Category Archives: Marine Vessels

Yellow-headed Blackbird

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Again it was a day dominated by the west and west-southwest winds. It was blowing 30 to 35 knots at dawn but the velocity subsided and most of the day it blew 20 to 25 knots. Skies were partially overcast and as predicted there were a few showers. Air temperature remains low, and is not much different than flooding sea surface temperature at ~ 9.7 oC. ranging between 10 oC and 12 oC .The wind is also chilling and today had the highest wind speeds of the week. The barometer rose today from 1008 to 1013 hPa and is dropping now while the forecast calls for gales and a gale warning has been issued. Saturday is supposed to be mainly cloudy with a 30% chance of showers.

There were four whale-watching boats observed, working in the Ecological Reserve today. No other vessels were observed in reserve.

Female Northern Elephant Seal # 5086 is on day seven of her moult now and has made great strides in losing skin during the last 24 hours. She has achieved the two thirds moulted milestone and is still grouchy.

5086_Day 7

Black Oystercatchers are without a doubt nesting now and there are eggs in their terribly spartan nests, which have none of the comforts of home like soft vegetation or down.

Untitled bloy egg2

Some of the goslings are getting quite large and although they may be considered pesty, they are still fascinating to watch.

gosling

The California Sealions are moving back onto Great Race and I awoke to a chorus of them doing a call and response outside my bedroom window this morning.

ZACA

Thanks go out to Don Stewart for spotting and identifying an Anna’s Hummingbird on Great Race today, I believe this is a new addition to the species list here.

DCS

Another thank you to Rocky Point Bird Observatory for identifying a Yellow-headed Blackbird, another possibly new bird to the island. It has been hiding in the long grass and thistles near the base of the Light Tower and it has been difficult to get a photo fast enough. Today it flew to the roof of the Energy Building which made a photo much easier.

Yhblkbrd

Yesterday was census day but it was too foggy much of the day to do a good census. Here are the results from today’s census.

Northern Elephant Seals 26 (18 on Great Race, 8 on Middle Rock)

Harbour Seals 228

California Sealions 14

Northern (Stellers) Sealions 26

Canada Geese 24 (+ 21 goslings)

Harlequin Ducks 6

Pelagic Cormorants 8

Double Crested Cormorants 13

Bald Eagle total 3; 1 adult, 2 sub-adults

Black Oystercatchers          14

Kildeer                                   2

Pigeon Guillemots              230

Glaucous-winged Gulls total 564 (556 adults in nesting areas; 8 sub-adults in                           roosting/resting area)

California Gulls                    6

Common Raven                  1

Northwestern Crow             1

Anna’s Hummingbird         1

Yellow-headed Blackbird   1

Chores were routine today. Courtney came out with the new switch box for Camera 2 and installed it. Camera 2 is working again now but a close-up study on diatom film. Don left on Second Nature.

 

 

 

No more vacillation.

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Although the wind vacillated early and blew south and southeast for a while, it was another unsettled and chilly day on the rock, dominated by west winds. The barometer is rising and the outlook is for warmer temperatures and more sun as well as continuing warnings for westerly winds.

No sports fishers were observed in the Ecological Reserve today but there was whale watching traffic to the west and three boats were observed in the ER. They all slowed and drove responsibly in reserve.

I caught a glimpse of a few whale blows today but did not see clearly enough to know if it was a small Humpback Whale or a Minke Whale, one of the two. The first blow was off West Rocks and later I saw a couple of blows to the south near Rosedale Reef.

There was an interesting gull visiting today. I think it is a juvenile Herring Gull and have the word out for confirmation.

An unusual visitor for this time of year.

An unusual visitor for this time of year.

HeGu?3

The elephant seals are starting to look a bit wane, as they visibly lose girth, their heads appear bigger and skin looser. The huddle also seems to gain importance and all but a few are skin to skin, perhaps to conserve energy due to heat loss.

There are very good low tides now and I took time to document some of the tidal pools on the west side today. Black Oystercatchers were feeding on small limpets on the southwest area.

Bloy smaller

Hydroids and Ophlita sponge sp. living closely together in the surge.

Hydroids and Ophlita sponge sp. living closely together in the surge.

Several people have mentioned that there might be visible impact of Sea Otter predation on the abundance of large calorific marine invertebrates like sea urchins, mussels, cucumbers and large limpets. I was curious and investigated. From a qualitative point of view, there are still a lot of both Red Sea Urchins Stronglyocentrotus fransiscanus and Purple Sea Urchins, S. purpuratus in the lower pools. Not at such high densities as to exclude algal species like Sea Cabbage Saccharina sessilis (taxonomic synonym for Hedophyllum sessile) from the edges of the pools, all the better to have a local food supply.

A nice mix of trophic levels in this tide pool.

A nice mix of trophic levels in this tide pool.

A keyhole limpet and unidentified barnacle sharing space with encrusting red algae and orange sponge.

A keyhole limpet and unidentified barnacle sharing space with encrusting red algae and orange sponge.

The Orange Sea Cucumber, Cucumaria miniata, Keyhole limpet, Diadora aspera and “Dunce-cap” Limpet, Acmaea mitra were also commonly present. Although a few small patches of California Mussels, Mytilus californianus were missing here and there, that could have been from winter storm damage and there was no evidence of heavy predation.

Mussel clumps like this provide habitat for many other species that shelter amongst and under the mussels. Ancient-style grazer on right is a Black Leather Chiton Katherina tunicata (hayushtup on the west coast). the little anemone is Anthopleura elegantissima, the aggregator.

Mussel clumps like this provide habitat for many other species that shelter amongst and under the mussels. Ancient-style grazer on right is a Black Leather Chiton Katherina tunicata (hayushtup on the west coast). the little anemone is Anthopleura elegantissima, the aggregator.

Even eating 25% of its body weight per day, it would take one sea otter a very long time to make a difference in such a productive area. Assuming 10 kg per day it might eat ~3.65 metric tons in a year.

There were no visitors and maintenance chores were routine today.

 

Enter the Merry Month of May

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The wind was just a zephyr today, with a weightless push from south, then southwest, and then nothing for a while. Not much to sail with and the flag hung lifelessly. The barometric pressure was similarly lethargic, going up ever so slightly, then down by about the same. The strong wind warning continues, so it may get here by Sunday evening and the forecast is for sunshine.

There were no whale-watching boats in the Ecological Reserve today although a sports fishing boat came by to look at the sealions in the evening. One rental boat from Pedder Bay with three men, insisted on fishing for and catching rockfish in the closed Rockfish Conservation Area, while the regulars were well outside. There needs to be more notification and communication about where the conservation area is located.

The bull kelp has reached the surface at low tides and is forming fairly massive beds around Turbine Rock where the Sea Otter likes to hang-out. In by the jetty where the current is less active it is at the surface all the time now and some of it is very reproductive, with large sori patches visible on the fronds.

Bull kelp fixes carbon faster than just about anything and grows so fast it makes bamboo look like it is standing still.

Bull kelp fixes carbon faster than just about anything and grows so fast it makes bamboo look like it is standing still.

Bull kelp sori

You can easily see where reduction division (meiosis) happens in the lighter yellow spore patches. You can also see where early patches have popped out of the frond and drifted off.

 

The pair of geese nesting at the base of the light-tower were out walking their goslings today. It looks like five out their eight eggs successfully hatched. The gander belonging to another, younger pair gave himself a real scare today, walking past the basement door where he could see his own reflection. That was really troubling to the pair and also very noisy. The gulls are also noisily going about their business.

Gwgu mate gwgu mate2

The elephant seals continue to moult although a few of them are down to just a few eyebrow hairs now. The younger males seem to be the last to moult and the most active. The same 12 to 14 individuals continue to frequent Great Race.

This almost three year old male (#5850) continues to spend day and night on Great Race. He has finally started to moult.

This almost three year old male (#5850) continues to spend day and night on Great Race. He has finally started to moult.

This young female is ahead of the young males in her moult.

This young female is ahead of the young males in her moult.

California Sealions were hauled out on Great Race today for the first time since I arrived in March and there was a male Californian (sealion) on the jetty that didn’t want to leave when I went down to sample seawater in the afternoon.

The solar panels were well supplied with sunlight today and produced enough energy to run the de-salinator and top up fresh water supply. The high value was 900 W/m2 and the cumulative amount for the day, at 7:00 PM broke the week’s record.

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There were no visitors today and maintenance included routine chores and a couple of little projects.

Population Explosion

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During the early morning there were light winds from the north but it soon switched to west and blew 25 to 30 knots mid-morning. The wind dropped down to a lazy 5 to 10 from the west and swung through south to east and back again, during the rest of the afternoon. The barometer rose steadily all day and even though there were showers early on, the day ended in glorious sunshine with a 10 knot wind from the west, southwest. The forecast is for the wind to turn to east and bring more showers.

Five whale watching vessels were observed within the Ecological Reserve and they were all very respectful of the speed regulations although several were as close as 20-30 meters from the shoreline of Great Race. Two kayakers were noted in the Ecological Reserve in the late afternoon. Several halibut sports fishermen fished just outside the conservation area closed to fishing, respecting the boundary of the closed fishing area.

Casual, ecological observations were made in the inter-tidal at 0.9m and above today in the shelfing area just east of the derrick on the north side of Great Race. A widespread settlement event has occurred recently and juvenile barnacles (<1mm) carpet the mid- to upper inter-tidal area including any unoccupied rock and even occupied shells of sessile organisms like big, old California Mussels.

This population explosion will provide food for many whelks and opportunists and emphasizes incredible competition for space here in the intertidal. The more ephemeral algae of the high inter-tidal are starting to bleach out including some of the higher Porphyra spp or Pyropia spp (nori) and a small red that may be Rhodymenia sp. The following community of intertidal organisms in addition to those list above, were noted (in no particular order) in the area examined.

Enteroctopus dofleini Giant Pacific Octopus

Katherina tunicate Black Leather Chiton

Semibalanus cariosus Thatched Barnacle

Balanus glandula Acorn Barnacle

Pollicipes polymerus Gooseneck Barnacle

Mytilus californianus California Mussel

Gnorimosphaeroma sp. Sex changing Isopod

Lirabuccinum dirum Dire Whelk

Prasiola sp. Small green algae indicative of high nitrogen location

Ulva spp. Sea lettuce

Nucella spp. Whelk

Alaria marginata Winged Kelp

Anthopleura elegantissima Aggregating Anemone

Epiactus prolifera Brooding Sea Anemone

There were also at least four limpet species, several species of periwinkles, coralline algae, red algal turf and red crust.

Today there were 30 visitors. Catrin brought her first year biology students for a field trip and they were divided up into three working groups of eight students each. Erich from Victoria came with the group. Two volunteers from the College accompanied the group and Courtney drove them all out and back in Second Nature (six trips in total). Earlier I picked up Alex in the Race Rocks Whaler who is staying on. he was very helpful with all the landings, loadings and embarkations.

Other than working with all three groups of students which was a real treat, other chores were routine today. Some students, especially biology and marine science students really benefit from exposure to such a biodiverse and productive site as Race Rocks. Most students enjoyed the visit, many observed species they had never seen before and some even collected extensive data for next years individual investigations.

Bumpers come aboard as the last group of students head back to Pedder Bay aboard Second Nature.

Bumpers come aboard as the last group of students head back to Pedder Bay aboard Second Nature.

April 22 – Happy Blue Planet Day. (Not for the easily grossed out.)

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The posting of this log was delayed a day.

Again the westerly wind blew spring and hints of summer onto the continent, funneling in through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. After a clear night, the wind was not quite so dramatic as yesterday, warping up to a steady 25 – 35 knots most of the afternoon. The sky was clear all day too with the highest energy level so far this week. The barometer climbed to a high of ~1019 hPa before dropping at a similar slope in the afternoon. A strong wind warning remains in effect, with winds forecast to lighten by the weekend. The forecast is for periods of rain tomorrow brought in by the southeasterly.

There were only two boats in the Ecological Reserve today; Second Nature and a sports fisher who heading toward Becher Bay, the hard way. Second Nature brought two groups of second year marine science students out for their last field trip before the final exam but was unable to land so both field trips did at-sea activities within and within sight of the ER. The sports fishing vessel came through the reserve around 18:00 and I was concerned that they were going to get into serious trouble as they were slamming through the big break on the west side and for a while not making headway and looking like they were taking on water. Luckily they made it through and probably won’t be back, at least not when the wind and tide are working in concert to make the sea stand on its head in the race.

A large cruise ship passed by quite close by south of Race Rocks. I first noticed the Coho with her stern towards Race Rocks and then saw why. She was trying to get around this big princess. Thank goodness for vessel traffic control. As I took the photo, I noticed the heavy lift ship Blue Marlin, in Port Angeles,with what appears to be an oil rig on her deck.

Cruise ship Grand Princess passes south of Race Rocks .

Cruise ship Grand Princess passes south of Race Rocks .

Ecological happenings include continued activity as reported for the last few days. The Northern Elephant Seal moult is proceeding and I am going to go to collect either some moulted skin or whiskers for stable isotope analyses. Stable isotope analyses are really useful in helping to understanding diet and trophic level (how far up the food chain) and can also be used to gain insight on toxins, migration and habitat use.

This female is shedding her skin along with the very short fur and will also moult her whiskers.

This female is shedding her skin along with the very short fur. Those amazing whiskers can pick up pressure waves from prey to find food in the dark deep.

 

This male is loosing skin on his face, neck and flippers first.

This male is loosing skin on his face, neck and flippers first.

The smooth, gray fuzz is both new skin and new, very short fur on this female's rear flippers.

The smooth, gray fuzz is both new skin and new, very short fur on this female’s rear flippers.

In the “old days” and still in some places, scientists would anaesthetize elephant seals to collect information. This is a potentially dangerous activity (for animals and people), and while the animals were unconscious, researchers would take measurements, sample and ‘lavage’ the seal’s stomach to figure out what they were eating. It is now possible to be less intrusive; more risk adverse and more innovative in data collection. Measurements can be determined using digital photography from a distance. Sampling shed skin or moulted whiskers for an isotope sample can help scientists to learn about a range of health and ecology questions ranging from ecotoxicology to how much of the diet is fish, squid or krill. Another ‘old school’ method for looking at diet, still used, is scatology. It involves collecting faeces. I am going to pass on that one, but here is a photo. I am curious if the bright orange colour comes from krill, or sockeye?

Biologists and doctors study faeces to better understand animal's health, parasites, diet and more.

Biologists and doctors study faeces to better understand animal’s health, parasites, diet and more.

To change the subject, there were a couple of sparrows here today but they were so shy and fast that I did not get a good look at them. They reminded me of the Savannah Sparrows that were here last fall. I wonder if they nest here?

There were no visitors today (on shore). Chores were various and routine.

2009-2014 Whale Observations from Race Rocks

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Lester Pearson College has employed the Ecoguardians at Race Rocks Ecological Reserve since 1997. One of the benefits of this is in having observers on site 24 hours on this archipelago in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. A great amount of citizen science is achieved as they record in their logs the events such as whale sightings of the area.

In the past year I have been working as an intervenor for the Board of Friends of Ecological Reserves to try to question and advise  the National Energy Board and the Kinder Morgan Corporation on the problems of increasing the traffic of oil tankers from the Westridge terminal through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The area of potential impact from chronic and catastrophic oil spills puts at risk the ecological integrity of  up to 17 of our Marine Ecological Reserves around southern Vancouver Island. In our submission I was able to draw upon the records from the Race Rocks Ecoguardian’s logs to demonstrate the increase in the incidence of whales in this area. A recent report of the Department of Fisheries (Sufficiency Review of the Information on Effects  of Underwater Noise and  the Potential for Ship Strikes from Marine Shipping on Marine Mammals  in the Facilities Application for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project )has criticized the Environmental assessment done by Trans Mountain as being ineffective to take account of the increasing potential of Impact on the large whales such as humpbacks and the underwater noise which will masking of the ability of whales to communicate and get food.

I put together the following graphs to show the increase in the number of days per month that whales were observed from Race Rocks:

orcasighting
humpbacksighting

Thanks to Ryan, Raisa, Adam, Alex, Virginie, Julie, Courtney, Nick, and Anne for contributing to this database.

Addendum :  see the April 27 post on the report issued today ” Quantitative Assessment of Increased Potential for Marine Mammal-Vessel Interactions from the Trans Mountain Expansion Project TRANS MOUNTAIN PIPELINE ULC TRANS MOUNTAIN EXPANSION PROJECT –Prepared by: Stantec Consulting Ltd. 500 – 4730 Kingsway Burnaby, BC, V5H 0C6 Ph.: (604) 436-3014,

Garry Fletcher, Race Rocks Ecological Reserve Warden.

 

Smokey Skies

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The wind was still, early this morning. It didn’t really start moving until mid-afternoon, 5 – 10 knots from an east-southeastly direction. Although it was sunny, there was a haze in the air that made for a blazing sunset last night and sunrise today. I am curious if this is smoke, all the way from Squamish, where there was a big creosote wharf fire a few days ago?

sunset

Are these red skies in the evening and the morning a result of the Squamish wharf fire?

Are these red skies in the evening and the morning a result of the Squamish wharf fire?

The barometer rose slowly until about noon and then it started to slowly fall, nothing dramatic and no strong winds. The forecast is for more of the same, with afternoon westerlies tomorrow.

Three whale watching boat were noted in the Ecological Reserve today. The last whale watching vessel of the day, idled slowly through, keeping a deferential distance away from the animals, Tourists were out on the bow, shooting pictures of the blazing sunset and lounging marine mammals. It was a tranquil scene. No sports fishers were observed either speeding in the Ecological Reserve or fishing in the closed area, although several passed through at speeds respectful of the wildlife in the area.

Passive Northern Elephant Seal data collection continued. As luck would have it, all seven animals that had been sleeping in the garden, woke up and decided to go for a swim late morning. This allowed me to take their photos as they passed by the measuring device. I was also able to get some photos inside mouths for dentition information while they were wallowing around gargling saltwater and ‘wrestling’. Tagged animal #5850 continues to hang out as one of the seven ‘gardeners’.

Dentition changes with age and can be a health indicator. Say ah.

Dentition changes with age and can be a health indicator. Say ah….

A branded and tagged California Sealion # U 902 was noted hauling out on South Islets this afternoon. Note the large range of sizes of both species.

California Sealion branded and tagged U902 also read as C902 C is for the mouth of he Columbia River where it was born.

California Sealion branded and tagged U902 (lower left) can also be read as C902. C is for the mouth of he Columbia River, where it was born.

 

There are still three pairs of Canada Geese trying to establish nest sites and they are having a hard time finding territories on this tiny island that already has at least nine Canada Goose nests. Maybe they will head over to Vancouver Island where there is more room. Their territoriality can get in the way of other species having a piece of the very small island as they chase off, not just each other, but Glaucous-winged Gulls, Black Oystercatchers and Pigeon Guillemots.

There were no visitors today. Maintenance chores were routine.  About 9:30 PM the phone/Internet went down for the seventh time since I arrived. Even that is becoming routine.

Bald Eagle versus Canada Goose

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Today’s weather was a mixed bag. Early on there was thick fog, which thinned by dawn and cleared in the early morning. Then for a short time it was glorious and fairly calm with winds westerly up to 15 knots. The westerly wind doubled in the early afternoon and by 4:00 PM it was gusting well over 35 knots in the tower. On radio watch for the afternoon’s activities, I kept a weather eye on Pearson College sailing vessel Amatuana as she was blown across to Victoria in no time flat. Nicely done.

Only one whale watching boat was noted in the Ecological Reserve today and when I finally spotted them, they were pounding out through wind and tide towards Race Passage. Their sound alerted me to their presence.

The Northern Elephant Seals are starting to moult and data collection on basic biological parameters began today including non-invasive, length measurements using the marine railway as a big meter stick.

 

If only this female were lying next to a big ruler, we would have a complete data set on her for April 17, 2015.

If only this female were lying next to a big ruler, we would have a complete data set on her for April 17, 2015.

There were 14 visitors first thing this morning. Courtney, driving Second Nature, brought out one of Laura’s first year, marine science classes. It was an early start for these  students but they had breakfast en route and were very efficient on shore. They did a quantitative, community ecology activity on the low tide. They were trying to determine if and how the diversity, abundance and distribution of intertidal macro-biota changed with vertical height. They used water levels to measure vertical height, (an ancient Egyptian leveling technique based on the fact that water will always find its’ own level), transect lines to position sampling and quadrats to focus sampling efforts. These photos of the students, were all taken by Laura Verhegge.

First year marine science students from around the world learn science experientially at Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific.

First year marine science students from around the world learn science experientially at Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific.

Catriona and Claudia demonstrate skill and teamwork using the waterlevel to measure vertical height ti the next sample.

Catriona and Claudia demonstrate skill and teamwork using the water-level to measure vertical height to the next sample.

 

tella, Connor and Tamara discover the intricacies of inter-tidal life.

Stella, Connor and Tamara discover the intricacies of inter-tidal life.

Courtney is a big fan of elephant seals and so she was keen to help with the first elephant seal measurements this morning and assisted in working out a way for one person to measure the elephant seals without disturbing them. As of this afternoon the marine railway is the new ruler and first measurements made of a young male were very close to those made earlier with a laser, measuring device. The laser technique required two people, two long boards, a right angle check and eye safety protocols. The laser technique had potential to bother the animal (if it was awake). The new technique is passive, non-invasive and non-threatening.

 

Male elephant seal entering the "measuring device".

Male elephant seal entering the “measuring device”.

I saw a juvenile Bald Eagle attack a goose sitting on her nest today. I had suspected this was going on but good to verify. The eagle might have been successful with back-up, but the gander flew in and together with the goose, drove the eagle off. You can guess who I was cheering for. I know it is not science but there is no hockey out here and I am Canadian, eh.

 

Its a blast… really many blasts.

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Today there was a lull in wind velocity. The west-southwest wind continued and even pushed more from the south for a few hours in the afternoon, but the speed was less than half of yesterday’s winds.

It was a bright day even though it hazed over in the late afternoon. This graph of accumulated, daily solar radiation for the last week shows up the big differences between days depending on cloud cover. The metric, one Langley is equivalent to 41.84 kilojoules per metre2. Check out the weather pages of this web-site for more nifty graphs and information.

Cumulative daily solar energy for the past week.

Cumulative daily solar energy for the past week.

The barometer rose today, levelling off and even dropping a little, late afternoon. The forecast is calling for a day similar to this one.

There were no tour boats in the Ecological Reserve today. Two sportsfishing boats were jigging very close to the boundaries but probably not inside and one aluminum water-taxi like sportsfisher went through the main channel at high speed. A derelict looking fishing vessel, called the Larkin, was towed by a tug, through Race Passage adjacent to the reserve, late afternoon.

Military blasting, as promised, was conducted during the business day. Even during and after the biggest explosions, the largest reaction I observed were sealions raising their heads and looking alert for less than 30 seconds.

Speaking of alert (or not), a total of nine Northern Elephant Seals were hauled out on Great Race today. The four in the garden were joined by two young amorous animals and a third sub-adult male. There was a bit of a kerfuffle involving the biggest male but they all settled quickly as it appeared that conflict was just too energetic.

The new (to me) female was well tagged with a left double tag of #7620. The right side was still double-tagged but much more difficult to read with # 7688 confirmed. One of the right tags was yellow instead of the lime green and very worn. Tagged animal # 5850 (left) returned. The animal with psoriasis continues to sleep soundly, off on its’ own right, beside the path and only occasionally, barely opens her eyes when I go past her.

The seal on the right is a female with left tag #7625.

The seal on the right is a female with left tag #7625.

 

The flip side of left tag #7625.

The flip side of left tag #7625 above.

The same female with #7688 on a yellow tag on her right side.

The same female with #7688 on a yellow tag on her right side.

Tag #5850 showing healthy left side flippers and dual tag.

Tag #5850 showing healthy left side flippers and dual tag.

These tags are very important to elephant seal biologists who study the population dynamics: (How many are there? How is the population doing? How long do they live?); the distribution (Where do they go and when?) and the phenology (When are individuals pupping, nursing, mating, and moulting?). The dual/quadruple tags help statisticians test assumptions made about re-sightings so that their mathematical models are more rigorous. We have a lot to learn from this resilient species that has recovered from the brink of extinction and (so far) avoided the pitfalls of genetic bottlenecking.

There were no visitors today and chores were all routine maintenance.

 

 

Lawn Crushers Extraordinaires

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It was a cold and blustery day with winds from the west-southwest, blowing 25 to 35 knots. It was also dark, with a cumulative solar radiation of only ~130 Langleys and a peak of less than 500 Watts/m2, which was half of yesterday’s high. The temperature was about 6o C most of the day but it felt much colder in the wind. The barometer bottomed out around noon and although the trend is rising it seems tentative. The forecast is calling for a little less of the same, with a gale warning for Central Juan de Fuca Strait and an expectation for westerlies to blow 25 -25 knots again by Tuesday evening.

In late afternoon there was one brave, little whale watching boat in the Ecological Reserve. No other vessels were noted in Reserve today.

The folks on the tour boat were watching the sealions on the south side. The sealions which are usually hauled out on the rocks there these days, were almost all hanging out in the water where it was a few degrees warmer than the air and even cozier for a wet animal in the wind.

The lawn was freshly crushed, by four Northern Elephant Seals today. It certainly beats mowing. All but the one with the skin condition woke up after a profound 33 hour sleep to “romp” in the grass. The two young males sparred and a larger male and female practiced for parenthood. They all conked out after about three hours of activity and are now back into deep sleeps. The tagged one (5850) left yesterday afternoon and was not seen today.

Young male Northern Elephant Seals practicing for battle. One can see why size matters in this game.

Young male Northern Elephant Seals practicing for battle. One can see why size matters in this game.

Male (left) and female Northern Elephant Seals romping in the grass.

Northern Elephant Seals romping in the grass. The tulips in the background are now firmly squashed.

The Mist Maidens, which I mentioned a few days ago, are a rare plant found on Race Rocks and they seem to be doing really well. They don’t live in places frequented by the elephant seals so are safe from that threat. I will repeat Courtney’s documentation protocol in May to confirm or deny my qualitative impression that they are doing well.

Tracy's Mist Maidens, or Romazoffia tracyi are a rare plant that appears to be making a come-back on Great Race Island in the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve.

Tracy’s Mist Maidens, or Romazoffia tracyi is a rare plant that appears to be making a come-back on Great Race Island in the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve. It is an early bloomer with delicate white flowers.

The solar panels did not put out much energy today as could be expected from the low light levels. I had to start the generator early and run it a little longer, due to low solar power. It would really be great to have a small, bird-impermeable, wind generator for days like today and to supplement, the rest of the time, as it is usually windy here.

Other than the daily chores, I concentrated on risk mitigation today starting with locating and going through first aid kits. I tried to order first aid supplies and started a health, safety and environment risk mitigation report.