Category Archives: Bird Notes

2 new female Elephant Seals

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Weather

Wind:at 8:00 12km/h North East

Sea : calm,no waves

Visibility :over 15 miles

Ecological

At low tide I discovered 3 couples of oystercatchers. Many hunting and watching eagles around ,some very big and immature ones. At night the big male Elephant Seal and one of the female came closed to the house ,lying against each other and she was complaining at times.

christmas bird count and census

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Birds:

  • Turnstone: 12
  • Dunlin: 4
  • Bald Eagle: 13
  • Raven: 2
  • Harlequin Duck: 22

     

  • Black Oyster Catcher: 13

 

  • Cormorant (pelagic and double crested): 57
  • Gull: 67

Pinnipeds:

  • California Sea Lion: 106
  • Northern Sea Lion: 94
  • Elephant Seal: 2 male, 1 female green flipper tag c-586
  • Harbour Seal: 10 (probably more, West Rock)

 

 

boston whaler

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I went off station in the morning and returned around 1500 hrs.

Weather: Light wind, calm sea.

Ecological: 

  • I noticed Pigeon Guillemots for the first time this month.  Surf Scoters also present, second sighting of them here this month (see photo).

    Maintenance:

  • picked up supplies from shorefront: shovel, replacement boat dolly rollers, and HP pump oil.
  • picked up whaler from mechanic at Pedder Bay Marina, new steering cable/helm installed and fuel filter replaced. New steering cable is a great improvement, especially for getting in and out of the jetty.
  • drained muddy, stagnant, nasty pool of water that had formed near assist house, suspecting it might be related to backed up drainage problem.

Census

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Weather: 10 knot N wind

Ecological:

  • Due to cold temperature and frozen ground/puddles birds that scavenge in the mud (turnstones) and depend on fresh water (geese) have been absent lately.  Today temperature is above freezing and ground is mostly thawed.
  •  Census:
    • Peregrine Falcon: 1
    • Harlequin ducks: 8
    • Bald Eagles: 7
    • Cormorants: 82 (see photos, poor lighting for distinguishing pelagic vs double crested)
    • California sea lion: 84
    • Northern sea lion: 33
    • Black Turnstone: 1
    • Sparrow: 1
    • Elephant Seals: 2 females and 1 male (Chunk) on West Rock, 1 male on Great Race
    • Gulls: see photos (Gulls NE and Gulls West Rock)
    • harbour seals: 25

Boats:

  • 1 dive boat
  • 2 sailboats passed by the outside of the reserve

Maintenance:

  • replaced in line water filter in basement of keepers house
  • continued clean up in basement, built firewood storage rack for better circulation.

Last Full Day of the Shift

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 15-20 knots W, later 10 knots E, then 20 knots N
  • Sky: sunny in the morning, cloudy in the afternoon
  • Water: calm
  • Too cloudy to see the large moon tonight.

Ecological

  • 3 elephant seals on Great Race.
  • The little female did not return with the others.
  • I observed two armadas of cormorants in the afternoon.
  • Then they all flew away!
  • Also one young seagull is wandering around with a broken wing.
  • I think it is the same gull that I saw a couple of weeks ago.

Maintenance

  • Added one 55 gallon barrel of diesel to the tidy tank.
  • Finished hauling the various unused pieces of the electric fence back to the tank shed.
  • Stacked some firewood.
  • Cleaned the house for Guy.
  • Published the July, August, September, and October seawater data sheets on the website.

Boats

  • One boat appeared to be inspecting the Rosedale Rock buoy.
  • Two eco-tours came by.

Other

  • This is my last log post out at Race Rocks, until next time.
  • Hopefully I will be back out here in the springtime!
  • Signing off now. Good luck Guy (and Alex)!

photo-on-2016-11-14-at-7-49-pm

Rainy Day

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Weather

  • Visibility: 10 miles
  • Wind: 5-15 knots N/NE
  • Sky: overcast with showers
  • Water: calm

Ecological

  • 4 elephant seals on Great Race.
  • They all headed down to the water in the late afternoon.
  • Saw a pair of killdeer in the nocturnal hours.

sleeping-e-seals-13-11

activate-e-seals-13-11

Maintenance

  • Added some diesel to the tidy tank.
  • The usual chores.
  • Started preparing for my Tuesday departure.

Boats

  • Did not see any boats.

Gale Force Winds and Peregrine Falcon

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Weather

  • Visibility: 10 miles
  • Wind: 0-5 knots NW in the morning
  • By 11:10 up to 25 knots West
  • By 11:25 33 knots, 11:55 40 knots West
  • Post 12:00 steady at 30-35 knots West
  • Late afternoon into darkness 15-20 knots West
  • Sky: mix of sun and cloud
  • Water: 2′ chop

Ecological

  • 4 elephant seals on Great Race.
  • They were very playful today.
  • Pam Birley spotted a Peregrine falcon with the webcam!
  • She took these 4 photos for us!

Maintenance

  • Back flushed the desalinator.
  • Ran the desalinator.
  • Uploaded June Seawater data to the website.

Boats

  • Did not see any boats in the reserve.

Military Blasting

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 0-10 knots NW
  • Sky: mix of blue and clouds
  • Water: calm

evening-appoaches-11

Ecological

  • A gaggle of 19 Canada Geese arrived on Great Race today.
  • The birds and sea lions weren’t too pleased with all the DND blasting.

Maintenance

  • The usual chores.
  • Took some ash out of the wood stove.

Boats

  • Kyle came by in Second Nature to pick up Natasha.
  • A couple of eco-tours came by.

Visitors

  • Natasha left today.

tasha-says-goodbye-8-11

Other

  • Lots of DND blasting today.
  • Small, medium, and large blasts.
  • 10:59, 11:16, 11:18, 12:01, 12:04, 12:51, 1:07.

boom-8-11

Various Boats

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 5-10 NE
  • Sky: clear
  • Water: calm
  • The fog horn went off from at least 4am-7am.

Ecological

  • Saw a great blue heron fly over the reserve around 11.
  • Was unable to get a photograph though.
  • 6 elephant seals on Great Race.

Maintenance

  • Added most of a diesel barrel to the tidy tank.
  • Ran the desalinator in the evening.
  • The usual chores.

Boats

  • Several eco-tours came by today.
  • A sailboat glided peacefully through middle channel.
  • One pleasure craft was observed travelling at a speed which was likely over the limit.
  • A rather peculiar looking craft spent much of the daylight hours near North Rock.