Category Archives: Mammal Notes

Never Ending North East

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Ecological

  • Wind NE 10-20 knots all day and all night and forecast to continue…barometer is trending upwards.  Clear sky most of the day. Temperature has been getting down to zero at night and sea water temp is at its lowest as of recently, 8.5 C.

Vessels

  • 3 eco tour boats in the reserve.  One of them passed through the channel between the inner South Island and Great Race while sealions were on the south island and southern shore of Great Race. The passage itself is less than 100 meters wide so it is impossible to go through there while sealions present without being less than 100 meters from them.  Additionally there was a second tour boat from the same company on the other side of the South island so the sealions were surrounded, this can increase likelihood of a disturbance.  A few sealions did exit into the water as the boats passed by.  UPDATE Jan 2: We received an email on Dec 31 from the captain of the boat involved in this incident.  He apologized for his mistake going through this passage and creating a sealion disturbance.  The other tour operator radioed him to tell him that passage in this channel is not allowed.   He had not been aware of it.  He said he would not do it again and would help spread the word.  We appreciate him getting in touch with us and are thankful for his accountability and commitment to preventing this kind of incident from occurring again.   

Maintenance

  • Tracked cable from offline charge controller to identify which row of panels it is connected to, second row from South side of roof.
  • fixed saw horses which were wobbly
  • scrapped and touch-up-painted diesel barrel with anti-rust paint
  • Cleared wood from ramp, ran derrick to haul in 2 decent logs.
  • Microwave connection went offline in the evening (internet and phone), will deal with it in the morning.

rain water tank

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Ecological 

  • wind NE 10-15 knots increasing to 20 later in the day
  • 3 elephant seals remain on main island, both males and the moulting female.

Vessels

  • 2 pleasure craft
  • 3 eco-tour including a US vessel From San Juan Island, Washington.  One eco tour vessel appeared to be within 100 meters of sealions hauled out on the South Islands.DSC_9474

Maintenance

  • talked we Chris re Race Rocks maintenance issues
  • worked on re-installing rainwater storage tank.  Installed two new cleanout caps on downspouts and added lanyards so that they can be opened but not removed. Added a 1 1/2 ” pvc ball valve at base of tank for a cleanout so that it is easier to cleanout the tank in place without having to cut pipes.
  • Removed electric fence insulators from jetty to avoid snagging on boat lines and damage from storms.

Storms and calms Dec 21-27

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Ecological

  • Dec 21. Wind SE up 35-40 knots in the morning.  This combined with a higher than normal high tide. Barometer dipped below 990.
  • Dec 21. Nursing Northern sea lion seen on west side of Great Race, first time I have seen this here and apparently only the second time we have gotten photographs of this here.  Solo humpback west of race rocks. Barometer dipped below 990.
  • Dec 22. Wind shifted to West and increased overnight, by morning it was 5-10 knots W but there were still heavy swells coming in from the straight. Barometer dipped below 990 again today. At high tide the large sets of waves were breaking over the jetty and spray from waves was reaching above the helicopter pad.  Sealions were surfing reef break off South side of Great Race.  2 branded sealions: 409Y and 315Y (photo) observed.
  • Dec 23. Strong westerly overnight again and high tides. Wind picked up to 30 knots SW in the evening.
  • Dec 23.  A second female elephant seal came onto the island bringing total to 4 on Great Race, she is smaller than the other one and going through catastrophic molt.
  • Dec 24. Relatively calm day, partly clear, wind NE 5-10 knots. Atmospheric pressure on the rise.
  • Dec 25. Relatively calm day, partly clear, easterly picked up later in the day.  Over past few days there have been more sea-lions on Great Race than I can recall from previous years at this time.
  • Dec 26. wind NE 10-15 knots increasing to 25 N in the evening.  Atmospheric pressure reached 1030 early in the day before starting to descend.  Chuckles (smaller male e-seal, name short for Chunk-Holes in reference to the many tooth marks across his back caused by Chunk) sustained more wounds overnight from Chunk, he was hiding up at the base of the tower in the morning.
  • Dec 27. N wind over 20 knots and rain, pressure falling.  River otter around derrick deck.  Had to cancel transport for Christmas bird count  at RR due to weather. Chuckles still at base of tower, I dont think he has gone off island for about a week, at least its raining now so he will get a rinse.

Marine Vessels

  • Dec 22. 2 Eco tour
  • Dec 24. I went off island in the morning and returned just after noon.  2 ecotour vessels in afternoon.
  • Dec 25. I went off island mid morning and returned mid afternoon.  1 ecotour in afternoon.
  • Dec 26. 1 eco tour.

Maintenance

  • Dec 21. Got prices on stove parts.  Lots of wood to clean up on boat ramp.
  • Dec 22. Stormy most of the day.  Checked water levels in batteries. Cut and chopped fire wood.
  • Dec 23. Stormy day. Lots of wood to clear of ramp. Sent stove parts price list to Chris for approval.  Sent photos of chimney in student house attic to Jeff.  Made parts list for town run.
  • Dec 24. Picked up plumbing parts (at Andrew Sherret) for rainwater tank and leaky water line in basement and bar oil for chainsaw (Slegg). Picked up pressure washer from shorefront. Pressure washed rain water tank and put tank back in place.  Brought in jerry cans for gas but marina was closed in the afternoon.
  • Dec 25. Lots of wood to clear off ramp.  Cut logs and ran derrick to haul a couple.
  • Dec 26. Lots of wood to clear off ramp. Transferred one barrel of diesel to tidy tank and filled day tank. Filled jerry can for derrick.  Topped up derrick engine fuel and oil (low and needs a change). Derrick battery was too low to turn over engine so plugged in trickle charger for 2 hours after which it started up.  Pulled several logs onto deck.  Got electric chainsaw sharpener running off a spare boat battery, sharpened chainsaw.  Cut firewood. Re-stocked firewood in main house in advance of cold and wet weather coming. Missing cap for downspout clean-out to rain water tank.
  • Dec 27. Cleared, cut and chopped wood.

Dec 19th and 20th

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Ecological

  • Wind has continued to shift between predominantly West and South East reaching a peak of over 30 knots Sunday afternoon
  • Both male elephant seals have remained mainly on Great Race. Saturday morning there were signs of fresh wounds on the smaller male’s back.
  • Pelagic cormorants, with iridescent green and purple tinted black plumage,  were clearly distinguishable in the sunlight Saturday morning
  • A california sealion with brand number 8240 was seen Sunday afternoon

Marine Vessels

  • Saturday afternoon two ecotour vessels were seen in the reserve. They entered from around West Rock and proceeded up middle channel against a ~4 knot ebb while there were sealions hauled out on the West side of the Great Race.
    Traveling against the current as well as within 100 meters of marine mammals are both careless and unprofessional.
  • Sunday afternoon a group of sailing yachts circumnavigated race rocks passing inside the reserve occasionally.  They were out when windspeed was peaking at 30 knots.

Maintenance

  • Assessed wood stove and contacted supplier to get prices on replacement parts, two baffle tubes are burnt out, bottom brick liner is broken into several pieces and baffle is a bit worn.
  • Worked on generator fuel transfer, had some problems with transfer pump over loading filling pipe and backing up with fuel.  Spoke with Jeff about it and locating fuel gauge on day tank (its on the South side, against the wall).  Transferred one barrel of diesel to tidy tank then filled up day tank.
  • Sunday battery voltage was bellow 48V at 2 pm so started generator early and ran desalinator for 8 hours.
  • Oil level on desalinator high pressure pump was above fill line so drained some out before starting up.

Other

  • Went off island Sunday morning for some supplies and returned around noon.  Picked up a plug in watt meter to measure energy loads of appliances and re-stocked on newspaper for fire starting.

Shift Change Dec 18th

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Jasper departed from Race Rocks early in the morning and I arrived around noon.  I have been off the island since my last shift ended in early March.

Thanks to Jasper and preceding guardians for keeping things tidy and running smoothly out here. Also, a big thanks to Courtney Edwards. Today was her last day working at the College. Over the past two years Courtney has contributed greatly to Race Rocks and Pearson College both as an Ecoguardian and Shorefront Manager.

Ecological 

  • Wind was blowing west 20-25 knots when I arrived and dropped over the afternoon.
  • both male elephant seals were on the main island when I arrived
  • a small female elephant seal hauled out mid afternoon, headed across the island, checked out the sealions off the south side then headed back to boat ramp, avoiding Chunk on the way.

Maintenance

  • picked up new tools/parts and pelican case for the boston whaler
  • spoke with Jasper and Courtney about energy system, battery maintenance, etc.

Marine Vessels

  • only our station whaler, leaving and returning.

Other

  • Unloaded supplies and unpacked.  Toured facilities to get reacquainted and take stock of new systems and maintenance needs.

Elephant seal behaviour

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I received this email from the ecoguardian about interesting elephant seal beahviour:

A few weeks ago we saw a E-seal pup from Ano Nuevo (see the pictures attached). When it encountered some difficulty in getting off our docks, one of the larger E-seals was behaving very motherly. It was quite panicked and monitoring the pup closely swimming from one side of the dock to the other, reaching up to see it. In the photo I’ve attached you can see her peering up to see the pup, which she was doing over and over again. I have since seen these two around together in the water as well.

The research says that mothers are only with pups for 4 weeks – so I’m intrigued by this behaviour as this pup must be about 9 months old or so…maybe some mothers stay around for longer? Or there is other behaviour that I’m not aware of……

Steller with an infection

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Ecological Happenings

  • A Steller Sea Lion spotted that couldn’t open its eyes. Looked to have a serious infection, with puss streaming down its body. It was last seen making its way into the water.
  • No Sea Lions on North, Turbine, Middle or West Rocks, they have all migrated to the main island.

Marine Vessels

Two tour boats and two pleasure vessels

Maintenance

  • Continuing to clean the buildings, though currently options are limited without having the high pressure hose working.
  • Detached rain water tank from the building and started to clean the significant build up of organic matter inside it. The intention is to get the tank clean, and design a new system to catch rain water.
  • Continued rebuilding the electric fence at the dock and the NE of the island. Strong winds last week toppled parts of the fence and snapped wires.

No visitors today.

Elephant Seal Pup

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Ecological Happenings

  • After last nights’ strong winds, many of the regular Sea Lions on the North East of the island were not there, but returned towards the afternoon.
  • Four Elephant Seals were on the dock (where the California Sea lions usually lay), including one pup. The pup was tagged (B228). It had a hard time getting off the dock to return to its mother (see photographs below)
  • Great Blue Heron, spotted today by Camera 5 on the high coastal rocks
  • One more tangled Sea Lion was spotted in preparation for the Vancouver Aquarium rescue on the 28th of October. The two that were previously sighted, could not be found today.

Marine Vessels

Four tour boats, no fishing/pleasure vessels seen today.

Maintenance

  • Davis weather station was offline – this has been resolved.
  • Troubleshooting the pressure hose, in preparation of some cleaning on the island.

No visitors today

 

Early Morning Orcas

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Weather

A fine day out at RR today. Winds of between 5-12 kts in varying easterly directions. The barometer dropped from 102.4 this morning to 101.9. Winds increasing tonight to up to 20kts, with midnight fog, forecast to dissipate by Saturday morning.

Boat activity

  • Six tour boats (3 of which spotted the Orcas that were hanging around the reserve this morning)
  • Two pleasure fishing vessels. One moved a little too quickly out of the reserve. We encourage all vessels to travel at a maximum of 7kts within the reserve (we don’t want butchered Sea Lions :)

Ecological happenings

  • 3 Orca’s spotted well within the reserve this morning at 10am.
  • Two bald eagles at North Rocks

Maintenance

  • We continue to trouble shoot the water system in the student house. The pump is now installed, but there is a mysterious leak. Stay tuned……

Visitors

  • Two friends of the eco-guardians are visiting the island today (Carole and Flo). One is a renewable energy consultant and will be checking out the island’s system for improvements. Like all visitors they are awestruck by the island’s energy and beauty.

Fencing Success!

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Weather

Fog early this morning, turning into a fine day. Varying winds of up to 11kts between North and East directions. The barometer got up to 102.6, dropping back to 102.4. A strong wind warning is in effect for tonight and tomorrow (Wednesday), as well as forecast showers.

Boating activity

  • Helicopter over the reserve early morning
  • 5 tour boats today (2 of which were travelling quite fast within the reserve)
  • Only one pleasure craft spotted

Ecological happenings

  • One whale spotted between RR and Port Angeles

Maintenance

  • Several attempts were made at rewiring the electric fence around the dock ( 2nd time lucky!). We now have zero – as opposed to eight – Sea Lions on the dock)
  • Paths on RR were swept
  • We have commenced a critical equipment check for the island

No visitors today.