Category Archives: Island Visitors

Census day

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Weather

The weather has been gorgeous and calm ,excellent visibility to 22km ,west wind around 15 knots.barometric pressure :101.9,sunrise at 5:52 and sunset at 20:45 ,humidity:88%

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Ecological

A beautiful and healthy female Elephant seal returned on Main Rock.First chickens swimming.More Sea lions everyday around. 2 more dead birds (one by a river otter and one resulting from a territorial fight).DSC_0050 eggs are hatched : the 2 youngest I think.

Maintenance 

Student house cleaning and other daily chores

Visitor

Kyle came and bring some needed stuff.

Other

Plane above

Census

Harbour seals :around 200

Gulls :between 535 and 550

Eagle:1

turnstones:130 to 150DSC_0755

Harlequin Duck:1 female

River otters:1

Oystercatchers: 4 couples seen

Pigeon-Guillemots:around 60

Seashore Sea lions :131 (on Middle and South) DSC_0392DSC_0587DSC_0017

Elephant Seals:1

 

Busy Weekend for the watching boats

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Weather

On Friday the morning was calm ,the wind coming from West picked up only late in the afternoon at 25 knots at the most.The visibility was over 15 miles and air felt like 16 degrees celsius at 5:00 AM.Te water temperature was 12 degrees and the barometric pressure 101.4 KPA.Sunrise at 5.44 and sunset at 20:54. On Saturday it has been really calm especially around  noon where it was 0.26 knots and the flag looked like dead. On Sunday very calm in the morning and very windy in the afternoon to midnight around 35 knots;a North East wind becoming West later. July has been a pretty windy month !

Maintenance and other

On Friday, Aziz recorded more videos :by example the whaler in action and we brought him back to Pearson College before noon. We came back just in time around 5:00 because at 7:00 the wind was around 28 knots and reached 30 knots at 10:00PM. We had a plane above like usual at the end of the week. On Saturday Guy disassembled the derrick shed door that need to be changed.The seawater pump was on for a few hours .  On Saturday I sent the end of the month report and the Seawater datas

Boats 

We had a parade of watching boats without interruption  the whole day on Saturday!!! and some divers spent a long time on South Rocks ! they could stand up! I wished we had an horn!

A special visitor: Aziz Sonawalla came for a video on Race Rocks

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Weather

At 5:00: Light west wind , air temperature :12 degrees,a little bit foggy to 7:20.AM .It has been a calm day ,25 knots at the most around 9:30 PM.

Ecological

We found a 2nd chick always at the same spot with the guts over( back stairs /Eco -guardian’s house). more sea lions mainly on Middle rocks.later in the day another dead body . this time injury on the neck on a pretty big chick.

Boats 

Many watching vessels, a huge barge with some equipment on it

Other

A plane above

Visitors

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Aziz Sonawalla

Kyle and Tyron came for a quick tour and Aziz was with them ready for a non stop recording of everything on the Island. Aziz was a second year student at Pearson college  and is working this Summer in the Communication department.he followed us all day long from early morning to late in the evening. and stayed over night. He tried to catch all the wildlife and the Beauty around . The purpose of this video is to show and explain the reserve to all  the concerned people .DSC_7635 DSC_0091

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The sea lions are coming back

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Weather

It was very foggy in the morning at 5:00 with fog horn on even in the night between Tuesday and Wednesday. it honks to 10 AM.After it was sunny and the wind picked up to 28 knots in the evening

Ecological

We found the first Sea lions sleeping on Main rock Today behind the student’s house and later we discovered  around 20 of them on Middle Rock :they are back . Many harbour seals and babies on the rocks around.DSC_7613

Maintenance

We went to the student’s house to do some needed cleaning in the kitchen and tidying up .

Boats 

We had many watching boats That day and among them we had the surprise to see 2 guys with diving suit (one from the Navy) standing up on their  surf boards with oars to propulse them. The tides and currents were OK but imagine 50  or more people doing the same ! They were in the middle of the passage but not closed enough to make them go! We checked to be sure they left safe and it took at least half an hour.They had some diving materiel with them on a bag .DSC_7614

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Kyle brought a long time friend for a short visit.

 

 

Equipment check up

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Weather 

West light wind in the morning,visibility:over 10 miles,sky :clear. In the afternoon the wind increased strongly to 35 knots at 9:PM and still 33 knots at 10:00 .In the evening fog and fog horn on.Water temperature :12.2 and salinity:30.4. Dusk before 9:30 PM.(1/2 h sooner than a month ago). Phenomenal sunset with some fog on the sea and some lightning on dark grey sky and a rainbow later!DSC_0171DSC_0237DSC_0221

Ecological

Only 8 sea lions  and 2 elephant seals :the bigger one and a small female (Chunck is gone) 5 geese visiting.

Boats

Heavy US navy boat going to the ocean. Watching boats.

Visitors

kyle and Jeff from the college came to make a general check up of all the equipment on the rock:hydro,water,security,roofs,electricity,propane,cisterns…They went all around and took notes.

Maintenance 

Filling up of the seawater cistern:4 hours

Oystercatchers chicks …seen!

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Weather

Windy day :Already 28 knots at 5:00 .This situation stayed stable to Noon but we were expecting a gale warning for the afternoon and yes we got it . the wind increased steadily to 7:30 PM where it get 50 knots . What a beautiful scenery around the rocks .Actually with the tide rising we almost couldn’t see the adjacent ones.It kept windy part of the night but at 1:00 when I awake ,it was just silence around .What a pleasant sound!

Ecological

For the first time we found our two adults male elephant seals closed to the lighthouse in the raging wind. In the morning we finally managed to see 5 babies oystercatchers . The nest closed to the boat shed has 1 and the 2 other nests closed to the crank and closed to the horn have 2 chicks . 4 elephant seals on Main (not always the same ). The 2 geese came back.

Visitors

Chris and Kyle came around 10:30 with 4 people from New York.They left just in time before the gale.

Other

DND activity :3 strong blasts  and a Corvette (Number:338) was at Rocky Point for admonitions (I guess ). I know that some international military exercises in the Pacific  are coming soon or have just finished . Anyway the ship was helped by 2 tugboats and slowly she sailed back to Esquilmalt.

Boats

3 beautiful identical sailboats running closed to the Vancouver Island coast. Late in the day a RCMP zodiac went around the Rocks. 2 big fishing boats, always the same one ,going fishing despite the strong wind.No watching vessels.

 

Windy days

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Weather

The weather was the main concern around here . On  Monday :A light fog at 6:30 PM only on the U.S.coast later .The wind has been around 20 knots at 5:30 AM and during the day increased to 35 in the afternoon with a gale warning for the evening and actually the wind went to 45 knots around 10:00 PM.

On Tuesday:we had 30 knots at 5:30  with a choppy sea and a good visibility .The wind diminished in the morning but increased after Noon and we had a gale warning in effect for the rest of the day at a maximum of 37 knots . Beautiful  dark blue sea and white caps everywhere.

Ecological

We had 4 elephant Seals on main Rock  (the 2 big ones and,a young male and an older female). They all managed to get protected from the wind and came closed to the boat shed. The birds are more and more protective of their nest and we got some helmets in case.

Boats and visitors

No boats around except Second Nature in the morning with Chris and 2 journalists from CTV. They spend 2 hours and tried to understand what is the life around the Rock. We brought them on the top of the lighthouse and explained the best we could.

 

 

Eagles around

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Weather

At 5:00 West wind 10 miles  Calm. Cloudy and foggy. 20 to 25 knots expected . We got 28 knots at Noon and 34 at 4PM. Very strong currents with the rising tide. Seawater temperature:10.9 (it’s colder)and 31.2 for the salinity the same than Yesterday.

Ecological

4 elephant seals on main . 4 has been the maximum number this week;usually the 2 older one and the 2 elegant young ones .Those 2 are always together . I call them ”the flippers”.No sea lions and impossible to find the  newborn oystercatchers.the 2 parents are steady so the little ones must be hidden around.The eagles are pretty aggressive :first attack at 5:30 ,a second one at 6:30 and another one at 7:00. One of the eagle has a low fly and came very closed to our window.What a scenery!. Around Camera 5 there are many eggs and  almost all of them have 3 eggs.

Visitor

3 people came with Kyle for a short visit. A second year student Malou and her parents from Greenland. Malou was disappointed because she couldn’t show a busy place : no Sea lions around! That make a big change .

Maintenance

Guy put a new belt and a new winch on the whaler trailer.I did some compost maintenance, adding some wood chips.(we are waiting for some moss peat). Solar panels cleaned like everyday .Camera 5 cleaned. ( In a week it would have been a true venture with the gulls around).

Other

Flying objects day: 2 planes above : one time at low altitude and the second time higher . Maybe the same plane coming back to Victoria. later a small watching boats came around with 2 people on board. It happened that guy was at that moment looking at the sea with the telescope and was amazed to see one of them opening a box with inside a drone for photos.After at least 30 minutes ,they finally left with their toy in the box. They wanted us to come on the jetty . Guy made politely but efficiently clear that they had to go: The camera was a very useful tool!

Blue mountains

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Weather

At 5:00 light west wind 15/20 knots;Sky:cloudy;Visibility:10 miles; Sea:calm.Some rain in the morning

Ecological

The famous couple got their babies.They were not easy to observe and the parents became alarmed as soon as we got closed. so impossible to get pictures . About birds : the colony of pigeons -guillemot is getting bigger and  we have only 3 or 4 elephant seals on main.

Visitors

We got a group of people from Metchosin. They were so happy to be here that for us it has been such a pleasure to share our small world. On person thought not be able to come in his lifetime and the other one has been a  fisherman and used to see the rocks from the sea and never came on the rock .  Very touching ..We went to the top of the lighthouse ;so much fun for them and for us !

Maintenance

The desalinator was on for 9 hours and the generator for 4 hours.Guy changed the propane tank of the main house and we will need to fill up the finished one .Ready to go on the jetty.

Other

2DND blasts – strong ,always surprising.

In the evening around 6H00, looking by the window I realized that the mountain and the Vancouver Island coast was all blue. Beautiful but unusual and sure enough ,going outside it was smoke smelling…That remembered me the 5Th July ,2015 this awful yellow sky! I checked right away on CBC and it was some 4 apartment buildings in Saanicht burning. A friend of us living closed never got a clue of it.

 

Full moon ,no moon on the Rock

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Weather

Very calm day even our flag stayed still for a while but late in the afternoon the sky was pretty dark on the south side  of the rocks and and we got a gale warning :35 knots were expected.Actually we got 32 at 10:00. We have been disappointed by a no moon situation on a full moon day! It’s interesting to know that it was full moon and Summer solstice at the same time . Last time it happened was in 1948. Almost Once in a lifetime.

Boats

A tugboat with its wooden long tail.Some watching boats like usual. One diving boat almost on shore with 2 guys in the water.

Ecological

we saw 3 eagles :2 at the same time on Middle Rocks and one on South Islands.

Chunk went for a long and quiet bath.

Gulls are getting more aggressive.

Other

Quick recycling trip to the college in the afternoon and we brought  back our delighted daughter at the same time . She spent a wonderful time in this wild environment.

Helicopter above in the morning.