The Seawater Salinity and temperature data has been taken by the Ecoguardians at Race Rocks. It is submitted monthly to the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney, BC Canada, The complete set of data can be accessed here:
http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/science/oceans/data-donnees/lighthouses-phares/data/racerockday.txt Continue reading
Grey Day at Race Rocks
Weather
- Visibility: 15 miles
- Wind: 15-20 knots W, later 0-5 NE, then 20-25 NW
- Water: 1′ chop
- Sky: mostly cloudy, rain in the evening.
Ecological
- 12 elephant seals on Great Race today.
- 3 elephant seals on Middle Rock.
- 8 sea lions on the rocks near the Derrick.
- One of them appears to have some sort of plastic box/device attached to its back. I didn’t have the camera with me when I saw it, and when I left to grab the camera it fled into the water.
- Several more bald eagles in the reserve than in previous days.
- Discovered that one of the goose nests had been abandoned sometime between 20:20 and 22:00. Saw 6 shattered eggs laying strewn about the grass with no sign of the geese.
Maintenance
- Cleaned the solar panels.
- Cleaned the camera lens. Not perfect, but better.
- Ventured down to the jetty to run the fire pump, but there were too many elephant seals playing in the water or on the ramp.
Boats
- Didn’t see any in the reserve today, which is odd for a weekend, but I guess the weather was a factor.
- A few sailboats were out and about taking advantage of the wind.
Gale-ish Weather for Earth Day
Weather
- Visibility: 15 miles
- Wind: 15-35 knots W, then NW
- Water: 2′ chop
- Sky: cloudy, a few drops of rain
Ecological
- Yesterday’s lone sea lion on the rocks near the derrick was joined by 6 others today.
- Later a sea lion briefly ended up on the end of the jetty.
- Lots of Canada Goose infighting as newcomers jostle for territory with existing nesters.
Maintenance
- Cleaned the solar panels.
- More goose work.
- Got the manufacture date from the Yamaha outboard for Kyle.
- Vacuumed up fruit flies in the basement.
- Wanted to run the fire pump today to add some water to the cistern, but the combination of nearby sea lions, elephant seals, and high winds made this unwise.
Boats
- A couple of fishing boats outside the reserve.
- One eco-tour passed by the south rocks in the late afternoon.
- It appeared to be too close to the sea lions.
Other
- A couple of DND blasts at 10:06 & 10:08.
- The buoys were still present at low tide in Middle Channel.
Census and an Unexpected Trip
Weather
- Visibility: 15 miles
- Wind: 15-20 knots West
- Water: 1′ chop
- Sky: partly cloudy
Ecological
- Conducted a census.
- Harbour Seals: 126
- California Sea Lions: 27
- Northern Sea Lions: 27
- Elephant Seals: 17 (12 on Great Race, 5 on Middle Rock)
- River Otter: 1
- Seagulls: 563
- Pigeon Guillemots: 54
- Black Turnstones: 51
- Canada Geese: 21
- Black Oystercatchers: 14
- Savannah Sparrows: 6
- Bald Eagles: 5 (4 immature, 1 adult)
- Rock Sandpipers: 4
- Cormorant: 2
- Surfbird: 1
Maintenance
- Canada Goose themed work.
Boats
- One eco-tour came by today.
- Had a phone call from Kyle this morning to let me know that he would be picking me up around 13:00 for a First Nations cultural sensitivity workshop at Pearson College.
- This was a surprise to me, but nice to get off the island for a few hours.
- Always good to be reminded and educated on past and present issues.
Visitors
- When Kyle arrived to pick me up he came ashore to take a look at a few things, and then admire the elephant seals.
Other
- Two loud DND blasts around 12:50.
Kayak Fleet Inspection
Weather
- Visibility: 15+ miles
- Wind: 0-5 knots E; in the afternoon 15 knots W; early evening 28 knots W.
- Sky: clear
- Water: calm
- Today’s high temperature of 17.1 c was a new observed record, beating last year’s mark of 14.7 C.
Ecological
- Still unable to find any black oystercatcher nests. I think it’s probably too early for them to be laying any eggs though.
- Discovered a new nesting pair of Canada Geese today.
- 11 elephant seals on Great Race.
- 5 on Middle Rock.
- One elephant seal ventured out to the end of the jetty to look around.
- Later an elephant seal went up to a Canada Goose nest and inspected the area. I think it was the same seal from the jetty.
- Found a broken up Canada Goose egg not far from a different nest. Wonder who did that?
- Found some cool bones on the rocks today, including a fin and some teeth.
- A fleet of about 19 kayaks passed by the South Rocks this morning, and this spooked the sea lions who all ended up in the water.
- While I suspect there was a stampede, I didn’t actually see it.
- As the kayaks assembled in the SW portion of the reserve, a large group of sea lions swam towards the kayaks to investigate. Not something I have seen before!
Maintenance
- Cleaned the solar panels.
- Performed a distilled water volume estimate: 50-55 litres.
- More goose work.
Boats
- Two eco-tours came by today.
- A couple of small fishing boats passed by.
- One of the fishing boats looked like it was going too fast.
- A sailboat passed by. One of the occupants gave the buoys a good long look.
- Speaking of which, the “lost buoys” from yesterday reappeared this morning around the same time. Are they perhaps anchored there, and only appear at low tide?
Other
- While lying in bed at 22:30 I heard two loud DND blasts.
The Lost Buoys
Weather
- Visibility: 15+ miles
- Wind: 5-10 SE
- Sky: clear
- Water: calm
- Today’s high temperature of 16.7 C (62 F) was a new observed record, beating last year’s mark of 15.9 C.
Ecological
- 9 elephant seals on Great Race today.
- Still no sign of any black oystercatcher nests.
Maintenance
- Cleaned the solar panels.
- Confirmed part no. for the desalinator RO membrane.
Boats
- The largest eco-tour that I have ever seen came by today.
- Named the Orca Spirit II, it even showed up on the AIS Vessel Tracking website map!
- When viewing the sea lions on the South Rocks, it kept the farthest distance I have ever seen an eco-tour keep. Good job!
- The large POW boat came by later on, and spent a while viewing the elephant seals that were frolicking in the ramp near the jetty.
Other
- 6 DND blasts today.
- 2 around 10:00.
- 2 around 11:00.
- 2 around 13:30.
- Spied a couple of lost buoys floating through Middle Channel this morning.
The Lost Buoys
To Seek A Nest
Weather
- Visibility: 15+ miles
- Wind: 5-10 knots SE, later up to 15 W
- Sky: clear
- Water: rippled
Ecological
- Spent over an hour searching for Black Oystercatcher nests for the new webcam to focus on, yet I found nothing.
- Found one abandoned Canada Goose nest, confirming yesterday’s suspicions.
- The elephant seals continued their moulting, play-fighting, and ramp bathing.
- About 9 on Great Race today, and 6 on Middle Rock.
- Check out the e-seals in their flight squadron formation!
Maintenance
- More Canada Goose themed maintenance.
- It is mutually unfortunate that they choose to nest so close to key areas.
Boats
- Observed three eco-tours lined up to the north of the reserve. I suspect they had found whales?
- Later they made their way through the reserve in customary fashion.
- One dive boat was anchored just south of the South Rocks for a few hours.
- Spied a funny looking barge with heavy duty vehicles on it. They looked like toys from my distance!
- The Queen of Cumberland (BC Ferries) was out near Esquimalt, presumably doing some test runs, as she is currently undergoing a refit until April 21.
Other
- 5 DND blasts today at Bentinck Island.
- 2 medium blasts around 11:00.
- 3 smaller ones between 13:30 and 14:00.
Elephant Seal Play-fighting
Weather
- Visibility: 15+ miles
- Wind: 5-10 knots E
- Sky: clear
- Water: calm
- Another spectacular sunrise!
Ecological
- About 8 elephant seals on Great Race today. Six or so on Middle Rock.
- A few of the younger e-seals (2 or 3 year old males?) spent much of the day play-fighting. Very entertaining to watch.
- We seem to be down from 8 nesting pairs of Canada Geese to 7.
- Observed a Giant Green Anemone (Anthopleura xanthogrammica) in the water. Very beautiful.
Maintenance
- Spent several hours dealing with various Canada Goose themed activities.
- Cleaned the solar panels.
- Checked the tidy tank. 11.5″ of fuel remaining, down from 13.5″ on March 30th.
Boats
- A couple of pleasure craft came by today. One appeared to be anchored quite close to the sea lions on the North-West side of Great Race.
- Only one eco-tour came by today.
Many Boats Afloat
Weather
- Visibility: 15+ miles
- Wind: 0-10 knots NE
- Sky: mix of sun and clouds
- Water: rippled, later some gentle swells
Ecological
- As many as 10 elephant seals on Great Race today.
- Counted at least 4 elephant seals on Middle Rock.
Maintenance/Chores
- Pretty standard day.
- Solar Panels remained unusually clean.
- Ran the desalinator in the evening.
Boats
- There was a near continuous stream of eco-tours today.
- I saw at least 6, plus many fishing boats doing their own observations.
- One dive boat was anchored near South Rock.
Mid Month Shift Change
Weather
- Visibility: 15+ miles
- Wind: 0-10 knots
- Sky: sunny with clouds
- Water: 1′ chop
Ecological
- There were 8 elephant seals on Great Race today.
- In the afternoon, 5 of them headed down to the ramp for a dip, but none of them departed.
- There seem to be less seagulls and cormorants than last time I was here.
- By contrast, there seems to be more songbirds and ducks.
Maintenance
- Everything seems to be in good order. Spent the afternoon unpacking and settling in.
Boats
- Kyle picked up Anne around 10:00, and brought me out to Great Race around 11:00.
- Saw one eco-tour in the reserve.
- Several fishing boats out of the reserve.
- A tug towing a large barge passed by the Rosedale Rock.
- Another tug towing what looked to me like a pile driver passed to the north of the reserve.
