Category Archives: Island Visitors

Marine Mammal Rescue!

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It has been a fantastic few days out here! The team from the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society came out with DFO to disentangle the California sea lion that I first spotted last October.

He was sleeping up high on the boat launch with made landing at the jetty tricky because we didn’t want to scare the sea lions and risk him going in the water. Instead, DFO dropped the rescue team off the south side of the island. The current was strong so we weren’t sure it would be possible, but they were able to safely nose the rhib into the rocks behind the generator building and the team came up the rocks. This ended up being great because we could approach the entangled sea lion without scaring him, and there are significantly less sea lions on the south side lately, so the disturbance was minimal.

For those who don’t already know, when I’m not at the lighthouse, I work full time as a Registered Veterinary Technologist with the Marine Mammal Rescue Society. This was my team coming out, and disentanglements are one of my favourite parts of the job. Doing this work at Race Rocks is especially meaningful: I can help save an animal, and I’m often the person who finds and monitors them, coordinates with the team, and supports the rescue. Afterward, I’m able to continue monitoring the animal in the following days, which is incredibly rewarding.

The rescue itself was straight forward, Dr. Haulena darted the entangled sea lion with a sedation protocol that allows us to approach and work with the animal, but doesn’t sedate them so deeply that if they end up going into the water they won’t drown. Thankfully, after the initial shock of the dart, the sea lion only moved a few feet before settling back down on the ramp. The sedation takes about 12 minutes to take effect, at which time we moved in. We quickly discovered that the entanglement material was a thick industrial rubber band, these bands have a wide variety of uses in the marine field and can often be found on commercial crab traps or used in other pot fisheries. Once the band was removed, we place a flipper tag on each of his fore flippers, these are not satellite tags, but they can help us identify the animals in future sightings.

A great example of this is the animal Eva helped us with in August. He is still here and I was able to determine that by taking a photo of his tags and then comparing them to our spreadsheet. Each tag has a unique number on it that allows to ID the animal when resighted. I’ll insert a photo of the animal we rescued in August below:

Once we were done, we gave him an injection to reverse the sedation and then we watched from the top of the of the boat launch as he woke up, stretched out, and then entered the water and swam off. He later hauled back out on the rocks to the left of the jetty and is currently still there as I write this. I can’t imagine the relief he must be feeling and I’m already excited to see him here again next year!

You can watch the rescue video here: https://youtu.be/EJJ7pKWvKIY?si=JR4Ft_c99E8h6POc

 

The team was gone by 12:30, and with them they took my dad whose been here this first week with me. It’s been so special having him here and spending time with him, he is the one who taught me my love for the ocean and he enjoys it out here just as much as I do!

Aside from the excitement of the disentanglement, things have been quite calm around here. The weather has been incredible, glassy seas and no wind, full sun and whales everywhere! Today is supposed to reach 40 knot winds (close to 80km/hr) and raining, so today I’ve be battening the hatches and making sure everything is securely put away and I have everything I need in the house. The generator is being run manually at the moment so I will need to make a couple outside treks to turn that on and off but other than that my plans include a fire and storm watching from inside. I’m very curious to see how that affects Saturday’s census!

And lastly, we have a young female elephant seal back at Race Rocks! She has been hanging out with the Stellers on the South rocks but hopefully she comes up to the grass soon!

Facility work for the past couple days:

  • Ran the generator
  • Cleaned main house windows
  • Topped up batteries
  • Fixed the main house kitchen sink (thanks dad!)
  • Lots of fence repair
  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Storm prep: lowered the flag, secured the electric fence as best as possible, general site clean-up.
  • Oil change in Honda generator
  • Ran the last remaining line of electric fence tape behind the main house

Vessels:

  • Ecotourism: average of 15 per day
  • Private: average of 4 per day

Visitors:

  • DFO team: 4 people
  • VAMMR team: 6 people
  • Greg/Richard for supply drop off.

Small projects

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Wildlife

Nothing out of the ordinary, today was filled with the usual shenanigans of newly fledged gulls crashing about and quickly taking off from surrounding nesting sites and sea lions wrestling around the outer edges of the rocks. The gulls that have found themselves suddenly sharing their space with much larger, equally vocal neighbours seem to be tolerating the change of scene as best they can. Every once in awhile, I’ll catch sight of a disgruntled exchange between a sea lion and the gull that has been forced to land on its back for lack of any bare rock around.

 

Facility notes

  • Washed panels
  • Greg and Richard came by to refuel tank in shed, install a buffer at the end of the jetty to prevent lines getting chewed by the concrete when tied up. My first time drilling into concrete- what a fun learning experience!
  • Weeded walkways and removed small driftwood debris from jetty entrance

Weather

Sunny, hazy skies. Shifting winds from WSW to NNE, from 9 to 25 knots. Temperatures from 13 to 16 degrees.

August 07 Census

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California Sea Lion: 92
Steller Sea Lion: 116
Seal: 47

Seagulls (adult): 750 (+another 300 or so chicks)
Oyster catcher: 13
Rock Sandpiper: 12
Black Turnstone: 141
Cormorant: 47
Pigeon Guillemot: 112
Bald eagle: 1

I noticed from the lighthouse an interesting nesting pair; I am not entirely certain but they’re either Western Gulls or hybrids of some flavour. I’m still only beginning to get familiar with the various types of gulls and their identifiers- what an incredibly deep rabbit hole to explore. This guide from Bird Studies Canada : Identifying Hybrid & Immature Gulls in Coastal B.C. is a great place to start.

Visitors
Two technicians came to work on the CODAR SeaSonde from around 11:00am to 2:30pm today, accompanied by two of the Pearson waterfront folks and two others from campus.

The CODAR SeaSonde is a coastal radar system that monitors ocean currents and wave conditions like height, direction, and period. It works by sending out radio waves and analyzing the signals bounced back from waves that are half the radar’s wavelength. Combining data from multiple stations like the one positioned on the South-West corner of the rocks allows it to calculate total ocean current speeds and directions where coverage overlaps. You can go to this post from 2018 for more information about the setup and project as a whole.

Facility notes
– Cleaned house decks
– Cleaned panels

Weather
Heavy fog, strong gusts in the morning, opening up to a calm sunny afternoon. Winds mostly west-by-southwesterly, from 15 to 33 knots. Temperatures from 10 to 15 degrees.

Vessels observed
Ecotourism: 22
Private: 3

Windy days and checking in with the elephant seals

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Tuesday May 5th

Ecological Notes

It has been quite windy on the rocks for the past few days!

Even the gulls are feeling it

 

As you may know, elephant seals haul themselves out of the water once a year to shed their fur and outer skin layer. You and I shed some hair and skin a little bit everyday, no big deal, but elephant seals do it more like a snake: they shed it all at once in what is called a catastrophic molt!

The five elephant seals are all at different stages of their molt, lets check in with them!

The youngest (yearling) is going through her first molt, which can be quite challenging the first time.

Send her good wishes, she is going through a lot!

Two of the other young females are yet to be started on their molt. Here’s one of them looking really cute:

Just being the cutest, so photogenic 💕

Her again, so baby 💖 (not actually a baby, but you know what I mean)

The two adult females spend a lot of time dozing in the grass.

One of the adult female is quite advanced in her molt and is looking a little bit like the stuff of nightmares at the moment (no offense).

A very interesting process to watch!

Facility work

  • Battery top-up
  • Generator check
  • Salinity testing
  • Fence check: fixed tear, unfortunately broken spot was right in front of the nest I addled the day before and the geese were not pleased to see me again so soon

DND Event

3 blasts, between 11:20 am and 12:32 am. I scare easily and that definitely does it every time.

Weather Events

⋄ Wind (kts): 28.2
⋄ Sunny clear skies
⋄ Air temp (°C): min 10.5, max 13.5
⋄ Sea state: white caps

 

Wednesday May 6th

Ecological Notes

One of the geese nest I addled previously had a new egg today. I am now public geese enemy number one.

I have not found an oyster catcher nest so far, but I saw one of those little guys harassing a bald eagle! Pretty bold.

Fearless

This gentlemen had to be politely asked to move

Quite a nice sunset tonight! Unfortunately, I was pooped on while taking pictures.

We know who did it

Facility work

  • Fence check
  • Keeper’s kitchen deep clean: floors, house laundry, all kitchen surfaces
  • Salinity testing
  • Addling: 1 egg

Visitors

Today a group of Pearson students with their chaperones Laura (another Laura!) and Bella came to Race Rocks for a field trip. Students took notes on the species they were seeing around the island and observed how different organisms were distributed in the intertidal zone. Laura (not me) was very knowledgeable about Race Rocks and I learned quite a few things!

Weather Events

⋄ Wind (kts): gusting 8-15, Gale warning in effect for the evening
⋄ Overcast in the morning, brief hour of sun in the afternoon, large clouds in the evening
⋄ Air temp (°C): 12.3
⋄ Sea state: white caps

NB: All pictures were taken with a telephoto lens, which makes distant objects appear closer. All animals were photographed at a respectful and reglementary distance.

Month End, and Bye for now!

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Thanks for another fun term out here at Race rocks, Will be back in the fall!

Ecological Notes:

  • 2 adult female Elephant Seals
  • The Female that had the pup here this season is particularly vocal and bossy!

(video coming)

  • 2 Elephant Seal pups, 1 might be a small yearling
  • With the warmer weather, all the Elephant Seals enjoy their daily dip in the water.

(video coming)

  • As usual, the Geese are very protective of their nests

  • But the “baby” Elephant seal seems to take great pleasure in harassing the gees at their nests

  • Orca only observed passing the reserve once in the last week (but from other reports, they may have passed by unnoticed or early in the morning)

Visitors:

  • 1 volunteer came out to help Richard with projects

  • 2 sets of students came out for orientation and tasks assignments, they also enjoyed some mini presentations from the Eco-Guardian
  • Richard  came to work on his projects when the students were here

Facility Work:

  • Battery electrolyte levels
  • Fuel Transfers
  • Full general house clean
  • Tidy student house after visitors
  • Ongoing solar panel cleaning, and battery electrolyte top ups

  • Valve replacement and servicing on the salt water pump to fill the cistern
  • Filling the cistern, and then flushing the pump with fresh water
  • Some desalinator runs, successful running on just solar as well 
  • All month end reports and filing

DND events:

  • Some blasts on Friday, no noted disturbance

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • As most Whale sightings were east of Victoria, only a occasional Eco-Tourism vessel visits
  • Some Private boats

 Noted Infractions:

  • none

Weather Events:

  • Sunday, April 26:
    • Sky: Mostly clear overhead, with a few clouds rolling through in the afternoon …. north and south of the reserve had more clouds, and low lying mist/fog to the west and south
    • Wind: W 5-10kts until noon, then rising to 30kts by midnight
    • Sea: rippled most of the day
    • Temperature Low 8.2oC, High 13.3oC
  • Monday, April 27:
    • Sky: Foggy until mid-afternoon, clear and sunny to overcast
    • Wind: W/WSW 16-37 kts
    • Sea:  light chop turning to high waves by evening
    • Temperature Low 12oC, High 20oC
  • Tuesday, April 28:
    • Sky: Foggy until mid-afternoon, clear and sunny to overcast
    • Wind: W/WSW 16-37 kts
    • Sea:  light chop turning to high waves by evening
    • Temperature Low 12oC, High 20oC
  • Wednesday, April 29:
    • Sky: Mostly clear overhead, with a few clouds rolling through in the afternoon 
    • Wind: W variable to 8kts, shifting to S mid day, then rising to W 18kts late afternoon
    • Sea: rippled 
    • Temperature Low 8.3oC, High 14.2oC
  • Thursday, April 30:
    • Sky: Mostly clear overhead, with a few clouds rolling through in the afternoon 
    • Wind: Rising through the day to 25kts, variable directions all day
    • Sea: rippled most of the day
    • Temperature Low 8.6oC, High 15.6oC
  • Friday, May 1:
    • Sky: Foggy until late-afternoon, mixed sun and clouds afterwards
    • Wind: W 15-25 kts, rising slightly in the evening
    • Sea:  light chop turning to 2 ft chop and whitecaps late in the day 
    • Temperature Low 8.6oC, High 15.6oC, cool windchill though (while cleaning solar panels on the roof!)

 

 

** Any wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

 

Weather – Current:

https://tempestwx.com/station/190757/

 

Weather – Past:

https://tempestwx.com/history/190757

More Elephant Seals!

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Ecological Notes:

  • 2  Adult female Elephant Seals
  • 2 young ones…. 1 is this years pup born here… the other is a bit bigger,  it seems pretty big to be a new pup, but a bit small to be a yearling….. we will see when the moult starts

The 2 newest ones

  • Gulls and Oyster Catchers still paired off, no noted nest building yet
  • Orca and a Humpback passed the reserve, without entering
  • Although most have given up, found a new Canadian Goose nest…. easy to miss them when they use an old site, and cover it well when they’re not there!

Visitors:

  • Greg And Richard for fuel and grocery delivery
  • Guests of Pearson College came to the Rock to stay in the Student Building
  • Greg also brought the future Eco-Guardians for a quick overview of the site.

Facility Work:

  • Richard sealed a crack on the desalinator bunker roof

  • Solar Panel cleaning
  • Fuel transfers

DND events:

  • Several Blasts on Wednesday and Thursday

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Starting to see more Eco-Tourism vessel
  • Weekends also included more private vessels coming through to observe the wildlife

  • RCMSAR  vessel did a bit of a tour through the reserve

 

 Noted Infractions:

  • none

Weather Events:

  • Wednesday, April 22:
    • Sky: haze overhead, clouds in all directions on the horizon
    • Wind: WSW 10-22kts, variable throughout the day
    • Sea: rippled to 2′ chop
    • Temperature Low 9.3oC, High 12.4oC
  • Thursday, April 23:
    • Sky: High overcast with haze on all horizons…. giving way to mostly clear late afternoon overhead
    • Wind: W/WSW 16-37 kts
    • Sea:  light chop turning to flat by afternoon
    • Temperature Low 9.0oC, High 11.8oC
  • Friday, April 24:
    • Sky: Sunny and bright, some haze on the horizon lines though
    • Wind: Variable wind, mostly NE to SE, 5-15kts
    • Sea:  light chop turning to high waves by evening
    • Temperature Low 7.6oC, High 15.9oC
  • Saturday, April 25:
    • Sky: Sunny and bright, some haze on the horizon lines 
    • Wind: Variable S SE winds 0-10 kts
    • Sea: very little chop, some slight current lines
    • Temperature Low 7.3oC, High 16.6oC
  • Great Solar generation today so far! (the “from battery” number includes everything drawn during the night too)

 

 

** Any wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

 

Weather – Current:

https://tempestwx.com/station/190757/

 

Weather – Past:

https://tempestwx.com/history/190757

Getting ready for the cold

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Ecological Notes:

  • Still no Elephant Seals
  • Snow Goose is still here

  • Daily visits from Eagles hunting Gulls
  • Smaller sea otter reported to me by an Eco-Tourism vessel

Visitors:

  • Greg and Richard from shorefront team
  • Service Tech
  • Students from Pearson College each weekend

Facility Work:

  • Another clean up of dead birds…… mostly Eagle predation, but a couple of “healthy looking” birds as well
  • Service Tech came out again for the hot water system in the main house
  • Some weeding accomplished in the hollow in front of the water tank
  • Ongoing fence repairs
  • Battery fluids maintained
  • Delsalinator run when ever the generator was running during the day
  • Students from Pearson College helped with the animal census and laying out the hose to fill the cistern with salt water

  • more firewood split to stock it up for the colder weather coming! Thank you Richard for the platform for the wood splitter, up off the floor and now able to keep face away from the mechanism while using

  • Set up, flushed, and then ran the water pump to start filling the cistern, will need more as the tide ran low

DND events:

  • a few blasts earlier in the week, disturbing the Sea Lions and birds

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Some Eco-Tourism and educational vessels
  • Some private vessels, including Kayakers, and a small dinghy

  • 1 Spill Response Vessel transiting 

  • All behaved responsibly 

Weather Events:

  • Thursday, November 27:
    • Sky: Overcast, with very brief sunny periods
    • Wind: NNE 25-30kts
    • Sea: 3-5 waves, hitting the pier heavily 
    • Temperature Low 8.1oC, High 9.6oC
  • Friday, November 28:
    • Sky: Clear in the morning,gradually becoming high overcast as the day progressed, tempest system report slight rain during the night
    • Wind: NE winds, 5kts in the morning, rising to 18kts by mid afternoon 
    • Sea:  remained light chop as when the wind rose, it was tide with wind
    • Temperature Low 8.1oC, High 10.4oC
  • Saturday, November 29:
    • Sky: High overcast
    • Wind: NE 10-15 kts
    • Sea:  light chop 
    • Temperature Low 6oC, High 8.2oC
  • Sunday, November 30:
    • Sky: Clear all day
    • Wind: ENE 15kts, dropping to 5kts mid afternoon
    • Sea:  light chop 
    • Temperature Low 6oC, High 8oC

 

 

** Any wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

 

Weather – Current:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

 

Weather – Past:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

Visit from RCMSAR

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Wildlife: While out on the water on the Pedder Explorer near Rosedale Rock heard a humpback whale tail slap at least 50 times in a row. Use the descriptor ‘heard’ as fog was restricting visibility.

Two branded sea lions at the jetty, 94V and V56.

Facilities: With fog prevalence and residence being used by classes generator is running more, requiring fueling on a more regular basis. Fall is here.

Visitors: Two classes from LBPC, one in the morning and one in the afternoon with Biology teacher Laura V. and assistant Bella M.

Visit from 10 members ( 2 vessels) of the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue (RCMSAR) Station 37 in Sooke. Race Rocks is within their response area. It was their first time visiting Race Rocks. They docked after dark, with a running ebb tide. Very impressive skill set.

 

 

 

Census postponed

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Wildlife : Ready to take first census since arriving but fog had other plans. Could not seen west, middle, turbine or north islets. Postponed until Sunday.

Watched a California seal lion (CSL) walk past the east side of boat house to the east side of the helicopter pad and then pull itself up the wall onto the pad. Impression!

Midday noted a crow being chased by a group of seagulls around the island. Left in short order.

Weather: Heavy fog and overcast all day

Facility work:

  • Fence repair on north and south sides. Encouraged three CSLs back to their side of the fence.
  • Cistern restoration work continuing
  • Cleaned solar panels.
  • Checked battery water levels and topped up as required.
  • Temperature and salinity readings at max tide.

Visitors:

Students from LBPC left at noon. Hope they all will have many more occasions to visit and study on this very special place.

Students out until Saturday pm

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Weather: The day started with heavy fog in the morning, dissipating by noon.

Vessels: Fascinating watching tour boats emerging out of the fog in the morning, and then disappearing. Thirteen boats noted throughout the day.

Facilities: Heavy dew made cleaning the solar panels light work. Electric fences needed repair on the north side and along the jetty.

Visitors: Eight students from LBPC, with their instructor, Cam D. and assistant Bella M, came for one night. The Environment Reserve Warden Garry Fletcher, with three guests, arrived with the students, in the early afternoon. Wonderful two hour walkabout with Garry. Thank you.

Joined the students in a venture up to the top of the lighthouse. Two groups of four students made 14 humpback whale spottings. Best place ever for sighting whales.