Category Archives: Bird Notes

Several chicks have been blown into unfriendly territory

Posted on by
Thursday, August 08, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 15.9 C  Min. 10.8 C Reset 13.9 C
MARINE LIFE: The gull chicks are growing rapidly, a lot of wing flapping, unfortunately getting airbourne has it’s risks.Several chicks have been blown into unfriendly territory ie- a neighbouring nest, been attacked and have died. Most of the wounds were around the head and neck. The chicks still unable to fly in any organized way, run but in a panic just get farther from the safety of their nesting area. The adults treat a chick from a neighbouring nest as they would any other threat to the safety of their own young, they chase and peck at it and of course the squawking attracts other gulls and so there is the helpless chick set upon by 20 or so adult gulls. Fortunately most of the time the chick is able to get to neutral territory and by trial and error make it’s way back to the relative safety of it’s own nesting area.Six of the geese were back this morning, one of the adults was missing – we know the missing one is an adult because the five young are still making the ‘peeping’ sounds and do not show the ‘threat’ behavior of neck waving and hissing. Just before 20:00 they flew off towards Pedder Bay, wonder what happened to the ‘missing’ goose? There was another group of California sealions in the area last night just after 2 a.m. – sounded like a larger group, maybe 15 or so judging from the barking
which woke me up but this morning counted only 6 floating about in the kelp.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 23 Ecotour boats and 4 pleasure craft in the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:40 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast Vis. 10 Miles Wind West 21 Knots  Sea 2 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:52 AM

some young get very aggressive, pecking at the parent’s bill and face to be fed

Posted on by
Saturday, August 17, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 20.3 C  Min. 8.3 C  Reset 13.5C
MARINE LIFE: The young gulls are quite skilled now in their flying so there are few incidents of fights because of landing in other gull territory.Most seem to be feeding themselves although there are still some young that get very aggressive, pecking at the parent’s bill and face to be fed.The parents swing their heads, walk away and if the harassment continues fly away.Nice to see a healthy generation of young gulls this year about 120 fully fledged so far.
HUMAN INTERACTION:There were 25 Ecotour boats, 3 pleasure craft,the 3M boat,1 dive boat in the reserve and Second Nature made 2 trips today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:07 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Obscured  Vis 0 Miles Fog  Wind West 13 Knots Sea 1 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:21 AM
Friday, August 16, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 21.1 �C �� Min. 9.0 �C �� Reset 11.7 �C
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:17 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear �� 6 Miles Fog �� Wind North East 10 Knots �� Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:41 AM

problems with safe landings

Posted on by

Wednesday, August 14, 2002

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 20.0 C  Min. 11.1 C  Reset 14.5 C
MARINE LIFE: Most of the young gulls are flying now but still hesitant about landing in the water.They continue to have problems with safe landings but getting better, not so many fights today.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 27 Ecotour boats, 8 pleasure craft and Second Nature through the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:05 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear  Vis 15 Miles  Wind West 15 Knots  Sea 1 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:19 AM

practicing the art of landing

Posted on by
Tuesday, August 13, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 24.9 C  Min. 11.5 C  Reset 19.0 C
MARINE LIFE: The number of sea lions continues to increase,most seem to arrive in little groups during the night.This morning counted over 50 hauled out and several small groups floating about in the kelp. There were 6 Northern sea lions swimming along the south shore when the Orcas passed by just after 20:00.The whales were headed east after feeding near Beechey Head and surfaced only twice as they went through the reserve.The geese did not visit today, guess that is it for this year,miss them in a way but there are better places for geese! The young gulls are still spending a lot of time practicing the art of landing and there were a lot of close calls with several chicks getting quite a ‘roughing-up’ from some of the more aggressive adults.Saw 4 young with pecks on their heads that drew blood and some tail feathers pulled out. The adults fly out just off shore and call to the young but they are very reluctant to follow , so it gets quite noisy at times.One California sea lion hauled out for a couple of hours on the end of the dock, he had # 62 branded on his back.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 33 Ecotour boats and 9 pleasure craft through today, Hyaku did a tour through in the evening.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:33 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear �� Vis 15 Miles �� Wind East 7 Knots �� Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:15 AM

the sea lion shakes the fish back and forth at the water surface and the gulls rush over to pick up any bits that break awa

Posted on by

Saturday, August 10, 2002

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 19.0 C  Min. 9.9 C  Reset 11.5 C
MARINE LIFE: Middle rock is the favoured haul out spot for the 20 or so California sea lions now in the reserve, the fishing is good and have seen several good sized salmon caught. There is great activity as the sea lion shakes the fish back and forth at the water surface and the gulls rush over to pick up any bits that break away.Many of the gull chicks are able to fly but are still not following the adults out to sea to feed, they peck persistently at the adult’s bill hoping for food and do eventually get some but the push is on for them to learn how to feed themselves.There are fewer Pigeon Guillemots coming ashore everyday now and the Black Oyster Catchers are away for long periods of time.
HUMAN INTERACTION:There were 25 Ecotour boats, 1 pleasure craft and the Marine Mammal Monitor boat in the reserve today. The station boat made a return trip to Pedder Bay and a trip to the Campus in the afternoon to return Ryan back to civilization – Thank you Ryan!
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:31 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Partial Clouds  Vis. 10 Miles – North East To South 5 Miles Fog  Wind West 16 Knots  Sea 1 Foot Chop
posted by Ryan Murphy at 5:33 AM

here’s an idea: don’t give a tour in thick fog.

Posted on by
Friday, August 09, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 20.0 C Min. 10.5 C  Reset 16.2 C
MARINE LIFE: The Canadian Geese returned again today, still without the one adult. I first heard the one adult honking and then looked up to see the 6 geese near Mike and Carol’s home. Orcas may very well have gone by the reserve today, but with the fog followed by glare on the waves throughout the day, I could only see a lot of boat traffic.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 34 tour boats through the reserve today, many boats toured the reserve early today in the thick fog. With visibility severely limited, many pushed too close to the islands under current regulations. As well, with so many boats and so little visibility, some tight maneuvering on the part of some parties to get out of the way of others was needed… here’s an idea: don’t give a tour in thick fog. At a quarter to 4 one tour zodiac decided to disregard the no-wake regulation and sped past Great Race, an unfortunate incident not repeated by other tour boats today.
posted by Ryan Murphy at 7:19 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Partly Obscured Vis. 10 Miles – South East To West 1/2 Mile Fog  Wind West 23 Knots  Sea 3 Foot Moderate
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:29 AM

A solitary cormorant

Posted on by
Friday, July 26, 2002
July 26- This is Ryan back on Race for a quick sojourn. The wind was brisk today, and there was little activity in the reserve. Carol saw 1 mature bald eagle being harassed away from Great Race at dawn this morning by gulls and 2 Black Oyster Catchers. A nest near the assistant keeper’s house of Glaucous-winged gulls still has two eggs in it, and one gull sits on them from time to time. A solitary cormorant (perhaps a Brandt’s) was sitting on the south-west tip of the island during the evening.
The station boat was to Pedder Bay and back at 8 this morning, and Garry brought Second Nature out to drop Joanna Brown and me off on the island while we were all treated to a presentation by Fabien of ALEC electronics. Some pretty amazing gadgets if anyone would like to save money long term on various environmental tests. Mike and Carol left around 11 for two days.
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy Vis. 15 Miles Wind West 15 Knots  Sea 2 – 3 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:07 AM
Thursday, July 25, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 15.0 C  Min. 10.3 C  Reset 13.0 C
posted by Carol or Mike S at 8:27 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast  Vis. 10 Miles  Wind West 27 Knots  Sea 4 Foot Moderate With Low South West Swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:59 AM

fixed the fog horn

Posted on by
Wednesday, July 24, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 16.3 C  Min. 10.3 C Reset 12.3 C
MARINE LIFE:Well what a change in the weather, the fog and moderate westerlies is a nice relief from the heat.The Coast Guard came out in the sea truck with someone to fix the fog horn which failed last night – it was strange to be in the fog and no horn sounding! Well the geese spent the afternoon perfecting their landing skills, with the 25+ knt wind getting airborne was the easy part, we will miss them but in a way glad to see them spread their wings and move on to greener pastures.There are 6 harbour seals with pups that haul out each night, some on the boat ramp and others on various rocks on either side of the dock. The past couple of nights we can hear pups calling out for their mothers which are most likely out feeding, it’s a rather mournful sound but in most cases the pups are not left all that long.
HUMAN INTERACTION: The Coast Guard sea truck made 2 trips from Victoria to service the fog horn. There were 3 pleasure craft through the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:43 PM

Good MorningWEATHER: Sky Obscured  Vis 3 – 5 Miles Fog  Wind West 27 Knots Sea 4 Foot Moderate With Low South West Swell

posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:17 AM

as soon as the eagle is spotted the gulls start squawking and the chicks head for cover

Posted on by
Tuesday, July 23, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 25.1 C  Min. 11.3 C  Reset 13.3 C
MARINE LIFE: Wow it sure is hot, feel sorry for the birds, especially the gull chicks, they sit with beaks open and pant.They are getting too big now to get any shelter under an adults wing so they crowd into any rock crevice close by. The geese cool off several times during the day with a swim along the north shore and if the currants are not too strong they go half way around Gr. Race. Once this morning and again 3 times in the late afternoon a mature Bald Eagle tried to hunt the Race but the gulls drove it back each time – as soon as the eagle is spotted the gulls start squawking and the chicks head for cover, the adults all take to the air with a smaller group breaking off to dive at the eagle which they will do until another group takes a turn.With the eagle chased far enough away the gulls settle down and all is quiet until the next time.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 5 pleasure craft, 2 ecotour boats today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:03 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear  Vis. 15 Miles Wind West 5 Knots Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:25 AM

Another hot day with the birds panting and the chicks seeking any shade they can find

Posted on by

Monday, July 22, 2002

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 25.0 C  MIN. 10.9 C  Reset 23.1 C
MARINE LIFE: Another hot day with the birds panting and the chicks seeking any shade they can find be it under an adult or next to a rock. Not only do they get the heat from the sun above, the rocks they sit on heat up and retain that heat long into the night.Again no wind in the evening to cool things down. The geese spent most of the day following the shade around the buildings,also went swiming twice this afternoon. Still not flying but a lot of wing flapping in preparation, will be interesting to see that first try.The California sealion spent most of the day hauled out on the southeast rocks with quick dips in the sea every couple of hours and still hearing at least one elephant seal during the night down by the dock.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 13 ecotour boats and 9 pleasure craft through the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:06 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear  Vis. 15 Miles  Wind South East 3 Knots  Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:06 AM