Category Archives: Bird Notes

Westerly blows and Elephant seals huddle

Posted on by

Friday, December 14, 2001

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 8.9C — Min. 6.8C — Reset 6.8C — Rain 6.2 mm
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:12 PM

MARINE LIFE:the westerly continues to howl at 44-50 knots and the favoured spot on Gr.Race is the east Bay area.There are 250-300 gulls,beaks into the wind,along the ridges of the cliffs.The 26 Black Oyster Catchers prefer to huddle in twos and threes in the shelter of large bolders.There are 67 Northern Sea Lions and 26 California Sea Lions packed together like ‘pick-up’ sticks also along the east ridge.Closer to the water and in the lee of the house, two juvenile Elephant Seals are ‘cuddled’ together as if to keep warm.The Harbour Seals however seem to enjoy the surf and spend a lot of time diving into the 2-3 metre waves.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 4:23 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy Vis. 15 Miles — Wind 30 Gusting 45 Knots — Sea 6 Foot moderate with Moderate South West Swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 8:48 AM

Daily Gales

Posted on by
Monday, December 10, 2001
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 5.8C — Min. 4.7C — Reset 4.7C — Rain 7.2 mm
WEATHER: We are well into the winter weather pattern now although the winter solstice is another 11 days away.With the heavy dark clouds and almost daily gales the area is not too hospitable.The Sea Lions are always on the move hauling out in the lee as the wind changes direction.
MARINE LIFE: There are 35-40 Cormorants,mostly on the South East Rocks and 250 gulls on the East ridge of Gr.Race,another 300 or so gulls along the south and west shores. Other birds that we see every day are Black Turnstones.Starlings and crows.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:05 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast — Vis. 15 Miles — Wind North 13 Knots — Sea 3 Foot Moderate with Low South East Swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:24 AM

Eagle

Posted on by
Tuesday, November 27, 2001
Good evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 7.9ºC — Min. 5.0ºC — Reset 6.0ºC — Rain 0.4 mm
MARINE LIFE: 1 Mature bald Eagle arrived north Race Rocks 11:50 perched on the popular log – look out. where it stayed until 13:20, The Eagle then flew off towards Bentinck Island with out visiting any other areas of the M.P.A.
HUMAN INTERACTION: Prince of Whales tour boat 13:00 – 13:20 9 – 10 Passengers.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:14 PM
Good morning
WEATHER: Sky overcast — Vis. 15 miles — Wind north east 5 knots — Sea rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:25 AM

Harbour seal antics

Posted on by
Monday, November 26, 2001
Good evening
TEMPERATURE: Max 8.1ºC — 5.0ºC — Reset 7.1ºC — Rain 1.2 mm — total so far this month 122.1 mm rain
MARINE LIFE: A great day -a bonus really when you consider it is now the last week of November. The Sea Lions did what they do best on calm days-catch up on their sleep.Most of the Northern S.L’s hauled out on Middle Rock while the Californias preferred to raft about in the kelp beds East and South of Gr. Race. The 5 Harlequins were back in the east bay and spent the afternoon by the boat dock.2 Mature Bald Eagles arrived about 9:30,one took up position on the high point on West Race and the other maintained look-out on the log on North Rocks.They stayed about 45 minutes then flew off towards Whirl Bay. 4 Harbour Seals enjoyed what I can only describe as the quintessential log rolling competition in the kelp,east side of Gr.Race. 3 seals on the log,3 seals off the log! It was the 4th seal wanting on that log that kept me watching for 35 minutes and yes, that 4th seal finally succeeded,unfortunately success was short lived. The log was caught up in the tide between the South East Rks. and Gr. Race and just twirled too much for the seals to stay on it.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:23 PM
Good morning
WEATHER: Sky clouydy — Vis. 15 miles — Wind calm — Sea rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:29 AM

seagull prey

Posted on by
Tuesday, November 20, 2001
Good evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.0ºC — Min. 8.7ºC — Reset 9.3ºC — Rain 5.4 mm
MARINE LIFE:the wind abated somewhat this morning but the 1-2 metre swells were still coming in from the east and the Sea Lions favoured the relative calm of the kelp beds on the south side just below the engine room.Through out the day there were several large groups rafting in that area until approximately 15:30 when the wind increased to 30knts.and the swells to 3-4 metres.5 Bald Eagles(3 mature) visited today but stayed only 21/2 hours.One adult gull was caught and eaten(by one of the mature eagles) just in front of the learning centre.One of the juvenile Eagles looked very thin and shaggy.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:16 PM
Good morning
WEATHER: Sky overcast with occasional brake — Vis. 15 mile — Wind south east 12 knots — Sea 1 foot chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:26 AM

Eagle predation

Posted on by
Thursday, November 15, 2001
Good evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 12.1ºC — Min. 9.1ºC — Reset 9.3ºC — Rain 8.2
MARINE LIFE:Just after 9:00 this morning a mature Bald Eagle entered the M.P.A.,it’s arrival ‘announced’ by a mass ‘lift-off’ of the 500+ gulls and cormorants.The 22 Black Oyster Catchers also took flight ‘sounding’off with their characteristic shrill whistling,also alerted were the ever present Starlings,Crows and Black Turnstones that scurried among the rocks to be as inconspicuous as possible.The Eagle took up it’s ‘post’ on the rocky ridge along the east shore of Gr. Race and things were quiet until about 9:40 when he took off and was immediately joined by 250-300 gulls.In a dive among the circling gulls the Eagle ‘took’ an immature gull landed on the ridge,spent 15minutes feeding then left the carcass to eager Crows.The Eagle flew to the high point on the SE rocks and sat there until about 11:30 when he again took flight-one circle around the shore of Gr. Race with the gulls in pursuit the Eagle swooped down over the rocks in front of the Learning Centre. When he came back into view there was an immature gull hanging from his talons.The gulls continued to circle the Eagle harrassing it to the point where instead of setting down it flew about 100 metres out over the water where it lost hold of the gull. The Eagle made 4 attempts to retrieve the gull caught up in the tide and moving quite rapidly eastward. The 5th and as it turned out final attempt at reclaiming it’s prey was only partly successful. The eagle did manage to grab hold onto the wing but could not maintain it’s grip and the gull dropped again into the choppy water. I don’t know if the Eagle gave up because of fatigue or the constant interference by the gulls,maybe a combination of the two,but he flew off towards Bentinck Island.A lot of energy expended in the search for food,quite a contrast to the leisurely stroll down the well stocked aisle of the corner grocery store most of us take for granted! The small east bay was popular again today as a haul-out area,by nightfall 57 California and 13 Northern, very noisy Sea Lions were gathered together no more than 6 metres from the house.Might have to resort to earplugs tonight,at the very least will have to sleep with the window closed.One California Sea Lion has the number 768 branded on his rump-an indication he must have made a nuisance of himself, possibly near a fish ladder.
HUMAN INTERACTION:1 Tour boat through M.P.A. at 16:40
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:09 PM
Good morning
WEATHER: Sky overcast — Vis 15 miles — Wind north 9 knots Sea rippled low east swell –occasional rain shower
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:19 AM

Seabirds feeding in large numbers

Posted on by

Tuesday, November 13, 2001
Good evening

Max. 10.5ºC — Min. 8.3ºC — Reset 9.4ºC — Rain 7.6 mm
WEATHER:The day started off fairly calm but by 14:00 there were 3-4metre swells pounding the eastern shore-this sea condition due to the 40-45knot winds from the weather system 15kms to the east.Our wind never rose above E 22 and then it lasted only 30minutes.
MARINE LIFE: 1500-1800 sea birds,mostly gulls and cormorants,spent the morning feeding in the large kelp bed on the east side of Gr.Race but when the large swells started rolling in and breaking, most came ashore and settled along the ridges on the south side.The 2 Northern,13 California and 3 Northern Elephant Seals hauled out in the small east bay went into the water after 15 minutes or so of rollers breaking over them. Maybe the 35-40 Harbour Seals that frequent this small area will ‘reclaim’ their their spot!
The Sea Lions and Seals do often share haul-out areas but since it is a very small bay I think the smaller seals feel intimidated as the number of Sea Lions gets past 4 or 5.Several years ago one of the Harbour Seals was crushed to death when 30 or so Sea Lions ‘stampeded’ into the water because of a boat passing too close to shore.
An immature Bald Eagle caught an immature gull in the SE rocks area a little after 11:00, spent 15-20 minutes eating and putting the run on 7 crows trying to share in it’s good fortune. Finished eating, the eagle circled the island once then headed towards Whirl Bay.
As the swells roll through the kelp beds much of it is breaking away and floating by in big clumps-a sure sign of winter on it’s way!
HUMAN INTERACTIONS: U.Vic Lifetimer boat with students again today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:21 PM
Good morning
Sky overcast — Vis. 12 miles — Light rain showers — Wind north 13 knots — Sea 1’chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:35 AM

Harlequin Ducks return

Posted on by

Wednesday, November 07, 2001

MARINE LIFE: Over 150 Northern Sea Lions were on Middle Rocks in the mid afternoon, another 15 on North Rocks. Harbour seals are scattered in several little pockets an various islands usually no more than 8 in one area. Many of the Californian Sea Lions have moved to the rocky beach just South of the Tower. I also saw for the first time this fall, the flock of 20 Black Oyster Catchers high on the Rocky shore, to the sw of the engine room.
posted by Garry Fletcher at 9:53 PM
WEATHER: The day was part cloudy and windy with max. temp of 9.3 ºC and min. temp. of 7.1 ºC .
MARINE LIFE: Five Harlequin Ducks have arrived back for the winter. We were filming them as they patrolled through the kelp beds around the edge of Great Race Rocks.
PC STUDENTS: Our fourth day at Race Rocks has just ended. Today, we managed to finish off refilling the oil tanks and this should take us until April. Garry came over to deliver the G3 Powerbook for a webcast later this evening.
HUMAN INTERACTION: One boat with eight people passed by Race Rocks.
posted by Michael Kiprop at 6:43 PM

Seabird feeding frenzy

Posted on by
Thursday, November 01, 2001
WEATHER: We had calm seas for most of the day although the wind has increased to over 24knts in the past 1/2 hour.
MARINE LIFE: Fishing was good for the birds and sea lions today! Just after 10a.m. the sky was filled with hundreds and hundreds of sea birds,gulls,cormorants and common murres streaming across the islands southward to a tideline about 1/2 km. away.Looking with the telescope I estimated 3500-4000 sea birds feeding—-by 13:30 most had dispersed. In a space of three hours we saw 5 Steller(northern)sea lions catch salmon (-that looked to be 5-8lbs) in the kelp bed between North Rocks and Gr. Race. The birds,especially gulls rush over to get any bits of fish that break away as the sea lion thrashes the fish back and forth at the surface.The two juvenile elephant seals that were hauled out in the little bay with a group of about 20 harbour seals, swam out into the large kelp bed along the east side of Gr. Race just before 14:00 and had not returned before dark.Have not seen the large bull elephant seal that spends a good portion of the year stretched out atop West Rock.Did a boat tour around all the islands today and counted 97 California and 27 Steller sea lions. Also counted over 800 Cormorants.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 10:03 PM
Good evening
Max. 10.0ºC — Min. 8.1ºC — Reset 9.7ºC — Rain 1.6 mm
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:04 PM
Good morning
Sky overcast — Vis. 13 miles — Rain showers — Wind north east 5 knots Sea rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:12 AM

Herring Balls in Race Passage.

Posted on by
Thursday, September 27, 2001

We enjoyed a fairly typical fall day weather-wise here at Race Rocks today.
Temperatures max 12.0 C — min 9.1 C — reset 11.3 C — Total rain fall for the day 0.4 mm.
Returning from a noon meeting on campus we did a boat tour around all the islets – we counted
280 Northern or Steller sea lions – 295 Californian sea lions and 220 Harbour seals hauled out on the rocks. We also counted approx. 80 Cormorants. Earlier in the day we saw 2 ‘ fish balls’ with several hundred sea birds feeding just east of Great Race.