Category Archives: weather notes

Elephant seal shots

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Chunk and Cheeky sparring near the jetty

Chunk and Cheeky sparring near the jetty

Cheeky hurrying up the boat ramp away from Chunk

Cheeky hurrying up the boat ramp away from Chunk

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Chunk and Cheeky sparring in the water near the jetty

Chunk snoozing next to a gull's nest

Chunk snoozing next to a gull’s nest

Cheeky showing his flexibility

Cheeky showing his flexibility

Winds between 10-20 knots all day. Barometric pressure has been decreasing since Sunday. Forecast calls for same winds as today. 2 whale watching boats, 1 sailboat, 1 float plane flew over around 1400h.
Business as usual in the reserve today. Gulls are becoming evermore aggressive as eggs continue to hatch and chicks begin to wander away from the nests. The oystercatcher eggs next to the jetty finally hatched today! Like the gulls, the red-beaked parents are also very aggressive. Ran the fire pump today to fill the cistern.

July 8 Visitors

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Lots of fog all morning. Winds have picked up this afternoon reaching nearly 50 knots.

2 whale watchers today

Yesterday Garry and Helen brought the Whalen family to Race Rocks for a tour of the island. I took the boston-whaler in in the afternoon to drop off my parents who have been visiting. (I’m going to miss the extra help. Thank you!)

Washed down the batteries and scrubbed off the grease. Checked the water level in the cistern.

 

Heermann’s gulls in high numbers

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Overcast and cloudy for most of the day. No wind in the morning until noon when it starting slowly rising up to 16 knots around 1900h. Strong wind warning in effect for late tomorrow afternoon. A fog belt is coming in now and the horn has just started sounding (2200h).

DSC_0259A group from Victoria of a dozen kayakers paddled around the island this morning. They launched from Weir’s beach.

 

 

 

9 recreational boats in the reserve today                                                                     5 whale watchers

Two bald eagles visited the south islands this evening joined by an immature eagle and the three stayed there for over an hour. It was unclear which was being more harassed by the other–the eagles or the gulls and oystercatchers.

My father who is visiting counted 574 Heermann’s gulls today which is a notable increase from the 21 recorded on Friday.

Chopped and stacked wood. Ran the desalinator.

July 5

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Northwest winds peaked at 15 knots around noon. Overcast skies with some rain near noon.

There were a dozen recreational fishing boats on the east edge of the reserve this morning but a total of five actually passed through today. 6 whale watching boats were in the reserve.

The two male elephant seals have barely moved at all today. While taking the seawater sample this evening, a young harbour seal pup was murmuring lightly while finding its way through the kelp bed off the end of the jetty. The oystercatcher eggs near the jetty have yet to hatch.

A group of 4 kayakers from Port Angeles stopped at the island today for a quick rest before continuing on their way to Victoria.

Installed the VHF antenna today in the guest residence.

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Post for Canada Day

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Low southerly winds under 15 knots for most of the day. Sky partly cloudy with sun. Barometric pressure dropped steadily all day.

Tour boats: 6                                                                                                                            No whale watchers.

I found another oyster catcher nest on the south side of the island. There are two chicks that look like they’ve hatched in the last two days, and one egg that hadn’t hatched as of yesterday evening. There are only two elephant seals (the big males) on the island right now. They both swam and were sparring in the water on the south side of the main island. For the last two nights, the younger male has stayed in the water until well after dark.

Left the island from 1630h-1930h yesterday evening to pick up a visitor.

Orcas and Humpbacks!

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Low winds today under 15 knots. Clear skies with some fog in the morning. Barometric pressure has been increasing since Friday.

7 whale watching boats in the reserve (although several more along the border of the reserve).                                                                                                                                    3 recreational boats passed through, and one has been on the SW edge of the reserve for the past two days.

I saw an orca pass through the reserve Saturday late in the morning and then a small pod was surrounded by whale watchers offshore from Swordfish Island. On Sunday another pod of 5-6 (with at least two calves) headed west along Bentinck Island. Today a humpback made its way along the eastern edge of the reserve blowing several times and took the flood current towards Victoria. It dove showcasing its fluke 4 or 5 times.

I got help cleaning the rain gutters Saturday and Sunday. Cleaned and mopped the winch house yesterday. The internet connection has been off since Friday evening in the main residence (which also means the phone has not been working). The weather system was also down yesterday. Rebooted all systems multiple times and got everything working late this afternoon.

Eagle chase

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Rare summertime north-easterlies today, increasing from 0-35 knots throughout the day. Barometric pressure dipped to a weekly low this morning but is on the rise now. There has been some rain and the sky has been mostly cloudy. Showers are forecasted for tomorrow.

tour boats: 2

Several times a day a bald eagle or juvenile will come and cause a raucous for all the gulls who all lift into the air and chase the predator from their nests. For the past few days, the oystercatchers have been doing their part and one or two will chase the eagle out of their territory. (The oystercatcher eggs near the jetty have yet to hatch.) More often than not, the eagle leaves empty handed but occasionally it will grab a gull or a chic.

There was a female elephant seal on the jetty this morning but this evening only the two larger males remain on the island.

The sea lion is still in the same spot on the south islands, although he has moved into the water at least twice since yesterday.

Went off the island today (from 1130h-1600h) to collect a ladder from Wayne and do errands.

Did the monthly check on the derrick today.

River Otter visit this morning

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Clear day (despite forecast for a thunderstorm). Low winds below 15 knots today, dropping to zero midday. Strong wind warning in effect for tomorrow.

Several cargo ships passed through the strait today, a well as a few military ships.

Left the island this afternoon to pick up groceries and a visitor (which is why there are not exact numbers for passing watercraft).

This morning a river otter was running along the deck from the crane to the jetty. A juvenile bald eagle was sitting on the west side of the main island for a few hours this morning.

Male elephant seals sparring

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Overcast in the morning. Clear all afternoon and evening. Winds got up to 30 knots last night but hovered around 15 for most of the day today. There are strong wind warnings in effect for tonight. The barometric pressure has been falling since noon.

There have been an increasing number of boats this weekend. For today:

-5 recreational fishing boats passed through the reserve

-8 whale watching boats, including a 29m fibreglass catamaran from Spirit Orca Adventures

-1 sailboat

There were also two more float planes that passed overhead today early afternoon.

The pigeon guillemots are mating. I saw the first hatched gull today that looked like it was a couple days old. The gulls are still occasionally mating, though. A series of sparring matches occurred between the male elephant seals today. There are three larger ones right now and the largest two fight (especially when entering and exiting the water on the jetty). The second largest was also attacking the third largest in rank near the boat shed today.

Summer Solstice

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It’s 2200h as I’m writing and the sky is still brightly lit.

Clear day. Winds 10-20 knots for most of the day.

A recreational fishing boat tied up to the jetty today to settle some engine troubles. Two different fishing boats were anchored on the edge of the south boundary of the reserve.

A boat of divers were in the reserve for about an hour this morning along the east side of the island.

2 float planes crossed overhead.

A bald eagle made his regular visit for lunch in the afternoon and captured a gull.