Category Archives: Bird Notes

April 12

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As the sun set, the wind shifted around to south-southeast after blowing about 10 knots  from a westerly direction most of the day. The snow line across the Strait is very low and the chill in the air continues. Although there was some sunshine today producing a high solar radiation reading of 1,000 watts/m2, there was also a lot of cloud. The barometer reached a high of 1020 hPa mid-day and then began to fall. The forecast is for southeast showers switching back to westerlies tomorrow afternoon.

Only one tour boat was observed in the Ecological Reserve today and although there were dozens of sports-fishing boats all around the reserve none were observed inside.

American Pipits have been spotted bobbing and flitting around Great Race and there is a photo below as evidence. Thanks go out to Rocky Point Bird Observatory for the identification confirmation.

American Pipits have been busy feeding on insects on the ground at Great Race.

American Pipits  busy feeding on insects on the ground at Great Race.

Six Northern Elephant Seals came ashore at first light and spent the whole day sleeping in the garden. One was a tagged, with a pale green tag #5850. This same individual had two tags when I first saw it last fall, October 14.

Goose exclusion cage keeps seals from flattening all the grass. Cage may be flattened too.

Goose exclusion cage keeps seals from flattening all the grass. Cage may be flattened too.

Northern Elephant Seal tagged at Ano Nuevo as a weaner in 2012.

Northern Elephant Seal tagged at Ano Nuevo as a weaner in 2012.

 

The Canada Geese are in over-drive right now and uber-territorial. One pair tried again to take up residence in the entrance way to the de-salinator room which is just not going to work.

Canada Geese defending the entrance to the de-salinator.

Canada Geese defending the entrance to the de-salinator.

The Glaucous-winged Gulls are engaging in more definite pairing behaviours and also becoming more territorial. Many are nest building, pulling out chunks of grass turf for padding. Black Oystercatchers are looking broody too and I observed Black Oystercatchers eating limpets today.

 

There were no visitors today.

 

Dramatic Weather

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Strong west-southwest winds blew all day with a continuous cycle of showers and dramatic clouds scudding through. Wind velocities ranged from 10 to over 30 knots, up the tower. A low snowline could be seen in the Olympic Mountains from time to time and the air was chilly. The barometer has been climbing steadily since last night and the forecast is for more of the same with a risk of thunderstorms.

No tour boats or fishers were observed in the Ecological Reserve and Rockfish Conservation Area today.

A Sea Otter was spotted in the main channel in front of the eco-guardians’ house again today. As the tide turned, it swam over to Turbine Rock and on arrival was surrounded by six or seven small Harbour Seals. The adult seals remained uninterested, asleep on the rock. Through the spotting scope, it looked like interspecies play with lots of exaggerated diving and washing up onto the rock and back out. This is one of the first times I have looked at a sea otter for any length of time when it was not eating, grooming or sleeping.

Sleepy head.

Sleepy head Mirounga angustirostrus.

Three Northern Elephant Seals moved right up onto Great Race today. When I did the water sample at six there was one individual lolling around by the jetty. I looked up mid-morning and three of them were doing the wave along the walkway. One stopped at the intersection, one went back closer to the boat shed and the third went right around the science house onto the rocks on the west side.  None of these individuals were tagged. Once settled, they slept soundly for the rest of the day.

Rear view of Norther Elephant Seal. You can see why they are unable to rotate those flippers forward to support their weight.

Rear view of Norther Elephant Seal. You can see why they are unable to rotate those flippers forward to support their weight.

Most of the Canada Geese are sitting on eggs already and the ganders are fearless defenders. I am trying to discourage one insistent pair of geese that haven’t laid yet (I think) from nesting right beside the path to the Energy Building but it seems to be a losing battle.  The area near the stone burial cairns has been seriously overgrazed by the geese and the earth around the biggest one is eroding around the edges. In that area the goose exclusion cages show up a large difference between grazed and un-grazed (caged). In other areas where crab-grass dominates there is little difference inside and out of the cages.

There were no visitors today.

Benchmark

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Resurrected with found and modified pieces, this old bench graces the front of the science house now with a broad panorama for sunset viewing.

Resurrected with found and modified pieces, this old bench graces the front of the science house now with a broad panorama for sunset viewing.

Dawn broke in reds and pinks heralding another glorious day. Early on there were feeble zephyrs from the southwest and east but the most obvious wind tell-tale on Race Rocks, the Canadian flag, hung limply most of the morning. Westerly breezes started in the early afternoon and developed into moderate breezes, late afternoon with gusts to 23 knots. The strong wind warning forecast is downgraded now to 15 to 20 knots westerly, overnight in the central Straits of Juan de Fuca and it is already dropping, as the sun sets.

No tour boats were observed in the Ecological Reserve although one hardtop sport-fishing boat cruised past the sea lions at a respectful distance and speed.

In the water new Bull Kelp are growing quickly, shooting to the surface buoyed by their float and photosynthesizing faster than any land plant.

Bull kelp, Nereocystis luetkeaena is growing fast now.

Bull kelp, Nereocystis luetkeaena is growing fast now.

A Northern Elephant Seal visited the marine railway for a snooze on the falling tide this morning. It was a perfectly symmetrical ellipsoid. From the light tower another 16 elephant seals could be seen on Middle Rock. Two more in the shallows of Middle Rock, looked so much like smooth rocks draped in seaweed, that they had me fooled for a while. That makes 19 in total, a high count for me so far.

There have also been a lot of Bald Eagles present with a total of twelve individuals today. I have been trying to figure out what they are eating and have seen them chasing both gulls and geese.

 

Five of the twelve Bald Eagles on site today.

Five of the twelve Bald Eagles on site today.

GwGumort

I have also seen some casualties, including three gull carcasses but they do not have the look of eagle food. The one in the photo above is completely pristine even after several days, with no trace of blood or predation.

Adult Bald Eagle feeding on fresh meat.

Adult Bald Eagle feeding on fresh meat.

This evening the eagles caught and ate something but I could not tell what it was, there were no feathers at the site where they were dining but it may have been turned inside out (skinned). Four adults and two sub-adults fed off the one carcass.

Glaucous-winged gulls in their fine new feathers, are guarding their nesting territories but have not started nesting yet.

Glaucous-winged gulls in their fine new feathers, are guarding their nesting territories but have not started nesting yet.

Alex continues to be my only visitor and we had a belated Easter dinner, highlighting delicious, fresh halibut. I wonder when the last time was, this kitchen had freshly jigged halibut? Alex resurrected a bench that was both broken and had missing parts. It now sits in front of the Science House with a view out to sea and east up the Strait.

The phone and Internet went off again last night and I didn’t realize it until late. The problem was different this time and required a UPS reset in the tower this morning. I am getting quite adept at restarting the weather system now and we also tried (again) to fix the wind direction indicator on the system. I had success getting the underwater camera going again but it really needs a good scrub. The desalinator filled up the water tank again, running on sunlight through the solar panels. I cleaned up the visitor sign-in cabinet a little and put in some fresh pamphlets about how the public can support Race Rocks through Pearson College.

Note this blog posted next day due to yet another failure of phone/Internet last night due to UPS overload in tower.

It is all in the branding

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The weather was chilly today but bright, with breezes from the east and west and a few points in between. As the sun sets, brilliant pinks and orange light up the bottom of purple clouds and the wind has picked up to 10 knots from the west. The barometer started a slow climb for the first time since Thursday and the forecast is for a warmer, sunnier day tomorrow.

There were some very persistent sports fishers jigging in the Rockfish Conservation Area today: five men in a fibreglass run-about with an old engine and a kicker.

No tour boats were sighted today.

Another three branded sea lions, two Northern and one Californian were spotted today but only one photograph was good enough to be unequivocal – a Northern (or Steller’s) Sea lion #975R born at Rogue Reef, off southern Oregon in 2011.

Another Steller's Sea Lion branded as a pup in southern Oregon.

Another Steller’s Sea Lion branded as a pup in southern Oregon.

The California Sea Lion being used as a head rest by the Steller's has a brand on the left side but only the tops of numbers are visible.

The California Sea Lion being used as a head rest by the Steller’s has a brand on the left side but only the tops of numbers are visible. Maybe 3427 but I will get back to you on that one.

Ubiquitous Canada Geese - photogenic, but a bit hard on the vegetation and other island inhabitants.

Ubiquitous Canada Geese – photogenic, but a bit hard on the vegetation and other island inhabitants.

Chris in Second Nature, picked up the student group, which was here for the long weekend, just before noon today. It was a treat to have them here as visitors and they even managed to have fun helping with some of the chores. I was a little taken aback by the obvious increase in energy consumption while they were here though, and had to run the generator twice today to keep the batteries up, even though it was fairly sunny all day. Part of that may have been me staying up late to do the blog last night. After I discovered that the genny needed to be run a second time, I went over and turned off several breakers in the science house.

April 4th – Full Moon and Blood Moon

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The weather was much more subdued today with light winds and a morning switch in direction to the east, northeast and then back to westerlies at sunset. The sky was partially overcast but more sunny than cloudy with only the slightest of showers. The barometer continued its very slow and not very steady, decline that began on Thursday. The forecast is for more of the same. Today’s full moon was in total eclipse early this morning and although I was up at 5:00 AM, I did not see it, maybe that is because it was totally eclipsed ; – )?

Only two tour boats were noted within the Ecological Reserve today and they both kept their speed down and seemed to be very respectful of the wildlife. There was no fishing activity noted inside the Conservation Area.  A couple of Kayakers were paddling in the Ecological Reserve today and they were very close to the sea lions. They managed to make it past them without any disturbance, but the sea lions woke up after the kayakers passed. They were only concerned enough to do some neck craning and alert behaviour before falling back asleep.

Paddler passes close by sleeping sea lions.

Paddler passes close by sleeping sea lions.

The two kayaks regroup after getting by the sea lions on South Islands.

The two kayaks regroup after getting by the sea lions on South Islands.

Sea lions wake up and smell the kayakers. Looking alert but not too disturbed.

Sea lions wake up and smell the kayakers. Looking alert but not too disturbed.

Ecologically things were very much like the previous two days, the gulls are slowly becoming a little more territorial and parental looking. I saw two holding nesting material in their bills today and several pairs were doing a synchronous bill down dance that might demonstrate to the other how beautifully they will be able to regurgitate into any chicks they might produce together. I also witnessed some nasty bill holding that drew blood and descended into an outright wrestling match. I was not sure if these gulls were territorial competitors or mates but they were determined to not let go of each other. Gulls are supposed to mate for life so it makes me wonder, when I see the same gulls sitting poignantly all alone, on their spots, day after day. Is their mate missing in action or just late?

The Canada Geese are very broody and in some places are running the gulls off. Some geese are already incubating four to eight eggs per clutch.  I guess the crows know this and there is often a small murder of crows strutting around the nesting areas and also being chased off by the geese.

The Bald Eagles are here all day everyday right now and I watched one adult chase off another so there must be something good to eat. Is it gulls? The chase was quite spectacular with climbs and dives and at one point, upside-down flying in self defence. The defeated intruder headed over to Bentick Island.

It wasn’t sunny enough today to just go with solar power and I had to run the generator for a couple of hours in spite of having no extra draw on energy. I know the day is coming when there will be enough sunshine to go through a whole day, entirely on solar power.

Thirteen visitors came to the island today. Chris brought out a group of eight students and his son accompanied him with a school friend. Alex was deckhand again and brought his father who was visiting, along for the brief version of the Race Rocks tour. Alex’s Dad likes using the Race Rocks video cameras, so one more reason that I need to figure out how to get cameras #2 and #5, back up and running. The students will go back mid-day on Monday and are already earning their keep.

Chores were a mix of entropy fighting of  today. It was really nice to know that there is lots of water in the midst of churning compost and the usual tasks. I am still tidying up wood and very grateful to Alex and Virginie for all the firewood and lovely kindling. I also want to thank Nick for leaving the house so spick and span, very nice.

Branded Sea Lion Back

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Today the weather was like a sandwich, with winter as the bread and spring in the middle. The wind did not relent all day, blowing north by northwest in the morning, with more of a southwest spin, peaking in the afternoon. Now as the sun sets, the wind is easing a little and dramatic rain showers sweep out of the bottom of clouds to the west. The barometer bottomed out late morning and is tentatively climbing now. Tons of new snow on the Olympic Mountains, gives them a magnificent look and brings a chill to the air here only 15 kilometres across the Strait.

I only noted one whale watching boat today but may have missed some while working out of view. Most of the tour boats stop by on the south side to see sea lions hauled out and sleeping in the water there. The photo below was taken a few days ago when the weather was kinder and the animals in the water had just awoken with a start. There were no sports fishers observed in the Ecological Reserve today.

"Whale watchers" and sea lions that just woke up.

“Whale watchers” and sea lions that just woke up.

The first thing I noticed this morning was that there were a lot more sea lions hauled out than yesterday (census day). I scanned them with binoculars and noticed right away there was a branded Steller’s or Northern Sea Lion. Even before coffee, which is something for me, I was outside taking photographs. Although the image quality isn’t great due to the distance, it is good enough to match to an individual that was here on September 10, 2014 during my first shift.

 

A branded sea lion interacting with haul-out mates on South Seal Islands.

A branded sea lion interacting with haul-out mates on South Seal Islands.

 

This male 533R was branded as a pup in July, 2007 on Rogue Reef. His daytime activity here is practically nil. He lifts his head once and a while to interact with his closely packed neighbours, otherwise he sleeps all day. I wonder if he is full of herring? I also wonder if they forage at night right now?

Sealions hauled out on the south islet. 533R is in the middle of the back row.

Sealions hauled out on the south islet. 533R is in the middle of the back row.

Glaucous-winged Gulls seem to sit tight during the day now too. I guess they are establishing nesting territories and resting up for parental duties. They all lift off when a Bald Eagle passes over or a Peregrine Falcon swoops around the island but soon settle back in place waiting patiently.

There are many more Pigeon Guillemots in the Ecological Reserve now than can nest here and they seem to like to forage in fairly large groups, right in the rips and standing waves of the big currents. I would like to see one underwater, using their little alcid wings to fly through the water while steering with their wildly red feet.

Eleven visitors graced the island with their presence today and it was good to interact with people again. Michael who is on the Pearson College board and his family came out with Chris and Alex for a tour. Alex, a student at Pearson College was deckhand and tour guide and did an excellent job of both. Chris solved my water woes by simply turning on a valve that I hadn’t managed to get open.

Chores today included unsuccessful trouble-shooting on cameras #2 and #5, disassembling a bunk bed (probably much easier with two people), and moving the bed frame to the foreshore for pick-up. Seawater sampling, fresh water production and electrical generation, balanced out with more wood clean-up and walkway sweeping. The best thing, was putting up a fresh, new Canadian flag to replace the winter worn one that was fraying badly in the wind.

Thursday is Census Day at Race Rocks

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The weather was fine today with sunshine from dawn until about four o’clock. Winds were very light and the direction shifted around west, from northwest to southwest. As the barometers drops, rain is forecasted, southeast winds and then improving with only scattered showers by tomorrow afternoon.

The fine weather brought two small sports fishing boats into the Ecological Reserve today, both fishing and speeding inside the Ecological Reserve boundary.  My guess is that neither of them were aware of the Eco-Reserve and its protection from speeding and jigging.

There were three, whale watching boats in Reserve today and several others that passed outside of the boundaries. One of the attractions for the whale watchers were Biggs’ Killer Whales, also known as transients. The ‘T”s as they are known to the tour operators were travelling from west to east when I saw them and they passed very close to the seal haul-out on North Rocks before I lost them to view. It looked like four individuals. I saw a single, adult male Killer Whale two days ago, it was just a one-off sighting and I didn’t spot it again in spite of watching for quite a while. That one was also probably also a Biggs, just from the behaviour.

Today was Mega-fauna census day and here are the results.

Bigg’s (Transient) Killer Whales 4

Northern Elephant Seals 12

Harbour Seals 117

California Sea lions 69

Northern Sea lions 21

Canada Geese 24

Harlequin Ducks 9

Pelagic Cormorants 18

Double Crested Cormorants 15

Brandt’s Cormorants 12 (Flying through.)

Great Blue Heron 1

Bald Eagle 2 adults, 3 sub-adults

Killdeer 2 (at least two, difficult to count in the dark)

Black Oystercatchers 10

Black Turnstones 22

Surfbirds 37

Rock Sandpipers 7

Dunlin 11

Pigeon Guillemots 241 (Not a complete count. Had planned to quickly move over and do a north count but unable to count other side due to disruption with speeding boat and subsequent mass pandemonium and movement of birds everywhere.)

Glaucous-winged Gulls 365

Herring Gulls (present earlier in week)

California Gulls (present earlier in week)

Ring-Billed Gulls (present earlier in week)

Peregrine Falcon 1

Northwestern Crow 2

Common Raven 1

The Back Turnstone was one of the many species of shorebirds shown in yesterday's mystery photo. Easy to distinguish from Surfbird when they are side by side.

The Back Turnstone was one of the many species of shorebirds shown in yesterday’s mystery photo. Easy to distinguish from Surfbird when they are side by side.

Male Harlequin Duck sitting on rockweed in the inter-tidal.

Male Harlequin Duck sitting on rockweed in the inter-tidal.

What a difference between drake and hen. These 'white water' birds nest in the mountains by rushing streams and rivers.

What a difference between drake and hen. These ‘white water’ birds nest in the mountains by rushing streams and rivers.

It was a busy day with lots accomplished. I managed to get the weather station back up and connected to the Internet, thanks to good instructions. I have been on a bit of a wild goose chase, mapping out the nest locations of the Canada Geese. I troubleshot water loss problem (to no avail) and ran both the desalinator and generator. Sweeping the walkways and tidying up wood is ongoing. The census took quite a while and was totally enjoyable. This is such a special place, a real biodiversity hotspot especially underwater. What we see on the surface is like the tip of the biodiversity iceberg or the biomass (food) pyramid. All that biological activity can traced right back to plankton and sunshine that drives it. Sunshine made most of the fresh water today, thanks to the solar panels and desalinator.

Blustery Spring Weather

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When you live on a small coastal islet, mysterious things happen with Internet and phone connections from time to time. Both crashed here last night so this blog is a combination of the two days. The weather has been typical of early spring weather in coastal British Columbia. Winds have generally been about 10 to 20 knots, swinging around from west to northwest and back again. Spectacular stacks of clouds keep rolling down the Strait from open ocean and the heavy showers visible in the surrounding hills would inspire any watercolour painter. Race Rocks itself seems to be in a drier micro-climate most of the time with showers all around – the centre of the donut. Dramatic skies continued right into sunset tonight with beautiful pinks and oranges framed by sweeping, purple and gray-blue clouds. The forecast for tomorrow looks even brighter.

South across the Strait, there was fresh snow, low in the Elwha Valley this morning and you could feel that cold nip in the air: perfect weather for sea going salmon smolts and just what the herring often spawn in. Speaking of weather, the weather station appears to have crashed so I will trouble-shoot that in the morning.

Eleven Northern Elephant Seals were hauled out on Middle Rock yesterday and one checked out the jetty ramp this morning.

Eleven Northern Elephant Seals were hauled out on Middle Rock yesterday and one checked out the jetty ramp this morning.

In spite of the blustery conditions, there were three whale watching boats in the Ecological Reserve today and lots to see in terms of smaller wildlife which are often over-looked and are really stunning in their own right.

Two charismatic species, a Black Oystercatcher and a Harlequin Duck share a rock.

Two charismatic species, a Black Oystercatcher and a Harlequin Duck share a rock.

This Oystercatcher likes to stand with his/her toes crossed. Does it make for more stability in the wind?

The toe-crossing Black Oystercatcher.

The toe-crossing Black Oystercatcher.

Here is a challenge for you, inspired by the ‘Marine Detective’ who does a similar thing with underwater photos of cryptic fish. How many species and how many birds can you spot in the photo below?

A mixed species flock of shorebirds rests on Race Rocks in the lee of the Light Tower and main house. How many species and how many birds? More hints (photos) to follow on the different species.

A mixed species flock of shorebirds rests on Race Rocks in the lee of the Light Tower and main house. How many species and how many birds? More hints (photos) to follow on the different species.

All of these species nest on the ground so being hard to see is a good thing. So does the stay-at-home Black Oystercatcher which is hard to ignore and nests along the BC coast, close to its’ natal shore.

Many of the shorebirds resting here on Race Rocks, fly all the way up to the arctic to breed. Surfbirds nest on mountain ridges in the Yukon and Alaska while Dunlin prefer wet coastal tundra. Rock Sandpipers make their nests on the tundra in northwestern Alaska near the Bering Sea. Black Turnstones also nest along the Bering Sea, near coastal meadows in western Alaska.

This little bird wings its way to the mountains of the Yukon and Alaska to nest.

This little bird wings its way to the mountains of the Yukon and Alaska to nest.

Another arctic breeder, I think the bird in front is a Dunlin.

Another arctic breeder, I think the bird in front is a Dunlin.

This Bering Sea, tundra nester sips a bit of water off a rock in between naps.

This Bering Sea, tundra nester sips a bit of water off a rock in between naps.

Although I wouldn’t call it a migration, I did a few kilometers today, wheel barrowing around firewood wood and wood chips, tending the desalinator and energy building, and getting distracted from my labours by photographing birds.  I was really pleased that the sunshine allowed for water making with the desalinator without the using the generator. The genny only required an hour run time, to top up the batteries thanks to the solar panels.

March 21 – Scaffolding and a Turkey Vulture

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Light rain and partially cloudy in the early morning; sunny for the rest of the day
Wind: W 6-27 knots
Air Temperature: Low 8.4°C, High 11.4°C
Ocean Temperature: 8.8°C

The visiting group of students toured the island and helped run the desalinator. In the afternoon they did a leadership initiative of setting up two levels of scaffolding and scrubbing the algae from the west wall of the Marine Science Centre. They did an amazing job of looking out for everyone’s safety and cleaning the walls.

A turkey vulture was seen in the early afternoon hovering by the Eco-Guardian’s house. It flew north towards Bentinck Island. They are rarely seen here at this time of year. Occasionally they pass through in the fall, on their southern migration routes.

There were two eco tour boat seen in the reserve today.

March 12 – Sunny Census Thursday

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Sunny
Wind: 0-13 knots SW in the morning, NE from mid morning to afternoon and SW in the evening
Air Temperature: Low 9.9°C, High 13.2°C
Ocean Temperature: 9.0°C

Three Pearson students came to Race Rocks this morning. Karen, Sunny and Hanne joined Martin, who has been here since Monday.

The students did some work this afternoon: sweeping all 99 steps of the lighthouse and continuing the process of stowing the chopped wood in all the nooks and crannies of the buildings, to be used next winter to heat the main house.

There was DND blasting happening in the morning and early afternoon on Bentinck Island, less than 1km away from the ecological reserve.

Today’s high temperature of 13.2°C, as measured at the ground weather station, was the highest recorded since 2006, when the weather station was installed. A high of 14°C was recorded by the instruments at the top of the lighthouse.

Three eco tour boats visited the reserve. One boat came very close to a group of sea lions swimming and others hauled out on the South Islands.

The low tide of 1.1m at 13:52, exposed lots of species from the low tide zone into the air. The shore and tidal pools were full of life: mussels, barnacles, limpets and lots of other flora and fauna of the sea. The oystercatchers and shore birds were having a feast.

There were no small birds perching birds seen today. There are usually a few fox, sparrows, savannah sparrows and occasionally juncos and robins zipping around the island.

Here are the results from today’s Megafauna Census:
Elephant Seal: 1
Steller Sea Lion: 54
California Sea Lion: 43
Harbour Seal: 52
Bald Eagle: 9
Great Blue Heron: 1
Crow: 1
Oystercatcher: 4
Double Crested Cormorant: 12
Brandt’s Cormorant: 21
Gull: 247
Canada Goose: 14
Pigeon Guillemot: 9
Harlequin Duck: 13
Surfbird: 3
Black Turnstone: 10
Rock Sandpiper: 2