Category Archives: Island Visitors

FOER Trip

Posted on by

Light to Moderate Easterly winds. Periods of heavy rain. Force 2-3.
Barometer is on the rise. The forecast is for West wind tomorrow.

Tour boas: 5
Other boats: 3 recreational fisherman transited the reserve

I saw two Canada goose goslings today, the first hatchlings of the season. I still don’t know what nest they came from, but I think it must be from a super sneaky nest that I hadn’t been able to find. Another group of Canada geese arrived along with a single White Fronted goose. The Elephant seals are still camped out in front of the Keeper’s House. Several seals spent much of the day in the shallows next to the jetty. Maybe it was because of the rainy weather, but by the end of the day all the seals were all piled up together. I think they separate from each other when it gets hot. The Eagles are out in force and actively pursuing Gulls. We watched an Eagle chase a Gull (with black under wings?) for a couple minutes, the Gull got away. That same Eagle took a dive for the Canada goose goslings. There were lots of Guillemots in the reserve today, but no sign of the Cormorants.

Chris dropped off Garry Fletcher along with the ‘Friends of Ecological Reserves’ trip for several hours today.

Technicians

Posted on by

Overcast/Cloudy. Moderate West wind all day.

Erik brought out two techs from Environment Canada to service the weather station at the top of the tower. They realized a wiring error in their system after we had one of the main inverters burnout several weeks ago. They also fixed the old-school barograph I’ve had sitting broken in the kitchen since I found it in a closet on my last shift. This model of barograph (literally a barometer with a drum+graph used to track the tendency of atmospheric pressure) was standard issue for weather stations from Environment Canada for many years. The unit out here is from 1961, with an upgraded clock from 1977. I recently found a spare clock and drum for it, now the only things missing are graph paper for the drum and a new ink tip.

Ric the electrician also came out to start troubleshooting the generator issue. After some scrounging I found several manuals for components of the energy system. So far he has found a broken voltage controller that might be the culprit. We are now waiting on the part to see if this is the only problem.

A group of Pearson College visitors (Dave Skilling + 3) also came out for a brief tour and visit of the Reserve.

6 super loud blasts through out the day from DND that left the techs a little startled since the buildings shake when a big one goes off.

Generator

Posted on by

Clear skies, calm wind.

The generator is not working. Yesterday it shutdown a moment after starting up. The shutdown switch says it was because of “hi/low volts”. Chris suspects it is the voltage controller on the generator. The battery bank,charge controllers, and inverters are all running fine. I am glad that it has been sunny these past few days because there is enough light to charge the battery bank for basic operations. All extraneous power/phantom draws have been shutdown and unplugged. It is also a reminder to always keep the water tank topped up (which I do) since the desalinator needs the generator to run. The mission now is to keep the solar panels nice and clean throughout the day.

Slack tide kayak visit from two of my friends.
Chris brought out this year’s Coutts lecturer Massimiliano Gioni +a handful of students +a guest and 2 kids

Sea Scouts

Posted on by

Moderate West wind, easing in the afternoon. Low West swell. Patchy clouds.

A group of sea scouts came out for a tour today. They left out of Victoria Harbour on a schooner called Passing Cloud (Operated by Outer Shores Expeditions). They spent a couple hours on the island. Learning about the animals, the history of Race Rocks, and taking a look at the world from the top of the lighthouse.

Project Week

Posted on by

Despite the difficulties of dealing with the pup this week it has been a pleasure to have a group of 5 Pearson College students out here for project week.  The students have been working on some creative projects, have helped with daily tasks of seawater measurements and boat counts and have helped with a few projects including moving driftwood, counting animals in the reserve, running the fire pump, breaking down and de-nailing crate wood, pumping diesel for the furnaces, and assisting with the pup rescue.  We have been fortunate to have some really nice weather so they have spent lots of time outside appreciating this special place.

Animal Census-March 11
california sea lions: 7
stellar sea lions: 25
harbour seals: 25
elephant seal: 1
gulls: 107
cormorants: 59
Bl turnstone: 20
canada goose: 18
eagles: 3
Harlequin ducks: 10
Pigeon Guillemots: 23

Pup Deceased

Posted on by

Since the last update about the pup its condition continued to deteriorate.  On Wednesday March 12, the pup appeared to be losing coordination and mobility.  Its movement was very laboured and its behaviour seemed distressed.  In the afternoon it made its way to a puddle on the North side of the main house and went into convulsions.

While I had been sending updates and photos each day to DFO on Wednesday I sent two videos http://youtu.be/zv–ICW0TDc and http://youtu.be/nht2zTgkYrU to show its behaviour and movement.  I expressed concern that the pup may be going into paralysis. DFO was able to coordinate and get authorization for the Vancouver Aquarium to intervene the next day.

On Thursday March 13th the Marine Mammal Rescue team from the Vancouver Aquarium was deployed.  They arrived at the Pedder Bay Marina around 1600.  The marina had generously agreed to send out one of their boats and a staff volunteered to captain it.  I met them at the marina in the station boat and we brought the rescue team of 5 with gear out to Race Rocks.  Upon arrival they could tell that the pup was in critical condition. One of the team members told me they had never seen one in such bad shape.  They gave it a sedative and moved it onto a sling to transport it to the Pedder Bay Marina boat. Once back at the marina they set the pup down and gave it further treatment and washed out the wounds.  They left around 17:45 and made in time to catch the 19:00 ferry to Vancouver.

At 8:47 PM they sent the following update:

“Alright, we are just about to go off the ferry and drive toward MMR. The animal is still in critical shape. He is minimally responsive to stimuli…The animal is having episodes of full blown seizure lasting up to 2 minutes.”

Just after 11 pm they sent a final update:

“Unfortunately, our little guy did not make it. We treated him aggressively en route to the rescue center, but he arrested at 10:45 PM. Emergency resuscitation was attempted unsuccessfully. I am so sorry to have to share the sad news of his death.  Thank you so much to everyone who chipped in to help with his rescue today.”

I am  very grateful to everyone who was involved in this difficult situation and who helped try to rescue him.  The Vancouver Aquarium team were remarkably caring and dedicated; they did all they could do, it was too late.

My 3.5 month shift ends today. The highlight of the last few months has been watching this beautiful little creature every day since its birth in January.  Watching and listening to it die over the course of the past two weeks, right outside our house, has been more difficult, stressful and frustrating than I could have ever imagined.   I wish I could have done more for him. Living here with these creatures is like a blessing and a curse.

Update: past week

Posted on by

On Friday Erik brought out a new wood stove and two guys to install it in the main house. The diesel furnace has turned been off since then and we are plenty warm.  This is a great addition to the island and another positive step Pearson College has taken to reduce its dependance on fossil fuels, reduce the risks of diesel contamination in this sensitive environment and improve financial sustainability of operations.

A group of Pearson College students arrived on Saturday afternoon with Erik on Second Nature to spend their project week at Race Rocks.  They will be helping out with daily tasks, doing some maintenance projects and working on their own creative projects.

On Sunday I picked up Garry and brought him to the island to get a closer look at the pup and to give the students a short marine bio and history tour.

DND blasting occured on March 4th, 5th, and 6th (945, 1030, 1310 big blast, 1350)

Eco tour vessels visited the reserve Feb 27 (x2), 28th, March 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 9th (x2)
Private vessels entered the reserve March 7th, 8th and 9th

Past Week projects and maintenance:

-harvested, cut firewood
-clean and prep for students arrival
-coordinating for project week
-cleaned out oil traps in propane lines of main house
-worked on boat console
-recycling offload to campus
-picked up peat moss and maintenance supplies
-completed month end report and data entry
-2 full propane tanks to island
-assist with wood stove supplies and install

Views from Race Rocks

Posted on by

On  March   Barry Herring, spent a day with us out on Race Rocks recording some of the views.  Included here is some of his work. Barry is a photographer from Victoria, BC.

barryspanno

Click on this image for a panorama view of the south side of great Race Rocks island. On the left are the solar panels and foghorn operated by the Canadian Coast Guard for the lighthouse. On the left is the energy centre operated by Lester Pearson College . Note solar panels on the roof. This is the centre for the integrated Energy Project which provides energy for the other buildings and the camera servers on Race Rocks

 

barrypanowest

A panorama of the southwest coast.

IMG_4460

The remote-control camera 5 and a view to the west.

We happened to be there on a very calm evening with a great sunset:

barryshousesunset

The former Assistant lightkeeprers residence of the Lightstation is now the science house at Race Rocks. The building can house visiting students and researchers who arrive at Race Rocks.

 

 

West winds, Blasting

Posted on by

The weather this week has shifted to predominantly W and SW with a few nights of winds over 40 NMPH. There have been some big swells rolling in several days this week.  This morning there is a 30 NMPH NE wind blowing 4 foot waves into the jetty but it is forecast to swing back to west this evening. The west wind has brought much warmer temperatures than the previous week.

There has been ongoing military blasting on Bentinck Island this week with some particularly heavy blasts occurring Monday. The images above were captured from video taken on Monday.
sub-7714
There has also been regular navy activity in the Straight including a submarine that passed by on the 14th

2 juvenile-7706

eagles-7682
There have been lots of Bald Eagles in the reserve lately, they have been feeding regularly on the dead sealion in the East bay.

The pup has been much more adventurous lately. He has been moving around the island and has shown an interest in muddy puddles which he seems to have some trouble getting himself out of as he is slippery, still quite chubby and building his strength. Chunk went off island yesterday evening and is back today. He mostly ignores the pup but has occasionally pursued the pup, putting his head and mouth on the pup but without causing harm. The pup squawks and moves away and that seeems to be the end of it.

Went off island on Wednesday afternoon for supplies. On Friday I picked up four guests from Pearson College and brought them to the island for the weekend.

-finished replacing bad drain pipes in main house basement, clean up
-picked up backup Honda water pump and other supplies from College
-cleaning and fixing up assist house, added shelf for VHF regulated power supply box
-have been in touch with faculty regarding planning for a student group to RR for Project Week
-communications with inverter mechanic and about wood stove
-cut, chopped, stacked fire wood

NE wind, temperature below zero

Posted on by

There has been a fairly steady 20-35 NMPH NE wind blowing since Sunday which has meant pretty constant white caps and waves breaking along the jetty, the sky has been mostly clear. This has made any transport to/from island difficult. On Monday Erik brought out an electrician and apprentice to remove the failed inverter. He wasn’t able to stay tied up very long on the jetty. We got the inverter off and it is now in Vancouver for servicing.

On Tuesday one eco tour vessel passed through the reserve. There was also a government barge and tug boat that seemed to have some trouble while going through Race passage. With a strong tail wind and current the barge seemed to pick up speed and get ahead of the main tug. Between here and Church Rock, I watched them maneuvering in what appeared to be efforts to regain control. Eventually they got it under tow again and reversed direction, with main tug pushing the barge from behind going backwards, and they tucked in behind Christopher point for protection. Several hours later they pulled out and returned in the direction from where they came, apparently having abandoned their original destination. Navy exercises most days this week with large vessels and several zodiacs trailing.

Bertha and Chunk continue mating, pup continues putting on fat. Bertha seems ready to leave any day now, she is visibly thinner, paler in colour and seems more passive and lethargic. The female eseal that had been in S bay has left, I assume to get out of the cold wind which has been below zero plus wind chill while sea temp is currently around 7 degrees C. The younger male e-seal is visible out on Middle Rocks today and has been there the past few days.

A coast guard helicopter arrived today for maintenance on the light and fog horn. They landed next to tower as usual which was pretty close to elephant seals, Chunk took off around the other side of the house but returned soon after to mate. While clearly bothered by the sound, wind/debris and proximity of the helicopter the mother and pup didnt or couldnt really move away.

-Checking heating coils on exposed water lines
-cut, chopped, stacked fire wood
-cleaned panels
-running some heat in main house in the evenings to keep it warm
-worked on wiring/lights in whaler
-communications for wood stove/inverter/solar
-entered data and submitted DFO boat count and Seawater samples
-made parts list for plumbing in main house
-month end report fuel inventory