Category Archives: Island Visitors

Hot Days

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Ecological Notes:

  • The Male Elephant Seal has been spending most of his time in the water near the pier. Its a great way to balance the warmth of the sun and the cooling of the water.

In and out of the shallows all day

  • Definitely a Cetacean day in and around the reserve! Over 8 Humpback whales between Race and Victoria, and then 15 Biggs (Transient) Orca approached from the east. 10 or so entered the reserve and conducted at least 3 separate successful hunts!
  • Most Gulls seem to be dealing well with the heat, but did find a couple chicks, and 2 goslings that didn’t make it through the day unfortunately.

Visitors:

  • 2 Pearson College Instructors were visiting with family.

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Several Ecotourism vessels, all waiting as/per the guidelines until there were no whales present in the reserve before entering
  • 2 Paddle boarders, in the main channel, then in the rocks to the north.
  • Several Private vessels passing through, and sightseeing

 Noted Infractions:

  • Paddle boarders at first were doing well, maybe a bit close to the elephant seal at the pier, but they were just out of the current, getting a little break (spoke with them, they misjudged the current levels). But when the Orca entered the reserve, the paddlers went directly to them, getting very close, even during the hunts. They made every effort to follow the Orca even well out of the reserve
  • C-Tow Vessel blasted through center channel, was intercepted by an ecotourism vessel, and told to slow down before I could get the camera out.
  • 3 private vessels entering and exiting the reserve at full speed.

Full speed almost right to the pier ….. eventually slowed as we were waving to them

  • 5 different private fishing vessels fishing in the reserve today. 2 of which were “educated” directly by ecotourism operators.
  • I attempted to contact others by radio, planning to suggest they brush up on the rules in a Rockfish Conservation Area. In each case, they did not respond, but quickly raised lines and left …. suggesting they knew where they were.

Weather Events:

  • Very hot and clear all day. Mostly southerly winds of 5 knots during the day, switching to westerly winds of 15 – 20 knots in the evening.

 ** All 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?

Oyster Catcher Nest Sites

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Ecological Notes:

  • 7 Elephant seals between the grass and the boat ramp. It appears another female may have left the reserve. Still 2 “pups” here. (included in the 7 total)
  • The pups are definitely using up their baby fat, and showing lots of wrinkles. The male is still molting though.

    When he finishes molting, he can head off to feed.

  • Have now verified 4 Black Oyster Catcher nests (able to view the nest from good vantage points in the distance). Quite confident in at least 2 more from the bird behavior, but no good distant vantage point to confirm, and don’t want to disturb the birds.

Visitors:

  • EagleWing Tours provided  Pearson College Students with 1 hour tour of the reserve and surrounding area (water based only). Total of 34 Students.
  • Between student tours, 2 employees of EagleWing Tours were brought to the main island by the waterfront coordinator for a visit.
  • The Waterfront Coordinator also delivered groceries, drinking water and electric fence supplies

 Facility Work:

  • Repairs and alterations to the electric fence on the main pier. This is important not only for the safety of the facility and the heritage sites, but also for the safety of the Sealions themselves. If they come up the top of the pier and are startled from their sleep (by land, or boats in the water), they run the risk of jumping over the side from a high height, into shallow water. Generally, on a natural rock face, steeper slopes continue into deeper water.

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  •  2 Ecotourism vessels, 1 commercial Dive Tour operator. All with proper viewing and usage procedures.

Good behavior in the reserve! (some compression from the distance and my lens, NOT as close to the rock as it may appear!

  • 3 Private vessels, all with good approach and viewing.

 Noted Infractions:

  • The most common error, generally speaking, is that private vessels tend to power up too early on departure from the reserve.

Again, some compression effect from my lens, but this private boat had come up to speed even earlier than this, well within the reserve.

Weather Events:

  • Mostly clear with westerly winds at 15 knots most of the day. Westerly winds increased to 25 – 30 knots in the evening, bringing in some haze and clouds.

 

** All 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?

Cleaning and Maintenance

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Ecological Notes:

  • 7 Elephant Seals, including 2 “pups” still using the grass areas
  • Monday saw a dramatic reduction of animals and birds in the reserve (almost no guillemots or Sealions, and about half the number of gulls) but they are gradually returning.
  • An anecdotal possibility is that Sunday night had a 50+ knot storm, lining up with a high tide and lots of big ocean swells, making the reserve a very nasty place to be!
  • Noticing more Black Oyster Catcher nests. These are more just an indentation in the gravel, and the birds rely a lot on the camouflage of the eggs. Due to high egg loss rates (here, primarily gulls snatching them), Oyster catchers can lay up to 3 or 4 replacement clutches in a season.

Very distant photo

Visitors:

  • Guests left Sunday
  • 4 Pearson College students on Monday, for an informal visit, with some discussions on marine mammal adaptations life in the ocean.
  • Was also nice to re-instate the visitor log in the newly painted and repaired Visitor Welcome Box

Facility Work:

  • Trouble shooting power interruptions originating from the Student Building
  • Cleaning and minor repair to the housing on the Camera 5 unit.
  • There’s an old prairie saying “Make hay while the sun shines” …… out here, the addendum could be “Clean stuff while the rain falls!” Rain makes it much easier to clean paths and windows, and through the rain collection, provides water for the pressure cleaner.

DND events:

  • 6 or 7 loud blasts today, all sealions left the rocks again

 

Weather Events:

  • Westerly winds, 15-20 knots brought rain showers in the morning. Mostly sunny with cloudy periods in the afternoon. Calm seas. Clear skies and 20 knot westerly winds in the evening

 

** All 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?

Visitor Sign In Station

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Ecological Notes:

  • 7  Elephant Seals still using the grass area and ramps. 4 Adult females, 1 Juvenile male ….. 1 male, and 1 female “pup”

Guess I’m not checking the Water Tank today!

Visitors:

  • Jeff brought out 7 Pearson College students for a quick tour and discussions on pinnipeds, and cultural significance of the main island.

Facility Work:

  • more painting, and sorting random wood piles

DND events:

  • 5 major blasts, noted animal disturbance, All Steller sea lions moved off the island

 Feature:

  •  expanding on a tool made from found items by a previous ecoguardian, we obtained proper pyrex tubes, to use as a pipette to accurately measure the electrolyte levels in the storage batteries

Weather Events:

  • Early morning fog, giving way to mainly sunny day, returning to fog later in the evening. Low lying fog belt on the south side of the strait all day. Wind westerly 10 – 15 knots, rising to 25 knots in the evening.

 

** All 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?

Pearson College Students

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Ecological Notes:

  • 4 female Elephant Seals, 1 Juvenile male, and 2 “pups” in the main grass area.
  • Behavior change in the male pup over the last couple days …… When by himself, he is still very docile, but when lying close with the female pup, he takes on a very defensive attitude, even when viewed from quite a distance.

Like most photos, taken from a distance and then cropped!

Visitors:

  • The waterfront coordinator brought a student landing party, then returned later to deliver distilled water for the batteries, parcels for the ecoguardian, and more students
  •  Pearson College: 14 students and one instructor, toured the reserve by water and visited briefly for a talk on the burial sites, the elephant seals, sea lions, and take in the view from the top of the lighthouse.

Greg discussing important cultural significance of areas on the main island with students.

Discussing the “ballast” cannon recovered from the Swordfish wreck site with students.

 Weather Events:

  • Low westerly winds during the day, bringing fog in the morning, giving way to sunny skies and 15 knot westerly winds during the day. Westerly wind increasing to 25 knots after dark, bringing the fog back in by about 2100hrs.

 

** All 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?

Pressure Cleaning

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Ecological Notes:

  • 6 female Elephant Seals, 2 “pups”
  • Lots of time in the water, staying close to the ramp
  • 2 Canada Goose nests lost all their eggs to other birds, they are extra aggressive now!

Just Chillin’

Visitors:

  •  Shorefront Manager, food and de-ionized water delivery

Facility Work:

  • Fine Tuning Deck work
  • Pressure washing until rain water storage was dry

Never ending

Fresher look

Then, you run out of rain water for the pressure washer!

DND events:

  • 4 Detonations YESTERDAY (Wednesday April 28) …… noted animal anxious startled, especially those in the water

Weather Events:

  • Mostly sunny, some light overcast. Light westerly winds

 

Weather – Current:

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

 

Weather – Past:

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

Student Morning

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Ecological Notes:

  • 6 female Elephant Seals, molting well underway, some are completed
  • Elephant Seal pups: 2 pups on land, moving around lots
  • Even more Gulls preparing nests

Visitors:

  •  Pearson College: 11 students in the morning doing marine biology class

Facility Work:

  • Power maintenance, more building cleaning

DND events:

  • 6 Detonations today, very little animal disturbance noted

Feature Event:

  • Although a very regular event, today was a great day to clean the Solar Panels, and do the battery maintenance. Overcast, so the panels don’t dry too fast as you’re cleaning, and not too much wind, making it safer to be on the roof!

    Soft Brush and Squeegee

    Gulls “left-behinds”

    Nice and Clean!

    Safety first for battery maintenance.

 

Weather Events:

  • Overcast and medium winds, mostly from the south until this afternoon when it switched to west. Calm seas.

 

Weather – Current:

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

 

Weather – Past:

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

4 Elephant seal pups are swimming daily!

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Elephant Seals:  Now 7 molting female elephant seals that spend their days sun bathing and/or swimming.
Elephant seal pups:4 and they are swimming daily.
Visitors:2
Facility Work: Back stairs started.  Wood and water delivery
Vessel Traffic 3 sport boats
Weather Events: Flat water with sun all day.
Weather– Current: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72
Weather–Past:  http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?id=72
 

Kayaker in trouble

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Rescue day:
Early this morning I was very surprised to find a person yelling at my door for help.  The man was very upset and his broken English difficult to understand, but I eventually figured out that his friend was in trouble.

The pair were fishing in the protected marine reserve when the push peddles on the friends kayak broke. I spotted the kayaker on the south west side of the Main Island, and it was quickly being pushed out on a big ebb tide to the west. The kayaker was trying to paddle against the five knot tide. Witnessing very little progress, I learned the fishermen were not carrying a VHF radio and carried unworkable mobile phones (which often don’t work on the south side without a US plan or roaming).  I immediately took action to launch the Race Rocks boat but the low tide and risky boat ramp conditions would not allow the boat to launch. There was simply not enough water to float the Race Rocks boat to help the kayaker.

Immediately, I contacted the Coast Guard (my cell phone *16) and they tasked out a RIB and lifeboat from Victoria. Myself and the Coast Guard were in constant communication about the troubled kayaker. While in communication, the kayaker managed to find a back eddy and travel to land on the south beach of the Main Island. After a discussion with the kayakers, they decided they were too exhausted from paddling to safely travel back to the mainland, even if they waited for the a slower tide. I confirmed their request with the Coast Guard who continued with the rescue.

One of my responsibilities as eco-guardian is to inform the public about the eco-reserve as a marine protected area. This means there is no fishing, crabbing or prawning permitted. Clearly, the kayaks were both outfitted with all the gear to crab, fish and prawn including a big capture net. I informed the kayakers the Coast Guard may have some questions as to why they were illegally fishing in the protected marine park. To record the incident, I quickly went to the main house to grab my camera.  By the time I returned to the kayakers, the man with the working kayak was paddling frantically back to the mainland shore. Soon he was caught in the ebb tide and heading out to sea. The fear of getting in trouble with the Coast Guard was enough for him to abandon his fishing buddy.

The Coast Guard arrived within 17 minutes from the first call. They picked up the broken kayak and the exhausted kayaker. By now, the second kayaker was on the north west side of the main island in the ebb and quickly heading out to sea. The Coast Guard pulled him and the boat after a 45-minute paddle against the very strong ebb.

As a seasoned marine captain, I have several lessons to share about this incident.  First, don’t head out into the Juan de Fuca straight without being prepared for an emergency. Always carry a VHS radio and/or reliable mobile phone plan.  Second, don’t crab, fish or prawn in a protected marine park. Always check fishing regulations and tide tables. Third, don’t abandon a fishing buddy, no matter the circumstances.  The buddy system saves lives.

Thank you to the Coast Guard for their hard work and commitment.  I am happy to report that both men were returned home safely.

Best wishes,

Captain Rod King

 

 

Pearson Students leave today.

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Ecological Notes: River otter spotted on main island again.Surf Birds are around the island on the low tide lines today and Black Turn Stones.. Pearson students gone home.

Animal Tracking. California injured perhaps by an encounter with Orca.

Elephant seal pups: 4 molting

Elephant seal female: 3 molting

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

Weather–Past:  http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?id=72