Category Archives: Education

Killer Whales Late for Class

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It was a clear day from glorious sunrise to subdued sunset. The wind was 5 to 15 knots in the west – southwest quadrant and solar radiation was high, though not quite as high as yesterday; 400 Langleys today and just over that on Monday. As I write the  Log blog, clouds are creeping in and blanketing the mountains on the American side and the barometer is falling again. Forecasts call for a switch to southeast winds, which usually brings wet weather. Wednesday is supposed to be increasingly cloudy and rain is supposed to follow.

Only eight commercial whale watching vessels were noted in the Ecological Reserve boundaries today and five of those were in the afternoon associated with Biggs (Transient) Killer Whales on the other side of Race Passage. The Killer Whales were on the Vancouver Island side of the passage and spent several hours in and around Bentick Island and Emdyck Passage and William Head. Several pleasure craft passed through the reserve today, all without speeding or fishing in reserve. There was one overflight during the first class field trip: a small fixed-wing aircraft that passed over west to east and then returned passing over a second time. Although one red flag was up all day at the military site there were no obvious explosions.

Pearson College students spent part of the day here today. Two of Laura Vehegge’s classes of marine science students came for their first field trip of the year to Great Race Island. I was hoping they would have a chance to see the Sea Otter, at least one pod of Killer Whales and maybe a couple of Humpback Whales, but no. After all they have just started a species list that they will be adding to for the next two years, so they will have other opportunities.

Today the students were also working on journal entries about their marine animal observations. They were lucky enough to see California and Stellers Sea Lions, Northern Elephant and Harbour Seals and lots of Glaucous-winged Gulls. There were also Mew Gulls, California Gulls and if they were sharp-eyed, Heerman’s Gulls. Those were the ubiquitous species, but for me, the more interesting and unusual species were two new, avian visitors that showed up today; a male and female Horned Lark. I send a shout out to Victoria Natural History Society on Twitter for helping with the identification. A flock of 24 Canada Geese landed and were on the island for a very short visit.

Laura’s classes witnessed the down-side of plastic in the ocean today. Is there an up-side? They had the ‘opportunity’ to observe three neck-laced sea lions. Those two California Sea Lions and one Steller Sea Lion with plastic straps around their necks will likely not survive long unless they get the specialized attention of Vancouver Aquarium veterinarian, Dr. Martin Haulena. Dr. Haulena has worked extensively with sea lions and is one of the few people able to do this sort of animal welfare work. This is another good reminder for all of us to avoid plastic if possible, recycle it and just in case it “gets away” cut all possible entanglers before disposing of it. There are a lot of really good efforts towards reducing plastic in our seas and there is a real need.

The Killer Whales mentioned above showed up late in the afternoon and missed both classes.

It was good to see Courtney with Year 20 volunteer Jasper, as a deck-hand on Second Nature. He had quickly graduated to skipper in training by the third run to Race Rocks.

 

 

 

 

Great Tide at Great Race.

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Fog in the morning, fog in the evening, sunshine in the afternoon: this is the weather pattern right now. Strong westerly winds from 20 to 33 knots blow all day and all night. It is really all about equilibrium with that huge mass of cold Pacific water and cool air temperatures rushing in to cool a rapidly warming ‘interior’. Yesterday afternoon there was a ten-degree air temperature difference between here (in fog and wind) and the Victoria airport (in brilliant sunshine). Off in the far distance to the east, thunderheads are visibly forming as that warm air rises and takes moisture with it.

Today, as yesterday, the barometer climbed until about noon and then fell by about the same amount, ending up at ~ 1014 hPa., in the late afternoon. The forecast is for continued strong wind warnings and patches of fog.

There were no vessels observed in the Ecological Reserve today.

Excellent daytime low tides continue and a few more species of algae have been added to my list. Pleurophycus gardneri, the broad-ribbed kelp was growing at 0.2m as was Saccharina groenlandica, the split kelp, which used to be known as a Laminaria. A couple of reds included Endocladia muricata, an important species used as settling substrate for California Mussels and a branching coralline species in a tidal pool, possibly Corallina vancouverensis (jury still out on that id).

Lam groenPleurophycus

corallinaclimbing pup

On the elephant seal front, the small, tagged male 9807, decided to climb up a very steep hill and he had quite a time getting back down. Rock climbing is just not an strong point for elephant seals. It probably seemed like a good idea to go up in order to get away from the boisterous larger males but coming down a different and much more difficult route, he looked a little worried and wane, with his big eyes and his baggy skin.

Ten students, two teachers and a small child came out for an advisee group retreat overnight and they are well ensconced in the science house.

Chores and maintenance were routine today.

 

Finally Field Exam.

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It blew west 15 – 20 knots all day as the barometer slowly climbed to 1016 hPa and leveled off. The early, overcast sky gave way to sunshine by late morning and it continued brilliantly until sunset. The forecast is for more of the same with the strong wind warning continuing.

Two whale watching boats were observed working in the Ecological Reserve and both followed guidelines and regulations, treating the Reserve and its wildlife with respect. Several sports fishing boats passed through the Ecological Reserve at low speed and only one halibut sports fishing boat was slow to slow, in the go-slow zone, doing at least 15 knots but eventually remembering and slowing.

All of the ecological happenings reported on, in the last week or so continued today. Great Race was busy with Northern Elephant seals coming and going from their bathing routines, moulting, sleeping and jousting. The gulls, guillemots and oystercatchers continued to prepare for the next generation and Canada Geese were out and about, promenading their goslings. A raven was seen taking one small gosling that had been noted dead earlier, near a nest in front of the science house. Both species of sealion seem more vocal this week, with the Steller’s mostly on West Rocks and the Californians more spread out but definitely back at South Islands.

Today was busy with visitors as Laura and 36 first year marine science students arrived early to do their marine science field exam. Chris and Courtney, shuttled the class out in Second Nature and Hyaku. An extra trip in Hyaku brought out author Peter Johnson who is researching lighthouses for an up-coming book, along witha guest photographer. Hanne, a second year marine science student from Pearson College also arrived on that trip and she photographed the first years hard at work and enjoyed observing elephant seals with Courtney.

connor

Connor continuing to learn from nature even as he writes exam.

Ha biodivers

Ha finishes off answers on biodiversity and species richness, surrounded by diverse intertidal species.

more biodivers

Determining a relationship between tidal height and intertidal diversity.

marsci exam west

‘Delightful dichotomies and wondrous waves’ is the intriguing title of this exam station.

My family continued their visit and helped out in lots of different ways, from assisting boats and people on the jetty, to encouraging me in becoming more proficient and comfortable running the derrick. I assisted Laura and students with the field exam, which is very unique. This is one exam the students will  never forget.

 

 

 

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.

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.

 

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.

 

Students Project week at Race Rocks 2015

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Pearson College students  Annabelle, Chloé, Hanne, Malou, Michael and spend time on their  project week at Race Rocks in March of 2015. They produced this PowerPoint presentation to document their time there:

A sampling of their photographs below: 

 

 

 

  Race Rock

Feb 23, marine science class visit

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Sunny, wind East 5 knots.

Courtney brought Laura and 3 marine sciences classes to Race Rocks on Second Nature (3 trips), 36 students in total.  The classes did a lab studying waves, they took measurement and made observations on different sides of the island.

I saw a sea otter again today over by the south islands.  The mother elephant seal continues to stay close to the pup’s body.

DND blasting throughout day.  2 pleasure craft and 1 chartered fishing boat in the reserve. The chartered boat appeared to be getting quite close to harbour seals near North rock.  I called Pedder Bay Marina about one rental boat speeding. I went off island in the afternoon to pick up a guest.

 

Marine Science Students Visit Race Rocks

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Coming from Bamfield, I expect large volumes of water when the barometer drops and it starts to blow southeast. It was grey and wet today but the wheelbarrow I left out to collect rainwater only has about 500ml of water in it at the end of the day. The barometer is still sliding so maybe I should be careful what I say. The wind did turn around to westerly for a while as it cleared in the late afternoon and is now flowing out from the northeast with more drizzle approaching real rain. From Environment Canada’s forecast it looks like the trend for this week.

Although there are still plenty of recreational fishers around, only one was noted in the reserve today and they were looking at sea lions. There was only one whale watching boat noted in the reserve.

Laura brought the first of her three marine science classes, from Pearson College to Race Rocks today. Courtney masterfully landed Second Nature at the very unforgiving pier and we had a wonderful field trip with a student:teacher ratio of 4:1. The students were really good at moving with stealth so as to not startle the sea lions. This allowed for good sea lion observations, which were noted in their journals. They saw all four species of Pinnipeds and added to their growing species lists with Black Oystercatchers, Black Turnstones, Glaucous-winged, Heerman’s and Thayer’s Gulls. They spotted new (to me) branded California Sea Lions including three branded in the Channel Islands. All of the students had a bird’s eye view from the top of the light-tower thanks to Courtney and we finished off with warm cinnamon buns at the keeper’s house.

After the visitors left, I caught a glimpse of these two Steller’s Sea Lions entangled in sports fishing gear. Those are salmon flashers hanging out of their mouths, which is not good news, as these cannot be disentangled the way the neck-rings can. The individual with one flasher has been hauling out at this same spot for a few weeks now. The one with two flashers, has not seen before today.

I will be watching out for this animal over the next month.

I will be watching out for this animal over the next month.

 

Today was the first time this animal with two flashes was seen here. It will be easy to distinguish it from the one with only one flasher.

Today was the first time this animal with two flashes was seen here. It will be easy to distinguish it from the one with only one flasher.