Ecological Notes: River otter spotted on main island
Animal Tracking and Injuries: California sea lion entangled neck
Elephant seal pups: 4 moulting
Elephant seal female: 2 moulting
Weather Events: Wind and rain
Weather– Current: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72
Weather–Past: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?id=72
Two Orca”s were spotted west of Race Rocks and into Race Pass. Whales were swimming into a strong tide in a resting mode. The whales did not make way until dark. Likely, the same whales as Sunday. They were to far away to get pictures for identification. Sea lions moved to the North East side of main island. Elephant seals are starting to molt and are very sleepy.
3 Orca. Spotted from top of light house traveling East. 5 miles east of Race rocks.
We got some Killer Whales cruising by the lighthouse today. Some light tail slapping S of the lighthouse, overall a quick visit with no escape responses from the Sea Lions in the water. We counted 4 Orca, they looked more like Residents than Biggs’, but we haven’t ID’d which pod they are. 15 around Race Rocks before heading W out the Juan de Fuca.
Laura Verhegge celebrating her 50th birthday at Race Rocks, sharing her love of nature with students near and far.
Weather: Stormy weekend! Steady 30knots with bursts of 50knots.
Visitors/Traffic: We were visited by the Marine Biology class and Biodiversity classes last week, so cool!
Courtney Edwards regailing the Marine Biology students with tales of Lighthouse keepers past.
Ecological Notes:
Sebastion hasn’t moved since his mom left, his little flippers can’t reach the ground with that big fat belly.
We had another mom wean her pup and leave Race Rocks on February 4th 2021 (Rhi-Rhi). We’ve been hoping for the 3 pups to ‘pod-up’ but no luck yet, the newest weaned pup is still too fat to move. The students have been studying the Steller Sea Lion carcass on the NE side of Race Rocks, with 25-30 eagles feeding on the carcass early in the mornings. Some of the students spotted a new dead California Sea Lion just S of the Lighthouse, it’s a branded seal with a tag on it, no obvious sign of death.
After Jafar’s last beating he’s been giving the Beachmaster a wide berth, but still relying on the boat ramp sneaker move.
Eagles feasting on the Steller carcass.
Jafar got his nose shredded fighting the Beachmaster, but it hasn’t scared him off the island.
Census:
Gulls: 79
Cormorants: 300
Eagles: 4
California Sea Lions: 149
Steller Sea Lions: 89
Elephant Seals: 9
Harbour Seals: 6
Turnstones: 0
Killdeer: 18
The dead California Sea Lion.
Tag matches the brand on this dead California Sea Lion.
Looking South to the Elwa as the sun sets.
Weather: Storms brought in a ton of wood over the last few days to the jetty, but thankfully the Elephant Seals have been clearing it out.
Visitors/Traffic: A few whale watching boats on weekends. We started getting students coming out January 29th, and it’s been really great to see what they are interested in and what kind of questions they have about Race Rocks!
Ecological Notes:
We just had the 5th pup born on January 28th. We were wondering if it would survive, but seems to be healthy and growing. Our second female weaned her pup (Jellybean) and after mating with the Beachmaster tried to get back in the ocean. Unfortunately for her there was another new male hanging out on the boat ramp waiting for his opportunity to mate. What unfolded was a Machiavellian game of blubbery chess, video below.
We now have 2 weaned pups cruising around Race Rocks, with the next pup looking like he’s only a few days away from being weaned as well.
The Steller rock at the South end of Race Rocks.
Census:
Gulls: 156
Cormorants: 533
Eagles: 6
California Sea Lions: 85
Steller Sea Lions: 177
Elephant Seals: 10
Harbour Seals: 22
Turnstones: 22
Oystercatchers: 13
A Bald Eagle decided he wanted a fresh meal and nailed this gull right out of the air. Turns out there isn’t much meat on those gulls.
Cheermeister starting to moult.
Elephant Seal poop.
Lighthouse views of the Elephant Seals.
We got a late arrival to the party: Jolene, the fifth female to come ashore for the 2021 birthing season. She showed up on January 21st 2021, and birthed on the 28th around 10am. There is some inital commotion where one of the other moms came over to get a sniff and toss around our new baby Hector (named by the marine science class).
A few seconds after Hector was born.
Jolene getting a good sniff of her new pup.
After that initial bit of excitement Hector and Jolene settled in the pod of Elephant Seals. I’m pretty sure this is the new record for births on Race Rocks! Exciting to see the population growing.
We had the marine science class come visit Race Rocks today! Super fun to get a chance to talk with these super interesting students about Elephant Seals, Race Rocks, and manipulating the stock market.
Laura brought out the marine science class!
Courtney Edwards regaling the marine science class with stories of lighthouse keepers and Race Rocks itself!
Also: an eagle snagged a gull today. So cool!
Turns out there’s not that much meat on a gull. Lots of feathers though!
Cheermeister discovered his rear flippers the other day. Hilarity ensued.
Bernard defending his harem. A sneaky male thought he could get up the boat ramp without he Beachmaster noticing. Silly rival, Bernard knows all the tricks.
I like including moments of peace, because that is what it is actually like here. Moments of extreme excitement, followed by naps and nursing.
Weather: Lighter winds with some sun. 50knots winds on January 26th. Frosty mornings on the 22-26th.
Visitors/Traffic: Some tanker traffic and 2 whale watching boats.
Ecological Notes:
Bernard drumming to defend his harem. The newest male is on the right trying to sneak around the Race Rocks Crossroads unsuccessfully.
Baby Elephant Seals get fat. REEEEEAL fat. So fat that they can’t really navigate some obstacles. https://youtu.be/tm0SC5lDBQw
We had a new female Elephant Seal show up on January 21st, bringing our total moms to 5 for 2021. We have four pups with only one weaned so far, but the other two fattest pups are expected to be weaned next week. The new female looks pregnant and is exhibiting the same behavior the other moms did before giving birth: lots of ‘chirping’ and wandering around trying out all the comfy spots. The new female also shuffled the other mothers: before the two oldest mothers would aggregate and keep the third mother away. Now the newest female has assumed the ‘shunned’ position while the three mothers are aggregating with their pups and little conflict.
We finally clued in that there have been 3 males hanging out around the island: the dominant male (Bernard), a male who became submissive after battle, and a third male who’s quite a bit smaller and clearly submissive. This third male has a bit of damage around his left eye, kinda like a classic Disney villian with a scar on it’s eye. He’s been coming up the ramp trying to sneak around Bernard, but would retreat after an impressive bout of drumming.
Our newest male (Jafar) trying to find a place to hide on the Island without the Beachmaster noticing.
Bernard not having any of these males advances on his harem. He really has a second level he can take his drumming to show his dominance. If you heard his super low drumming, better skedaddle, as he’s had enough of you.
Census:
Gulls: 118
Cormorants: 281
Eagles: 9
California Sea Lions: 160
Steller Sea Lions: 119
Elephant Seals: 9
Harbour Seals: 14
Turnstones: 7
The newest pup: Snuggles. Born January 16th 2021.
The whole gang hanging out together in the front yard.
Our newest arrival: Joelene! She’s quickly assimiliated into the Race Rocks pod. She arrived on January 21st, so we would expect her pup sometime around the 28th.
That amazing phase where the pups start to rival their mothers bulk. 14 days in and looking healthy little guy!
Looking South from to the Lighthouse towards the Elwha.
Weather: Overcast morning, with a sunny afternoon. Winds 15-25knots. Big storm on January 11th that blew our doors and windows open.
Visitors/Traffic: After a week of no visitors we got 4 boats today: a whale whatching boat, 2 small fishing boats and a yellow sailboat that was very interested in getting in close to the jetty.
Ecological Notes: Immediately after the last birth a new female showed up on the island (January 11th). Cheermeister’s mom left him on January 12th (21 days of nursing) after making with the Beachmaster 76 times over 3 days. I didn’t inspect every event, so the total could higher than that, but it was an impressive feat. The Beachmaster has shown no interest in any of the other females. There are still 2 large males on the island, with the Beachmaster (previously referred to as Bernard) staying with the females and the other male hanging out around our compost.
The new seal gave birth last night, bringing our total seal pups to 4!
Jocelyn gave birth to her pup last night with lots of shouting and fanfare.
Elephant Seal flippers look so ridiculous when they’re born, just oversized and floppy. Kinda like puppy paws.
Tons of eagles on the island this morning, which usually coincides with a reduction in other birds counted.
Cheermeister: fat and alone. I don’t understand how he still gets fatter after being weaned.
The Beachmaster checking if anyone is interested in mating yet.
Census:
Gulls: 136
Cormorants: 360
Eagles: 40
Turnstones: 13
Elephant Seals: 9 [2 bulls, 3 females, 4 pups]
Steller Sea Lions: 142
California Sea Lions: 155
Harbour Seals: 6
Peace descends over the nursery. Seriously though, Elephant Seals are soooo loud.
Bonham over drumming next to the compost where the Beachmaster can’t find him.