Entangled California sea lion

Wildlife notes:

A third entanglement was sighted this morning on the shore near the Energy Building. Unlike the other two, it was a California sea lion. From yesterday’s Census, 293 sea lions were counted, for an entanglement rate of 1%. Studying Stellar sea lions in Alaska and northern BC, Kimberly et al 2009 reported a 0.67% entanglement rate and in some parts of the world this percentage is much higher. Despite education campaigns like Loose the Loop, this problem doesn’t seem to be getting better, at least here. It is not just sea lions that are affected. Over 100 different species of marine wildlife get entangled in debris. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada, have been busy lately rescuing entangled whales in BC (CBC article) and the number of entangled whale is increasing (CBC article).

This graphic from the Pinniped Entanglement Group (PEG) illustrates the common causes of entanglement. Source: https://pinnipedentanglementgroup.org/sources-of-entaglement/

It is hard to see these entangled animals and know that for some, it will be a slow, painful death.

California sea lion sighted Aug 15 near the Energy Building. Since the area around the neck is dry and there is no discharge from an open wound, this is considered a non-active entanglement. It may be a scar from a previous entanglement.  Hopefully this animal stays around here so it be checked by the Marine Mammal Rescue staff.

Facility work:

  • Clean solar panels
  • Cleaned windows on Keeper’s House
  • Scrubbed side deck on Keeper’s House

Vessels:

  • 18 Ecotourism, 1 private 

Weather:

Skies partly cloudy. Fresh westerly breeze until 15:00, increasing to near gale in the evening.  Daytime temperatures: low 13, high 17.

Aug 14 Census

Mammals

sea otter: 1
elephant seal: 1 female
harbour seal: 34 (6 South Islands, 1 South Seal Rocks, 19 Middle, 1 Turbine, 7 North Is.)
Stellar sea lion: 185 (48 Great Race Rocks, 136* Middle, 1 Turbine)
California sea lion: 108 (107 Great Race Rocks, 1 Turbine)

Birds

cormorant: 45 (21 South Islands, 24 Great Race Rocks)
gulls**: 761 (33 South Islands, 4Turbine, 7 North, 717 Great Race Rock)
oyster catcher: 20
pigeon guillemot: 123
surfbird: 46
black turnstone: 149
ruddy turnstone: 3
harlequin duck: 1
barn swallow: 1
Canada goose: 7
song bird: 3

*  Note: all sea lions on Middle Rock were counted as Stellar sealions, there may be a couple of California sea lions mixed in.
** Note: Gull counts do not include this season’s chicks

Wildlife notes:

The entangled Stellar sea lion was not spotted today on Great Race Rocks. A Stellar sea lion with a dark coloured stain around its neck (possibly a packing band), reported previously by naturalists on the ecotourism boats, was sighted on Middle Rock during the census.

The Stellar sea lion on Middle Rocks with a possible new entanglement is located in the bottom centre of the photo and has a dark coloured ring around its neck.

I wish I could sleep like a sea lion, on any surface, cold, hard, flat or bumpy and with only a log for a pillow.

Visitors:

Greg and Gabe came out to work on the electric fence

Facility work:

  • Clean solar panels
  • Electric fencing work – Jetty is now 3/4 electrified.

Vessels:

  •  27 Ecotourism

Weather:

Clear skies. Moderate to fresh westerly breeze. Daytime temperatures: low 13, high 15.

Daily seawater readings

I used our herding board for the first time today. Ours isn’t red and I wasn’t moving little piglets. Ours is a sheet of plywood with two cupboard handles and I was trying to send the California sea lions off the Jetty so I could take the daily seawater reading. The surface seawater temperature and salinity data have been collected at Race Rocks since February 1921!

It is great to take part in this long-standing tradition and as a tribute, I wanted to share some information on Race Rocks and the other light stations on the BC coast, ranging from the most northerly station on Langara Island, Haida Gwaii to Race Rocks.  The only station with a longer data collection period is Departure Bay.

Location of lightstations. Source: BC Lightstation Sea-Surface Temperature

Data collection period. Source: BC Lightstation Sea-Surface Temperature

Race Rocks and Pine Island are different from the other stations in that they show the least amount of seasonal variation and have the flattest curves of monthly average temperatures over the past 30 years. These two stations also have lower temperatures than the other stations in their geographic areas.

Monthly temperatures from 1991-2020. Source: BC Lightstation Sea-Surface Temperature

Temperatures at lightstations grouped by geographic area. Source: State of the Physical, Biological and Selected Fishery Resources of Pacific Canadian Marine Ecosystems in 2022, page 44

At Race Rocks the temperature increases have been greatest in the most recent period ranging from 1994 to 2023. And one last pretty graph… a plot of daily temperatures for the 2023 data for Race Rocks, showing the months that were colder or warmer than expected.

Graph of daily temperature observations for Race Rocks. Source: BC Lightstation Sea-Surface Temperature

Daily temperature observations at Race Rocks for 2023. Source: BC Lightstation Sea-Surface Temperature

Sea surface temperature in B.C. waters has been increasing over the long term and salinity in the NE Pacific has decreased in recent years. It is of great concern. To learn more about the implications of rising ocean temperatures and salinity changes and Canada’s oceans in general (in order of increasing detail and scientific complexity):

Wildlife notes:

The entangled sea lion moved yesterday to Middle Rock and was not seen on Great Race Rocks today. No out-of-the-ordinary wildlife sightings today.

Facility work:

  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Operation walkway – work in progress

Vessels:

  • 16 Ecotourism, 1 private

Weather:

  • Overcast until late afternoon. Winds westerly varying from moderate to strong breeze. Daytime temperatures: low 13, high 17.

Entanglement

Wildlife notes:

A Stellar sea lion entangled in fishing gear has been sighted several times since Aug 10 in the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve on Middle Rock and Great Race Rock. For a middle age female, which will grow very little after the age of 6, the outcome of entanglement may not be as bleak as for a young male which will continue to grow until the age of 11 (Kimberly et al 2009).  Rescues are extremely challenging and costly. Successful rescues have been carried out at Race Rocks in 2020, 2019, 2017 and 2009. Hopefully this sea lion stays here in a place where it can be accessed and helped.

To learn more and watch a disentanglement operation see

  • Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society video
  • SeaDoc Society, a program of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine video

 

Facility work:

  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Operation walkway – work in progress
  • Ran generator and desalinator

Vessels:

  • 20 Ecotourism, 3 private

Weather:

  • Overcast all day. Winds SW varying from gentle, moderate to fresh breeze. Daytime temperatures: low 12, high 17.

Back to the earth

Wildlife notes:

The gull chick found dead on July 24th near “Intersection” gull is disappearing quickly. In just over 2 weeks it is hardly recognizable among the grass, sea lion hair and the bones and hard bits of other birds, fish and chiton.

The male elephant seal is still absent and the female has been sleeping in some odd places these days. Today she was lying against the woodpile.

A sea lion entangled in fishing gear and struggling to breath has been reported by the naturalists on the ecotourism boats. It was last seen in an area that I can’t access without causing terror and unnecessary gull chick attacks. I will search for it tomorrow morning.

 

Facility work:

  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Operation walkway – work in progress
  • Ran generator, desalinator and washed bedding and towels for next Ecoguardian

Vessels:

  • 27 Ecotourism

Weather:

  • Overcast in the morning, cloudy most of the afternoon, clear skies by sunset. Moderate SW breeze until early afternoon, fresh W breeze afternoon and evening. Daytime temperatures: low 12, high 17.

 

Sea lions are returning

Wildlife notes:

I returned after 10 days away to find two notable differences. The male elephant seal is not here and there is an explosion in the sea lion population. It seems every time I look there are more and they are coming closer to the electric fence. I thought the gulls had a lot to say to each other!  It will be interesting watching them. The weather is the same as when I left and I am back to wearing long underwear, sweaters and a toque.

Unlike the elephant seal, this California sea lion is using its hind flippers for scratching.

 

Facility work:

  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Topped up battery fluid

Vessels:

  • 25 Ecotourism

Weather:

  • Fog with visibility less than 1/4 mile in the morning, lifting by 12:00 and clear skies by 14:00. Strong westerly breeze most of the day. Near gale westerlies in the late evening. Daytime temperatures: low 11, high 18.

August 3 – Station Boat

The Race Rocks 14′ Boston Whaler boat has not been used in a while. After the elephant seals cleared the ramp for their post swim afternoon nap, I lowered the boat to the water with the electric winch. Once I made sure the motor was running properly, I took the boat out for a quick 20 minute ride, including idling to take photos and look in the binoculars. I had back up by VHF radio and cellphone in case anything went awry. Pearson’s boat Second Nature was in the area, taking alumni on tours around the Ecological Reserve. The station boat is running well. I look forward to more around the rocks tours over the coming weeks. I do need to troubleshoot the GPS/SONAR unit before I go out next. Oddly, it was working fine in the boathouse. Race Rocks would be boring if everything worked all the time.

The sea lion population continues to climb with 60 on Middle Rock and 13 on Great Race by the jetty. That is a big difference to yesterday afternoon when there were no barks or belches coming from the main island, just the occasional elephant seal bellow or sleep apnea snort.

Facility work:

  • Launch boat and take it out for a spin
  • Tidy boat house
  • Clean windows on ecoguardian’s house

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 27
  •  Private: 5

Weather:

  • Sea: up to 2′ chop
  • Sky: Partly cloudy, fog (and foghorn) from 20:26 onwards
  • Wind: W 16-30 knots
  • Air temperature: low 11°C, high 13°C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 10.1°C

** All wildlife photos are taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

August 2

I will contact NOAA and DFO to report the resighting of the California sea lion with the tag 13-2. The orange tags mean the sea lion was rehabilitated. The tag on the left flipper means the sea lion is a male. I will update the log when I hear back about his history. The rest of the California and Steller sea lions are currently hauled out on Middle Rocks. Perhaps this guy needs a break from the frat party.

Facility work:

  • Clean solar panels
  • Check guest house for supplies and cleanliness

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 12
  •  Private: 3

Weather:

  • Sea: rippled in morning, up to 3′ chop in afternoon/evening
  • Sky: Partly cloudy
  • Wind: variable light winds overnight; from 07:00-12:00 westerlies 8-20 knots; afternoon/evening westerlies 20-31 knots
  • Air temperature: low 12°C, high 21°C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 11.0°C

** All wildlife photos are taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

August 1 Census

Census Results:

Mammals:

  • Elephant seal: 2 (female and male)
  • Steller sea lion: 34
  • California sea lion: 11
  • Sea otter: 1
  • Harbour seal: 78

Birds:

  • Bald eagle: 1
  • Canada goose: 3
  • Cormorant: 33
  • Gull: 584
  • Black oystercatcher: 20
  • Pigeon guillemot: 131
  • Whimbrel: 1
  • Surfbird: 28
  • Black turnstone: 137
  • Song sparrow: 2
  • Least sandpiper: 1

Facility work:

  • Reacquaint myself with the standard operating procedures and various systems on the island
  • Check boat electronics, safety equipment, and winch
  • Clean solar panels
  • Sample seawater

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 23
  •  Private: 5

Weather:

  • Sea: Rippled
  • Sky: Clear in morning, then partly cloudy
  • Wind: Variable light winds overnight until sunrise ~06:00, when wind switched to easterlies varying from 3-14 knots throughout the rest of the day
  • Daytime air temperature: low 13 C, high 24 C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 10.6 C

** All wildlife photos are taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

A Wonderful Welcome to The Rock!

It has been a year and seven days since I was last here at Race Rocks. This evening, Greg drove me out from Pearson’s maintenance dock at 17:00. Christine greeted us on the dock. After, we quickly switched food bins and bags in the boat before hauling my stuff up the ramp to the house. We did a short walk around and chat to catch me up on the happenings on the island.

Forty minutes later, Greg and Christine set off towards Pearson, but not before having a round the ecological reserve tour.

I have big shoes to fill from the ecoguardians over the past year who have kept this place running smoothly day to day. Every ecoguardian does different tasks as called upon by the season’s elements, needs of the infrastructure, neighbouring species, and projects they take on to better the place. Some ecoguardians are even excellent landscapers, TikTokers, tinkerers, photographers, and so many other things.

Over the next few weeks, I plan to continue fighting the good fight to keep entropy at bay on Race Rocks :) I am going to frequently exercise the winch and station boat, continue to document the other than human (and some human too) species who visit the ecological reserve, do a little scrubbing of windows and solar panels, as well as whatever other tasks might come up.

 

Facility work:

  • Christine left the house and everywhere else very tidy. She also left me notes of today’s vessel traffic and weather before I arrived.
  • There was plenty of sunshine for the solar panels to run the island and top up the batteries. Between 13:00 and 15:00, the average solar input was 5 kWh out of the maximum of 7 kWh.

Vessels:

  • 32 Ecotourism
  • 5 private

Weather:

  • Sky: fog bank in the morning, clearing at noon to be partly cloudy. Clear skies after 14:00.
  • Wind: west 11-19 knots
  • Daytime air temperature: low 14°C, high 17°C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 10.7°C