Sky clear changing to some cloud cover later in the day
Wind 10-20 knots W
Sea state: waves up to .5 m
We had an interesting ‘burst’ of fog around 1700hrs: while outside we noticed the wind picking up quickly and a fog front moved over us such that we could see the edge of it pass overhead – the fog horn went off for maybe 5 minutes, and then the fog disappeared as fast as it came!
Marine Traffic/Island Visitors:
Greg visited today
There have been some eco-tourism boats, about 5 so far day.
Some private vessels: mostly staying outside of the area and fishing, a couple of them came through and looked around.
Ecological Observations:
We noticed a pair of pigeon guillemots mating on the rocks above the jetty today, this is the first time we have observed this.
Also near the jetty, the oyster catcher chick living in and above the intertidal area is growing quickly – it moves fast and sometimes strays away from its parents but cannot fly yet. It is still relying on the adults for food.
Census:
13 geese
12 oyster catchers
3 oyster catcher chicks
142 harbour seals
2 elephant seals
442 seagulls
2 sea lions
Roughly 40-50 pigeon guillemots – these are hard to count!
Sky partly cloudy (thick fog until late afternoon)
Visibility 10 NM (less than 200 m until late afternoon)
Wind 30-35 knots W
Sea state: swells up to .5 m, whitecaps
Marine Traffic/Visitors:
Not many pleasure crafts this weekend as it was very windy (up to 40 knots!).
Greg visited today to deliver supplies
More whale watching boats this weekend than we have been seeing, around 5 per day.
Ecological Observations:
The seagull chicks have started hatching! Only a few nests have hatched so far. We have observed the chicks asking for food and the parent not feeding them. We wonder if there is enough food available to support them all through this nesting season.
One of the first nests to hatch had 3 chicks, but now they are nowhere to be seen. We are observing with an investigative eye as nesting season progresses, as we observed many instances of adult birds cannibalizing each other’s chicks last year.
One of the four goslings was eaten by seagulls on Saturday afternoon. The remaining three seem healthy and strong.
Not many visiting birds this past few days, perhaps due to the high winds.
Many harbour seals hauled out on outcroppings during the notably low tides over the past couple of weeks. The young seal pups are still keeping close to their mothers but we have not seen any still nursing.
The oyster catcher chicks are growing at an impressive rate! They seem to be doubling in size almost every week. They are now old enough to venture away from the protection of the rocky areas and explore the intertidal with their parents.
Census:
2 Male elephant seals moulting
500 Seagulls, handful of chicks
16 Adult geese
3 Goslings
10 Adult black oystercatchers
3 Black oystercatcher chicks
56 Harbour seals
Throughout the week we also observed pigeon guillemots, eagles, and a pair of swallows. The sea lion who was here alone over the past weeks seems to have moved along.
Harbour seal beside jetty. What a cutie!
Harbour seals on middle rock
Elephant seal beginning his moult
Watchful seagull keeping her eggs safe
Elephant seal taking a rest on the warm jetty after a soak to relieve his peeling fur
Seagull nesting beside our basement door. We still see you!
There was one pleasure craft fishing within the reserve this morning.
One whale watching boat today. They came very close to the jetty where there was an elephant seal soaking in the water to relieve his molting discomfort. The elephant seals visibly react to the disturbance with vocalization similar to when they are threatened by other male seals.
One large private vessel passed through on Saturday evening with roughly 15 people on board
Ecological Observations:
The goslings are doing well and have been moving around the island. The parents seem very alert and keep them close. It is quite impressive given how limited fresh water can be.
There have been quite a few young (still have grey plumage) seagulls passing through. They don’t integrate with the other seagulls, but rather stay on the more exposed areas of rock.
The nesting seagull population seems to have stabilized, and there are roughly 300 seagulls consistently on the island. When Daniel was here he counted around 80 nests, but there seem to be more appearing daily.
On Thursday an electrician came to work and Greg brought us some supplies- Thanks Greg!
Also on Thursday, Daniel came to do a bird count and take recordings of bird calls. He was able to spot and identify many more species than we are able to, and it was fantastic to learn more about what is here! He also found owl pellets near where we heard an owl in April, and we are excited to see what information can be concluded from them.
On Friday Greg delivered water
Also on Friday, there were many RCMP boats just outside of the reserve.
There have been a few pleasure crafts, some fishing within the reserve boundaries.
One whale watching vessel today, which approached the animals and the jetty very closely
Ecological:
Daniel also spotted two new observations: a fern growing out of a crack on the lighthouse, and some beautiful harvest brodiaea.
There is now only one elephant seal, the large male.
There is one goose still sitting on a nest underneath camera 5. She’s been there for a long time and we are wondering if the eggs will still hatch since it is so late in the season. There are no goslings currently, but still a constant 16 adult geese total.
In the past two weeks we have been observing many jellyfish in the water, including sea nettles, fried egg jellyfish, and the occasional water jelly still.
On Thursday morning we watched as two eagles chased one seagull into the water and continuously took turns diving at it. They dove at it until it was completely wet and unable to fly away. At this point, one of the eagles swooped down and carried the seagull away by its neck.
Census:
280 Seagulls
12 Adult oystercatchers
2 Oystercatcher chicks
157 Harbor seals
1 Adult male elephant seal
16 Adult Canada geese
11 California sealions
3 Stellar sealions
9 Pigeon Guillemots
2 Adult bald eagles
1 Barn swallow
Eagle diving at seagull in water (1)
(2)
(3)
Fern growing on lighthouse!
Oyster catcher nest and eggs
Dried gumboot chiton in intertidal
Harvest brodiaea
Seagull nest and eggs
Nap time for this california sea lion
Boris and the female elephant seal in their favorite spot. It seems as if they like the company.
Large male elephant seal enjoying the soft pineapple weed
Sea state: fast moving, white caps breaking at .5 m
Visitors:
Greg visited with a water delivery on Friday
One eco-tourism boat in the reserve yesterday evening.
One vessel fishing within the reserve on Friday afternoon. They approached the sea lions around the jetty very closely and their dog on board barked loudly at the animals. They approached the animals within a stones throw and hovered for roughly 20 minutes. The animals appeared distressed and fought with each other as they tried to move away from the boat (it was too close for them to enter the water).
Ecological:
On Thursday evening a river otter came onto land near the jetty. We wonder if it was trying to steal seagull eggs.
On Friday afternoon two caspian terns flew overhead. The seagulls were not happy to see them and chased them out of the reserve.
Related to the post linked above, we spotted an oyster catcher nest on the west side of the island. We think it could be the same one that Mike spotted in 2012!
There are five goslings total, one family with two and one with three. The family of three has been joined intermittently by the other two. The two chicks seem confused as to which geese are their parents, and they’ve even managed to sneak under a wing with the rest for shelter. The parents continuously try to separate them from their own three chicks and the parents of the two follow closely behind.
We have observed the geese moving around the island trying to find fresh water. When it rains it is easier for them to come near the structures and drink the water from our roofs. When it is dry, they are limited to what they are able to find in the pools high on the rocks, usually full of algae and very dirty. We have been learning about their adaptations to drink salt water here.
The two oyster catcher chicks that we spotted earlier in the week have maintained their elusive nature. We haven’t been able to spot them again, as they are hidden by their parents among rocks where the seagulls are not able to attack.
This week has brought an influx of stellar sea lions, particularly smaller youngsters.
Census:
2 Elephant seals (1 male, 1 female)
46 Harbour seals
326 Seagulls
10 Stellar sea lions
17 California sea lions
10 Black Oystercatchers(adult)
2 Oystercatcher chicks
16 Canada Geese (adult)
5 Goslings
2 Pigeon Guillemots
Large container ship from vancouver area
plastic in seagull nest
sea lion with one blind eye
Stellar sea lion
Pigeon guillemots
Male elephant seal yawning
invasive thistles returning. We will need to pull them before they seed.
Yesterday we spotted a group of kayakers who had emailed to let us know they were coming: We tried to wave, but you were too far away to see us- hope you had a good paddle!
Ecological:
The seagull population has skyrocketed this week, but still no fully constructed nests
The elephant seals have left now, aside from one. We anticipate that we may see a few large males in a month or so.
Census:
16 Geese
8 Oystercatchers
39 Sea Lions
40 Harbor Seals
1 Elephant Seal
1 Bald Eagle
580 Seagulls
42 Pigeon Guillemots
Lots of greenery filling in
Sunset from lighthouse
Some wider shots to break up the closer ones we typically post (guest house)
A trickle of pleasure crafts outside of the reserve, 4 inside of the reserve
Yesterday a very small vessel came to the reserve with 3 people aboard. They approached each outcropping very closely, scaring the animals into the water.
This evening a boat with 6 passengers sped through the reserve. They passed the resting sea lions very closely, and sped through the passage where many were swimming and fishing.
On Friday Greg visited to work on the generator, and Nick came too
There have been large commercial barges steadily passing through the straight. Since the weather has been so calm we can hear them inside the house, even though they are nearly 8 km away.
Ecological:
The elephant seals have been taking daily soaks in the shallow water surrounding the jetty in this warm weather.
In the shallow and warm waters this week we have been spotting schools of small fish. The larger animals in the water seem to ignore them completely.
There have been blooms of jellyfish passing by in the currents, mostly water jellies and the small “sea gooseberries” which seem to glitter in the light due to the the tiny hairs (cilia) that pulsate to move them through the water.
A few harlequin ducks spent the evening in the reserve on Friday
Census:
16 Canada Geese
8 Oyster Catchers
4 Crows
8 Elephant Seals
300 Seagulls
2 Cormorants
2 Bald Eagles
48 Sea Lions
9 Harbour Seals
The elephant seal flippers move in extraordinarily human ways.
Coastguard defense vessel
Harlequin Ducks
Fish in the shallow jetty waters
A foil helium balloon floating in the current
Seagull nest with urchin shell
Seagull eating a stolen goose egg- they roll them down the hill to crack them open on our sidewalk!
Wind: yesterday W-S 0-32 knots, today W-SE 2-17 knots Sea State: both days calm Visibility: yesterday 10-15 NM, today 15 NM Sky: yesterday partly cloudy then clear from mid morning, today clear Temperature: yesterday 8-14 °C, today 7-14 °C Atmospheric CO2: 416.33 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)
The lawn in front of the house got busier this morning with nine elephant seals, two more than yesterday. A tenth seal, the pup, was near the jetty. The two new arrivals have green tags on their tail flippers. One is a male tagged C887. The other is a juvenile tagged G512 on the right flipper and E779 on the right. I will update the information on age and past sightings when I hear back from the researchers. The green tags signify the elephant seals were tagged at Año Nuevo, south of San Francisco.
[UPDATED April 13: I heard back from Dr. Patrick Robinson, the researcher from Año Nuevo Reserve. The elephant seal with green tags E779 and G512 was tagged as a pup in February 2019, where he was born at Año Nuevo. This is the first time the male juvenile has been spotted outside of Año Nuevo, where he was last seen as a weaner in March, 2019. The elephant seal with the green tag C887 is a juvenile male that was born at Año Nuevo in February 2017. He has been seen at Race Rocks in the month of December in 2017, 2018 and 2019.]
There was one boat seen in the ecological reserve on each of the past two days, a pleasure boat yesterday and a sailboat today.
Census results observed this afternoon at low tide: 10 elephant seals (1 female pup, 1 female juvenile, 1 juvenile, 2 sub adult males, 5 female adults) 16 steller sea lions 91 california sea lions 1 sea otter 72 harbour seals 5 bald eagles (2 juveniles, 3 adults) 16 Canada geese 1 black brant goose 99 gulls (mostly thayer’s) 17 pelagic cormorants 4 brandt’s cormorants 5 double-crested cormorants 6 black oystercatchers 24 pigeon guillemots 7 harlequin ducks 2 surfbirds 5 black turnstones
Two eagles on Turbine Rock and a colourful sailboat passing through Race Passage.
Newly arrived juvenile elephant seal tagged G512 and E779
Green tags G512 and E779 on the juvenile elephant seal.
Newly arrived sub adult male elephant seal tagged C887
Green tag C887 on the sub adult male elephant seal
Black brant goose
Four elephant seals waiting for the water to come to them
Newly arrived juvenile seal exploring the boardwalk
A view from the top of the lighthouse this afternoon of the clear water of the east bay. A group of sea lions can be seen on the rocks.
Saw a couple tour boats going by today, and a dive boat
Ecological
The sea lion numbers dropped a little again and the elephant seal numbers have gone up a tiny bit
Census
Sea Lions – 438 (96 Steller and 342 California)
Harbour Seals – 32
Gulls – still around 200
Cormorants – 75
Canada Geese – 14
Black Turnstones – 30
Eagles – 6
Elephant Seals, 2 males, one of them is the alpha the previous two years, Bernard and the other is slightly smaller male and then 1 small female tagged V173 who I found out was born in Point Reyes last February 2019
Humpbacks – 3 are going by just now, photo below is very blurry due to low light
