Category Archives: Mammal Notes

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Saturday evening as the storm was subsiding, the communication lines went dead out here at Race Rocks. After trying all the normal fixes on my side, I was informed via cellphone that the problem lay at Pearson College. The College had lost power from some internal breakdown, and so no internet or phone line was being sent my way over the air. Once things were up and running again this morning, I was able to reestablish connection to the internet and phone lines.

Rather than submitting a log entry for each missed day, I will simply provide a summary of each day’s main events. And pictures as always!

Saturday 15 October 2016-Fierce Storm

  • Day began at 7:00 with winds of 15-20 knots NE.
  • 9:45 30 knots East
  • 13:00 35 knots East
  • 13:30 45 knots East
  • 14:30 50~ knots East!
  • 15:20 45 knots East, communications down.
  • 16:50 communications returned.
  • 17:00 30 knots East
  • Around 18:30 communications down for good.
  • 19:00 15 knots West
  • 20:30 30 knots South-West
  • One month remaining in my shift.

Sunday 16 October 2016-Pelican

  • 7:00 Weather
  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 10-15 knots East
  • Sky: overcast
  • Water: 1′ chop
  • Saw a single brown pelican today!
  • Failed to get a picture though.
  • Branded California sea lion 8465.
  • 8 elephant seals on Great Race today.
  • A small group of California sea lions began sleeping on top of the e-seals.
  • To my surprise the elephant seals don’t seem to mind.

Monday 17 October 2016-Peregrine Falcon!

  • 7:00 Weather
  • Visibility: 5 miles
  • Wind: 0-5 knots East
  • Sky: overcast
  • Water: calm
  • In the early evening a pigeon flew into a window, presumably breaking its neck.
  • Immediately a Peregrine falcon swooped down to inspect its prey.
  • I assume the falcon was the reason the pigeon hit the window at such a speed.
  • The falcon then flew way up into the sky, before returning to make off with the meal.

Tuesday 18 October 2016-Bio-mimicry Visitors (and Alex!)

  • 7:00 Weather
  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 0 knots
  • Sky: clear
  • Water: calm
  • A rainstorm appeared from about 10:00-12:00.
  • A rather sunny afternoon!
  • Kyle came out with Alex Fletcher and a biology group.
  • The 6 visitors were studying bio-mimicry.
  • How can humans improve our technology by copying successful animals?
  • The organization that they are involved with is one of our donors.
  • They were very interested in the sea lions, seals, and birds.
  • 11 elephant seals on Great Race.
  • Saw 3 brown pelicans; this time got a photo!

A Real Gale

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Weather

  • 7:00 weather report.
  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 5-10 knots N
  • Sky: overcast with showers and lightning!
  • Water: rippled
  • Larger waves by noon.
  • Wind and rain picked up in the afternoon.
  • By 17:00 wind up to 50 knots W. House shaking.
  • By 18:20 down to an average of 20 knots West.

Ecological

  • Birds mostly hunkered down on the ground today.
  • Some sea lions surfing in the large waves.

Maintenance

  • All basic daily chores completed.

Boats

  • No boats seen in the reserve.

Delayed Storm

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Weather

  • Overnight: 20 knot winds and some rain.
  • The 7:00 weather report.
  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 5 knots NE
  • Sky: overcast
  • Water: 2′ chop
  • Some clear skies at noon.
  • Around 15:30 the wind picked up to 25 knots NE and the rain restarted.
  • About 20:15 the wind shot up to 35-40 knots NE.

Ecological

  • The elephant seals were very active today.
  • There is a dead California sea lion near the derrick shed.
  • Census day.
  • Large decrease in the number of sea lions and seagulls.
  1. California Sea Lion: 294
  2. Northern (Steller) Sea Lion: 96
  3. Harbour Seal: 28
  4. Elephant Seal: 9 (6 on Great Race, 3 on Middle Rock)
  5. Seagull: 365
  6. Cormorant: 145
  7. Black Turnstone: 12
  8. Harlequin Duck: 12 (9 males, 3 females)
  9. Canada Goose: 7
  10. Black Oystercatcher: 10
  11. Savannah Sparrow: 5
  12. Bald Eagle: 1 adult on North Rock

Maintenance

  • Emptied the gross water in the rain barrel.

Boats

  • Did not see any boats in the reserve today.

The Advancement Team

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15+ miles
  • Wind: 10-15 NE
  • Sky: clear
  • Water: rippled
  • The first of three storms is expected to arrive tonight, bringing rain and wind.
  • A rather calm day though, with exquisite views of Mt. Baker!

Ecological

  • The elephant seals were in a playful mood today.

Maintenance

  • Reset the electric fence.
  • Stacked firewood.
  • Ran the new sea water pump into the cistern with Kyle’s help.
  • Looked at probably a dozen different systems and areas of concern with Kyle.
  • As ready as possible for the storm.

Boats

  • Second Nature brought the Advancement Team out today.
  • The Ogden Point Dive boat was in Middle Channel.
  • A few fishing boats and eco-tours passed by.

Visitors

  • Kyle and the Advancement Team.
  • The A’ Team is in charge of raising funds for Pearson College and Race Rocks.

The Chores before the Storm

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15+ miles (Mt. Baker clearly visible!)
  • Wind: 15-20 NW in the morning, then down to 5 SE.
  • Sky: clear
  • Water: 1′ chop
  • Storm warning for Wednesday night thru to Sunday.
  • Expecting winds of over 40 knots and as much as 8″ of rainfall.

Ecological

  • The sea lions have been mostly absent from the NE part of the island for a few days now.
  • This makes sleeping much easier.
  • The 6 elephant seals were in the middle of the island today.
  • Heard the Pacificr wren somewhere in the lantern room, but could not see it.

6-elephant-seals-11-10

Maintenance

  • Finally able to fix the electric fence near the generator with the elephant seals elsewhere.
  • Ran the desalinator in the afternoon.
  • Put the new end piece onto the salt water hose.
  • Took note of what needs to be dealt with before the storm.
  • Cleaned the student house windows as best I could.
  • Swept the main floor of said house in preparation for tomorrow’s Advancement Team meeting.

Boats

  • A few boats today.

Broken Bench

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 0-5 knots NW, later SE
  • Sky: clear
  • Water: calm

Ecological

  • 6 elephant seals on Great Race today.
  • 2 of them prevented me from fully fixing the electric fence.
  • No sign of the winter wren in the lighthouse.

Maintenance

  • Reset the electric fence as best I could.
  • Discovered that the sea lions had completely destroyed the SW facing bench.
  • A metal bench with wooden seat, all the boards were snapped.
  • Hauled away the pieces.
  • Wood for future burning, metal for rebuilding with new wood.

Boats

  • Quite a few boats out today on a glorious Thanksgiving.
  • Several seemed to be too close to the sea lions near the jetty.

Return of the Harbour Seal

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Weather

  • Visibility: 5 miles in the morning, 15 during the day.
  • Wind: 20-25 knots NE, down to 5-10 in the afternoon, then back up to 25.
  • Sky: overcast and rain followed by some sun in the afternoon.
  • Water: 2′ chop

Ecological

  • Saw three branded California sea lions: 7960, 8985, and U503.
  • Yesterday’s Harbour Seal near the jetty returned for another plank.
  • Saw an unidentifiable whale surfacing south of Rosedale Rock.

Maintenance

  • The usual chores
  • Couldn’t fully fix the electric fence near the energy building since the elephant seals who were lying on parts of the fence refused to move.

Boats

  • Saw a Search and Rescue boat along with a few eco-tours.

Fierce Winds

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 35-40 knots SW, later W, and then down to 10-20.
  • Sky: mostly clear with some early evening rain.
  • Water: 3′ chop, calmer in the evening.

Ecological

  • Saw a California Sea Lion branded 8465,
  • Saw a Steller Sea Lion branded 873R.
  • One harbour seal hauled out on a rock near the jetty.
  • I was surprised it wasn’t immediately scared off by the sea lions.

harbour-seal-1-7-10 harbour-seal-2-7-10

Maintenance

  • Had to get the internet and phone back in operation this morning.
  • Electric fence work. The elephant seals are fond of knocking it all down.

Boats

  • Hardly any boats today on account of the weather.

Drizzly Census

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 10-15 knots W, later N
  • Sky: overcast with afternoon drizzles
  • Water: 1′ chop

Ecological

  • Recorded eight different sea lion brands today.
  • Two Steller/Northern sea lions: 14Y and 998R.
  • Six California sea lions: U603, 7618, 8985, U374, 9403, and 8465.
  • I didn’t get good photos of all the brands, but I am certain of the characters.
  • Conducted the weekly census.
  • Didn’t see any Harlequin Ducks or Black Oystercatchers; perhaps the inclement weather kept them out of sight?
  • Big increase in the number of cormorants from last week (20 up to 146).
  1. California Sea Lions: 541
  2. Northern (Steller) Sea Lions: 202 (half of those on Middle Rock)
  3. Harbour Seals: 69
  4. Elephant Seals: 9 (3 on Great Race, 6 on Middle Rock)
  5. Sea gulls: 800
  6. Cormorants: 146
  7. Black Turnstone: 13
  8. Savannah Sparrows: 10
  9. Bald Eagles: 2 adults on West Rock
  10. Canada Geese: 2

Maintenance

  • The usual chores.

Boats

  • Recently some of the larger eco-tour boats appear to be getting too close to the sea lions near the jetty. Below are today’s observations.

Tumour and Beautiful Skies

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15+ miles
  • Wind: 10-15 NE, later West
  • Sky: overcast in the morning, sunny later on
  • Water: 1′ chop
  • Absolutely gorgeous skies all day long!

sunset-2-5-10

Ecological

  • Saw a California sea lion branded U601.
  • Saw a Steller Sea Lion with a tumour on the side of his head.
  • 3 elephant seals came to hang out on the island today.

Maintenance

  • Cleaned the solar panels.
  • Noted the distilled water supply for Kyle.
  • Began scraping the rusty diesel barrels.

Boats

  • Several eco-tours today.
  • One of them appeared to be too close to the sea lions in the jetty area.