Category Archives: weather notes

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.

 

 

June 20th

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Clear. Westerlies all day with speed averaging around 20 knots.

1 cruise ship passed by in the morning

1 tour boat

3 cargo ships passed through the strait throughout the day

1 helicopter passed over the reserve at 1300h

Business as usual on the reserve today:

-Another female elephant seal has arrived, bringing the current count to 5
-A California sea lion was hanging out on one of the south islands
-The pair of Caspian terns was back again today

Submarine in the reserve

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–For June 19th–
Overcast. Northwest winds from 0-20 knots all day.
1 tour boat
1 recreational fishing boat passed through the reserve
2 trips to the reserve with Second Nature
Gales reached 45 knots in the late evening.
A military submarine passed through the strait this afternoon south of the reserve and was accompanied by several boats.
Two groups of visitors came to tour the island this morning. Courtney left mid-morning with Chris Blondeau on the way back from the first trip. On the second trip, Chris came to check the water heater installation.

 

Back on Station

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Overcast, with moderate Westerlies in the am. Clear with Gale force West in the pm.
The barometer is on the rise. The Gale is forecasted to continue tomorrow.

Looks like business as usual for the animals in the reserve today. The cranking wind is keeping the Gulls on the ground. The few Elephant seals are behind the boat house in the lee of the West bluff.

Max came into the college this morning. I was back on station by ~0900.

Gale

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Clear skies. Gale force West winds all day. Force 6-8
The barometer has been on a very slow rise from 1018 hPa all day. The gale warning continues for tomorrow.

4 tour boats
1 dive boat
3 halibut boats on the edge of the reserve

A recreational fishing boat was cleaning their catch (from somewhere else) North of Middle Rocks. They were tossing something (food of some sort) into the water a luring the seagulls over, and swinging at the gulls with a paddle. They didn’t hit any gulls, but I was pretty unimpressed. Sadly, as far as I know, there is nowhere to report people just being idiots on the water.

There is an amazing, thick blanket of fog extending from the Sooke basin, over the Sooke hills, and petering out towards William Head. Like someone smeared a thick layer of grey icing on the landscape. There is also a low layer of marine fog to the South of me, just in front of Washington. The freighters are slipping in and out of view as they move up and down the Juan de Fuca. I am very happy that the fog stayed away from Race Rocks all day.

-Finished tidying my house for Max’s 5 day shift. He’ll be out here starting tomorrow morning until the 12th. I will post his observations when I get back on station.

Animal Census

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String Westerlies. Clear skies. Force 6-7. The barometer has been fairly steady all day. The forecast is for the strong westerlies to continue. Big tides this week, down to 0.3m and up to 2.3m. The current running around +/- 5 knots each day. 6 tour boats 2 halibut boats Animal Census Elephant seal: 20 Harbour Seal: 152 Steller Sea lion: 14 California Sea lion: 12 Eagle: 3 Canada Goose: 36 + 7 goslings Oyster Catcher: 8 Pigeon Guillemot: 161 Gull: 303 Continue reading →