Today we had a new branded sea lion and a new injured sea lion to report and a whole lot of new Pearson’s students visiting the island.

Our newest branded sea lion #601 will be reported to the researchers in the US.  So far this Aug and Sept we have was observed 28 different brands and 5 different tags. Sometime we receive interesting information about the sea lions like those in the 3 dash series with satellite transmitters on them.

California sea lion 601 was seen this morning in the flats on the northeast part of the island.

The sea lion with the wounds from an entanglement was spotted this morning near the Jetty by one of the students. It can sometimes be difficult to tell if these wounds are from a past entanglement or an active one when the material is deeply imbedded. The seeping discharge suggests it is active.  I have sent photos to Kendra who works for Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue and who will be the Eco guardian here for October.

Visitors

Two groups of students visited the island today for their first time. It was fantastic to see so many smiling faces. They have an amazing instructor and the best classroom imaginable to learn about todays subject, the California sea lion.  I joined the first group this morning and my favourite new fact of the day was: the nostrils of a sea lion are by default in the closed position. We heard this while staring into the face of a sleeping sea lion perched on a rock at our eye height with its nostrils only 6 feet from our faces. The students were given a brilliant exercise: pick a particular sea lion, watch its movements for 10 minutes, sketch it and come up with one question about sea lions you would like an answer to.  Perfect training for a fine young naturalist and marine scientist!

Facility work

• cleaned solar panels
• ran the generator
• fence repairs
• vacuumed the tank shed
• more work on the fence line – new holes, rods and fence supports for the last section of fence along the south side

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 15
• Private: 3

Weather

Skies clear. Winds light in the early morning, WNW 15 to 24 gusting to 29 in the late afternoon. Daytime temperature 12 to 15 degrees.

Wildlife notes

Most of the remaining glaucous-winged gull parents have developed their winter plumage – mottling or streaking on their heads and necks. There are less than 10 gull chicks still being fed by their parents.  It seems they have to be more persistent now to get a free meal. The parents often first offer them a mouth full of grass before they eventually give in to the nagging. Most of these lingering chicks can’t fly yet as they either hatched late or have injuries to their eyes, wings or legs.

A parent glaucous-winged gull in its winter plumage (sooty coloured head and neck) with its near full size chick asking for a meal.

A savanna sparrow on the wire lid of the compost bin.

Facility work

• cleaned the solar panels
• ran the generator
• electric fence repairs and patrol
• topped up battery fluids
• Our camera came back from the shop today. Thank you Greg !!!

Visitors

The Director Head of Pearson College, Director of Operations, Marine and Seafront Operations Coordinator and the Seafront Operations and Maintenance Coordinator (AKA Tyrone, Deanna, Greg and Richard) and four BC Parks representatives came ashore for a site visit.  There are a lot of different groups/governing bodies with an interest in Race Rocks apart from Pearson College who maintains the buildings and infrastructure: it is an ecological reserve (BC Parks), a rockfish conservation area (Dept Fisheries and Oceans), a lighthouse and weather station (Environment Canada, and the Canadian Coast Guard) and an important site for the First Nations who have burial mounds on the island dating back to 500 AD.

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 21
• Private: 2

Weather

The conditions today didn’t help the Mount Jack wildfire near Sooke. It was discovered late on Sunday and doubled in size this afternoon to 100 ha.

Clear skies, fog for part of the day. Winds 13 to 20 knots – WNW in the morning, SW by evening.  Daytime temperatures 11 to 15 degrees.

Wildlife notes

The marine life are getting their fill of food. There are too many humpback whales to count and today I watched a sea lion slap a salmon on the water to break it apart.  After he ate the front end he slowly swallowed the remaining 18 inches whole.

The sea lions are keeping me busy with fence repair. The majority avoid the fence but there are a few insistent on breaking in or gaining access to the Jetty.

Facility work

• cleaned solar panels
• ran the generator in the morning
• rolled and put away the fire hoses in preparation for the new water line
• fence repair
• emails (DFO – fishing infraction, IOS water sampling, Oregon Dept Fish and Wildlife – branded sea lions)

This sea lion is always on the wrong side of the fence. I chase him away, repair the fence and he somehow finds his back again. Just moving toward him isn’t enough anymore. I need to beat on a drum, jump up and down and yell to get him to move. The gulls find it amusing.

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 23
• Private: 4

Weather

Clear skies. Winds westerlies 13 knots in the morning building WNW 29 by evening. Daytime temperatures 12 to 17 degrees.

Smoke plume from the wildfire in the Sooke Hills (far left) stretching past Victoria (far right).

Race Rocks and the surrounding islets are within a Rockfish Conservation Area (RCA). These areas were established to protect rockfish and lingcod populations and it is illegal to fish in them. There are 164 along the BC Coast.

Rockfish Conservation Areas around Vancouver Island. The purple arrow is Race Rocks. To see all marine conservation areas in the Canadian Pacific Ocean visit the DFO website

This afternoon a small private boat with four people on board was fishing in the area.  I tried calling a small, local ecotourism zodiac boat to ask if they could let the folks know about the RCA. I couldn’t reach them and then tried calling the Glacier Spirit a grand, classic-style boat that visits often. The friendly and helpful captain offered to head toward the small vessel. The information was not well received and they were told to Go Home!  The Glacier Spirit is an American flagged boat that operates out of Port Angeles.  Had I known all the passengers on the deck would be greeted with such hostility I would never have made that call. The Naturist onboard provided the vessel registration information and photos (I could not photograph the boat as we are still without a camera) needed to report the violation to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The small boat continued to fish until another local (BC based) ecotourism boat who heard our radio conservation went over.  To all the passengers onboard the Glacier Spirit, I send my sincere apologies. I am ashamed it never occurred to me at the time that I asked an American boat to tell a Canadian boat in Canadian waters it was not allowed to fish. I just thought we all have the same objectives to preserve what is here.  The passengers on all the ecotourism boats regardless of origin were here today to enjoy a beautiful day on the water and marvel at the abundant marine life, which carries on unaware of our borders and politics.

The track of the Glacier Spirit this afternoon from Port Angeles to Race Rocks and back again. The track is colour coded by speed of travel. Slow speeds (were whales and marine life are observed) are in yellow and red.

Their track near Race Rocks.  The purple arrow is near to where they chatted with the small boat with their fishing gear in the water.

People aboard the Glacier Spirit. This photo was taken on June 6th 2026. I have been photographing ecotourism boats all summer in preparation for a post. As our camera is not yet repaired, I will be using these old photos.

Facility Work

• settling in
• fence patrol

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 27
• Private: 4 plus one fishing infraction

Weather

Clear skies. Westerlies 12 to 20 knots. Daytime temperatures 11 to 13 degrees.

My 10 days on Race Rocks in coming to an end. Its been a great learning experience and I have enjoyed the animals (most of them). Tomorrow Christine will return and the sea lions can test some else’s patience. I’ll miss my friends that lay at the top of the ramp. I can walk right past their noses and they don’t move. However, if I tell them they need to move, they will. They are probably the most trained seal lions regarding where they are allowed to go.

These are the regulars. Sometimes the noses are right at the line.

Started the day the usual way with running the generator and cleaning the solar panels. The panels were a bit more dirty this morning. I have been trying to corelate the amount of soil vs. the weather. Do the seagulls spend more time on the panels on a calm day vs a windy day? Does the sun or cloud cover affect their roosting? I haven’t found an answer, but it’s good research.

Greg stopped by later in the morning to tour some guests around the island. Michael Pearson (grandson of our namesake Lester B. Pearson) and his wife Kerry Buck (retired Canadian diplomat, formerly Canada’s Ambassador to NATO) are in town and the College wanted to show them the Ecological Reserve. After their island tour they went around the reserve to view the outer islets. They picked a great day for a tour; the weather was warm and the sun was shining.

And what would a Saturday be without a census. After spending a week with these mammals since the last census, I can pretty much tell the California Sea Lions from the Steller Sea Lions. I was surprised when I walked around the island looking for shore birds and found the Black Turnstone hiding place. They seemed to multiply throughout the day.

Mammals:

• California sealion: 476, plus ~164 on the outer islets
• Stellar sealion: 94 plus ~54 on the outer islets
• Harbour seal: 32
• Humpback whales: 3 inside the reserve, there are many more outside throughout the day

Birds:

• Gulls: 339 plus 132 on outer islands
• Cormorant: 377, more may be just out of view
• Black turnstone: 109; I found where they like to hide
• Savannah Sparrow: 6
• Other shorebirds: 3

Facility work

• Clean solar panels
• Run gas generator
• Fence repairs in a few places
• Removed concrete forms

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 23
• Private: 6

Weather

Sunny throughout the day.  Winds 9 to 16 knots, predominantly West. Daytime temperatures 12 to 14 degrees.

Woke up to a foggy morning. By the time I got outside to start the generator and clean the solar panels the fog had cleared and the sun was out. I thought about not running the generator, since the sun was so bright. However, the base load on the system is around 1200W and the system normally doesn’t produce that amount until 10-11am, so I would be still using power. It was a good thing I started the generator because the sun didn’t last for long. I could hear the Point Wilson/Port Townsend fog horn and see the fog on the horizon. It wasn’t long before the fog rolled in up the Strait and we were covered again. I wore the earmuffs around just in case our fog horn started; fortunately the fog didn’t last long enough to activate the horn.

The sea lions seemed to behave last night and I didn’t have any fence repairs this morning. They did try the fence throughout the day though, so there was some adjustments to be made. Every time they test the fence, it pulls the line from down the line (think of the finish line ribbon that trails behind the runner). Yesterday when they were “testing” the jetty fence I noticed a few areas where we could better affix the line so that it doesn’t get pulled as far. One additional issue is that pulling the line creates a short and the rest of the line is less useful. This makes it very important to stay on top of maintaining the perimeter fence.

Richard came out this morning and we did the second pour of concrete on the sidewalk. The concrete just needs to set and the sidewalk will be good as new. The new cistern water line can run under the sidewalk through the clay drain tile and eliminate a tripping hazard.

New sidewalk section. The clay drain tile is shown on the right

Facility work

• Fence maintenance
• Clean solar panels
• Ran gas generator
• Checked batteries
• Split firewood

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 17
• Private: 1 (sailboat)

Weather

Scattered clouds.  Winds 7 to 18 knots from the west, increasing throughout the day. Daytime temperatures 10 to 16 degrees.

This morning was the last morning that I had to get the water sample early in the morning. I usually wake up, open the blinds and check if the sea lions have breached the fence overnight. I will say,  while laying in bed they always sound like they are just out the window, so this morning when I looked out I was sure they had broken the fence and were lounging on the front yard. My heart sank and I quickly got dressed, ready to get them to move; then I realized it was the shadows between the rocks I was seeing and the sea lions were fine!

I came in from the water sampling and had TWO cups of coffee with breakfast to get me going this morning. I was then off to the usual work of starting the generator and cleaning the solar panels. I find it so peaceful outside on the rock in the morning. There are a few fishing boats out, but not much else. The air is crisp and the day is just beginning. I ran the generator for only a few hours today and the sun took care of the rest.

I walked the fences and made sure everything was still holding up. The sea lions seem to be accustomed to the new fence and leave it alone for the most part. Certain groups are less comfortable with my presence and so I must walk slow and be aware of their changes in behaviour. I feel bad when I startle one and the group takes off to the water. Often on the walk I find a new tagged or branded sea lion, and this stampede hinders my effort to note the number and get a picture. I will usually go back later and try to view from a high rock, or climb the tower so that I can look down on the group and not disturb them.

With the dry weather I haven’t been able to clean some of the seagull guano that has been accumulating on the steps and decks. I was actually hoping for a day of rain while I’m here to help with the cleaning (remember fresh water is a scare resource on an island). There is one spot at the top of the lighthouse steps that has been bothering me with the accumulation, along with the decks around the house. I found a garden hoe that I could use as a scraper to clean the large deposits. This will help to reduce the tracking on our shoes and should make it much easier when the rain does come to wash away the guano.

Richard came in the afternoon and we worked on getting the passage under the sidewalk for the water line completed. We installed the clay drain tiles and poured the first layer of concrete to hold them in. Tomorrow we will pour the concrete to replace the sidewalk we chipped out.

Facility work

• Clean Solar Panels
• Run gas generator
• Clean seagull guano
• Water line and sidewalk repairs
• Brought rest of wood into house

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 16
• Private: 3
• Personal Watercraft: 2

Weather

Clear and sunny.  Winds 2 to 11 knots, starting from the NE in the morning and shifting to the SE by afternoon. Daytime temperatures 12 to 19 degrees.

Another early start to the morning. Still a bit later than the max flood time, but we are in a dark sky area and I need to wait for daylight to be able to see what I am doing. I was able to see a beautiful sunrise, so it was well worth it.

Sunrise over Race Passage

There was a heavy dew last night so I gave the house windows a quick squeegee when I went out later. This also helped with cleaning the solar panels; I didn’t have to use much water to get them clean today. The re-configuration of the fence also make it much easier to access the panels on the back of the powerhouse.

We were so busy with the fence yesterday that I forgot to check the batteries. I remembered today, and they were good. Only a few needed to be topped with water.

I walked the new fence and ensured it was all still intact. It seems the sea lions have figured out the new “no go” areas and are avoiding the fence. I did witness a few sea lions try out the fence and promptly leave the area. I think we have successfully trained most of them to leave the fence alone.

Taking down the old fence left a mess of used line, posts and concrete stands. I discarded most of the dirty, spliced line and piled the posts and stands by the buildings today.

During the morning eco-tourism outings one vessel reported a sea lion with fishing flasher in its mouth. I wasn’t able to locate the sea lion in the area they reported. Later in the day I used the binoculars to survey the sea lions and found the sea lion on Middle Rocks. I wasn’t able to asses how attached the line was, but I could see the flasher.

Facility work

• cleaned solar panels
• ran the gas generator
• fence cleanup
• battery check

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 20
• Private: 3
• Paddleboard: 1*

*this is the 3rd day in a row I have seen a paddleboarder out here. I’m not sure I would want to be in Race Passage on a paddle board!

Weather

Mainly sunny throughout the day. Winds calm to 13 knots variable direction. Daytime temperatures 13 to 20 degrees.

Started the day early with the water sample before breakfast. The sample was due at 0500, but Morning civil twilight was 0620, so I was out at that time instead. Even at that time I had a headlamp to make sure I could see clearly.

The weather showed a similar forecast as yesterday, so I ran the generator longer to ensure I can get enough charge in the batteries. The solar panels weren’t very dirty this morning, so that was a quick job. In the end the sun came out most of the afternoon, so I probably could have reduced the generator usage.

Overnight the sea lions breached the perimeter in one location, so I made a quick repair. The plan is to have the new fence working in that section today.

Greg and Richard came out in the morning and started working on the new fence line. The new line runs closer to the shore, so we had to push some animals back to work. We got the section from the helipad to the jetty and from the jetty along the northeast side completed before lunch. After lunch we worked on the helipad to the west section and got it all set up for the end of the day. Some additional fencing material is required to complete the perimeter and cover the south and east sections.

The elephant seal departed today around noon. Not sure if it will come back

Facility work

• cleaned solar panels
• ran the gas generator
• fence repairs
• Worked on new fence line

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 19
• Private: 4
• Paddleboard: 1
• Personal Watercraft: 2

Usual start to the day with the generator running and the cleaning of solar panels. There were a few sea lions that rolled under the fence, so I sent them back to their side and repaired the damage.

The elephant seal is still on the jetty and hasn’t really moved since yesterday. I will keep an eye on it to see if there are any changes in behaviour.

Later in the morning most of the sea lions that lounge around the jetty area had moved out, so I took the opportunity to bring the rest of the driftwood log up on shore. I found a hand winch in the shed and winched the log up a bit higher. There are a few rocks that make an excellent cutting jig to raise the log for the chainsaw. I slowly pulled the log up, cut a few rounds, then pulled it some more until the log was all cut up. Another small log washed ashore yesterday, so I brought it up a little higher also.

Late in the afternoon Greg and Richard came by. The seal was still lounging on the jetty and the offloading of supplies necessitated moving the animal. Since Greg and Richard were coming from the water side, they pushed the animal to the shore area and onto the rocks beside the jetty. Hopefully it sticks around, it’s a beautiful animal with is big round eyes.

The guys brought a bunch of supplies, but the main task was working on the new electric fence. Richard worked on shortening the new poles, while Greg ran the new line for the jetty. The system was tested and the se lions should be deterred from climbing on the jetty now. They brought me some new trimmer line, so I completed the clearing of the walkways.

Ended the day running the generator again. The forecast was for a sunny afternoon, but it wasn’t enough to bring the batteries up to a comfortable level for the evening. While the generator was running I had to repair a few spot in the fence that the sea lions messed up this afternoon.

Facility work

• cleaned solar panels
• ran the gas generator
• fence repairs
• Cut wood
• Trimmed along sidewalks
• Worked on new fence line

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 19
• Private: 4
• Paddleboard: 1

Weather

Mainly cloudy with periods of sun. Winds WNW 5 to 14 knots. Daytime temperatures 12 to 14 degrees.