On Wednesday I picked up Martin Machacek and his wife Dana of Martycultural Art at Pearson College and brought them to Race Rocks for an overnight stay. Since 1993 Marty has focussed his artistic talent on architecture and has developed a unique style that is part of an “architectural etherealism movement”. He has been commissioned to do a second painting of Race Rocks, a print of his first Race Rocks painting is pictured here. Marty and Dana spent a lot of their time here outside taking photographs and appreciating the island’s very dynamic quality of light. You can find Marty and Dana in the inner harbour of Victoria throughout the “harbour season” and can order prints and cards online. It was a pleasure to host them, looking forward to seeing the new painting!
Category Archives: Island Visitors
Project Week-part 3 (final)
Yesterday was the last day of project week, in the morning I brought students back to campus in two trips on the whaler. It has been great group to have out here for the past week, they have helped out with several projects and tasks, endured some stormy weather, survived without a shower, cooked their own food (and shared a few good meals 
with me), and experienced the isolation and richness of the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve. During their stay they were very conscious of the time and resources required for importing fuel and generating energy and fresh water and did a great job minimizing consumption and waste.
In the final days of the week students helped out with transferring diesel to the furnace tanks and cleaning cupboards in the science centre kitchen. Throughout the week the group maintained a daily count of animals in the reserve, the count is included below.
| Feb 27 | Feb 28 | Feb 29 | Mar 1 | Mar 2 | Mar 3 | |
| Harbor seals | 45 | 50 | 10 | 22 | 20 | 16 |
| Elephant seals | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Sea lions | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Gulls | 57 | 23 | 33 | 43 | 31 | 26 |
| Cormorants | 60 | 27 | 29 | 40 | 56 | 32 |
| Oyster Catchers | 3 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 7 | |
| Bald Eagles | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Brown Sandpiper | 4 | 12 | 8 | 6 | ||
| White Sandpiper | 5 | 3 | 4 | |||
| Pigeon Guillemots | 22 | 150 | ||||
| Common Mergansers | 2 | |||||
| Harlequin Ducks | 12 | 7 | 6 |
Thanks to the group for their contributions and good company.
Project Week- part 2
Squall decided to position herself right next to the tank room on Wednesday so we had to put a hold on the siding work. We moved over the the South side of the main house to work on deconstructing an old cache and started work on footings to build a new compost container.
On Thursday Squall made her way around the NE side of the main house and came to rest right in the middle of our new work site. Thanks Squall, now that project is on hold. Fortunately the students did a good job of removing all the nails from the scrap wood, Squall was pretty interested in the 2×4’s.
So, it was back to the siding work yesterday. The students really took the lead on this project: removing the remaining panels, cleaning out rusted nails, replacing the panels that were lost, and putting the siding back up with stainless steel screws. Job well done!
We also put together a third goose exclosure yesterday on the lawn between the science centre and the energy building. Misery (in the background) has been relaxing near the science centre yesterday and today, keeping the students company.
Project Week-part 1
On Sunday, I brought 7 students to Race Rocks in two trips in the whaler. This week is project week at the college so all students are off campus on adventures, being creative, and doing service projects.
At Race Rocks students are helping with daily tasks of measuring ocean temperature and salinity and monitoring wildlife as well as working on a few projects including erecting exclosures to monitor the grazing and erosion impact of geese and doing repairs to the siding of the tank room that was damaged in a storm in January.
On Monday I brought two students back to campus, the other 5 will stay for the duration of the week. Unfortunately, on the way back out to Race Rocks I hit a piece of drift wood and bent a blade on the propeller.
On Sunday there were 3 eco-tour vessels in the reserve.
On Monday Misery gave Squall a chase and caught her on the N side of the main house. He held her down and was biting her, at one point he picked her up about 3 feet in the air and tossed her. Eventually she made it in-between some rocks where he could not reach her. Pam got some good shots of the escape from the web cam: http://www.flickr.com/photos/66339356@N00/6938289865/in/photostream
Yesterday afternoon a SE wind picked up in the afternoon increasing to over 50 knots before dark and pushing some big swells into the island.
Visitors to the Reserve
Yesterday the Coast Guard helicopter crew stopped in on their way back from the Carmanah lighthouse station to complete some maintenance work that they were unable to do the day before.
During the night, Squall had climbed up to the base of the lighthouse to get away from Misery. When the chopper landed it was only about 20 ft away but she didn’t seem too bothered.
Squall is elongating well and visibly moulting around her face.
This morning Chris came out in Second Nature with two architects who are working with the college, a member of the College’s Board of Trustees with his wife and 3 kids.
Also Maxim ( IT) worked on installing the new camera 5. We should have Cam 5 running sometime next week.
Coast Guard Visit
Around noon today a Coast Guard helicopter landed on the West side of the light tower. The pilot and two technicians stayed for about an hour to do a maintenance check on the fog signal and signal light.
Squall has been around the flagpole, she got more attention today than usual but didn’t seem bothered by the commotion. Misery was on the island in the morning and went into the water in the afternoon.
Sunny and warm this afternoon.
Where do Sea Lions go?
This morning the 30 Stellar’s (Eumetopias jubatus) that have been dwelling on South Rocks have gone. Is it a coincidence that a Westerly gale began early this morning? Are they escaping the weather? Did they all choose to go hunting at the same time? Did something scare them away in the night? Is the cooler weather encouraging them to find warmer waters further up the Salish Sea perhaps on the log booms near Nanaimo (it is snowing as I write this…)? I will keep a sharp watch out for when they return.
Yesterday evening 6 student arrived for the weekend but if this weather continues we may be conducting classes here Monday morning!
Tagged juvenile E-Seal
There are six E-seals on the island today. The big bull Misery, Bertha, a seemingly very pregnant large female with a distinct scar on her belly, and four youngsters resting uncomfortably on the rubble beach near the engine room.
The scruffy pup closest in the picture has a green hind flipper tag. The number appears to be #6355. I will look for info about from where and whence it cometh
Over 60 black oystercatchers (Haematopus bachmani) are on the rocks on the south perimeter of the big island.Never have I seen a flock like this! Usually a person is lucky to see 10 together at a time. Along with the Haemas are about 40 Blackheaded Turnstones (Arenaria melanocephala).
2 divers in the water at West Rock. An Italian student and her friend are out for 3 days, as is another guest who is a professional photographer. I will try and get some good pics of the seals from her…
Changing of the Guardian
Alex’s last afternoon today, while Mike becomes the eyes and ears of Race Rocks Ecological Preserve for the month of January. Have a great holiday Alex!
Visitors and Projects
Julia taking daily seawater salinity measurement
Jake and Julia left yesterday after 6 days on the island. They helped with several projects while they were here. Work projects over the past few days have included:
-Scraping, cleaning and painting the basement floor of the Science Center
-Topping up water level of the batteries and coating some of the battery terminals with anti-corossion paste
-Electronic data entry of visitor log
-Making new template for engine room log
-Transfering diesel to furnace tank
Jake painting the basement floor
-Pumping salt water to cistern and test filling the sand filter box
-Detangling new cable for camera 5 and sorting out existing conduit/cable situation
-Cleaning out gutters for rainwater harvesting system and chiselling out concrete lip to cistern filter box
-Organizing in the tank room
Erik came out yesterday to pick them up and dropped off my parents and my sister for an early christmas lunch. I brought them back to the college in the afternoon.