Category Archives: Bird Notes

A Windy Census

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 20-25 knots West in the morning, picking up to 30-35 by noon.
  • Sky: overcast
  • Water: 3′ chop

DSC_6368

Ecological

  • I oversaw an enthusiastic day long census with Maya, Tazi, and Ali.
  • Discovered a new Black Oystercatcher nest with 3 eggs!
  • Maya and Tazi discovered a new Canada Goose nest.
  • I begin to suspect that our new elephant seal male is actually Chuckles.
  • If he did nothing but eat for 3 months straight, that would explain his girth.
  • Saw a Steller Sea Lion branded 9628.
  • We found a blood star, and Maya showed us various chitons.
  • Maya and Tazi did a transect.
  1. Harbour Seals: 190
  2. California Sea Lions: 42
  3. Steller/Northern Sea Lions: 39
  4. Elephant Seals: 15 (13 on Great Race, 2 in the Southern waters)
  5. Seagulls: 225 (Glaucous-winged)
  6. Pigeon Guillemots: 82
  7. Canada Geese: 36 (14 on Great Race, 22 flyovers)
  8. Black Oystercatchers: 8 (plus 2 nests with a total 5 eggs)
  9. Harlequin Ducks: 3 (2 male, 1 female)
  10. Cormorants: 3
  11. Barn Swallows: 2

Maintenance

  • We cleaned the solar panels.
  • Finished cleaning the boathouse floor with T.S.P.
  • Repainted some rusty propane tanks.
  • Sanded the westward facing bench by the Students’ house.

Boats

  • Several eco-tours came by in the morning, but as wind picked up they disappeared.

Arrival of the Students!

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 20-25 knots West
  • Sky: mostly cloudy
  • Water: 1′ chop

Ecological

  • 14 elephant seals on Great Race.
  • 1 on Middle Rock.
  • I saw 6 cormorants today. Higher than most census counts these days.

Maintenance

  • Cleaned some windows this morning.
  • Cleaned the solar panels.
  • The students did more window cleaning after they had settled in.

Boats

  • Kyle and Guy brought out Maya, Tazi, and Ali to stay at Race Rocks until the 30th.
  • About a dozen eco-tours came by today.

Visitors

  • Maya, Tazi, and Ali are now staying in the Students’ House.
  • They will be of much help in the chore and social departments.

A Fine Day

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 10-15 knots West
  • Sky: mix of sun and cloud
  • Water: 1′ chop

Ecological

  • 14 elephant seals on Great Race.
  • The e-seals “slept in” so to speak, before migrating down to the ramp for water play time.
  • Some of them continued their sparring back on the grass.
  • Noticed a few seagull fights.
  • In the evening an eagle was harrowing the seagulls.

Maintenance

  • More painting!
  • More weed whacking!
  • Set up the Student House for tomorrow’s incoming three!

Boats

  • Several eco-tours, though not as many as yesterday.
  • Most of them appeared to get too close to the sea lions near the derrick.
  • Also one pleasure craft that did the same.

 

Black Oystercatcher Nest!

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 25-30 knots West in the morning
  • The rest of the day 15 knots West.
  • Sky: overcast
  • Water: 2′ chop

Ecological

  • Finally discovered a Black Oystercatcher nest!
  • 2 eggs are inside the “nest”.
  • Their nests are made of rocks and shells.
  • Census day.
  • I don’t seem to see any Black Turnstones or Surfbirds anymore.
  • Also less Bald Eagles.
  • And the Otter has been gone for a while.
  1. Harbour Seals: 117
  2. Northern Sea Lions: 32
  3. California Sea Lions: 22 (one branded U 687)
  4. Elephant Seals: 20 (17 on Great Race, 3 on Middle Rock)
  5. Seagulls: 327
  6. Pigeon Guillemots: 114
  7. Canada Geese: 21 (14 resident geese, 7 stopovers)
  8. Black Oystercatchers: 10 (plus 2 eggs!)
  9. Harlequin Ducks: 8 (6 males, 2 females)
  10. Cormorants: 4
  11. Barn Swallows: 2
  12. Bald Eagle: 1 immature
  13. Savannah Sparrow: 1

Maintenance

  • Rust painting.
  • More thistle weed whacking.
  • You can cut them down like you’re the Queen of Hearts, but they grow back.
  • Cleaned the solar panels.

Boats

  • Four or so eco-tours came by today.

Milder Wind

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 15-20 knots West, later 30
  • Sky: mix of sun and cloud
  • Water: calm, later 2′ chop

Ecological

  • 16 elephant seals on Great Race.
  • Lots of empty seagull nests scattered about the rocks now.

Maintenance

  • Did some weed whacking.

Boats

  • At least 8 eco-tours today.
  • Fairer weather=more boats.
  • A few small pleasure craft as well.

A Visitor From Afar

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Weather

  • Visibility: 10-15 miles today. At times quite hazy.
  • Wind: 15-25 knots West
  • Sky: clear and sunny
  • Water: 1′ chop

Ecological

  • Conducted a census today.
  • Found a tiny dead harbour seal on the rocks.
  • A flock of geese arrived in the late afternoon.
  1. Harbour Seals: 91
  2. Northern Sea Lions: 35
  3. Elephant Seals: 22 (17 on Great Race, 5 on Middle Rock)
  4. California Sea Lions: 20
  5. Seagulls: 275
  6. Pigeon Guillemots: 130
  7. Canada Geese: 20! (although for much of the day only 10)
  8. Black Oystercatchers: 8
  9. Harlequin Ducks: 3 (2 females, 1 male)
  10. Cormorants: 2
  11. Bald Eagle: 1
  12. Rock Sandpiper: 1
  13. Unidentified large bird on Middle Rock; Owl?: 1

Maintenance

  • Removed lots of algae from the boat house.
  • (Re)discovered that the pressure washer does not work.

Boats

  • About 4 eco-tours came by today.
  • Chris dropped off and picked up my friend Greg O’.

Visitors

  • Greg O’, the tree scientist of Vernon, came by in the afternoon for a 3 hour visit!

Greg O come for a visit!

Other

  • A couple of big DND blasts in the afternoon.

SUP’ers and Census

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 0-5 knots South in the morning, 15 knots West in the evening
  • Sky: clear and sunny
  • Water: calm

Ecological

  • Conducted a census.
  • Surprised I didn’t see any Black Turnstones today.
  • Saw one Northern sea lion branded 524R.
  1. Northern Sea Lions: 93
  2. California Sea Lions: 59
  3. Elephant Seals: 20 (15 on Great Race. 5 on Middle Rock)
  4. Harbour Seals: 6
  5. Seagulls: 355
  6. Pigeon Guillemots: 101
  7. Canada Geese: 18
  8. Black Oystercatchers: 10
  9. Harlequin Ducks: 6 (5 male, 1 female)
  10. Cormorants: 4
  11. Bald Eagles: 4 (1 adult, 3 immature)
  12. Rock Sandpipers: 2
  13. Crow: 1

Maintenance

  • Cleaned more exterior windows.
  • More goose work.

Boats

  • 12 eco-tours today!
  • Some of them appeared to get too close to the sea lions.
  • Three uninvited SUP’ers (stand up paddle boarders) came by Great Race today.
  • After a short rest and a quick chat I sent them on their way again.

Other

  • Five DND blasts today.
  • Two medium blasts at 10:13 and 10:15.
  • One big blast at 10:17.
  • Two medium blasts at around 12:10.

Retrieval of the Lost Buoys!

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Weather

  • Visibility: 10 miles in the morning, 15 miles rest of the day
  • Wind: 10-15 knots West
  • Sky: overcast
  • Water: 1′ chop

Ecological

  • 15 elephant seals on Great Race today.
  • More Canada Geese on Great Race today.
  • Several fierce battles ensued between resident geese and new geese.

Maintenance

  • Cleaned some exterior windows on the student’s house.
  • Applied 30 second spray to part of the student’s house.
  • Scrubbed off the algae afterwards.
  • Goose work.

Boats

  • Kyle, his father, and Guy came out at 8:50 to drop off a weedeater and take a look at the old diesel transfer hose system.
  • On their return they pulled up the lost buoys!
  • 5 eco-tours came by today. Some of them seemed to be too close to the animals.
  • A fishing boat and a pleasure craft also seemed to be encroaching a bit.

Other

  • The lost buoys were retrieved today.
  • There was nothing significant attached to them.
  • 4 DND blasts today.
  • One huge blast at 11:01.
  • Three big blasts at 11:03, 12:17, and 2:34.

Windy Census Day

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15+ miles
  • Wind: 15-20 knots West in the morning, 25-30 after noon.
  • Sky: Sunny with clouds.
  • Water: 1′ chop
  • Expect the wind to keep it up for a while.

Ecological

  • Conducted a census today.
  • I suspect that the high winds have kept away certain species of birds, making today’s list less impressive.
  1. Harbour Seals: 91
  2. Northern Sea Lions: 47
  3. California Sea Lions: 27
  4. Elephant Seals: 19 (15 on Great Race, 4 on Middle Rock)
  5. Seagulls: 314
  6. Pigeon Guillemots: 108
  7. Surfbirds: 39
  8. Canada Geese: 18
  9. Black Turnstones: 14
  10. Black Oystercatchers: 10
  11. Rock Sandpipers: 3
  12. Bald Eagles: 3 (2 adult, 1 immature)
  13. Savannah Sparrows: 2
  14. Harlequin Ducks: 2 (1 male, 1 female)
  15. Cormorant: 1 (one seen on Turbine Rock)

Maintenance

  • Intended to spray algicide on various building walls, but too windy to ensure accuracy. Perhaps tomorrow if the wind dies down.
  • Started investigating the paint stock.
  • Some goose work.

Boats

  • No boats in the reserve today.

Cruise Ship and Sea Lions

Het Nieuw Amsterdam

Het Nieuw Amsterdam

Grey Day at Race Rocks

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 15-20 knots W, later 0-5 NE, then 20-25 NW
  • Water: 1′ chop
  • Sky: mostly cloudy, rain in the evening.

Ecological

  • 12 elephant seals on Great Race today.
  • 3 elephant seals on Middle Rock.
  • 8 sea lions on the rocks near the Derrick.
  • One of them appears to have some sort of plastic box/device attached to its back. I didn’t have the camera with me when I saw it, and when I left to grab the camera it fled into the water.
  • Several more bald eagles in the reserve than in previous days.
  • Discovered that one of the goose nests had been abandoned sometime between 20:20 and 22:00. Saw 6 shattered eggs laying strewn about the grass with no sign of the geese.

Comfy? Seagulls mating

Maintenance

  • Cleaned the solar panels.
  • Cleaned the camera lens. Not perfect, but better.
  • Ventured down to the jetty to run the fire pump, but there were too many elephant seals playing in the water or on the ramp.

Boats

  • Didn’t see any in the reserve today, which is odd for a weekend, but I guess the weather was a factor.
  • A few sailboats were out and about taking advantage of the wind.