This is my last night here for a bit. Chris will take over the Eco Guardian role tomorrow until Sept 20th. There are many projects planned (energy system replacement, new fences, new water line to the cistern, new locks, new door) and unplanned (the failure of the diesel generator) that will keep things busy and interesting for him. The broom is no longer needed at this time of year so I will be passing him what I consider to be the most valuable tool right now – the steel wheelbarrow!  Pushing it in front of you is a effective and safe way to encourage the sea lions to move off the Jetty and the boat ramp. It keeps distance between you and them and you can also beat it as a drum which sometimes works.  Today I decided to buck up the long, prized, Douglas-fir log on the boat ramp figuring all I had to do was start up the chainsaw and they’d clear out.  They didn’t mind the saw at all and some didn’t move more than 20 feet away! It was a bit unnerving at first but I was able to focus on the task at hand. I got 2/3 of it off the ramp and will get the rest when I return.

The handy wheelbarrow with the chainsaw and one round. I moved all the sea lions off the top of the boat ramp but the rest wouldn’t budge, even with the chainsaw running.

Wildlife notes

There are very few gull chicks around who still can’t fly. A couple of them are injured and others are just a lot younger, coming from parents who suffered the assaults of the egg thief or perhaps inexperience.  Even with the chicks mostly gone, the parents continue to defend their territories. Two new branded California sealions were observed today.  As with every day these past two weeks, many humpback whales were observed in and beyond the reserve.

X 537 laying on the western shore, one of the two new finds today. Hopefully we can learn his story one day.

Facility notes

• ran the gas generator in the am
• cleaned the solar panels
• fence repair
• cut fire wood
• much house cleaning and organizing for the next eco guardian

Weather

Skies partly cloudy becoming overcast by evening. Winds SE 1 to 9 knots becoming W 5 to 9 in the evening. Daytime temperatures 12 to 20 degrees.

Wildlife notes

I didn’t realize until recently just how far a sea lion could travel in a day or two.

Of the nine branded California sea lions sighted on Race Rocks in the past month, 3 have satellite transmitters. The three are part of a joint study between Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife and UCLA, monitoring disease and movement ecology of California sea lions (CSL) captured on the Columbia River. The three seen here at Race Rocks are numbers 3-22, 3-24, 3-52.

For 3-22, the satellite transmitter only worked for a few weeks so the researchers couldn’t provide much information on him.

For 3-24 they have data from Aug 2024 to April 2026. He was branded in Oregon, swam as far south as the Channel Islands (an important haul out and rookery) near Los Angeles California and as far north as Texada Island, BC. This total distance is probably over 3500 km.  He made stops at Race Rocks in Dec 2024, Sept 2025. They say he spent a great deal of time in Northwest Bay BC hauling out on the log booms and eating herring.

Center stage, facing directly at the camera is 3-24 on Race Rocks, Sept 1st. He is still here today.

The travels of 3-24 from Aug 2024 to April 2026.

The area with the most dots in Northwest Bay BC, where 3-24 spent a lot of time hanging out and booms and feasting on herring.

Number 3-24 has travelled a great distance since being tagged in Aug 2024 but with 3-52 we get an idea of just how quickly they can get around. The map below just shows 3-54’s recent movements from Aug 15 2026 to Sept 1 2026. On Aug 15th he was in the Columbia River, Oregon and five days later on the Aug 20 he was up in Barkley Sound, BC. Another five days later he was back down in the Olympic Peninsula, WA. He then swam down Juan de Fuca Straight and three days later on Aug 28 he was on Race Rocks. I saw him here on Aug 30th. Two days later on Sept 1st he was near the top end of Texada Island, BC, which is about 250 km away from Race Rocks! I figured if he swam day and night without stopping for the 2 days he would need to the maintain a travelling speed of 5.2 km/hr and asked the researchers if this was really possible. They said it was and provided the values below from relevant research papers:

• Maximum swim speed 3m/s or 10.8 km/hr
• Maximum travel speed approximately 5.4 km/hr (Wright et. al. 2010)
• Maximum 24-hour travel distance during the migration 235 km (Gearin et. al. 2017)
• Six of the nine instrumented CSL had one day travel distances of at least 176 km (Gearin et. al. 2017)

The travels of 3-52 from Aug 15 2026 to Sept 1 2026.

The Sea Lion Olympics! I’ve seen the male synchronized swimmers practice here at Race Rocks and was impressed. These are amazing athletes.  I think 3-24 has a good chance in the long distance open water swim event and  3-52 m at the mid distance or the long distance relay event.

Facility work

Today was extremely busy, filled with sad and happy news. The sad news is the diesel generator needs major repair and will be out of commission for a while. The happy news is all the holes in the rock are now drilled and we have begun laying the new fence line.

• cleaned solar panels
• finished drilling holes
• started assembling and laying the new fence lines

Vessels

I was preoccupied for parts of the day, so the vessel count is incomplete. The same dive boat has been here three days in a row. I wonder if they are filming a movie?

• Ecotourism: 15
• Private: 4
• Paddleboard: 1

Weather

Clear skies. Wind 3 to 13 knots, direction variable. Daytime temperatures 12 to 21 degrees.

Wildlife notes

The red-footed booby drew crowds today!  It travelled a long way and there were a lot of very interested birders here to see it.

I started putting together the travel data for some of the branded California sea lions that we observed at Race Rocks this past month but I am tired and ran out of time this evening so I will have to finish it tomorrow.

An California sea lion in a quiet spot away from the barking herd.

Facility work

The last fence repair at the Jetty lasted a whole 48 hours and only needed a small adjustment today!

• cleaned solar panels
• ran the gas generator in the morning, solar brought it up to a full charge by 5pm.
• fence patrol and repair
• drilled more anchor holes for the new electric fence line

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 24
• Private: 12

Weather

Clouds increasing in the afternoon. Winds mostly westerly 12 to 16 knots. Daytime temperatures 13 to 15 degrees.

Wildlife notes

The super El Nino is bringing some rare birds to coastal BC.  A red-footed booby was seen in Race Rocks Ecological Reserve on the outer rock islets hanging out with the cormorants and sea lions.  This was the second sighting in BC, first for the Victoria area! It was first spotted at 3 pm but was not relocated later.

Other rare birds that twitchers have been lucky to see this summer are the Nazca booby, Cocos booby, elegant tern, Hawaiian petrel and the short-tailed albatross. These opportunities to see unusual birds are exciting but the events driving them are not always good for local birds and other wildlife or sea creatures.

Red-footed booby, Race Rocks Ecological Reserve, Sept 6 2026. Photos by Nathan Hentze, Rocky Point Bird Observatory/Eagle Wing Tours birding trip

The other highlights of the day were the first views through the windows I passed this morning.  Through the first window I discovered the Jetty was held over night – the California sea lions did not break through the electric fence and this was the first time in the past week it held for 24 hours without repairs! The delight out the second window was a humpback whale tail sinking into the sea.  In the third window I watched a fish leaping out of the sea pursued by a sea lion.  There were many sea lions and whales out feeding.  I am already thinking how hard it will be to say goodbye to this place in a few days.

Facility work

• cleaned solar panels
• ran the gas generator
• ran the desalinator
• fence repairs except on the Jetty!
• drilled more holes for new electric fence

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 26
• Private: 11

Weather

Scattered clouds. Fog in the early evening.  Winds 1 to 18 knots, direction variable. Daytime temperatures 12 to 18 degrees.

Mammals:

• California sealion: 648 plus 22 on outer islets (Aug 30: 457  July 25:17)
• Stellar sealion: 261 plus 90 on outer islets (Aug 30: 205, July 25: 29)
• harbour seal: 24 (Aug 30: 136)
• humpback whales: 10 inside the reserve, many more outside

Birds:

• gulls: 581 plus 126 chicks (Aug 30 >2200 including chicks)
• cormorant: 316 (Aug 30: 73)
• black oystercatcher: 6
• pigeon guillemot: 1 (July 25: 234)
• black turnstone: 68
• surf bird: 4
• harlequin duck: 2
• song bird: 6

Notes on Census

Animals seen this week but not observed today include: Canada goose, bald eagle.

The humpback whale count may not be accurate as it is hard to know if the same whale is resighted. The humpbacks have been around every day this week but today was spectacular!  They were breaching and slap happy, slapping their pectoral fins and tails. These behaviours help reveal just how large they are! I am so sorry I can’t share a picture of this.  The camera is still in the shop.

The California and Stellar sea lions on Middle Island, Turbine Rock and North Island were difficult to distinguish. On these outer islands there were 112 sealions. I estimate about 80% are those are Stellar and 20% California.  In the past week the number of California sea lions went up by 40% (another 213 arrived) and Stellar’s went up by 70% (another 146 arrived).

Sea lions in the flats between the Jetty and East Beach. There is still dirt showing so there is room for more! There is so much guano our red roof appears almost white.

For last weeks census there were >2200 sea gulls. There were no visiting flocks seen on the outer shores or rocks today. The 581 gulls observed today likely represent the nesting gull parents on the island. A few weeks ago Eva counted 400 chicks. Of the 126 chicks left in the area, I would guess half of these are able to fly and could leave.  It is interesting to watch the parents run away from their nagging hungry chicks.  I saw one chase and hound its parent while both were floating in the water. The parents don’t guard the chicks as closely and the older chicks are allowed to socialize with each other.  Many of the chicks are strong flyers but they haven’t found their adult voices yet.  It is a bit surprising to hear the chick chirps and squeeks coming for a near full size bird over head.

Facility work

• Ran the generator for two hours in the am and the sun brought the batteries up to 100% by late afternoon
• Cleaned the solar panels
• Fence repair (several times!)
• Drilled more holes with the Hilti

Vessels

It was an incredibly busy day on the water

• Ecotourism: 26
• Dive boat: 1
• Private: 11

Weather

Amazing cloud developments on the distant shores, skies clear overhead.  Winds 1 to 11 knots, direction variable. Daytime temperatures 13 to 18 degrees.

Wildlife notes

New sea lions are still coming to Race Rocks.  The fence at the Jetty is destroyed and they have claimed that piece of prime real estate.  In other parts of the island, their intrusion beyond the existing fence line is more a slow sneaky creep.  I am starting to see them everywhere, even in the clouds. Despite it all, I am growing fond of them.

The sea lions on the Jetty and in the sky. I will have to send them all off in the morning so I can collect the sea water data.

Visitors

Three technicians from Shift came to plan the power system upgrade.  Chris, who will be the Eco guardian from Sept 11 to 20 also came out today. The diesel generator technician won’t come until Tuesday but the gas generator is working out well so far. I ran it for a couple hours early this morning and the solar panels kept the batteries at 100% all day.

Facility work

Greg and Richard dropped off a battery powered Hilti hammer drill today and showed me where they wanted the new fence line to run. I have started drilling holes in the rock for the anchors for the new fence line.

Metal rods marking the locations of the drilled holes.

The log from yesterday is still tied up but I am not sure if this a good time of year to be cutting it up on the boat ramp.  The sea lions didn’t mind listening to the hammer drill today and I wonder if they would feel the same about the chainsaw.  I need to wear the hard hat, face shield and ear muffs but with that gear on and focused on the saw, I am afraid of loosing my situational awareness. It is also very slippery right now with their scat smeared about.

• cleaned solar panels
• repaired the electric fence
• drilled holes

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 26
• Private: 7

Weather

Partly cloudy. Wind 1 to 9 knots, direction variable. Daytime temperatures 11 to 15 degrees.

Today was stressful. The diesel generator failed to auto start this morning so I initiated a manual run. It started up and ran but did not ramp up or deliver any power. We have a backup gasoline generator here but unfortunately our current system can only accept one generator. Switching between the gas and the diesel generators requires reprograming various system and inverter settings so I had to call Greg who was off sick. Our fearless leader got himself out here, pushed through the pain and got everything set up. Thank you Greg!

Greg with the stressful job of entering the new presets and limits. Richard and I stayed quiet and kept ourselves busy with other tasks. It is a huge room, with a huge generator, huge wires, basically room for anything you want to put in there and the smallest thing in the room, with a screen so small you can barely read, controls it all!

The gas generator is a beautiful thing, purring away outside the Energy Building.  It will take almost twice as long to charge up the batteries but will save us until Old Faithful gets fixed. I’ll have to keep it running until bedtime. Several technicians are coming tomorrow so hopefully it is a quick fix and not a major rebuild. The new power system (solar panels, lithium batteries, controllers etc.) being designed for Race Rocks will have multiple generator inputs and switching between them will be seamless, we just need to struggle a little while longer!

The backup Honda gasoline generator.

Wildlife notes

It is heart breaking to watch a creature struggle and slowly die. A 3 to 4 week old gull chick has been hanging around the Keeper’s House north porch. I am not sure where it came from or who its parents are or if they are still around. It is much younger than the other chicks in the area and still just growing its wing feathers.  The poor thing has been limping around alone.  I took this photo yesterday when all it could do was move its eye. Today it is gone. It brings tears to my eyes to think it never got a fair chance at life and probably died hungry and scared.

Facility work

• cleaned solar panels
• repaired the electric fence in several locations, only to have them destroyed again. The Jetty is the biggest problem area right now as I need access to greet boats and take the daily sea water readings.
• switching system settings for the gasoline generator
• transferring gasoline to the Energy Building
• oil change on the diesel generator

We have been watching this log on the shoreline for many months but couldn’t retrieve it this spring as there was an oystercatcher nest nearby. On the high tide this evening it floated free. I chased the sea lions off the boat ramp and pulled it in with our very long pike pole. Hopefully it is still there in the morning as we need more fire wood to make it through the winter.

My last task of the day at the high tide before sunset. Hopefully the line on the log will hold until morning.

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 19
• Private: 4

Weather

Partly cloudy. Wind direction variable, calm to 17 knots. Daytime temperatures 12 to 14 degrees.

The weather forecast was for rain and 30 knots this morning so I lowered the flag last night. This morning there was hardly any wind but the new forecast called for 40 knots in the afternoon, so I left the flag down.  I also put off cleaning the panels in the morning expecting rain.  I gave up on the wind and rain midday and cleaned the panels. The forecast is not always accurate but this was way off. The swell coming in from the east was causing interesting conditions at the Jetty and on East Beach. There was bad weather to the east for sure.  Ahhhh….. that was it and it only took half the day to figure it out! I was reading the forecast for Juan de Fuca Strait – east entrance.  The forecast conditions for the Juan de Fuca Strait – central straight was exactly what we got. Christine! This is not the place to get sloppy/stupid… small details are important here!

I skipped taking the sea water reading today as parts of Jetty were underwater at sampling time. The brown stain on the walkway and down on the boat ramp is smeared around sea lion scat. It is extremely slippery as well as stinky.

The frothy water on East Beach. The sea lions chose different areas to haul out today.

I watched a Stellar sea lion dive from shore into a crashing wave and wished I had the good camera. It would have made a magnificent shot if Chris Fallows were here.

Wildlife notes

My interest in the sea lions is growing.  I am up the tower more often these days. Initially I went up for fresh air but now I also want to scan the area for new branded sea lions. I’ve spotted seven in the last 5 days.  I will write about them when I hear back from the US research scientists.

Branded California sea lion #456 (purple arrow bottom right) seen from the lighthouse today. The structures in the center are the lighthouse solar panels and fog horn. A few months ago there was green vegetation, many gull nests and little black oystercatcher chicks in the area.

Branded California sea lion #3-24 (purple arrow on the left side) seen form the lighthouse today. This sea lion has a GPS tracker on its flipper.  East Beach is in the upper left, the compost bins and stairs to the Keeper’s House is center left and the concrete top of the saltwater cistern in on the bottom left.

Facility work

• cleaned solar panels
• topped up battery fluids
• fence patrol and repair

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 15
• Private: 4

Weather

Partly cloudy, storm clouds distant. Wind direction variable. Mostly 2 to 13 knots except for a quick burst of 24 knots from the SE at 17:00 that blew open the screen door on the Keeper’s House north entrance.  Shame there was only a few drops of precipitation today as everything needs a cleaning.

The electric fence dividing the California and Stellar sea lions in the brown flats and the gulls on the white rocks. Each has influenced (and blends with) its environment: the flats – trampled down and brown with sea lion fur and excrement; and the rocks – painted white with sea gull guano.

Wildlife notes

There seems to be a few more sea lions here today, especially in the flats/lowlands that join East Beach and the rocky shore by the Jetty.  This morning I noted #547, a new branded sea lion, by the Energy Building beach.  At 3 pm and again at 5pm I found him on the Jetty busting up the wooden electric fence posts. As much as they look like a bunch of fat barking lay abouts, I don’t believe these boys are idle all day but likely move around at least as much #547. There are always a few in the water playing and splashing near the shore or swimming further out and a few wet ones in the crowd on land.

Facility work

Some parts of the electric fence need daily fixes.  The fence along the Jetty and boat ramp was repaired twice today!

The guilty boat ramp gang responsible for taking down and scattering the electric fence.

#547 on the Jetty, ready to go over the side and break another post.

• cleaned solar panels
• fence patrol
• two rounds of fence repair

Vessels

• Ecotourism: 19
• Private: 4

Weather

Partly cloudy. Winds W or WNW 12 to 24, shifting to SW in the early evening. Daytime temperatures 10 to 16 degrees.

Wildlife notes

The sea lions are never still or quiet and there are constant arguments and interactions. Even within the piles or rows of sleeping ones there is more movement than I expected. It is a fluid scene and a bit like watching clouds, where you need to look away for a bit to appreciate the change.  The new wet ones that come in from the water shake things up as they clammer over the mostly unresponsive sleeping bodies. In these large groups they seem to tone down their sensitivities to being touched or climbed on.  This morning I watched a startled lone sea lion bolt up when a gull chick touched its flipper.

I find they are most beautiful in the light of the rising or setting sun when their browns and oranges are highlighted.  I’ve tried to capture it with my phone camera.

Not too long ago this piece of shoreline was a great place to watch the Coast Guard black oystercatcher chicks and the harbour seal moms and pups. Today in the early morning sun I watched the breath and moisture evaporate off the sea lions. The large sea lion in the foreground is spread eagle on its back, rear end facing the camera. One could run out of ideas naming their many sleeping positions.

Facility work

• cleaned solar panels
• fence repairs at the Jetty
• tallied fuel and water supplies and worked on the month end report

Vessels

There were humpbacks around today and it was a busy day on the water.

• Ecotourism: 30
• Private: 6
• Jet ski with two people

Weather

• Mostly clear, becoming cloudy in the evening.  Winds calm to 10 knots, direction variable.