Category Archives: Island Visitors

Hatching Goslings + Exciting New Arrival

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Today’s Weather Conditions:

  • Sky clear, a few fluffy white clouds on the horizon
  • Visibility 10 NM
  • Wind 20-25 knots W
  • Sea state: fast moving ripples, occasional white caps

Special Feature! Daniel who visited last Thursday has allowed us to share the information that he collected while he was here: Click Here to view his photos and recordings. There are some great shots of the oystercatcher chicks!

Visitors/ Marine Traffic:

  • On Monday Greg delivered water and fuel
  • Yesterday afternoon a large coastguard ship and smaller rib passed through. They looked like they were having a blast taking photos in front of Race Rocks.
  • A handful of whale watching boats in the reserve over the weekend. Interesting to note that they have altered their path and seem to be more interested in the farther outcroppings this season.
  • On Monday a large coastguard helicopter flew overhead

Ecological Observations: 

  • The last remaining goose nest under camera five hatched over the weekend and there are now 4 goslings. While we are hopeful that they will be able to survive, reflecting on the fate of the previous 5 we are doubtful that they will be able to compete and/or evade predators this late into the season.
  • There are now two large elephant seals! Another huge male appeared overnight yesterday. He is enjoying relaxing in the shade next to the guest house.
  • The seagulls have become much more aggressive towards us. Although we are careful to stay on the footpaths and not disturb the nesting birds, they take swooping passes at our heads and drop excrement from above.
  • The seagull behavior towards each other has also become much more territorial. They fight over nesting materials, food, and to maintain their nesting locations. The female seagulls stay near the nesting site, while the male seagulls fish or scavenge for food. The male seagulls regurgitate food for the female seagulls, much like the adults regurgitate food for their chicks.

Other Notes: There has been ammunition detonation on the department of defense land across the water today and yesterday. The location they are using is very close, and with every blast the geese and other birds startle and scramble for a few seconds before settling down again.

Biodiversity Aplenty + Sunday Census

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Weather:

  • Sky overcast
  • Visibility 15+ NM
  • Wind 20-25 knots W
  • Sea state: chop, whitecaps breaking at .5 m

Visitors/Marine Traffic:

  • On Thursday an electrician came to work and Greg brought us some supplies- Thanks Greg!
  • Also on Thursday, Daniel came to do a bird count and take recordings of bird calls. He was able to spot and identify many more species than we are able to, and it was fantastic to learn more about what is here! He also found owl pellets near where we heard an owl in April, and we are excited to see what information can be concluded from them.
  • On Friday Greg delivered water
  • Also on Friday, there were many RCMP boats just outside of the reserve.
  • There have been a few pleasure crafts, some fishing within the reserve boundaries.
  • One whale watching vessel today, which approached the animals and the jetty very closely

Ecological: 

  • Daniel also spotted two new observations: a fern growing out of a crack on the lighthouse, and some beautiful harvest brodiaea.
  • There is now only one elephant seal, the large male.
  • There is one goose still sitting on a nest underneath camera 5. She’s been there for a long time and we are wondering if the eggs will still hatch since it is so late in the season. There are no goslings currently, but still a constant 16 adult geese total.
  • In the past two weeks we have been observing many jellyfish in the water, including sea nettles, fried egg jellyfish, and the occasional water jelly still.
  • On Thursday morning we watched as two eagles chased one seagull into the water and continuously took turns diving at it. They dove at it until it was completely wet and unable to fly away. At this point, one of the eagles swooped down and carried the seagull away by its neck.

Census: 

  • 280 Seagulls
  • 12 Adult oystercatchers
  • 2 Oystercatcher chicks
  • 157 Harbor seals
  • 1 Adult male elephant seal
  • 16 Adult Canada geese
  • 11 California sealions
  • 3 Stellar sealions
  • 9 Pigeon Guillemots
  • 2 Adult bald eagles
  • 1 Barn swallow

Otter, Caspian Terns, Goslings (!) & Sunday Census

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Weather:

  • Sky clear, a few clouds
  • Visibility 15+ NM
  • Wind: 30-35 knots W
  • Sea state: fast moving, white caps breaking at .5 m

Visitors:

  • Greg visited with a water delivery on Friday
  • One eco-tourism boat in the reserve yesterday evening.
  • One vessel fishing within the reserve on Friday afternoon. They approached the sea lions around the jetty very closely and their dog on board barked loudly at the animals. They approached the animals within a stones throw and hovered for roughly 20 minutes. The animals appeared distressed and fought with each other as they tried to move away from the boat (it was too close for them to enter the water).

Ecological: 

  • On Thursday evening a river otter came onto land near the jetty. We wonder if it was trying to steal seagull eggs.
  • On Friday afternoon two caspian terns flew overhead. The seagulls were not happy to see them and chased them out of the reserve.
  • Related to the post linked above, we spotted an oyster catcher nest on the west side of the island. We think it could be the same one that Mike spotted in 2012!
  • There are five goslings total, one family with two and one with three. The family of three has been joined intermittently by the other two. The two chicks seem confused as to which geese are their parents, and they’ve even managed to sneak under a wing with the rest for shelter. The parents continuously try to separate them from their own three chicks and the parents of the two follow closely behind.
  • We have observed the geese moving around the island trying to find fresh water. When it rains it is easier for them to come near the structures and drink the water from our roofs. When it is dry, they are limited to what they are able to find in the pools high on the rocks, usually full of algae and very dirty. We have been learning about their adaptations to drink salt water here.
  • The two oyster catcher chicks that we spotted earlier in the week have maintained their elusive nature. We haven’t been able to spot them again, as they are hidden by their parents among rocks where the seagulls are not able to attack.
  • This week has brought an influx of stellar sea lions, particularly smaller youngsters.

Census:

  • 2 Elephant seals (1 male, 1 female)
  • 46 Harbour seals
  • 326 Seagulls
  • 10 Stellar sea lions
  • 17 California sea lions
  • 10 Black Oystercatchers(adult)
  • 2 Oystercatcher chicks
  • 16 Canada Geese (adult)
  • 5 Goslings
  • 2 Pigeon Guillemots

Eagle Visit, Watching For Injured Sea Lions

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Weather:

  • Visibility 10 NM
  • Sky overcast
  • Wind 5-10 knots SW
  • Sea state: calm
  • Temperature 21°C

Visitors/Marine Traffic:

  • Today Laura visited to do some surveying of intertidal species
  • Greg did not come to land, as the tide was very low (jetty not accessible)
  • Today we saw one whale watching vessel pass through very respectfully with the current. No animals were disrupted- well done!

Ecological:

  • The goose nests continue to change- a few new ones this week, and a few have been ransacked by seagulls.
  • No significant seagull changes- a few new nests scattered around the island.
  • This morning a juvenile eagle landed on the lawn! It had been chased out of the air by seagulls, and they continued to swoop overhead until the eagle managed to find an opening and fly away.
  • We have been contacted by a few different folks regarding a sea lion that was spotted in the San Juan Island area with a cross bow bolt in his face. We haven’t spotted this animal but there’s a chance that we may over the next few days. We have also been asked to keep an eye out for another sea lion with fishing gear entangled in his face.

Notes:

  • This afternoon there was blasting/ammunition detonation on the Department of National Defense land. There were only 3 blasts but the birds all lifted into the air, or in the case of the sea lions, fled into the water.

Blooming Biodiversity

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Weather:

  • Visibility 15+ NM
  • Sky clear
  • Wind 15-20 NE diminishing to 5-10 SE
  • Sea state: calm
  • Temperature 22.5°C

Visitors/Marine Traffic: 

  • A trickle of pleasure crafts outside of the reserve, 4 inside of the reserve
  • Yesterday a very small vessel came to the reserve with 3 people aboard. They approached each outcropping very closely, scaring the animals into the water.
  • This evening a boat with 6 passengers sped through the reserve. They passed the resting sea lions very closely, and sped through the passage where many were swimming and fishing.
  • On Friday Greg visited to work on the generator, and Nick came too
  • There have been large commercial barges steadily passing through the straight. Since the weather has been so calm we can hear them inside the house, even though they are nearly 8 km away.

Ecological:

  • The elephant seals have been taking daily soaks in the shallow water surrounding the jetty in this warm weather.
  • In the shallow and warm waters this week we have been spotting schools of small fish. The larger animals in the water seem to ignore them completely.
  • There have been blooms of jellyfish passing by in the currents, mostly water jellies and the small “sea gooseberries” which seem to glitter in the light due to the the tiny hairs (cilia) that pulsate to move them through the water.
  • A few harlequin ducks spent the evening in the reserve on Friday

Census: 

  • 16 Canada Geese
  • 8 Oyster Catchers
  • 4 Crows
  • 8 Elephant Seals
  • 300 Seagulls
  • 2 Cormorants
  • 2 Bald Eagles
  • 48 Sea Lions
  • 9 Harbour Seals

Coralline Algae Discoveries, Impossible Invasive Plants

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Weather:

  • Visibility 15+ NM
  • Sky clear
  • Wind 5-10 knots SE
  • Sea state: calm

Visitors/Marine Traffic: 

  • One medium sized catamaran passed through race passage this morning drifting on the current
  • This afternoon we were joined by Guy and Christine, who brought us some generator hardware and spent a bit of time enjoying the beautiful weather.
  • Quite a bit of commercial traffic outside the reserve today including barges of logs and shipping containers.

Ecological: 

  • There are quite a few beginnings of seagull nests now. They have become more aggressive, and now fight each other over space. We have seen some pairs mating.
  • We have been finding coral-like white fragments in the intertidal since last year, but until now have not been able to identify what they could be. Today we found some that were not white, but red! This insight has led us to believe that this is coralline algae. Amazingly, this article states that these unassuming structures can continue to grow forever (!) if left undisturbed and have growth rings that be counted, just like trees!
  • As Gary Fletcher mentions in this post, prostrate knot weed is one of the invasive species here on Race Rocks. We noticed that it is particularly efficient at growing in places where no other plants are able, therefore it’s beginning to spread in rocky areas. It has notably spread to the rocky areas on the SW side of the island where no other flora nor fauna has managed to establish itself.

 

Marine Mammal Rescue

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On November 4th and 5th the Marine Mammal Rescue Team was here to help out a couple California sea lions that were entangled. They arrive on the 4th and after doing a thorough search around the island there were no tangled sea lions around so we were afraid they may have left the area but thankfully the team stayed the night and the next morning they were able to find two sea lions who needed some help getting the garbage off of their necks. The first animal was on the north east side of island up on the rocks and Marty was able to dart him without him fleeing into the water. His tangle was pretty bad but thankfully the team was able to help him out before it got any worse. I’ve seen him hanging around the same spot since he’s been untangled.

The second one was in a bit of a tougher spot he was already half in the water so he jumped right in as soon as the dart hit him and went for a swim. The dart was very helpful in making him easier to spot as he swam around until he was sedated and the team was able to get a hold of him to help him out.

Overall it was a very successful trip and I am so glad the Marine Mammal Rescue team was able to come out here and help these guys out. I have not seen any new tangles since and I’m keeping an eye out for the two that are on the mend.

 

Bird List and Census by D.Donnecke

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Daniel Donnecke has contributed his images and counts from a visit to race Rocks on October 30 to ebird.org

https://ebird.org/checklist/S61055064

 

CAS Week

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Weather: 

  • Sky: Weather is all over the place, blowing and raining one minute, sunny the next
  • Visibility: 10-15+ miles
  • Wind: 5-20 knots NE
  • Water: some chop coming and going

Boats/Visitors: 

    • despite it being wet and cold there were still a few tour boats cruising around
    • Guy dropped off Laura and her marine scientists for CAS week so they will be staying in the student house

Ecological

  • So many sea lions, here is an updated census
  • Census
    • Sea Lions – 827 (247 Steller and 580 California)
    • Harbour Seals – 22
    • Gulls – 385
    • Cormorants – 140
    • Fox Sparrows – 10ish, harder to count these guys
    • Canada Geese – 22
    • Black Turnstones – 50
    • Eagles – 2
    • Great Blue Heron – 1
    • possibly 1 sea otter, bit hard to see from this distance
  • Also, still spotting 1 or two humpbacks each day

Barred Owl Sighting

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Weather: 

  • Sky: Overcast, a bit of sun midday
  • Visibility: 10-15+ miles
  • Wind: 5-20 knots NE
  • Water: swells less than a metre

Boats/Visitors: 

    • A few boats cruising by today, mostly tour boats
    • Greg came by today with a group of visitors

Ecological

  • I saw a barred owl last night around 7pm when I went to turn off the generator but it was too dark to get a photo, here is a link to our taxonomy page on the barred owl and the last time it was sighted in November 2010,
  • There was also a greater yellow legs running around which flew off before I get a photo of it
  • The elephant seal has been hanging out around the jetty for a few days but took off yesterday and I don’t expect to see her returning anytime soon
  • plenty of sea lions around and I’m having a difficult time keeping them away from the lighthouse, they come back as soon as I am out of their line of sight, would like to extend the fence to protect the burial cairns and lighthouse but we just don’t have all the material we need, we’ll see about that next season though