Category Archives: Ecoguardians Log

Stormy Seas

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Weather:

  • Sky partly cloudy, sun/blue sky
  • Visibility 15 NM
  • Wind 26-30 knots W
  • Sea state: swells up to 5 m (high enough to cover the south islands!)

Visitors: 

  • Greg visited briefly yesterday to top up supplies before the stormy weather
  • Yesterday morning a coastguard team arrived by helicopter to do some work on the lighthouse

Ecological Observations: 

  • The sea lions and other animals have come further onto land than usual, presumably because of the stormy seas. Interestingly, the seagulls species have been mixing and not fighting at all as they need to remain closer together in the tough weather.
  • There have been quite a few more geese over the past few days. They have been enjoying the puddles created by the rain and grazing the greener areas now that the gull nesting season is over.

Sun Before the Storm

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Weather: 

  • Sky clear, blue
  • Visibility 15+ miles
  • Wind 0-15 knots W, NW
  • Sea state: calm
  • We are preparing for a large amount of rain over the next few days. Every year the “first big rain” on the west coast is quite an event!

Visitors: 

  • Today Greg visited with supplies for the island and contractors
  • Few whale watching boats now that school in Canada is back in session.

Ecological Observations: 

  • There have been quite a few more stellar sea lions this week. We will be completing our census tomorrow, weather permitting- we’ll see what the numbers show! (last week the fog delayed our census significantly)
  • The bird life has continued to change daily, with many sparrows and gulls migrating with the seasons. The pelican spotted previously stayed in the reserve for a couple of days but we did not see it today.
  • We observed a small pod of orcas passing outside of reserve yesterday evening. We have been seeing fewer humpback whales in the strait this week.
  • Elephant seal E103, or “Erica” has been enjoying the jetty with the sea lions. When we fence the island to prevent damage due to the sealions arriving we are mindful to leave space for the elephant seals to move through the island freely (the fence is high enough for them to pass underneath). Notably, Erica has chosen to remain with the sea lions nearer the jetty, as opposed to her preferred grassy areas at other times of the year. We wonder if she like the company, or if there may be a more survival based explanation for this behavior.

Other notes: 

  • As wet winter weather approaches we have been mindful to collect firewood and store it in the dry areas available to ensure dry heat throughout the winter. It is still necessary to use the diesel furnace as it distributes heat to all areas of the residence but the dry heat from the woodstove just can’t be beat! This wood is collected from the ocean as winds in the winter season push logs fallen from barges into the jetty waters.

 

Break in Foggy Weather: Census + Pelican!

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Weather: 

  • Sky partly cloudy, some sun and blue sky
  • Visibility 10-12 NM
  • Wind 20-15 knots W
  • Sea state: fast moving currents, still fairly flat despite wind

The fog horn continued for 20+ hrs each day until today. For most of this week we have had less than 100m visibility, making it impossible to see even a boat passing through race passage or the end of the jetty. At some points, we could barely see the guest house from the main residence! It can be difficult to focus and/or work productively during these long periods of fog, as the fog horn sounds three long high-pitched “beeps” every 45 seconds. More info on the history of Race Rocks foghorns Here!

Visitors: 

  • There have not been any visitors to race rocks since Monday when Greg and a contractor stopped in briefly.
  • There have been 1-2 tour boats in the reserve daily, but we can often hear them before we see them in the fog. The sea lions are easily startled by them because of the limited visibility, and sometimes when the boats emerge from the fog the sea lions run into the water.

Ecological Observations: 

  • The sea lions have officially taken over the island! We have been dutifully repairing the electric fences daily to keep them from damaging the buildings and especially from disrupting the burial cairns.
  • There have been an incredible amount of interesting birds to observe this week, despite the weather. Today we saw a pelican while enjoying the sunshine right from our back porch! This is a new sighting for us at Race Rocks and we were quite ecstatic.
  • On the note of bird sightings, we are hopeful for the installation of a new bird tracking device on Race Rocks sometime soon which will allow us to view migratory birds passing through the reserve as it detects their tracking bands.
  • One of our favorite elephant seals, E103 or “Erica” has returned again. We were happy to see her looking healthy yesterday- she had been hiding behind the piles of sea lions, and we only saw her once we had shooed them to install more electric fencing.
  • Identifying gulls is incredibly difficult. Some of them look the same aside from a slight wing color difference or color of feet determining them as a separate species! We are wondering if the gulls we have been assuming to be non-breeding california gulls are actually thayer’s gulls. Back to the id books!

Census:

  • 96 Stellar sea lions
  • 383 California sea lions
  • 88 Harbour seals
  • 1 Elephant seal
  • 1 Sea otter
  • 52 Brandt’s cormorants
  • 1 Brown Pelican
  • 1 Oregon junco
  • 2 Fox sparrows
  • 15 Savannah sparrows
  • 1 Yellow-rumped warbler
  • 1 Short billed dowitcher
  • 14 Black turnstones
  • 8 Canada geese
  • 320 Glaucous winged gulls
  • 113 California gulls
  • 20 Heerman’s gulls

Smoke And Fog Through The Week

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Weather:

  • Sky overcast, heavy fog and some smoke
  • Visibility 1 NM down to 100m
  • Wind 5-15 knots SW
  • Sea state: calm

Visitors/Boats:

  • A contractor came out to do a little work yesterday, and some supplies were brought over as well.
  • We have not had much other activity. Tour vessels are becoming less frequent, and the same for pleasure craft.

Observations: 

  • The fog and smoke cover has been extreme over the past four days or so – it is hard to discern the fog to smoke ratio. The fog horn has been sounding for the better part of those days. Probably an average of 16-18 hours per day and typically going through the night.
  • The sea lions are gradually taking over the shores of Race Rocks! Their numbers increase by the day – the areas around the ‘fuel shed’ and the crane are beginning to see a couple of curious creatures poking around. We’re planning on redesigning the fencing on the jetty for this season and for the rest of the island it looks to be high time for a parameter fence. We do need to keep the buildings protected and significant areas undisturbed, but it has been nice to see the sea lions lounge on the jetty.
  • There seems to be a bit of an increase in some birds. There have been shorebirds and others, perching all around the rock and often resting at night. If we need to move around outside at night we keep an eye out as they sleep in the grass and in the plants around the paths.
  • A census will come hopefully tomorrow – the visibility makes it into a game of opportunity.

Here are some pictures from around the rock over the past couple of days:

Boris Is Back!

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Weather:

Visitors:

  • Greg visited today with supplies- thanks Greg!
  • The last of the first year students visited yesterday in small groups. We have been enjoying showing them around the island and hope to see more students soon.

Ecological Observations:

  • The sea lion population seems to be steadily increasing. Interestingly, the stellar sea lions tend to stay on the further outcroppings while the california sea lions are happy to haul out all around the main rock. The two species intermingle, but typically only in the area of our jetty.
  • We were joined again by a young elephant seal yesterday! Unfortunately we still haven’t been able to get a clear look at the green tag visible.
  • A small group of black turnstones came through today, accompanied by a single surfbird.
  • Boris the sea lion has returned! We have been anticipating his return as the sea lion population climbs. Boris was first spotted last year, when he arrived with what appeared to be a propeller injury to his skull. We were uncertain if he would survive, as according to Marty (vet, MMR), sometimes these injuries can cause brain infections if the skull fragments. He is easily identified by the scar that remains, and his unusual behavior- he doesn’t seem to be bothered by our presence much at all. To view previous posts about Boris, click the “boris” tag under this post!

Students, Whales, Census, Seal!

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Weather:

  • Sky clear and blue. Much less smoke than yesterday (currently 13 wildfires burning in washington state).
  • Visibility 10 NM (visibility reduced due to smoke)
  • Wind 5-10 knots SE
  • Sea state: calm

Visitors:

  • As the students return to the Pearson College campus we are being joined by small groups of first year students to introduce them to race rocks. We have been enjoying showing them around and sharing about the ecology- they ask great questions!
  • Greg has been accompanying these trips as well as MJ
  • Few boats in the reserve now that the long weekend is over. Quite a few whale watching boats following the humpback whales that we have been seeing in the strait.

Ecological Observations: 

  • The sea lion numbers are climbing daily still. There are many more california sea lions than stellars right now.
  • We have been seeing the occasional small group of black turnstones (less than ten) but the large migrating groups have moved on.
  • Yesterday we spotted a short billed dowitcher!
  • Today we were joined by one young elephant seal on the jetty ramp. Unfortunately the sea lions are not the most friendly company and it seems that they have scared it away.
  • We have been seeing groups of cormorants in the reserve, mainly on the south islands and seal rocks.
  • We have been spotting at least 1 humpback per day in the juan de fuca strait

Census: 

  • 1 Elephant seal
  • 1 Sea otter
  • 155 Harbour seals
  • 213 California sea lions
  • 71 Stellar sea lions
  • 395 Gulls (California)
  • 1 Savannah Sparrow
  • 1 humpback whale (!)
  • 4 Canada geese
  • 6 Black turnstones
  • 6 Song sparrows

Sea Lion Rescued Near Victoria (Times Colonist , Sept 9, 2020)

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From: https://www.timescolonist.com/sea-lion-rescued-near-victoria-with-plastic-band-around-its-neck-1.24199804

Veterinarian Martin Haulena from the Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre attends to the injured sea lion.

photo: MARA RADAWETZ

 

 

 

A sea lion with a plastic packing band cinched around its neck was rescued near Race Rocks on Sunday, thanks to the combined efforts of rescue teams from Victoria and Vancouver.

The struggling sea lion was first spotted by Mara Radawetz, who lives in the decommissioned lightkeepers’ residence at Race Rocks, just off the southern tip of Vancouver Island. Radawetz, who monitors the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve with partner Kai Westby on behalf ­Metchosin’s Pearson College, saw the sea lion several times during the week in nearby Juan de Fuca Strait, and said the marine ­mammal was clearly in distress.

“He was scratching constantly at his wounds, which were cutting into his skin,” ­Radawetz said.

She contacted Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre, Canada’s only dedicated marine mammal rescue facility and one of the largest rescue facilities in the world, to help free the sea lion from the plastic packing band wrapped around its neck.

Two large Zodiac boats ­carrying the rescue team and several veterinarians arrived Sunday morning, and quickly found the sea lion, Westby said. After being given a tranquilizer ­injection by veterinarian Martin Haulena from the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre, the sea lion was brought onto the shores of Race Rocks and treated.

The plastic band was removed and tracking tags were attached to the animal’s front flippers. A blood sample was also taken, to assist with future studies. After being given a drug to reverse the effects of the tranquilizer, the sea lion was back swimming within minutes, Westby said. “It was great to see them help out an animal that was in such great pain.”

Suffering caused by man-made material such as plastic is an increasingly common problem among sea lions, Westby said. As permanent residents on Race Rocks, he and Radawetz see their share of injuries to sea lions.

“It can be pretty sad to see. They live for 20 years or 30 years, and as the animal grows, the band cuts through its skin. It becomes a really painful-looking wound.”

mdevlin@timescolonist.com

Successful Sea Lion Rescue!

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Weather:

  • Sky Clear and blue
  • Visibility 15+ NM
  • Wind 20-25 knots NE
  • Sea state: swells up to one meter
  • Temperature outside: 19.8 C
  • Pressure: 1021 hPa (decreasing)
  • We have been seeing consistent fog in the late evening, lasting for an average of 2 hrs. The fog banks seem to move over us from Port Angeles.

Visitors: 

  • Marine Mammal Rescue and DFO visited yesterday (more on this below).
  • Steady flow of pleasure crafts and whale watching vessels over the long weekend.

Sea Lion Disentanglement: 

  • Yesterday Marine Mammal Rescue along with the support of DFO vessels and staff came to help a sea lion with a plastic packing band stuck around his neck. They were able to successfully dart the sea lion with a tranquilizer injection, remove the band, give him tracking tags on his front flippers, and take a blood sample. When this was done they injected a reversal drug to wake him up and with a little scratch he was back on his way!

Ecological Notes:

  • The seagull chicks have officially flown the coop! Only a few remain and we are able to move around the island again without bothering the nesting birds.
  • This year we have noticed significantly less trash left behind by seagulls than last year. Our best guess is that they had more food available to them this summer, which would also align with observing them regurgitating much more fish that the previous season.
  • The sea lions have been increasing in numbers every day. The new fencing material that Nick and Greg used seems to be working much better than the wire that we tried last year, preventing them from damaging the island infrastructure. We have been letting them rest on the jetty this week but we will soon need to install more fencing in preparation for student visits.
  • Yesterday we found two turnstones which appeared to have been killed by the gulls while we were investigating the area near the codar antenna (SW Great Race Rock).

An Exciting Few Days- Orcas!

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Weather today: 

  • Blue skies with a few small clouds blowing by
  • Visibility 10-15 NM
  • Wind 10-25 knots SW
  • Sea state 0.5 m chop

Visitors: 

  • No visitors today, but over the last few days we have have been joined by Greg and a technician to service equipment and deliver supplies to the island. Environment Canada personnel came to update weather equipment on the lighthouse with new sensors and other hardware!
  • A handful (5-10) eco-tourism vessels have been though the reserve daily as well as the same for pleasure crafts.

Ecological Observations: 

  • Over the last few days it has been very interesting to note the development of the seagulls chicks during our two week absence. The majority of them can now fly, although many appear to spend time in their respective nesting areas. While the young ones spend time on the water and practice bobbing their heads under, they still beg for food from their parent(s).
  • There have been 2-5 explosions daily, except for today, at the Esquimalt Canadian Forces Base. They seem to be varying in intensity – sometimes only a sharp ‘thump’, while other times the whole house shakes! The animals in the reserve certainly notice the latter. We sometimes see the majority of the landed birds and hauled out pinnipeds in the area flee to the water or air on these occasions.
  • On Tuesday we observed a larger pod (5-6) of orca whales move through the reserve and the surrounding waters. We first spotted them to the inside of north rock and over roughly 20-30 minutes they moved around great rock to opposite side. It looked as though they may have been hunting (moving towards shore in a line formation) but we were not able to see their prey.

August 31 – Weekly Census and Shift Change

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Wind: W 2-15 knots
Sea State: calm
Visibility: 5-15 NM
Sky: partly cloudy in early morning, then clear
Temperature: 11-17 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 411.90 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

Census results recorded this morning at low tide for the mammals and throughout the day for the birds:
26 steller sea lions
110 california sea lions
1 sea otter
290 harbour seals
1 Canada goose
7 pelagic cormorants
1,232 california gulls
251 glaucous-winged gulls
98 gull chicks
2 black oystercatchers
7 black turnstones
1 song sparrow

There were a lot of eco tourism boats passing through the ecological reserve today. An outrigger canoeist paddled through the main channel in the mid morning and again in the early afternoon.

Tomorrow is my last day as the Ecoguardian. Mara and Kai are returning for a few months. I have enjoyed being back on this wonderful island for the past 17 days, learning on the edge where the land meets the sea meets sky. Race Rocks is a unique place that couldn’t exist without the work of Pearson students, staff, faculty, alumni and volunteers.

Here are some sights from around the island today: