Aug 2 – Census surprises

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One of the reasons for doing a weekly census is to put down in writing the numbers of mammals and birds that are actually in the reserve. This gives us the opportunity to compare the results, not simply rely on memory. And that’s a good thing!  My impression on my return to Race Rocks is that there were a lot fewer gulls here than last year.  A check of a census at a similar date in 2022 shows that not to be true. The numbers are actually very similar, but down about 15% from the same period in 2021. Census records the high counts of each species observed during the day. The marine mammals, for instance are best counted at low tide when most are hauled out. The adult gulls are at their highest numbers first thing in the morning and shorebirds gather on the east beach in late afternoon. Gull chicks can be counted anytime, but are usually undercounted because of their great hiding skills. In between, the census person watches for any other birds and animals that might show themselves.

Gull chick hidden in the marigolds.

Today’s census had several surprises apart from the number of gulls. While on the jetty, I thought I caught the flash of a bird in the corner of my eye.  It was more than one. At least 3 swallows were feeding on insects in the small bay beside the jetty. I managed to get some bad photos, but good enough to identify two different Barn Swallows and one Violet-green Swallow. Later in the day, a Lesser Yellowlegs was resting with the other shorebirds, and a Parasitic Jaeger (also identified by bad photos) headed west not far off Great Race. An adult and juvenile Glaucous-winged Gull were out for a little swim.  It always amazes me to see these youngsters in the water!

Lesser Yellowlegs, possibly the first documented for Race Rocks.  First on eBird for the Race Rocks hotspot.

Out for a swim

Among the sea lions today, I found one entangled with a fishing lure. This poor animal has been her for several weeks. Another had been branded for a research study. I’ll report this number to get its history.

tagged 746R

Sea lion entangled with sports fishing tackle.

More photos below!

Census, 2 August 2023

Birds

  • Harlequin Duck                              1
  • Black Oystercatcher                       23
  • Ruddy Turnstone                            1
  • Black Turnstone                              93
  • Surfbird                                           24
  • Western Sandpiper                         2
  • Short-billed Dowitcher                     2
  • Lesser Yellowlegs                           1
  • Parasitic Jaeger                              1
  • Pigeon Guillemot                            83
  • Heermann’s Gull                             2
  • Western Gull                                   1
  • California Gull                                 120
  • Glaucous winged Gulls                 332 adults, 237 juvenile
  • “Olympic” Gull                                3 adults 3 juvenile
  • Brandt’s Cormorant                        7
  • Pelagic Cormorant                         2
  • Violet-green Swallow                     1
  • Barn Swallow                                 2
  • Brown-headed Cowbird                 2

Mammals

  • Harbour seal                                195
  • Northern (Steller’s) sea lion         79
  • California sea lion                        7
  • Sea otter                                      1

Visitors:

  • No visitors
  • Ecotourism traffic has been slow.  Several boats a day, but rarely more than one in the area at a time

Facility Work: 

  • Cleaned windows and solar panels
  • Replaced batteries in smoke, CO alarm in Student House

More photos:

** All wildlife photos taken at safe distances with high-powered zoom, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

What a difference a couple of months makes!

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Just two months ago, my arrival was met with uncountable numbers of flies and hundreds of Glaucous-winged Gulls building and tending to their nests, many with eggs. While there are still a few nests, most of the gulls are now divided into territories with adults and associated young.   It seems to me that there are fewer pairs here now than there were in June, and considerably fewer than there were a year ago at this time.  The census on Wednesday should tell an interesting story.

Overall, my impression is fewer gulls, fewer guillemots, fewer mammals (no elephant seals) and many, many fewer flies than the last two Augusts.  Fewer gulls means bigger territories, less bickering and fewer mortalities.  I have been here two full days and have only seen one dead young gull.  This contrasts sharply from the last two summers when there were many remains in the colony — a perfectly normal state of affairs. Perhaps lower productivity has meant an increase in chick survival this year.

Young Glaucous-winged Gulls enjoying some sunshine

The Western Gull I mentioned in an earlier post has produced three young. The adult pair consists of the Western and an “Olympic” gull. Olympic Gulls are a blend of Western and Glaucous-winged Gulls.  I believe the Western of this pair is the female, but since both parents provide egg incubation and chick care, I am not certain.

Western Gull keeping an eye on the three chicks.

One of the Western Gull’s chicks. This one will be an “Olympic” Gull due to its mixed heritage.

The Barn Swallows that arrived on Race Rocks this spring definitely built a nest.  With them gone now, I crept into the space where they had been going and located it.  It’s a wonderful nest, but there are considerably fewer droppings beneath it than I expected.  I think that it may have failed.  It should be left in place, though, as swallows usually return to their nests and get a head start in subsequent years. A single nest can take 600 mouthfuls of mud to create.  That’s a lot of work for small birds.

This nice nest looks a little too pristine to have been used.

Passerine numbers are small as usual.  The only songbird species I have seen so far this week is Brown-headed Cowbird, with up to five gathering in a small flock. The fact that they find each other still amazes me.  How do they know they are cowbirds?  As a brood parasite, all Brown-headed Cowbirds are raised by other species.

Brown-headed Cowbirds

Perhaps the biggest news of the week happened before I arrived.  Derek Sterling, a Race Rocks ecoguardian spending his summer guiding on Eagle Wing boats which frequently come out to Race Rocks called last weekend with the news that there was a mother sea otter with a pup just off the islands. This is fantastic, possibly a first for the area in more than 100 years! I haven’t managed to see them, but Ollie is perched in his usual spot in the kelp.

The shorebird beach in the East Bay is active in the late afternoons, with many Black Turnstones and Surfbirds, the resident Oystercatchers and a few special guests.  Since my arrival, I have seen up to four Short-billed Dowitchers, one Ruddy Turnstone, one Western Sandpiper, and one non-shorebird, a Harlequin Duck, hunkered down out of the wind there.

Four species of shorebirds: Black Turnstone, Surfbird, Western Sandpiper, and Short-billed Dowitcher

Western Sandpiper

Ruddy Turnstone

Short-billed Dowitcher

Harlequin Duck

And speaking of the wind—could someone please turn it down? Although the mornings have started out with moderate winds, by early afternoon they have increased to the level of unpleasantness, and by evenings, I feel like I am getting a taste of what winter must be like out here!

I’m here earlier in August than I have been the last couple of years, so things are understandably a little different.  Wednesday’s census should tell a more complete story.

Maintenance:

Daily maintenance includes washing all the solar panels and the windows that have taken the brunt of gulls flying by. With the winds this week, this is a considerable task!

Weather – Current:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

 

Weather – Past:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

July 22 and 23 – End of Shift

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Weather for July 22:
Wind: W 11 to 34 knots
Visibility: <1-15 NM
Sky: Foggy in morning, Partly Cloudy after 09:00
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 2′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 12-18 C

Weather for July 23:
Wind: W 12 to 32 knots
Visibility: <1-15 NM
Sky: Fog patches in the morning, Partly Cloudy after noon
Sea: up to 1′ chop in morning, up to 3′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 12-16 C

Maintenance:
I did the routine tasks of cleaning the solar panels and house windows, topping up the water in the 24 deep cycle batteries, fixing the electric fence, sampling the salinity and temperature of the seawater, and running the desalinator with solar power to produce freshwater.

End of Shift:
I have enjoyed reacquainting myself with Race Rocks over the past two and a half weeks. The solar power was a sufficient source of energy each day to charge the batteries, power the island, and produce freshwater from the desalinator. I got out in the station boat, which is always a highlight to see the island from the perspective of a sea lion. Most importantly, for the second summer in a row I learned to live harmoniously with the very territorial nesting gulls.

This is my sixth shift I have done as Ecoguardian over the past nine years, for a total of almost nine months. My shifts have ranged from two weeks to four months. I have visited here in ten months of the year, with the exception of June and September.

Tomorrow I am heading home to Vancouver to get ready for two weeks in the Northwest Territories, where I will be canoeing in Nahanni National Park Reserve.

I look forward to returning to Race Rocks sometime soon to explore the familiar sights, sounds, and smells of this amazing place.

Photo highlights from the past two days:

July 17-21 and Weekly Census

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Weather for July 17:
Wind: W 14 to 34 knots
Visibility: <1-15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 3′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 13-17 C

Weather for July 18:
Wind: W 9 to 25 knots
Visibility: 15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 2′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 11-14 C

Weather for July 19:
Wind: W 6 to 27 knots
Visibility: 15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 1′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 12-17 C

Weather for July 20:
Wind: W 21 to 40 knots
Visibility: <1-15 NM
Sky: Foggy in early morning, Partly Cloudy after 10:00
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 4′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 12-20 C

Weather for July 21:
Wind: W 19 to 40 knots
Visibility: 5-15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 3′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 12-14 C

Maintenance:
I did the routine tasks of cleaning the solar panels and house windows, topping up the water in the 24 deep cycle batteries, fixing the electric fence, tidying, testing the salinity and temperature of the seawater, maintaining the freshwater system, and running the desalinator with solar power to produce fresh water.

Visitors:
I drove the Race Rocks station boat to pick up a friend, who came for the night of July 18. Brad had visited Race Rocks before when we both worked for many summers on campus as coordinators for PSYL (Pearson Seminar on Youth Leadership).

Weekly Census observed on July 20:
Steller sea lion: 14
California sea lion: 1
harbour seal: 124
cormorant: 5
black oystercatcher: 24 adults, 2 chicks
pigeon guillemot: 162
glaucous-winged gull: 396 adults, 147 chicks
surfbird: 30
black turnstones: 87
western sandpiper: 4

Photo highlights from the past five days:

 

July 14-16

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Weather for July 14:
Wind: W 15 to 30 knots
Visibility: 15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 3′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 11-13 C

Weather for July 15:
Wind: W 12 to 35 knots
Visibility: <1 to 10 NM
Sky: Fog for most of the day, with some patches of Partly Cloudy in afternoon
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 4′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 10-15 C

Weather for July 16:
Wind: W 19 to 38 knots
Visibility: 10-15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: 2′ chop in morning, up to 4′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 11-17 C

Maintenance:
When the solar panels were producing a lot of power on July 14 and 15, I used the desalinator to make a total of 700 litres of water. The output of the desalinator is 1.25 L per minute. It takes about 2.6 kW of energy to run the desalinator, on top of the regular 1.2 kW load of the island.

Today I lowered the boat into the water to grease the boat trailer wheels as well as finish installing and testing the new boat GPS and sonar.

Photo highlights from the past three days:

July 11, 12, 13, and Weekly Census

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Weather for July 11:
Wind: W 11 to 27 knots
Visibility: 15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 2′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 12-14 C

Weather for July 12:
Wind: W 18 to 35 knots
Visibility: 10 to 15 NM
Sky: Cloudy in morning, partly cloudy in afternoon
Sea: 1’ chop in morning, up to 4′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 11-15 C

Weather for July 13:
Wind: W 16 to 33 knots
Visibility: 15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 2′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 11-15 C

DND Blasting:
There was one DND blast at 14:05 on July 12 at nearby Rocky Point.

Visitors:
Greg and Bruce visited this afternoon to deliver 1,400 L of freshwater and a new first aid kit.

Maintenance:
I did the routine tasks of cleaning the solar panels and house windows, topping up the water in the 24 deep cycle batteries, fixing the electric fence, tidying, and maintaining the freshwater system.

Ecological notes:
There have been a lot of humpback whale activity over the past few days to the west, south, and east of Race Rocks. The whale watching boats have been active in the area. From what I hear on the VHF radio, they have been very pleased with the humpback viewing. I have not seen any whales swim through the ecological reserve.

I heard back about the tagged elephant seal, from the researcher at Año Nuevo Natural Reserve, in California. The juvenile seal, tagged H999 and K646, is a male who was born in January 2022. He was previously observed here and reported to the researchers on April 1, 2023. He has been moulting here for at least the past several weeks. He appears to be almost complete the moulting process, so he might be moving on soon to feed in the deep waters.

Weekly Census observed on July 13:
elephant seal: 1 juvenile (tagged H999, K646)
Steller sea lion: 3
harbour seal: 79
bald eagle: 2 adults, 1 juvenile
raven: 1
cormorant: 7
black oystercatcher: 6 adults, 1 chick (that I could spot today)
pigeon guillemot: 148
glaucous-winged gull: 387 adults, 120 chicks
surfbird: 12
killdeer: 4
western sandpiper: 3
barn swallow: 3

Photo highlights from the past three days:

July 9 and 10

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Weather for July 9:
Wind: W 20-41 knots
Visibility: 15 NM
Sky: Clear
Sea: 1’ chop in morning, up to 3′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 10-14 C

Weather for July 10:
Wind: W 14 and 36 knots
Visibility: 15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: 1’ chop in morning, up to 3′ chop in evening
Air temperature: 11-15 C

The sea lions seem to be making a return. Four male Steller sea lions were gathered on Middle Rock today. One California sea lion was on the end of the jetty this morning.

Here are some photos from the past two days:

Back on the Rocks!

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I am back on Race Rocks for the next two weeks, having been away since August. Greg drove me out yesterday afternoon in the boat Second Nature, arriving at 15:30. After unloading my gear and food, I reacquainted myself with the island’s building, systems, and other species.

There are two elephant seals on the island. One sub adult hauled out on the boat ramp has two green hind flipper tags labelled H999 and K646. They mentioned by Derek on the April 1, 2023 census: https://racerocks.ca/animal-census-31/. Green tags usually signify the seal was tagged as a pup at Ano Nuevo Reserve, near Santa Cruz, California. I have put in a request with the researchers there to find out about the sighting history of the seal. The other seal here right now is a female adult, who has been hauled out near the bushes on the centre of the island and made some trips to the water, was probably one of the mothers from the winter breeding season.

The most populous birds right now are the few hundred nesting glaucous-winged gulls and chicks. There are still many nests with eggs yet to hatch. The pigeon guillemots are active in a few places around the island: near the jetty, blasted rocks north and west of the helicopter pad, and the south side of the island. I have yet to see any oystercatcher chicks or the barn swallows that have been seen recently.

Weather for July 7 afternoon and evening:
Wind: W 32 knots
Visibility: 15 NM
Sky: Clear
Sea: 3′ chop
Air temperature: 14 C

Weather for July 8:
Wind: W between 10 and 31 knots
Visibility: 10-15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 3′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 12-15 C

I gave the solar panels a good scrub this morning to get off the built up gull guano. I have also been monitoring the freshwater levels after a couple recent leaks that have been fixed.

Here are some photos from the past two days:

Race Rocks Ecological Reserve Proposed as a KBA – Key biodiversity area

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In June 2023 Ian Adams presented for the Annual General Meeting of Friends of Ecological Reserves on the Key Biodiversity Areas program in Canada.  This presentation is available here: https://ecoreserves.bc.ca/2023/06/07/key-biodiversity-areas-ian-adams-fer-agm-june-2023/

The website of KBA Canada is here: https://gis.natureserve.ca/portal/apps/dashboards/8a89d50ea0b04c7790e19791ab9ae6e8


Race Rocks Ecological Reserve is on the list of proposed KBAs in British Columbia along with several other Ecological Reserves in the province .

See the pdf: KBASummary_GeneralReview_XwaYeNRaceRocks_2023-06-19 KBASummary_GeneralReview_XwaYeNRaceRocks_2023-06-19

Below is a copy of that document.:
XwaYeN (Race Rocks) KBA, British Columbia

Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga angustirostris)

Instructions for Reviewers
1. Read through the “Summary of Proposed KBA” section.
2. Answer the survey questions in the Online Review App.
3. For additional information, see:
 What are KBAs and how are they assessed?
 Instructions for reviewers

Summary of Proposed KBA
Please note that this summary was generated automatically, and as a result there may be species scientific names that are not italicized.
KBA Name: XwaYeN (Race Rocks)

Location (province or territory [mid-point lat/long]): British Columbia [48.297 /-123.53]
KBA Scope: National

Proposal Development Lead: Ian Adams
1.
5. Trigger Biodiversity Element(s):
● Species: Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga angustirostris)
6. Site Status Summary:
XwaYeN (Race Rocks)
is a candidate National
KBA for the following KBA criteria:
● National D1a [criterion met by 1 taxon] – Site predictably holds an aggregation representing ≥1% of the national population size of a taxon,
over a season, and during one or more key stages of its life cycle (Mirounga angustirostris).
● National D1b [criterion met by 1 taxon] – Site predictably holds a number of mature individuals that ranks the site among the largest 10
aggregations known for the taxon in the country (Mirounga angustirostris).
7. Site Description:
The XwaYeN (Race Rocks) KBA overlaps with Race Rocks Ecological Reserve, which was created to protect intertidal and subtidal communities
that are extremely rich as a result of strong tidal currents. Energy and nutrient inputs attributable to the nearly continuous currents are large,
and light penetration in these shallow, clear waters is excellent. These factors result in a high production of algae and invertebrates, while the
varied topography promotes ecological diversity. Consequently, the marine communities here are unusually luxuriant and rich. XwaYeN is in the
Coastal Douglas-fir Moist Maritime biogeoclimatic zone (BC Parks 2022), though none of the islands are forested.

1 Meets criterion D1b because it is one of 10 largest aggregations in Canada for this taxon.

2 Composition of 10 Reproductive Units (RUs): Elephant seals are polygynous so 10 RUs is 10 adults females and 1 adult male. . Source of RU
data: IUCN 2016; Fletcher 2016; Race Rocks Ecoguardians 2022.

3 Derivation of site estimate: Other. Explanation of site estimate(s): Five Elephant seal pups were born at the site in 2021 (Race Rock
Ecoguardians 2022; BCCDC 2022). Race Rock Ecoguardian observation data collated for 1 Jan 2014 through 20 Jan 2016 found almost continual
presence of Northern Elephant Seal at Race Rocks. Counts range from 1 to 34 individuals, including all age classes: adults, sub-adults and pups.
A best estimate of 5 individuals is an approximate average during this time. Source(s) of site estimate(s): Race Rock Ecoguardians 2022;
Fletcher 2016; BCCDC 2022.

4 Explanation of national estimate(s): Five Elephant seal pups were born at the site in 2021 (Race Rock Ecoguardians 2022; BCCDC 2022). Race
Rock Ecoguardian observation data collated for 1 Jan 2014 through 20 Jan 2016 found almost continual presence of Northern Elephant Seal at Race Rocks. Counts range from 1 to 34 individuals, including all age classes: adults, sub-adults and pups. A best estimate of 5 individuals is an approximate average during this time. Source(s) of national estimate(s): BCCDC 2022; Race Rock Ecoguardians 2022; Fletcher 2016.

*The threat status displayed is the one that qualifies the species as a criterion A1 trigger under KBA rules, if applicable. Other statuses may exist.

9. Assessment Details – KBA Trigger Ecosystems: None
10. Delineation Rationale:
The ecological reserve boundary was followed due to the presence of rich intertidal and subtidal invertebrates that are not well documented as potential KBA eligible species. This also facilitates management options for the KBA.

11. Technical Review:

Name Affiliation Email
Garry Fletcher Lester B. Pearson College (retired); Director with Friends of Ecological Reserves Society garryf use the @ sign gmail.com

Strahan Tucker Fisheries and Oceans Canada Strahan.Tuckeruse the @ sign dfo-mpo.gc.ca

12. Additional Site Information:
Rationale for site nomination XwaYeN (Race Rocks) KBA is the only Northern Elephant Seal rookery in Canada. As such, it meets criteria as a national D1a and D1b KBA.

Additional biodiversity at the site A unique hydroid, Rhysia fletcheri, was described as a new species from this site (Brinckmann- Voss et al. 1993), but its abundance and range extent are unclear. Several bird species stop over at the rocks during migration,Including Red Knot (Calidris canutus roselaarim, COSEWIC. Threatened). There are nesting colonies for seabirds including Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba), Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) and Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens). Brandt&#39;s Cormorants (Urile penicillatus) occur at the site but do not nest there.
Both Steller (Eumetopias jubatus, COSEWIC Special Concern) and California (Zalophus
californianus) sea lions use Race Rocks as a winter haul-out. Quillback rockfish (Sebastes
maliger, COSEWIC Threatened) are present and partially protected by a Rockfish Conservation Area (FAOC 2021, see Site Management). Plants including Sea Thrift (Armeria maritima) and Tracy’s Romanzoffia (Romanzoffia tracyi) are present. Rare lichens are present such as Orange Sea Lichen (Flavoplaca marina – previously called Caloplaca marina) and a Grey Lichen (Myriolecis straminea – previously called Lecanora straminea). Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides) can be found in large numbers and will likely be added as a contributing species in the future.
A full list of species observed at the site is available at https://racerocks.ca/race-rocks-animals-plants/taxonomy-image-gallery/

Customary jurisdiction at site

Traditional territories of the Sc’ianew First Nation, Esquimalt First Nation, and T’Sou-ke First
Nation. Á,LEṈENEȻ ȽTE (W̱SÁNEĆ); Te’mexw Treaty Association; Douglas Treaty may include
Race Rocks.

Conservation:

The site is a BC Parks Ecological Reserve which is staffed and managed by Lester B. Pearson UWC (United World College). The site is part of a Rockfish Conservation Area, established by Fisheries and Oceans Canada to protect inshore rockfish;from all mortality associated with recreational and commercial fisheries; (FAOC 2021). Race Rocks is in Rockfish Conservation Area 19 (FAOC 2015). The KBA is within the Juan de Fuca Strait Ecologically and Biologically Significant Area (EBSA) identified by Fisheries and Oceans Canada as well as Critical Habitat for Southern Resident Killer Whale (Orcinus orca).

Ongoing conservation actions Formal education; Invasive/problematic species control; Resource &amp; habitat protection;

Site/area management; Site/area protection; Training Ongoing threats Human intrusions ; disturbance; Pollution Conservation actions needed

Awareness ; communications; Compliance and enforcement; Formal education;
Invasive/problematic species control; Policies and regulations; Resource &amp; habitat protection;
Site/area management; Site/area protection

13. References:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2022. BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer. B.C. Minist. of Environ. Victoria, B.C. Available:
https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Mar 6, 2022).
BC Parks. 2022. Race Rocks detailed ecological reserve description. Available:
https://bcparks.ca/eco_reserve/racerocks_er/Race%20Rocks%20ER%2097.pdf?v=1646607034131 (accessed Mar 6, 2022).
Brinckmann-Voss A, Lickey DM, Mills CE. 1993. Rhysia fletcheri (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa, Rhysiidae), a new species of colonial hydroid from
Vancouver Island (British Columbia, Canada) and the San Juan Archipelago (Washington, U.S.A.). Canadian Journal of Zoology. 71: 401-406.
https://doi.org/10.1139/z93-056
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (FAOC). 2015. Rockfish conservation areas – Areas 19 and 20. Website: https://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-
gp/maps-cartes/rca-acs/areas-secteurs/1920-eng.html [accessed August 23, 2022]
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (FAOC). 2021. Rockfish conservation areas. Website: https://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/maps-cartes/rca-
acs/index-eng.html#permit [accessed August 23, 2022]
Fletcher G. 2016. Marine Mammals Hauled out on Race Rocks Jan 2014-Feb 2016. online graph image available: https://racerocks.ca/marine-
mammals-hauled-out-on-race-rocks-2014-2015/ (accessed August 12, 2022)
Race Rocks Ecoguardians. 2022. Race Rocks species list and image gallery. Available: https://racerocks.ca/race-rocks-animals-
plants/taxonomy-image-gallery/ (accessed Mar 6, 2022).

EXISTING SHORELINE CONDITIONS STUDY EAO Condition 39

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The full pdf of this report is contained in this pdf:
BC EAO Condition 39 Exisitng Shoreline Conditions Report – May 2023 – for engagement

The purpose of this posting is to reference the part of the report referring to Metchosin’s coastline including Race Rocks and to provide comment on it.

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From page 4 of the REPORT:
1 Introduction
As defined by the amendment to Trans Mountain’s BC Environmental Assessment Certificate (EAC) issued by the Province of British Columbia (the Province) on February 24, 2022, Trans Mountain must prepare an Existing Shorelines Condition Report and submit to the Province within 18 months (August 2023) as Condition No. 39.

Polaris Applied Sciences was retained to prepare a report containing shoreline baseline data for shoreline areas closest to spill scenario locations modeled along the marine shipping route and submitted in the Project application. The Province listed the specific scenario locations for the purpose of this study (Figure 1) as:

  • English Bay (Location B)
  • Roberts Bank (Location C)
  • Strait of Georgia (Location D)
  • Arachne Reef (Location E)
  • Strait of Juan de Fuca (south of Race Rocks) (Location G); and
  • Buoy J (Location H)

 

Page 25
Strait of Juan de Fuca (south of Race Rocks) (Location G);
Figure 18 shows the Location G – Race Rocks site with the available existing spatial data. Shoreline data are from the Shorezone mapping effort available from the BC Data Catalogue, which show the shore type consisting of rock cliff. Shore-zone Bioband data indicate the presence of barnacles, dark brown kelps, fucus, bull kelp, red algae, surf grass, and Verrucaria. Other data sources indicate offshore kelp beds and multiple seal and sealion haulouts. The Race Rocks Ecological Reserve (RRER) website (https://racerocks.ca/home/) provides more details on ecological resources documented and studied at the site, but not in a spatial format for mapping.

COMMENTS :  The exceptionally high Biodiversity of the area and high level of protection since 1980 as a Provincial Ecological Reserve  are not reflected at all in the map presented. If one were to look at the Race Rocks Taxonomy presented at https://racerocks.ca/race-rocks-animals-plants/taxonomy-image-gallery/ there may be a better appreciation of the natural capital of this area

  1. Rock Cliff  Beach designation is inaccurate.. there is a pebble beach and Intertidal areas with tidepools on much of the shorelines of the 9 islandfsd in the Archipelago.  Also several surge channels are located around the main island. 
  2. Bird Colonies :
    –no mentions is made of four species of nesting seabirds.
    –no mention is made of the fact this is a winter roosting area for thousands of seabirds.
    — no mention of the fact that the archipelago of islands are an important migratory stopover for marine and terrestrial migratory birds.
  3. Marine Mammals:
    –no mention is made of the fact this is the most northerly haul-out and pupping colony  for Elephant seals — no mention of the fact that California and Northern sealions haul  out in numbers over 1000 in the fall of the year. 
    —no mention  that the haul-out locations for harbour seals are also pupping colonies. 
    — no mention of the ocurrence of river otters and sea otters on and within the islands.
    – no mention of the fact that it is an important feeding area for Biggs killer whales. https://racerocks.ca/humpback-and-orca-sightings-race-rocks/
    –no mention of the fact that the surrounding waters have had a rapid increase in the past few years of Humpback whales 
  4. Invertebrates: 
    –The extremely high biodiversity of invertebrate species both inter-tidally and sub-tidally is not mentioned. 
    –Several rare species of invertebrates are found here and are not acknowledged
  5. Fish :
    –This is a rockfish protection area and all species of BC Rockfish are represented.– a high diversity of other fish are also represented here,  with even sitings of Sturgeon occurring.
  6. Marine Algae :
    –There is a much higher  species diversity of Marine Algae found in the ecological reserve than is n surrounding areas. 
    — the indication of kelp beds on the map presented here is totally inaccurate and insufficient.  Given the decline of kelp beds in our coastal water , this is highly relevant. 
  7. Indigenous and Historical Significance: 
    — the presence of archaeological sites and the significance of the historic structures cannot be minimized . All are sprayed with seawater and therefore subject to immersion in pollutants during intense winds  which occur regularly. 

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Comments:
The reference at the Race Rocks website  from racerocks.ca which analyzes the Wind speed from observations of the hourly data provided by Environment Canada show a completely different picture . https://racerocks.ca/race-rocks-lightstation-weather-conditions-environment-canada-problems-for-oil-spill-cleanup/

 Some facts from the Environment Canada data:
1. In July of 2022  there were 11 days when the wind speed every hour was 28 km/hr or greater. and 69.5% of the hours in the month, clean up equipment could not be deployed due to high velocity wind conditions.
2. In March of 2023, the wind speed was 28 km/hr or greater  37% of the time.
3. In Februarry of 2023 , the wind speed was 28 km/hr or greater 43 % of the time
4. In January of 2023 , the wind speed was 28 km/hr or greater 36% of the time 

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The reality of current speed  is that there is a very small window of time during the day that the waters around Race Rocks are not over three knots. In the graph below only in the few hours a day not covered by the white arrows could any boom placement be established. WHen looked at from this perspective, added onto the small windows of time when the wind speed is under 28 km per hour could spilled oil containment even be possible. 

 

 

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From page 28 of the Polaris report

Field surveys were not conducted at Race Rocks due to the long lead time in acquiring a “research” permit from BC Parks to access the Ecological Reserve. Information detailed below comes from reviewing the existing data available, Google Earth, the RRER website, and a First Nations representative.
The shoreline at Race Rocks, specifically Great Race Rock, appears to be mostly bedrock cliff, ramp, and platform, possibly with some small pocket pebble/cobble beaches. Bedrock cliffs and ramps are observable in Figure 21 which show some example photographs from the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve website. The backshore appears to be mostly bedrock with some vegetation.
An active lighthouse along with several other buildings are present. Pearson College UWC conducts research and teaches classes at the site. Whale and sightseeing boats frequent the waters around Great Race Rock and are visible from photographs on the Race Rocks website and on Google Earth.
As mentioned before, Race Rocks is a BC Parks Ecological Reserve which are “areas selected to preserve representative and special natural ecosystems, plant and animal species, features and phenomena. Scientific research and educational purposes are the principal uses of ecological reserves”7. A wide variety of ecological resources are documented, tracked, and studied at the site. This documentation includes a weekly animal census, annual bird counts, and an entire list of species ever documented with photos/videos since 2000 (https://racerocks.ca/race-rocks-animals-plants/taxonomy-image-gallery/). Additional research conducted at the site can also be found on the RRER website. The extensive use of the site as a haulout location by pinnipeds is documented on the website and visible on Google Earth.
This area has historically been used by First Nations for harvesting food, as documented on the Race Rocks website, and a First Nations representative indicated that fishing is common in the waters around the site. Burial mounds/cairns have been researched and documented on Great Race Rock.
A helicopter pad is located near the lighthouse.
Based on the available data, and without visiting Race Rocks, the Shorezone mapping appears to be relatively accurate. The detailed observation of the flora and fauna on the Race Rocks website and other research conducted by Pearson College provides the most thorough documentation of the ecological resources present compared to any of the other sites visited.
7  https://bcparks.ca/eco_reserve/

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So much of what we are expected to do in response to the Trans Mountain EAO requests has been done before. 
However…. 
I am pointing out some information from work that Mike Fenger and myself did on the Board of Friends of Ecological Reserves the past for the NEB hearings . 
1. In this document, although it  lists species of several of the marine ecological reserves,  Race Rocks is included with examples 
https://apps.cer-rec.gc.ca/REGDOCS/Item/View/2786560
page 48 -page 54 : Marine mammals
see page 52  
page 55-page 61 Birds 
page 63-67  fish (including forage fish on our beaches
page 67- page 71 .. Invertebrates
page 72- page  74  .. macroalgae
page 75-  terrestrial plants in upper foreshore areas
From this link ….
https://apps.cer-rec.gc.ca/REGDOCS/Item/Filing/A96487
there is a lot of information of the biological resources along the Strait of Juan De Fuca also in section
3.5 SARA-Listed Species in Two Ecological Reserves and in appendix page 139
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Garry Fletcher.. Metchosin Environmental Advisory Select Committee