Category Archives: weather notes

Otter, Caspian Terns, Goslings (!) & Sunday Census

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Weather:

  • Sky clear, a few clouds
  • Visibility 15+ NM
  • Wind: 30-35 knots W
  • Sea state: fast moving, white caps breaking at .5 m

Visitors:

  • Greg visited with a water delivery on Friday
  • One eco-tourism boat in the reserve yesterday evening.
  • One vessel fishing within the reserve on Friday afternoon. They approached the sea lions around the jetty very closely and their dog on board barked loudly at the animals. They approached the animals within a stones throw and hovered for roughly 20 minutes. The animals appeared distressed and fought with each other as they tried to move away from the boat (it was too close for them to enter the water).

Ecological: 

  • On Thursday evening a river otter came onto land near the jetty. We wonder if it was trying to steal seagull eggs.
  • On Friday afternoon two caspian terns flew overhead. The seagulls were not happy to see them and chased them out of the reserve.
  • Related to the post linked above, we spotted an oyster catcher nest on the west side of the island. We think it could be the same one that Mike spotted in 2012!
  • There are five goslings total, one family with two and one with three. The family of three has been joined intermittently by the other two. The two chicks seem confused as to which geese are their parents, and they’ve even managed to sneak under a wing with the rest for shelter. The parents continuously try to separate them from their own three chicks and the parents of the two follow closely behind.
  • We have observed the geese moving around the island trying to find fresh water. When it rains it is easier for them to come near the structures and drink the water from our roofs. When it is dry, they are limited to what they are able to find in the pools high on the rocks, usually full of algae and very dirty. We have been learning about their adaptations to drink salt water here.
  • The two oyster catcher chicks that we spotted earlier in the week have maintained their elusive nature. We haven’t been able to spot them again, as they are hidden by their parents among rocks where the seagulls are not able to attack.
  • This week has brought an influx of stellar sea lions, particularly smaller youngsters.

Census:

  • 2 Elephant seals (1 male, 1 female)
  • 46 Harbour seals
  • 326 Seagulls
  • 10 Stellar sea lions
  • 17 California sea lions
  • 10 Black Oystercatchers(adult)
  • 2 Oystercatcher chicks
  • 16 Canada Geese (adult)
  • 5 Goslings
  • 2 Pigeon Guillemots

Beautiful Spring Day

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Weather: 

  • Sky partly cloudy
  • Visibility 15+ NM
  • Wind 10-15 knots SW
  • Sea state: calm, rippled

Visitors/Marine Traffic: One pleasure craft within the reserve yesterday

Ecological: 

  • There are now 5 goslings between 2 nests
  • There are 2 oyster catcher chicks (nest on E side of island). They are too elusive for our camera for now!
  • The garbage brought to the island by seagulls is increasing now that they are nesting and laying eggs
  • Yesterday we spotted a patch of broken seagull eggshells near the guest house. Our best guess: the gulls are already looting neighboring nests for food

 

Sunday Census

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Weather: 

  • Sky partly cloudy
  • Visibility 10 NM
  • Wind 20-25 knots W
  • Sea State: white caps, chop less than 1/2 m

Visitors/Marine Traffic: No visitors

Ecological: 

  • The last elephant seal seems to have departed since yesterday.

Census: 

  • 46 Sea lions
  • 8 Oystercatchers
  • 16 Canada Geese
  • 116 Harbor Seals
  • 1 Bald Eagle
  • 1 Elephant Seal
  • 470 Seagulls

Windy Windy Spring Weather

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Weather:

  • Visibility 8-10 NM
  • Sky overcast
  • Wind 35-40 knots W
  • Sea state: large swells and chop, breaking at 1m

Visitors/Marine Traffic:

  • No marine traffic today as it has been very windy
  • Greg and a technician came on Wednesday
  • Garry and a visitor came yesterday evening

Ecological: 

  • there is one elephant seal now. She spends most of her time near the fuel shed, or on the jetty near “Boris” the sea lion (with the propeller injury on his head).
  • The seagulls have been fighting quite a bit now that their population is becoming denser and space is limited. The male seagulls fight more often, and their female mates are usually nearby observing.

Returning Sun, Census

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Weather: 

  • Visibility 15-20 NM
  • Sky partly cloudy clearing to blue sky
  • Wind 15-20 Knots W
  • Sea state: calm, rippled

Visitors/Marine Traffic:

  • No visitors
  • Yesterday we spotted a group of kayakers who had emailed to let us know they were coming: We tried to wave, but you were too far away to see us- hope you had a good paddle!

Ecological: 

  • The seagull population has skyrocketed this week, but still no fully constructed nests
  • The elephant seals have left now, aside from one. We anticipate that we may see a few large males in a month or so.

Census: 

  • 16 Geese
  • 8 Oystercatchers
  • 39 Sea Lions
  • 40 Harbor Seals
  • 1 Elephant Seal
  • 1 Bald Eagle
  • 580 Seagulls
  • 42 Pigeon Guillemots

Windy Week and Sea Lion Update!

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Weather:

  • Visibility 15+ NM
  • Sky clear
  • Wind 15-20 knots W
  • Sea state: calm, rippled
  • It has been very windy this week. Most days the wind has hovered around 30 knots, sometimes as much as 35+ knots! It has been overcast intermittently, and we did receive some rainfall.

Visitors/Marine Traffic: 

  • Greg visited today with some supplies. Thanks Greg!
  • Since it has been so windy, there has been very little boat traffic. Yesterday we saw one small pleasure craft playing in the waves near Pedder Bay, and one coastguard ship passed by earlier today. A few small vessels and fishing boats passed by but no vessels entered the reserve.

Ecological:

  • Animal activity has been very quiet due to our stormy weather
  • The geese seem to be moving on now- there are fewer every day.
  • There are not many more seagull nests beginning but the seagulls have chosen their nesting locations and are defending them from other breeding pairs.
  • There is one sea lion who has been coming onto the jetty and does not move away from us as the others do. We believe this is the same one that we observed last year who seemed to have a propeller injury on his head. It’s interesting that he has been able to survive with seemingly quite a bit of behavioral impact due to the head trauma.

 

Many Seals, Census

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Weather:

  • Visibility 10 + NM
  • Sky partly cloudy
  • Wind 15-20 Knots SE
  • Sea state: calm, rippled

Marine Traffic/Visitors: One pleasure craft drifted through in the early afternoon. They did an amazing job of drifting with the current so the animals would not be disturbed, and were very careful of the kelp and shallow areas. Well done!

Ecological: 

  • The animals have been keeping to themselves and trying to stay out of the elements as yesterday there was quite a bit of rain and wind. When the weather is harsh, the elephant seals typically try to lay behind a rock or outbuilding to avoid the wind. The seagulls point themselves into the wind and sit close to the ground. The sea lions don’t seem to mind at all, but the geese love the rainy days! They like to drink from puddles and clean their feathers in the fresh water.
  • Yesterday we were visited by a flock of pigeon guillemots, who prefer the jetty or rocks immediately surrounding.
  • Comments in photos refer to pineapple weed..check it out here in the Taxonomy File

Census:

  • 7 Elephant Seals
  • 8 Oyster Catchers
  • 32 Sea Lions
  • 101 Harbor Seals
  • 22 Geese (one active nest)
  • 285 Seagulls

 

Stunning Weather, Spring at Full Force!

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Weather:

  • Visibility 15+ NM
  • Sky clear
  • Wind 5-10 knots SW
  • Sea State: calm

Marine Traffic/Visitors:

  • 2 jet skis yesterday evening, 1 kayak this morning, 1 eco-tourism vessel yesterday
  • Greg today with supplies (thanks Greg!)
  • 1 boat inside the reserve fishing this morning- Greg stopped to remind them that they were within the boundary on his way
  • Many pleasure crafts just outside of the reserve boundary

Ecological: 

  • Consistent eagle presence as the seagulls continue to return, and food is plentiful in the water
  • The geese seem to be getting pushed out of their territory by the seagulls. The seagulls have continued to steal goose eggs when they get an opportunity, thus there are only 2 remaining nests with eggs. The geese have started to spend more time on the water, and often leave during the day.
  • The pineapple weed has been growing at an impressive rate! Most of the grassier areas on the island are covered by the fluffy foliage.

 

Eagle Visit, Watching For Injured Sea Lions

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Weather:

  • Visibility 10 NM
  • Sky overcast
  • Wind 5-10 knots SW
  • Sea state: calm
  • Temperature 21°C

Visitors/Marine Traffic:

  • Today Laura visited to do some surveying of intertidal species
  • Greg did not come to land, as the tide was very low (jetty not accessible)
  • Today we saw one whale watching vessel pass through very respectfully with the current. No animals were disrupted- well done!

Ecological:

  • The goose nests continue to change- a few new ones this week, and a few have been ransacked by seagulls.
  • No significant seagull changes- a few new nests scattered around the island.
  • This morning a juvenile eagle landed on the lawn! It had been chased out of the air by seagulls, and they continued to swoop overhead until the eagle managed to find an opening and fly away.
  • We have been contacted by a few different folks regarding a sea lion that was spotted in the San Juan Island area with a cross bow bolt in his face. We haven’t spotted this animal but there’s a chance that we may over the next few days. We have also been asked to keep an eye out for another sea lion with fishing gear entangled in his face.

Notes:

  • This afternoon there was blasting/ammunition detonation on the Department of National Defense land. There were only 3 blasts but the birds all lifted into the air, or in the case of the sea lions, fled into the water.

Storms, birds and elephant seals

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Weather: 

  • Sky: Partly cloudy
  • Visibility: 15+ miles
  • Wind: 0-40 knots NE
  • Water: waves between 0-2 metres

Boats/Visitors: 

  • Saw a couple boats here and there, not during the big storm though
  • Greg is dropping by today with some supplies

Ecological

  • Seems like some of the sea lions came back when the storm hit, it was blowing up to 40 knots on Wednesday but today it has finally come down to almost nothing
  • A couple different birds also came by, I’ve been seeing a lot of ravens lately, eagles, snow buntings and one whimbrel
  • There is a little elephant seal by the jetty today, pink tag V173
  • Thankfully the storm brought in some driftwood than can be cut up and dried out for next winter