Category Archives: Bird Notes

BIRD LIST – Race Rocks Ecological Reserve

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The following Bird List for Race Rocks Ecological Reserve was reorganized by Ernie Chang of Metchosin, BC. in November 2024 in order to have the correct AOU NACC order and to add observations recorded in iNaturalist. The Race Rocks species list and image gallery with all species recorded in the Ecological Reserve is the source of the Race Rocks List.

Race Rocks List (in AOU NACC order) iNaturalist list (link to gallery)
Order Anseriformes: geese and ducks:
Chen caerulescens (Lesser Snow goose)
Anser albifrons (Greater white-fronted Goose) Anser albifrons – 1 (Greater White-Fronted Goose)
Branta bernicla (Black Brant Goose): Branta bernicla – 1  (Black Brant)
Branta hutchinsii (Cackling Goose): Branta hutchinsii – 1 (Cackling Goose)
Branta canadensi (Canada Goose): Branta Canadensis – 18 (Canada Goose)
Anas platyrhynchos (Mallard): Anas platyrhynchos – 1 (Mallard)
Anas carolinensis (Green-winged Teal): Anas crecca carolinensis – 1 (American Green-winged Teal)
Histrionicus histrionicus  (Harlequin duck) Histrionicus histrionicus – 8 (Harlequin Duck)
Melanitta perspicillata ( surf scoter) Melanitta perspicillata – 1 (Surf Scoter)
Bucephala albeola (Bufflehead) Bucephala albeola – 1 (Bufflehead)
Mergus merganser (Common merganser) Mergus merganser – 1 (Common Merganser)
Order Podicipediformes: grebes:
Aechmophorus occidentalis (Western Grebe): Aechmophorus occidentalis – 1 (Western Grebe)
Order Columbiformes: doves:
Columba livia (Rock Dove): Columba livia domestica (Feral Pigeon)
Order Charadriiformes: other shore&seabirds
Haematopus bachmani (Black oystercatcher): Haematopus bachmani – 19 (Black Oystercatcher)
Pluvialis squatarola (Black-bellied Plover): Pluvialis squatarola – 1 (Black-bellied Plover)
Pluvialis dominica (American Golden Plover): Pluvialis dominica – 1 (American Golden-Plover)
Charadrius vociferus (Kildeer): Charadrius vociferus – 1 (Killdeer)
Numenius phaeopus (Whimbrel): Numenius phaeopus – 1 (Whimbrel)
Limosa fedoa (Marbled godwit) Limosa fedoa – 1 (Marbled Godwit)
Arenaria interpret (Ruddy turnstone): Arenaria interpres – 1 (Ruddy Turnstone)
Arenaria melanocephala (Black turnstone): Arenaria melanocephala – 19 (Black Turnstone)
Calidris canutus (Red Knot): Calidris canutus – 1 (Red Knot)
Aphriza virgata (Surfbird): Calidris virgata – 5 (Surfbird)
Calidris alba (Sanderling): Calidris alba – 2 (Sanderling)
Calidris alpina (Dunlin) Calidris alpina – 4 (Dunlin)
Calidris ptilocnemis (Rock sandpiper): Calidris ptilocnemis – 1 (Rock Sandpiper)
Calidris minutillam (Least sandpiper): Calidris minutilla – 1 (Least Sandpiper)
Calidris mauri  (Western sandpiper): Calidris mauri – 2 (Western Sandpiper)
Limnodromus griseus (Short-billed Dowitcher): Limnodromus griseus – 2 (Short-billed Dowitcher)
Actitis macularius (Spotted Sandpiper): Actitis macularius – 1 (Spotted Sandpiper)
Tringa incana (Wandering Tattler): Tringa incana – 1 (Chevalier errant)
Tringa melanoleuca (Greater Yellowlegs): Tringa melanoleuca – 1 (Greater Yellowlegs)
Phalaropus lobatus (Red-necked Phalarope): Phalaropus lobatus – 4 (Red-necked Phalarope)
Phalaropus fulicarius ( Red Phalarope): Phalaropus fulicarius – 1 (Red Phalarope)
Order Charadriiformes: Stercorarius Jaegers
Stercorarius pomarinus – 1 (Pomarine Jaeger)
Order Charadriiformes: Alcidae
Uria aalge (Common Murre): Uria aalge – 9 (Common Murre)
Cepphus columba (Pigeon Guillemot): Cepphus columba – 36 (Pigeon Guillemot)
Brachyramphus marmoratus (Marbled Murrelet ): Brachyramphus marmoratus – 1 (Marbled Murrelet)
Synthliboramphus antiquus (Ancient Murrelet): Synthliboramphus antiquus – 1 (Ancient Murrelet)
Cerorhinca monocerata (Rhinocerous Auklet): Cerorhinca monocerata – 3 (Rhinoceros Auklet)
Order Charadriiformes: Larinae: gulls:
Xema sabini – 1 (Sabine’s Gull)
Larus philadelphia (Bonapartes gull): Chroicocephalus philadelphia – 1 (Bonaparte’s Gull)
Larus heermanni (Heermann’s Gull): Larus heermanni – 14 (Heermann’s Gull)
Larus canis (Mew gull): Larus brachyrhynchus  – 1 (Short-billed Gull)
Larus occidentalis (Western gull): Larus occidentalis – 2 (Western Gull)
Larus californicus (Califiornia Gull): Larus californicus – 6 (California Gull)
Larus argentatus – 1(EuropeanHerring Gull)
Larus glaucescens (Glaucous-winged gull): Larus glaucescens – 13 (Glaucous-winged Gull)
Larus hyperbolus (Glaucous gull): Larus hyperboreus – 1 (Glaucous Gull)
Larus thayeri (Thayer’s gull): Larus glaucoides thayeri – 3 (Thayer’s Gull)
Rissa tridactyla (Black-legged Kittiwake): Rissa tridactyla – 1 (Black-legged Kittiwake)
Larus galucesens x occidentalis  -1 (Olympic Gull)
Order Charadriiformes: terns
Hydroprogne caspia(Caspian Tern): Hydroprogne caspia – 1 (Caspian Tern)
Sterna paradisaea – 1 (Arctic Tern)
Order Gaviformes: Loons
Gavia pacifica (Pacific Loon) Gavia pacifica – 2 (Pacific Loon)
Order Procellariiformes: albatrosses,shearwaters:
Phoebastria mutabilis (Laysan Albatross):
Ardenna tenuirostris (Short-tailed Shearwater) Ardenna tenuirostris – 2 (Short-tailed Shearwater)
Order Suliformes: Phalacrocoracidae cormorants
Phalacrocorax penicilatu (Brandt’s Cormorant): Urile penicillatus – 18 (Brandt’s Cormorant)
Phalacrocorax pelagicus (Pelagic Cormorant): Urile pelagicus – 9 (Pelagic Cormorant)
Phalacrocorax auritas (Double Crested Cormorant): Nannopterum auritum – 5 (Double-crested Cormorant)
Order Pelecaniformes: Pelicans and Herons
Pelecanus occidentalis (Brown pelican): Pelecanus occidentalis – 5 (Brown Pelican)
Ardea herodia (Great Blue Heron): Ardea herodias – 1 (Great Blue Heron)
Order Cathartiformes: Vultures
Cathartes aura (Turkey Vulture):
Order Acciptriformes: hawks and eagles:
Pandion haliaetus (Osprey): Pandion haliaetus – 1 (Osprey)
Haliacetus leucocepfalus (Bald eagle): Haliaeetus leucocephalus – 34 (Bald Eagle)
Buteo jamaicensis (Red-tailed Hawk): Buteo jamaicensis calurus – 1 (Western Red-tailed Hawk)
Order Strigiformes: owls:
Bubo virginianus (Great Horned Owl): Bubo virginianus – 1 (Great Horned Owl)
Bubo scandiacus (Snowy Owl): Bubo scandiacus – 1 (Snowy Owl)
Strix varia (Barred Owl): Strix varia – 1 (Barred Owl)
Aegolius funereus (Boreal Owl): Aegolius funereus – 1 (Boreal Owl)
Order: Coraciiformes 
Megaceryle alcyon  ( Belted Kingfisher):
Order Falconiformes: falcons:
Falco peregrinus (Peregrine falcon):
Order Passeriformes: corvidae
Corvus caurinus (North Western Crow): Corvus brachyrhynchos caurinus – 1 (Northwestern Crow)
Corvus corax (Common Raven): Corvus corax – 1 (Common Raven)
Order Passeriformes: Alaudidae
Eremophila alpestris (Horned lark): Eremophila alpestris – 1 (Horned Lark)
Order Passeriformes: Hirundinidae
Progne subis (Purple martin):
Hirundo rustica (Barn Swallow): Hirundo rustica – 1 (Barn Swallow)
Order Passeriformes: Regulidae
Regulus satrapa (Golden-crowned kinglet): Regulus satrapa – 1 (Golden-crowned Kinglet)
Order Passeriformes: Troglodytidae
Troglodytes pacificus (Pacific wren): Troglodytes pacificus – 2 (Pacific Wren)
Order Passeriformes: Sturnidae
Sturnus vulgaris (European Starling):
Order Passeriformes: Turdidae
Turdus migratorius (American Robin): Turdus migratorius – 1 (American Robin)
Order Passeriformes: Motacilladea
Anthus rubescens (American Pipit): Anthus rubescens – 1 (American Pipit)
Order Passeriformes: Fringillidae
Spinus tritis (American Goldfinch) Spinus tristis – 1 (American Goldfinch)
Order Passeriformes: Calcaridae
Calcarius lapponicus (Lapland Longspur): Calcarius lapponicus – 1 (Lapland Longspur)
Plectrophenax nivalis (Snow Bunting): Plectrophenax nivalis – 1 (Snow Bunting)
Order Passeriformes: Passerellidae sparrows
Junco hyemalis (Oregon Junco): Junco hyemalis – 1 (Dark-eyed Junco)
Passerella iliaca (Fox Sparrow): Passerella iliaca – 1 (Fox Sparrow)
Zonotricha atricapilla (Golden-crowned sparrow): Zonotrichia atricapilla – 1 (Golden-crowned Sparrow)
Passerculus sandwichensis (Savannah sparrow): Passerculus sandwichensis – 1 (Savannah Sparrow)
Passer domesticus (House Sparrow): Passer domesticus – 1 (House Sparrow)
Melospiza melodia (Song Sparrow):
Order Passeriformes: Icteridae
Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus (Yellow-headed blackbird) Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus – 1 (Yellow-headed Blackbird)
Agelaius phoeniceus (Red-winged blackbird) Agelaius phoeniceus – 1 (Red-winged Blackbird)
Molothrus ater (Brown-headed cowbird):
Order Passeriformes: Parulidae
Dendroica coronata (Audubon’s yellow-rumped warbler): Setophaga coronata – 1 (Yellow-rumped Warbler)
Setophaga townsendi (Townsend’s warbler) Setophaga townsendi – 1 (Townsend’s Warbler)
Now if anyone wants to volunteer to do the same with the other Chordates, the  invertebrates, algae and fungi on the Race Rocks Taxonomy , examine  iNaturalist records for other Ecological Reserves, Ernie Chang  has produced this handbook: https://ecoreserves.bc.ca/2024/11/29/using-ecoreserves-of-bc-umbrella-for-birds/

Mixed Weather

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Ecological Notes:

  • Female Elephant Seal has left the ramp area…… back to sea for now it appears.
  • Sunday night high winds brought down the pier fencing, and the Sea lions sure took advantage of that fast!

  • Very young, tagged,  Elephant Seal visited the ramp area briefly. I saw him coming up fast, so I left the area. When I returned a couple hours later, there were sea lions on the ramp and the Elephant Seal was gone. This was at the same  time the adult female left.
  • A known California Sea Lion, that was freed of an entanglement last year is around the north side. Although the wound still looks rough, the last Ecoguardian (Kendra) assured me this is a good improvement.
  • In addition to the expected numbers, there have been a couple very large flocks of both Black Oyster Catchers, and Black Turnstones. Groups were seen briefly, before flying off.
  • Nearly double the normal number of Canada Geese here still. 

  • There are still many Humpback Whales viewable from the park, and Transient Orca have passed by nearly every other day.

Visitors:

  • Work crew still working on the windows on the Student and Science centre, as well as finishing the inside of the last window on the main house.
  • A small group of donors, and a couple college staff visited for a tour of the facility.

Facility Work:

  • Ongoing repairs and upgrades to the electrical fencing. Awaiting new connectors to replace a couple sections and add a new section.
  • Fuel transfers and an extra check on battery electrolyte levels.
  • Although not overly high, wind direction has blown some doors off, including the boat shed …. minor items, but they add up!

  • Taking advantage of the rain periods to clean the sidewalks (mostly goose poop), as well as cleaning the salt off the windows.

  • Cleaned the windows on the tower, inside and out.

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Still a few Ecotourism vessels
  • 2 Jet skis have visited the reserve a couple days in a row.

 Noted Infractions:

  • The first time the jet skis were scene, they were doing doughnuts and high speed passes in the main channel, disturbing birds and sea lions. My camera was charging, but i signalled to them with the blowhorn siren and waved them off.

  • The next day, they stayed out of the reserve, playing in one of the standing current waves a little further out. They did a wide sweep around the area on their way back (hopefully realizing they were being watched).

Weather Events:

  • Monday, November 11:
    • Sky: overcast with frequent sunny breaks
    • Wind: Morning Westerly winds to 25kts, veering to west at 5-10 kts in the afternoon
    • Sea: 1 meter swell, calming to slight chop by afternoon
    • Temperature Low 12oC, High 18oC
  • Tuesday, November 12:
    • Sky: Overcast, with sunny breaks
    • Wind: mixed N-NE 5-10 kts
    • Sea:  slight chop, but a swell wrapping around into the pier area by afternoon
    • Temperature Low 10oC, High 112oC
  • Wednesday, November 13:
    • Sky: Overcast with light rain later in the day
    • Wind: Variable direction Northerly winds, 5-10 kts, shifting to WSW later in the afternoon
    • Sea:  light chop, some tidal swell in the reserve
    • Temperature Low 9oC, High 13oC

 

 

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

 

Weather – Current:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

 

Weather – Past:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

Our Last Census Day!

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Sunday, September 29, 2024

Today was our last census!!!

We took our coffees up to the tower for the 7am Low tide.

Animal Census:

Birds:

  • Gulls: 1580
  • Cormorants: 22
  • Canada Goose: 22
  • Turnstones:
  • Shorebird: 1

Would love help on the ID of this.. email us if you know!

Mammals:

  • Stellar Sea Lion: 306
  • California Sea Lion: 834
  • Harbour Seal: 81
  • Elephant Seal female: 2

Animal Tracking and Injuries:

Spotted a Stellar Sea lion with fishing line wrapped around his neck ☹

Reported to DFO.

Since we are leaving on Tuesday, we spent the day cleaning the house, and washing the windows.

As well as our daily fence repair. It’s a particularly nauseating feeling to wake up each morning, look out at the beautiful view, and survey the extent of fence damage that has happened overnight…. This is a task I definitely will not miss.

Weather: Sunny all day, Very windy all night (35+ Knts, dropping all day to around 20knts W/SW)

Whale Watching Vessels: 10

Private Vessels: 2

**Loads of Humpbacks hanging about 😊

Yippee we made it

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Jump for joy

Wildlife notes:

The chicks near the house that hatched on June 28 made it past their 4 week birthday. Seeing what goes on around here, that is an accomplishment! At three weeks old their wing feathers were just starting to grow.

Four week old chicks

The other exciting news is two whimbrel visited the east beach briefly.

Whimbrel

 

Facility work:

  • cleaned solar panels
  • topped up battery fluid
  • weeding around desalinator building

Vessels:

13 ecotourism

Weather:

Fog lifting by noon, sunny afternoon. Moderate westerly breeze most of the day, building to near gale in the evening. Daytime temperature range: low 10, high 15.

Progne subus: Purple martin – The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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On June 20, 2045 , Race Rocks Ecoguardian Christine Chourmouzis found a purple martin in her house

she writes in her log: Two purple martins were spotted on top of the tower and on roof of the Keepers’s house around noon.  At 3 pm I discovered a purple martin had made its way down the chimney pipe into the wood stove. I am so glad the ashes were cold and I was able to get it back outside! 

 

  • Purple martins suffered a severe population crash in the 20th century widely linked to the release and spread of European starlings in North America. European starlings and house sparrows compete with martins for nest cavities. Where purple martins once gathered in the thousands, by the 1980s they had all but disappeared. (Wikipedia)

They have excellent aerodynamic  maneuvering control as they fly quickly over open areas catching insects with a wide opening mouth. They are valued for their voracious appetite for mosquitoes and flies. With their food being flying insects, the island certainly provides an abundant supply of the kelp fly Coelopa vanduzeei

Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Sub-phylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Hirundinidae
Genus:Progne 
Species: subis. (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common Name: Purple martin

Physical Description:

 It is the largest swallow in North America. 
With an average length of 20 cm (7.9 in) and a wingspan of up to 38 cm (15 in), the purple martin is the largest amongst the 90 odd species in the family Hirundinidae.[9]
Purple martins are sexually dimorphic. Adult males are entirely black with a glossy steel blue sheen, the only swallow in North America with such coloration. Adult females are dark on top with some steel blue sheen, and lighter underparts. Adults have a slightly forked tail.

Relationship with humans:

Continual maintenance and protection is required, as European starlings and house sparrows compete with martins as cavity-nesters, and will fight with martins over nest sites. Thus, unmonitored purple martin houses are often overtaken by more aggressive, non-native species.[3] Purple martin proponents are motivated by the concern that the purple martin would likely vanish from eastern North America were it not for this assistance.[24]( Wikipedia)

Other Members of the Class Aves at Race Rocks 
taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.

June 20 2024 Christine Chourmouzis – Ecoguardian

Race Rocks Ecological Reserve Warden’s Report June 14 2024

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Garry Fletcher, ER Warden for Race Rocks visited the reserve on June 14, 2024

Greg Dickinson from Pearson College provided transport in Second Nature for the following group: 

  • Lisette and Mads – Mads is former student and both are volunteering at Pearson College
  • Garry Fletcher – Park Warden
  • James Tuohy – future Ecoguardian
  • Ann Nightingale and Andrew Jacobs – Rocky Point Bird Observatory

Upon docking I was struck by the number of Pigeon Guillemots on the rocks . Although I haven’t checked back in our records, there certainly seems to have been an increase in numbers 

We were greeted by the new ecoguardian  Christine  Chourmouzis .  In addition to having a general survey of the reserve, I was able to direct Christine and James through the process of entering them as editors on racerocks.ca and creating a log and posting it on the Race Rocks website. 

Supplies for the Ecoguardian are off-loaded

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I was teaching at Pearson College, we often monitored a set of tidepools out on the island’s West side. I checked out those pools again and took photos which show the state of algae growth. Some observations in the tidepool files provide a baseline for comparative studies in the future.  These files are on the tidepools

 

A review of some of the installations on the Island

 

Due to recent notices on social media about the problems that pet owners are having when their dogs get exposed to foxtail , I was concerned about whether there was a similar problem with marine mammals. This guy certainly seems to be enjoying the location however. 

I tried to find the small patch of the rare plant  seaside  plant Romanzoffia on the rocks on the East side of the house.  Unfortunately the area was covered with knotweed now. We will have to check again in the winter. 

The Turkish marsh gladiolus are now in bloom. This is a good example of a garden escape , planted by lighthouse keepers probably as much as 80 years ago .

 

 

All in the day of a gull

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The elephant seal typically spends his mornings sleeping the grass near the east-west walkway leading from the Jetty to the Energy house. In the afternoon he moves to the east side of the house perhaps seeking the shade. He often moves in quick short bursts and with no regard to the gull nests in his path.  Today I watched him place himself on top of a nest near the house.

The gulls go to have a look for their nest which is mostly beneath him.

His first warning

The gulls try to persuade him to move

and try

and try

 

 

The seal reaches but can’t manage to grab the gull out of the air.

 

Eventually the seal moves a bit and the gull can take a look

One broken egg, one undamaged

They remove the shell pieces…..

and they eat the rest!  A few minutes later, she back on the nest as though nothing happened.

Facility work:

  • cleaned solar panels: from 12-1 pm generated 7.1kW !
  • thistles
  • chopped kindling

Wildlife notes:

Several eagles visited throughout the day causing great commotion. The oyster catchers seem to be the first to raise the alarm.  The California sea lions were notable absent from their regular spot near the Jetty. The four Canada geese are still here.

Vessels:

7 Ecotourism boats

Weather:

Another sunny day, winds WNW 10 in the morning building to W 30 midday.

E-Bird June Race Rocks gull survey and Census

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E-Bird Gull Survey https://ebird.org/checklist/S184107190

Subject: June Racerocks Gull Survey

Rocky Point Bird Observatory & Pearson College Race rocks Gull Survey June 2024
Survey conducted by Andrew Jacobs and Ann Nightingale
Thank you to Greg for getting us out there again on the boat and Christine with the assistance during the survey.
This survey was conducted to investigate the phenotypes of the glaucescens-occidentalis hybrid complex using the Great Race Rock as a nesting area. We looked for pairing preference of phenotypes, nest habitat preference and mapped the nests that had parents on them. We looked at the breakdown of the colony diversity into five phenotypic groups – pure type Glaucous-winged Gulls, Glaucous-winged trending hybrids or light morph Olympic Gulls, intermediate trending hybrids or intermediate morph Olympic Gulls, Western trending hybrids or dark morph Olympic Gulls, and pure type Western Gulls. The nesting of Western Gull on the island is of specific interest as there are adult Western Gulls near the island year round and we would like to see if Western Gull pairs are starting to breed in Canada or if they are forming mixed pairs.
The survey also counted other species of gull and age classes as well as other species using the rocks this time of year. The general nesting grounds on the main rock were used by the hybrid complex, Pigeon Guillemot, and Black Oystercatcher although no nests of the latter two were seen they were displaying as if nests were nearby.
Ebird link with photos and sound recordings.
The numbers of pure type Glaucous-winged Gull were up for the breeding season over our previous survey by about 6-7 times at 69 individuals with 64 adults and 5 immatures. The number of hybrid and intergrade type Olympic Gulls was 321 with 314 adults and 7 immatures. The breakdown of colour morphotypes in the Olympic Gulls was light morph (Glaucous-winged trending hybrids) 138 individuals with 133 adults and 5 immatures, intermediate morph (Intermediate trending hybrids) 166 individuals with 164 adults and 2 immatures, dark morph (Western trending hybrids) 17 individuals with 17 adults.
The island at this time contained 4 adult Western Gulls, two of which were on nests, one was in the grassy area on a rocky outcropping and one was on the outer rocky part of the island along the cliff. The two nesting Western Gulls did not have a partner present while we were on the island. Surprisingly one of the Western Gull nests appeared to have a rock placed in with its three eggs in the nest of roughly egg size.
Total glaucescens-occidentalis hybrid complex birds 394
Glaucous-winged Gull 69 (17.51%)
Olympic Gull 321 (81.47%)
-Light morph 138 (35.02%)
-Intermediate morph 166 (42.13%)
-Dark morph 17 (4.13%)
Western Gull 4 (1.01%)
Visible pairings 44
Glaucous-winged + Glaucous-winged 2 (4.54%)
Glaucous-winged + Light Olympic 6 (13.63%)
Glaucous-winged + Intermediate Olympic 3 (6.81%)
Light Olympic + Light Olympic 14 (31.81%)
Light Olympic + Intermediate Olympic 5 (11.36%)
Light Olympic + Dark Olympic 1 (2.27%)
Intermediate Olympic + Intermediate Olympic 11 (25.00%)
Intermediate Olympic + Dark Olympic 2 (4.54%)
Banded individuals included three Olympic Gulls one colour banded adult (cobalt blue over metal right leg and red over cobalt blue left leg), and one adult and one immature with metal bands.
Other Gull species in the survey area included California Gull with 3 immature individuals and Heermann’s Gull with 4 adults.
The other non larid species present
1 Canada Goose
3 Harlequin Duck
11 Black Oystercatcher
2 Killdeer
8 Rhinoceros Auklet
254 Pigeon Guillemot
3 Brandt’s Cormorant
23 Pelagic Cormorant
1 Bald Eagle
2 Barn Swallow
Pinniped abundance and usage of the area
2 Northern Elephant Seal – two immatures one small and one medium sized.
59 Harbour Seals
2 California Sealions
Map of nest locations.
Next time we will also log unidentified nests.
Any other questions or feedback is welcome.
Thank you,
Andrew Jacobs

New to the Rock

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Today is my first day as the Ecoguardian at the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve. I was dropped off at 8:30 am with my personal gear, bags of groceries and a reminder to monitor the solar panels, batteries and the electric fence – there are more duties and responsibilities but a source of power is one of the essentials.

Power

I unpacked, put groceries away and set off to tackle the my first chore – clean the panels. The solar panels are mounted on the roof and on the side of the Energy Building which houses the diesel generator.  At this time of year, with the long sunny days and daily cleaning, it is possible to power the house systems just on solar power.  Why the daily cleaning? There are hundreds of gulls nesting here and what do we will do at least once a day? Poop!

Panels on the Energy Building roof

After hauling the cleaning supplies up to the roof and turning on the water, I thought a methodical approach would serve me best. I climbed back down and noted my “starting point” of 3.1 kW of energy being produced by the panels.  After cleaning four panels, I climbed down to check the display.  It was up to 3.4 kW.  Cleaning is one of those tasks that provide instant gratification and now, doubly so.  With all the roof panels cleaned they were producing 4.2 kW and with lower side panels it was up to 4.8 kW!  I tell myself “what a worthwhile task and job well done Christine”

Well, later in the day I have some time to sit down and familiarize myself with OPTICSRE, the software package that lets you visualize your energy system production (solar or generator), storage (battery bank) and consumption levels. It turns out that in the long time it took me to figure out the best way to clean the panels and finally get the job done (between 10 am and noon), the sun was moving, as it does everyday, and with the clear skies, was naturally approaching its peak midday production levels (see graph below). Silly me, it wasn’t all my doing!  Shame there is no easy way to determine the added benefits of cleaning the panels.

OPTICSRE graph of energy levels produced by the solar panels (green bar), stored in the batteries (dark blue bar), taken from the battery by the house systems (light blue bar) for each hour on June 11.

The software also displays live time power use. I consult this throughout the day and find it memorizing.  The image below shows the current situation at night as I write this. Very little energy is going from the panels to battery, the batteries are at near full capacity and we are operating in the red, drawing power from the battery bank.  The house (appliances, computer, lights etc) generally draw 1.3 kW of power. If I turn on all the lights in the house and the bathroom fan, it jumps to 1.5 kW. I think if we had such a monitor in our homes, we would be more aware of our consumption and our footprint.

OPTICSRE live display of the energy system

 

Heads to the wind

The another thing I discovered today was all the gulls were facing the same way because of the wind!  We went from light winds at 8:00 am to 41 knots with gust of 46 by early afternoon. Like me, if standing, they took a wider stance, arching and bracing for the gusts. I watched one trying to move travelling side-to-the-wind and being blown off a rock; most scuttle side-ways like crabs.

Bracing and ruffled in a gust of wind

A very interesting first day.

It is a privilege to be here.

 

 

Gulls, Gulls, and More Gulls

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If you told me 6 months ago that I would one day be interested birds I would have called you crazy. Yet here I am, going cross eyed as I flip through every bird book on the shelf trying to decipher which gull is which and how to identify their various life stages. 

It started this morning when I saw a brownish/grey bird I’d never seen before fly by. It had a stumpy looking neck/head and its wings seemed almost stiff as it flew (if that makes sense). I only managed to get one terrible photo of it through the window and I have spent the majority of the day consulting colleagues and books trying to figure out what it was. I’ve got it narrowed down to a few options and will post a photo of it once I am confident in its ID.

From there I sat on the rocks with my camera hoping it would show up again and in the meantime snapping photos of the gulls – who by the way are still not acting aggressive in any way when I pass their nests. I took a photo which I’ll post a below in which there seems to be multiple different gulls but I really started going down the rabbit hole when I was trying to determine if they were different species or just the same species at different ages. Thankfully one of my relatives is a bird expert and photographer and was able to help me with a few!

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **