observed in the vicinity of Race Passage today. It may have just been an exercise, as they didn’t stay long.

Ecologically, things are continuing to grow at a tremendous rate as spring accelerates for the shift into summer, in less than two weeks. The goslings have graduated from short paddles to longer endurance swims crossing Middle Channel. Their grazing pressure on the island continues but doesn’t seem to exceed the productivity of the grasses that they graze on.

In the water, the productivity of Bull Kelp or Nereocystis lutkeana continues unabated and large, well formed kelp beds fringe all of the islets and reefs, producing tremendous amounts of food for a broad array of direct grazers and both peripheral and out-lying detritovores that eat the sloughing bits and pieces that drift down from the canopy and out of the kelp beds.

We are supposed to stay on the walkways when moving around the island. Not always possible when there are traffic jams like this one in this morning's commute.

We are supposed to stay on the walkways when moving around the island. Not always possible when there are traffic jams like this one in this morning’s commute.

The Northern Elephant Seals spend time in the water draped in the kelp and playing with it with their mouths. What is not clear is whether this is intentional or just there (in the way). The big males are taking several swims a day right now thanks to the marine railway, which makes access so much easier for them. Chunk’s moult is just visibly starting today, on his nose and just below his mouth and on what would be a chin if he had one. Floyd’s moult is progressing visibly as wound sites and patches where he can scratch are coming off. There were some interactions between the two big guys today but hostilities were averted through strategic maneuvering by Floyd, basically avoidance behavior. Above, he is making a slow get-away which of course requires a tremendous amount of energy and much resting.

 

Chunk stretched out, having a nap. His large proboscis is prominent and the scars that run along his back are just visible.

Chunk stretched out, having a nap. His large proboscis is prominent and the scars that run along his back are just visible.

More gulls are sitting on eggs each day and their nests are beautifully made by pulling up grass by the roots and carefully packing it into just the right shape by pushing down with their sternums, tails in the air. Level is of course important. All of the nests observed today had three eggs.

 

There were no visitors today and chores were routine.

May 26

It was another steady, west by southwest day, blowing 15 to 20 knots, from morning to night and clearing out the clouds for a glorious afternoon and evening. There was just enough marine haze on the horizon to make a great sunset. This morning barometer gradually rose to 1016 hPA and then started a slow decline after noon ending up at 1014hPA just before 8:00 PM. The forecast is calling for strong westerlies to continue with a mix of sun and cloud.

Only four whale watching boats were observed in the Ecological Reserve today and everyone was on their best behaviour.

Ecological happenings were subtle today. More sealions are hauling out on Great Race including a few very chunky Stellers bulls. The California Sealions seem to putting the call out for others within hearing range to come and bark in concert. There are more birds mating wherever you look, the Canada Geese goslings are growing incredibly fast and the bull kelp is now forming a broad canopy even on the high tide. The gull bolus contents are shifting to more ‘forage fish’ bone content from the earlier strong bias toward chiton plates and the adults are feeding each other in practice for parenthood?

The Bald Eagles continue to fly in and scare all the gulls, geese and oystercatchers and it looked like they caught something today, but I am not sure what..

Chris and Courtney brought Second Nature out in the afternoon with two visitors from Scotland, (an alumna and her husband), and the two relief eco-guardians Guy and Christine who will be here for the summer. Chris, Courtney and Guy delivered diesel for the generator, using the derrick, barrels, a drum dolly and a fair bit of sweat. It looked scary to me but they pulled it off with aplomb and Chris said it is easier, safer and less risky than the old method, so that is really great.

My chores today were routine. I am going to post this now and update it with photos later in case the Internet goes down again in between. Must run and shut down the generator.

 

 

Marine Mammal Hotspot.

As predicted, the west-southwest winds continued today with velocities of 15 – 20 knots. The first half of the day was cloudy and fog threatened but the sun eventually prevailed. Because of the late start, accumulated daily solar radiation was only half of yesterday’s value.

Accumulated daily solar radiation in Langleys.

Accumulated daily solar radiation in Langleys.

The barometer hovered between 1013 and 1024 hPa, rising in the morning and falling again, in the afternoon. The forecast is for more of the same with the addition of a 30% chance of showers tomorrow.

There were at least 15 visits to the Ecological Reserve by whale watching boats today and probably more as I wasn’t looking every second. Two sports fishing boats sped through the Reserve while most of the whale watching boats followed the rules, slowing on approach and in Reserve, steering well clear of marine mammals, using the middle of Middle Channel, and drifting with the current, or at least going with it.

The reason for all of the whale watching activity was of course biological activity in the area. Race Rocks and environs was a marine mammal hotspot today with at least seven species. At one point there was a Minke Whale very close to the Ecological Reserve boundary just to the east of Great Race and at the same time a large, adult Humpback could be seen ~ 1 nm south of Rosedale Reef travelling east. Once when I looked out at Humpback, it had six vessels pacing it.

Next on the horizon, there were two groups of Killer Whales, both apparently Biggs or Transient (aka mammal eating) Killer Whales. One group appeared to be made up of ~ 3 adult males and the other group looked like females, calves and one smaller bull. The last mentioned group shot out on the ebb tide to the west through Race Passage with a trail of whale watching boats trying to keep up.

oror distant ororFs

 

The garden gnomes are busy flattening new parts of the lawn that have not had the treatment yet.

fresh grass to flatten

Floyd may look like a large lump but when I saw him being frisky today I was amazed at how fast he could hustle that bulk across the lawn after a female.

 

Floyd may look like a large lump but when I saw him being frisky today I was amazed at how fast he could hustle that bulk across the lawn after a female.

Floyd may look like a large lump but when I saw him being frisky today, I was amazed at how fast he could hustle that bulk (all 3.23meters of it) across the lawn after a female.

There were no visitors today and chores were routine.

 

 

The Long Weekend.

Fog followed an overcast dawn and was repetitively beaten back by sunshine throughout the day. While the sun was out, it was intense (900 Watts/meter2), but fog lingered just to the west and Beechey Head was repeatedly obscured as the fog came and went. Eventually in early evening, pushed by the west-southwest wind, the fog rolled back in and enveloped Race Rocks. For most of the day day the wind blew west a fairly steady, 10 – 15 knots. The fog wind was more intense though, pushing 25 – 30 knots. The barometer went up a bit in the morning and then, after noon it dropped by a little more than it had gone up, ending up at ~1014 hPa and falling. The forecast is for a strong wind warning, (more westerlies), mainly sunny, with a few clouds.

No whale watching vessels were observed in the Ecological Reserve today. Several private, sportsfishing boats went through at a respectful speed and they were not fishing in reserve. One rental boat from Pedder Bay Marina was fishing in the Rockfish Conservation Area on both the east and on the west side of the houses. The people seemed to know that they were not supposed to be there and were playing a bit of hide and seek. Two couples were all fishing for and keeping rockfish in the Rockfish Conservation Area (RCA). Whether or not they exceeded the limit for outside RCA (1 rockfish per day) is open for speculation.

Two large male Killer Whales were spotted travelling east, along the north edge of the Ecological Reserve in Race Passage. As is often the case with Bigg’s Killer Whales, they seemed to be evasive, perhaps exhaling underwater. They were spotted again near nNorth Rocks and then skirted around to the south. From their behavious, it is likely that these were Bigg’s Killer Whales.

It takes a lot less energy to play when suspended in water.

It takes a lot less energy to play when suspended in water.

The Northern Elephant Seals have been sticking very close to shore during their swims, preferring the shallow sub-tidal in the bull kelp fringes. The young males who love to play fight when they are hauled out continue their sparring activity in the water. I wonder if the Bigg’s Killer Whales could hear them?

A small seal with new tags.

A small seal with new tags.

Another new (to me) Northern Elephant Seals showed up today, well tagged with #9836 on the right and #9807 on the left. All four tags looked really new as did the seal. The smallest one ashore since I arrived in March, it had almost completed its’ moult and the skin was looking too big for it, so I venture to guees that it has been hauling out on Middle Rock moulting for a while and came over to Great Race because of all the bustling seal activity here.

This small animal is starting to look like her skin is a bit too big for her.

This small animal is starting to look like her skin is a bit too big for her.

Both routine chores and seasonal maintenance were accomplished today. The grated, aluminum ramp on the jetty was repaired and trouble-shooting completed on the Whaler’s electrical system. There were no new visitors today.

Greener Pastures (Covering May 11 & 12)

The wind blew west 20 – 25 knots until early afternoon on Monday when it slowed, came in from the southwest and cleared out the cold, wet clouds. For the rest of the day, it stayed partially overcast with sunny breaks and the forecasted call for more of the same, with showers was spot on. The dropping barometer leveled out a bit Tuesday and the prediction is for continuing strong westerlies, which blew all day 10 – 20 knots. Wednesday looks like a wet one.

Monday morning  was blustery  and bristling with police and military activity on the water, all around but not in the Ecological Reserve. Only two whale watching boats were noted in Reserve on Monday.Tuesday only one whale watching vessel was noted in Reserve. There was a Pedder Bay rental with independent researchers counting seals and sealions. Tuesday, Second Nature arrived with a large contingent of support staff, maintenance, IT and volunteers. Tuesday was punctuated by military blasting.

The elephant seals were on the move today and yesterday. After a dawn swim, Monday, only half the animals moved back behind the boathouse, where most of them have been sleeping for the last couple of weeks. The grass where they were lying, behind the boat house, is a fried brown colour. Although it looks dead, it will probably come back after a couple of weeks like the other crushed and cooked parts.

Elephant Seal lawn treatment results.

Elephant Seal lawn treatment results.

Seven animals, including two females who started the move, found fresh, green grass right outside my basement door. Tuesday was a repeat performance except that we were also graced by the presence of a very large male. It was a short visit and I was too busy to measure him but he was massive.

This before the lawn treatment, the previous photo is after.

This before the lawn treatment, the previous photo is after.

big boy

This big boy is luxuriating in the nice green grass.

This big boy is luxuriating in the nice green grass.

There were at total of 17 Northern Elephant Seals on Great Race Monday and at least two individuals here Sunday that were gone Monday. My guess is that there is exchange with the group hauling out on Middle Rocks and that was reinforced by the big visitor here today.

California Sealions started hauling out on the jetty today.

Some the gull pairs are getting quite good at their acrobatic feats of reproduction which involve the male standing, balanced on the females back.

Chores were minimized Monday due to an injury. There were no visitors Monday and six staff/volunteers Tuesday. The men moved a tidy tank across the island, Max fixed camera 5 and did some trouble-shooting and Courtney started training Guy.

 

More Than Radical Moult?

The east-northeast breezes that came with dawn, soon turned to west-southwest and became light winds by early afternoon. The early morning sky was quite hazy with smoke and “marine air”. A gale warning was in effect today and when the wind picked up to 20 knots in the late afternoon it cleared the haze temporarily, but then the “marine air” (with brown tinges) thickened and started to feel like a chill fog. The wind rose to 30 knots in the evening. The rising barometer leveled off for the afternoon then started dropping. The usual forecast continues.

 

I was surprised that a vessel of this size would use Middle Channel but she was well driven, slowly and carefully.

I was surprised that a vessel of this size would use Middle Channel but she was well driven, slowly and carefully.

It was a busy Saturday on the water and a parade of whale watching boats came through the Ecological Reserve to observe the usual cast of characters. A total of 20  commercial whale watching boat visits to the Ecological Reserve were observed today.  All but one of these vessels took their time while in the ER, minimizing potential impact on wildlife by driving slowly.Their passengers probably saw more that way. The one vessel that seemed a bit pressed, just had a momentary lapse and dropped his speed after clearing away from a sports fisher also observing.

Some of the vessels that came through Middle Passage seemed a mite large. One of the smaller, open vessels took the passage between Great Race and South Islands. There really isn’t much room in there and there are a lot of animals in the water and on the rocks of that narrow passageway. Not a good practice, nor is it really following the regulations or guidelines.

A few sports fishers came through the reserve to have a look at the animals and they also drove slowly and kept their distance. There were several rental boats in the Ecological Reserve today, all but one behaving. One rental packed with people sped right through the “rockpile”, not slowing for wind, current or Ecological Reserve. A dive charter from Ogden Point dove a couple of sites in the Ecological Reserve today, All very calm and professional.

The Northern Elephant Seal moult continues with most animals sleeping in a pile and making the trek to the water at least once a day for a soak and a swim.

Waking up en masse one seal at a time.

Waking up en masse one seal at a time.

Some of animals are starting to look like their skin is a bit too big for them,

Some of animals are starting to look like their skin is a bit too big for them,

The little female A114 came back today. She is in terrible shape with many open sores, continuously bleeding on the ventral side, which leaves trail of blood and she is often shivering or maybe it is trembling? She smells really awful, perhaps not long for this world, or is it just a super radical moult? I think it is pathological.

This little female, A114/ A473, has serious skin problems. More than just a radical moult.

This little female, A114/ A473, has serious skin problems. More than just a radical moult.

A114 appeal

The flies covering her are called kelp flies but they seem to thrive on elephant seal body fluids.

A114 skin cracks

Where the skin folds above the foreflippers, the folds have become open cracks.

Psoriasis Sister looking fairly healthy (in spite of the moult), compared to A114.

Psoriasis Sister looking fairly healthy (in spite of the moult), compared to A114.

Out of the ~20 animals observed closely, there are three with the ‘more than a radical moult look’; two females and a male. Earlier, I confused A114 and the “Psoriasis Sister”. I now know they are very different animals of different size. A114, the smallest is definitely the worst for wear with her gouges, deep cracks and ventral bleeding. All of these animals keep to themselves (separately) and have not been seen sleeping in the skin to skin “pile” with the healthy looking, very social seals.

Pairs of Pigeon Guillemots, Black Oystercatchers and Glaucous-winged gulls are mating. Three pairs of Canada Geese are walking their goslings, successful broods of eight, six, four and three. There seem to still be two pairs who have not nested and the other six pairs are still incubating.

There were no visitors and chores were routine.

 

 

 

 

 

Enter the Merry Month of May

The wind was just a zephyr today, with a weightless push from south, then southwest, and then nothing for a while. Not much to sail with and the flag hung lifelessly. The barometric pressure was similarly lethargic, going up ever so slightly, then down by about the same. The strong wind warning continues, so it may get here by Sunday evening and the forecast is for sunshine.

There were no whale-watching boats in the Ecological Reserve today although a sports fishing boat came by to look at the sealions in the evening. One rental boat from Pedder Bay with three men, insisted on fishing for and catching rockfish in the closed Rockfish Conservation Area, while the regulars were well outside. There needs to be more notification and communication about where the conservation area is located.

The bull kelp has reached the surface at low tides and is forming fairly massive beds around Turbine Rock where the Sea Otter likes to hang-out. In by the jetty where the current is less active it is at the surface all the time now and some of it is very reproductive, with large sori patches visible on the fronds.

Bull kelp fixes carbon faster than just about anything and grows so fast it makes bamboo look like it is standing still.

Bull kelp fixes carbon faster than just about anything and grows so fast it makes bamboo look like it is standing still.

Bull kelp sori

You can easily see where reduction division (meiosis) happens in the lighter yellow spore patches. You can also see where early patches have popped out of the frond and drifted off.

 

The pair of geese nesting at the base of the light-tower were out walking their goslings today. It looks like five out their eight eggs successfully hatched. The gander belonging to another, younger pair gave himself a real scare today, walking past the basement door where he could see his own reflection. That was really troubling to the pair and also very noisy. The gulls are also noisily going about their business.

Gwgu mate gwgu mate2

The elephant seals continue to moult although a few of them are down to just a few eyebrow hairs now. The younger males seem to be the last to moult and the most active. The same 12 to 14 individuals continue to frequent Great Race.

This almost three year old male (#5850) continues to spend day and night on Great Race. He has finally started to moult.

This almost three year old male (#5850) continues to spend day and night on Great Race. He has finally started to moult.

This young female is ahead of the young males in her moult.

This young female is ahead of the young males in her moult.

California Sealions were hauled out on Great Race today for the first time since I arrived in March and there was a male Californian (sealion) on the jetty that didn’t want to leave when I went down to sample seawater in the afternoon.

The solar panels were well supplied with sunlight today and produced enough energy to run the de-salinator and top up fresh water supply. The high value was 900 W/m2 and the cumulative amount for the day, at 7:00 PM broke the week’s record.

Untitled

There were no visitors today and maintenance included routine chores and a couple of little projects.

Mount Baker to Bahokas Peak.

It was clear here early and once easterly outflow breezes cleared the American side, it was a beautiful day on the Strait. There was a hazy view all the way to Mt. Baker in the east and out to Bahokas Peak in the west. The barometer is continuing its leisurely dive, started Thursday and as the sunsets, is close to 1003 hPa. The forecast is for more of the same with showers and a chance of thunderstorms.

No tour boats or fishers were noted in the Ecological Reserve today however one boat sped through Middle Channel from the west and then after slowing down went between the South Islands and extremely close to seals and sea lions. Sea lions and seals were on high alert. All of the seals went into the water and some of the sea lions jumped in between the rock and the boat. The boat went back and forth very close to the sea lions several times before speeding off in the direction of Victoria. The whole thing only took a few minutes. The rest of the day made up for it in calm and peacefulness.

Antenna just visible in top left, boat below sea lions.

Antenna just visible in top left, boat below sea lions.

Speeding off.

Speeding off.

Last night as I was saying goodnight to the students who had been helping with chores, there was a definite smell of baleen whale breath in the evening air. I thought it might be the first Humpback Whale of the season. We looked but it was almost dusk and we didn’t see a whale. I heard on the VHF radio today that the whale watching boats had spotted their first Minke Whale of the season, so my guess is that there was a stinky Minke upwind last night.

While doing the seawater sample today, I noticed that there is plenty of big plankton right now. Visible from the jetty are gazillions of beautiful ctenophores or comb jellies. Their scientific name is Pleurobrachia and another common name is sea gooseberry. These jellies are spherical and unlike most jellies they don’t have stinging cells, just sticky cells on their two dangling tentacles, to tangle their prey. They also have eight rows of amazing, tiny paddle-like structures called combs or ctenes. The combs basically do the wave and when they do, it makes a rainbow-like shimmering. So a clear ball, with eight rows of rainbow inducing pulsations and two trailing tentacles; this is a pretty intriguing looking creature.

Ctenophores are important top-down regulators of copepod abundance so they are important ecologically. Copepods are little crustaceans that feed directly on phytoplankton, the photosynthetic kind of plankton. The copepods can be so abundant that at times most of the phytoplankton biomass can be found in their guts. One reason the water is so clear right now may be due to an abundance of copepods. There are also lots of cross-jellies, which are true jellies or cnidarians, meaning they can sting. Their scientific name is Mitrocoma cellularia and they are also predators on smaller animal plankton like copepods. These large plankters are of course also food for baleen whales.

I had a bit of a catch-up day today. I gave the solar panels a thorough scrub and wash, fixed the underwater camera, took photos, cleaned up in front of the boat-house and generally monitored and documented things while tidying up.

A more peaceful sail past ata more respectful and legal distance.

A more peaceful sail past at a more respectful and legal distance.

It has been a treat to have students out for the weekend and I think they have been enjoying the peacefulness, nature and each other’s company. I went out to dinner for the first time on the island and we had a delicious meal prepared by the students.

 

April 4th – Full Moon and Blood Moon

The weather was much more subdued today with light winds and a morning switch in direction to the east, northeast and then back to westerlies at sunset. The sky was partially overcast but more sunny than cloudy with only the slightest of showers. The barometer continued its very slow and not very steady, decline that began on Thursday. The forecast is for more of the same. Today’s full moon was in total eclipse early this morning and although I was up at 5:00 AM, I did not see it, maybe that is because it was totally eclipsed ; – )?

Only two tour boats were noted within the Ecological Reserve today and they both kept their speed down and seemed to be very respectful of the wildlife. There was no fishing activity noted inside the Conservation Area.  A couple of Kayakers were paddling in the Ecological Reserve today and they were very close to the sea lions. They managed to make it past them without any disturbance, but the sea lions woke up after the kayakers passed. They were only concerned enough to do some neck craning and alert behaviour before falling back asleep.

Paddler passes close by sleeping sea lions.

Paddler passes close by sleeping sea lions.

The two kayaks regroup after getting by the sea lions on South Islands.

The two kayaks regroup after getting by the sea lions on South Islands.

Sea lions wake up and smell the kayakers. Looking alert but not too disturbed.

Sea lions wake up and smell the kayakers. Looking alert but not too disturbed.

Ecologically things were very much like the previous two days, the gulls are slowly becoming a little more territorial and parental looking. I saw two holding nesting material in their bills today and several pairs were doing a synchronous bill down dance that might demonstrate to the other how beautifully they will be able to regurgitate into any chicks they might produce together. I also witnessed some nasty bill holding that drew blood and descended into an outright wrestling match. I was not sure if these gulls were territorial competitors or mates but they were determined to not let go of each other. Gulls are supposed to mate for life so it makes me wonder, when I see the same gulls sitting poignantly all alone, on their spots, day after day. Is their mate missing in action or just late?

The Canada Geese are very broody and in some places are running the gulls off. Some geese are already incubating four to eight eggs per clutch.  I guess the crows know this and there is often a small murder of crows strutting around the nesting areas and also being chased off by the geese.

The Bald Eagles are here all day everyday right now and I watched one adult chase off another so there must be something good to eat. Is it gulls? The chase was quite spectacular with climbs and dives and at one point, upside-down flying in self defence. The defeated intruder headed over to Bentick Island.

It wasn’t sunny enough today to just go with solar power and I had to run the generator for a couple of hours in spite of having no extra draw on energy. I know the day is coming when there will be enough sunshine to go through a whole day, entirely on solar power.

Thirteen visitors came to the island today. Chris brought out a group of eight students and his son accompanied him with a school friend. Alex was deckhand again and brought his father who was visiting, along for the brief version of the Race Rocks tour. Alex’s Dad likes using the Race Rocks video cameras, so one more reason that I need to figure out how to get cameras #2 and #5, back up and running. The students will go back mid-day on Monday and are already earning their keep.

Chores were a mix of entropy fighting of  today. It was really nice to know that there is lots of water in the midst of churning compost and the usual tasks. I am still tidying up wood and very grateful to Alex and Virginie for all the firewood and lovely kindling. I also want to thank Nick for leaving the house so spick and span, very nice.