Category Archives: Ecoguardians Log

Gust of wind in the afternoon and orcas in the passage just for me

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Weather

At 5:00 just 10 knots from North but Gale warning in effect,Sky cloudy ,Visibility over 13 miles Temperature:11degrees Celsius,Humidity:91%. At 12:30 PM wind to 32 knots and 40 knots at 4:00PM. Some fog in the morning.

Ecological

An Eagle attacked the birds colony pretty early this morning.4 geese ,,the pigeons guillemots were numerous and very active. I had the privilege to see a flock of orcas going through the North passage ! What a scenery! Maid my day!

Vessels

Cruise ships ,Navy ships ,a few fishing boats and for sure whale watcther vessels

Maintenance

200 liters of diesel transferred to the house tank,  wood splitting and inside work

 

 

 

Just a few sea lions but noisy ones…

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Weather

22 knots  south west wind ,sea with wavelets, sky overcast,visibilty over 13miles. Low tide at 0,73 . Full moon is coming soon

Ecological

I was” disturbed” by a few very noisy sea lions on the jetty! In the afternoon nap for everybody …sleeping rock.4 new geese

vessels

Whale watchers :1st one at 10:30 AM  no fishing boat on sea, a few carriers going out

Maintenance

desalinator on,cleaning of the house windows,wood chopping,some grease on the boat trailer.

Very calm day except for the watchers around

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Weather

Almost no wind :6 knots  from west ,calm sea and 13 miles visibility at 5:30 AM.The wind raised at 5h00 PM to 17knots and quickly to 20 knots.

Ecological

7 elephant seals were sleeping the whole day. 4 were big males

Maintenance

Solar panels very dirty in the morning ,a wheel on the dolly needed to be changed and the chainsaw needed to be sharpened

Vessels activity

At 5h30 AM the cruise ships were heading to Victoria and at 11am the 1st whale watchers were around the rock . It has never stopped for the rest of the day. May be a correlation between the 2: cruise ships and activity at Race Rocks.

Switch over done on the 2nd of June ,2017

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On Sunday 2nd of June between two gusts of wind Guy switches over Laas. Thank you for the good job and for  leaving the house so tidy.

Weather

Saturday 3rd : light wind 17knots ,sky :overcast;visibility: over 15miles,calm sea.On Sunday: more wind 24Knots  to 31 knots from West,sea state: white crests,visibility :15miles, sky: partly cloudy, air temperature:9.5 degrees at 5:30AM. Monday: calm again:9knots from West clear and calm.

Ecological

Around on Sunday it was interesting to watch 2 heavy fishing boats coming back from sea full9 elephants seals on the rocks . Seagulls on their nests; a few are aggressive as usual at this time of the year. it takes 23 to 24 days of incubation and around 40 days to see the babies taking off for the 1st time.Many eagles in the morning trying to get some eggs.

Vessels

Saturday has been a busy day for the watchers and also for the small fishing boats closed to the coast.  The cruise ships are back and can be seen as usual in the evening leaving Victoria.In Sunday it was nice to watch 2 big , heavy and full of fish boats coming back from high seas. Some big containers

Plane

One above the tower towards Victoria

Facility work

Generator and desalinator on / 200 liters of gasoil transfered in the yellow tank / cleaning of the boat shed and on the jetty

 

 

 

 

Last day

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 Miles
  • Wind:  0-5 SE
  • Sky: overcast to partly cloudy
  • Water: calm

Boats/Visitors

  • A few ecotours today

Ecological

  • 11 elephant seals scattered around today

Other

  • Today is my last full day, I head out tomorrow but I hope to be back in the fall

Census Day

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 Miles
  • Wind:  20-15 NW
  • Sky: overcast
  • Water: calm

Boats/Visitors

  • A few ecotours today

Ecological

  • 11 elephant seals scattered around today, mostly around the jetty to cool off in the water

Census

  • Stellar Sea Lions: 33
  • California Sea Lions: 23
  • Elephant Seals: 11
  • Harbour Seals: 161
  • Unspecified Gulls: 212
  • Pigeon Guillemots: 53
  • Cormorants: 12
  • Canada Geese: 19
  • Oystercatchers: 8
  • Harlequinn Ducks: 0
  • Crows: 1

Notes

  • The harbour seal numbers have significantly increased but all of the other numbers seem to have gone down
  • The little elephant seal is back, I haven’t seen her for a few days

Seagulls vs Elephant Seals

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 Miles
  • Wind:  5-10 W
  • Sky: overcast some rain
  • Water: calm

Boats/Visitors

  • A few ecotours came by today

Ecological

  • 11 elephant seals today mostly in the front of the house but went down to the jetty, I see still don’t see the youngest female around
  • There are definitely more seagull eggs, an elephant seal got too close to one of their nests earlier and got into a fight with two of them, the gulls won, the seal wiggled away

 

Nesting and Fighting

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 Miles
  • Wind:  15-20 SW
  • Sky: overcast some rain
  • Water: choppy, no more than 1 metre waves

Boats/Visitors

  • A few ecotours came by today

Ecological

  • 11 elephant seals today, 5 of them are male, and they have been fighting with each other all day the other 6 females have been pretty aggressive toward each other today as well
  • The gulls have started nesting and will get protective if you get too close
  • The geese are just at the end of nesting and are still pretty aggressive
  • I came across 2 oystercatcher nests while cleaning the solar panels today, thankfully they just get loud and try to distract you away from their nests rather than attacking
  • Also I have not seen the youngest female elephant seal around