Engine Auto Test

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Settled in the the island routine.

The daily water sample is a bit hectic with the lack of electric fence on jetty. I’ve found the supplies so I’ll put that back up in the next week.

We are testing running the gererator on auto. Which means that it turns itself on when the voltage reaches a set point. I’ve been logging the fuel consumption so I’ll be able to see how much we burn over the course of the week. This model keeps the batteries really happy because they get topped up to 100% state of charge and float there for a while. Keeps the plates clean and the batteries nicely conditioned. I do an engine check and battery fluid check every day just to make sure it;s all running smoothly.

 

The view from my morning tea perch. Showing our am/pm satelite checkin SPOT.

Someone has 3D printer skills! There’s a few very cute lampshades out here based on pictures of the tower. Dark areas are thicker material, light areas are thinner material. Kinda magic!

Animal Census

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We had some Transient Orca practicing hunting maneuvers around the S side of Race Rocks, a very exciting welcome back to the island! We’re told by the whale folks this was most likely T075b’s practicing working together on ‘pincer’ movements on the sea lions.

Mammals:

  • Stellar Sea lions: 195
  • California Sea lion: 125
  • Harbour Seal: 20
  • Orca: 4 – T075b

Birds

  • Gulls: 60
  • Cormorants: 120
  • Eagle: 6
  • Turnstones: 10
  • Canada Geese: 13

 

Shift Change

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Came out to Race Rocks with the Pearson College crew. Did a great change-over with Kendra. Weather was perfect, no rain no wind. Grateful to be back out here. Spent the afternoon scoping things out, seeing what has changed, and cleaning the house.

Had a great killer whale show on the south side by the energy building. There was 5 whales, pestering the sealions. They’d come in to the rocks, try and herd the sealions out into open water, then circle back out. Our theory is that they were teaching the small one to hunt.

Last Day!

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That week flew by – I am heading home tomorrow and my time spent here was amazing as always! 

 

Vessels:

  • 1 Private 

Facility Work:

  • Filled generator with diesel
  • Cleaned main house windows 
  • Hauled up logs for firewood 
  • Cleaned house/prepped for next Ecoguardians

Saturday Update

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Today’s weather has been significantly better than yesterday although its still grey and quite cold. The logs at the jetty are slowly breaking up a bit but there are still a ton down there. I did manage to drag in a couple more for firewood while the tide was low. 

There have been 20-30 eagles here lately which is pretty neat to watch, but still no elephant seals! 

The little entangled Cali is sticking around which makes me hopeful we’ll be able to to help her. I also spotted a juvenile Steller on the jetty today with a large fish hook and lure in his lip. A hooked lip is far better than him having swallowed the hook but its still not great. I expect that it’ll get stepped on or ripped out before we can do anything for him but I’ll keep an eye on it regardless. The young Stellers LOVE to play with anything they find, I’ve been watching them carry sticks around and chunks of fish, and unfortunately some plastic debris as well. They’re like curious little toddlers and I love watching them play – I’d just prefer it not be with garbage! 

Nothing too wild going on today! Chopped some wood, and got a few tasks done inside. No vessels in the area today, everyone seems to be laying low. 

Stormy and Cold

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Not much of an update today. Woke up to strong winds and sideways rain that I’m surprised didn’t turn to snow with how cold it felt. Definitely a stay inside kinda day! 

The entangled Cali is still here, hopefully it sticks around until we have calmer weather to organize a rescue. 

One thing I have noticed thats changed since October is how many more Steller sea lions appear to be here as opposed to California sea lions. There are also a lot more young/juvenile Stellers than the fall as well, super interesting and I wonder if Race Rocks will ever become a rookery?

Very young Steller resting on a California sea lion

Slightly older juvenile Steller

High Tides and Logs Galore

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Over the past few days I’ve noticed how many logs and driftwood seem to be out in the ocean this time of year. I’ve heard its significantly worse than previous years but thankfully not too much has been accumulating at the jetty (as I’ve been told it can). Until today. 

Yesterday afternoon there were a few small bits of driftwood/logs but nothing out of the ordinary, however the tides and wind must have been combined in all the right (or maybe wrong) ways over night. This morning when I woke up there was enough logs and debris around the jetty to open up my own lumber mill. I’ve never seen anything like it. For the better part of the day the waves have been crashing directly into the jetty making it impossible for any of it to be pushed out. In the afternoon I pulled a few of the reachable logs up to use for future firewood but it barely made a dent in whats there. Hopefully some of it gets pushed out tonight! 

The fur seal has not shown up again, so I guess he was just passing by, although I’m hopeful we’ll see him again one day! Ollie is still around and a few humpbacks are passing by each day. 

I haven’t seen the entangled sea lions today, but the Cali was around yesterday and the Steller the day before. 

Vessels:

  • Ecotourism: 2

Facility Work:

  • Topped up battery electrolytes 
  • Cleaned/organized inside main house 
  • Hauled in logs for firewood 

Otters, Whales, and a Fur Seal…Oh My!

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It’s the last day of 2024 and we are finishing it with a bang!

This morning I spotted an imposter among the sea lions near the jetty…a northern fur seal!

You may be wondering why thats significant, and its because this is the first northern fur seal documented on Race Rocks in 44 years! Northern fur seals are a pelagic species, meaning they live offshore and are not seen near the coast.

Occasionally they have been sighted in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the young or sick ones have stranded along the coast in previous years. However, a healthy adult male hauled out in front of the house here? Very rare! So rare that it hasn’t been seen since 1980 which I still haven’t quite wrapped my head around.

He’s been in and out of the water throughout the day, lots of grooming (they have a fur coat similar to that of a sea otter), and even nipped at a few California sea lions. I’m looking forward to seeing if he sticks around!

Speaking of sea otters, Ollie is also back! After spending the past few months  near William Head, I saw him on the South side of the island early this morning. I’m hoping to see more of him before I leave.

It appears not all of the humpbacks have gotten the memo that they should be somewhere warm, cozy, and tropical by now. I saw about 7 in total today which was a very nice surprise.

As for the rest of the animals around here its been status quo. Still no elephant seals but I’m not giving up hope yet. Doing my best to manifest one (or ten) arriving before I leave.

Happy New Year!!

December 2024 Seawater Data

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DAILY SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE AND SALINITY OBSERVATIONS
Station: RACE ROCKS
Observer: Derek Month: December
YSI ID: 15 Year: 2025
YSI YSI
Temp Sal
Day Time ºC ppt
1 13:30 9.1 32.7
2 14:00 9.0 32.7
3 14:30 9.1 32.6
4 15:00 9.0 32.6
5 15:30 9.1 32.7
6 16:00 9.1 32.9
7 16:30 9.3 32.9
8 17:00 9.1 32.9
9 n/a n/a n/a
10 n/a n/a n/a
11 n/a n/a n/a
12 n/a n/a n/a
13 n/a n/a n/a
14 n/a n/a n/a
15 13:00 8.7 33.0
16 13:30 8.6 33.0
17 14:15 8.8 32.7
18 15:15 8.8 32.9
19 16:00 8.9 32.7
20 17:00 8.7 32.6
21 17:00 8.6 32.7
22 19:30 8.9 32.6
23 9:00 8.9 32.3
24 8:30:00 AM 8.7 32.6
25 9:30 8.9 32.3
26 10:00 9.1 32.3
27 11:00 8.9 32.4
28 12:30 9.4 31.7
29 n/a n/a n/a
30 10:45 8.7 31.7
31 n/a n/a n/a

Last Census of 2024 & 2 Entangled Sea Lions

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Gorgeous day today!

Since it looks like it’ll be my only sunny day of my trip out here, I spent most of it outside. It was also the perfect day for an animal census.

While out and about today I unfortunately came across two entangled sea lions. Both have been reported to the right groups and I will be monitoring them over the next few days to see if they stick around.

Facility Work:

  • Topped up battery electrolytes
  • Repaired electric fence
  • Dug up weeds
  • Washed main house windows

Vessels:

  • Private: 1
  • Ecotourism: 3

Dec 30 Census:

Mammals:

  • California sea lions: 182
  • Steller sea lions: 339
  • Harbour seals: 24

Birds:

  • Bald eagles: 25
  • Canadian geese: 15
  • Gulls: 531
  • Turnstones: 47
  • Cormorants: 132
  • Oyster catchers: 6
  • Harlequin ducks: 8