As it was mentioned on the radio, just wanted to get a quick link to the video up … will post more later.
Census
- Bald eagle adult 4
- Bald eagle juvenile 12
- Black Turnstones 38
- Surfbirds 10
- Black Oyster Catchers 22
- Gulls (mostly Iceland) 53
- Cormorants 65
- Canadian goose 10
- Ravens 2
Mammals
- Steller sea lion 78 (mix of large, medium, and small)
- Harbour seal 8
- California sea lion 52
- Female Elephant Seal adult 2
- Newborn Elephant Seal (Dec 26) 1
- Newborn Elephant Seal (Jan 13) 1
Elephant Seal Baby #2
Ecological Notes:
- 2 female Elephant Seals
- 2 Elephant Seal pups (one born the morning of Friday the 13)
- The yearling male is still determined top rest near the others, but they keep chasing him away
- Humpback female and calf far west of the reserve, but viewable with binoculars (thanks to clarification by an eco-tourism guide)
Facility Work:
- Fence work
- Restacking some old lumber
- Sweeping outbuildings
Visitors:
- Shorefront Coordinator brought 2 groups of students from Pearson College to see, and learn, about the Elephant Seals and the new pups
DND events:
- 6 or 7 Detonations throughout the day on Friday
- Some Sea Lion disturbance noted
- The new mother Elephant Seal, jumped for the first couple of blasts at least
Weather Events:
- Friday January 13:
- Sky: Overcast with snow flurries
- Wind: N/NE winds 20-30 Kts
- Sea: 1 meter swells
- Temperature Low 7oC, High 9oC
- Saturday January 14:
- Slight Overcast with mostly sunny periods during the day
- Wind: E/NE 10-20 kts
- Sea: calm to 1 meter waves
- Temperature Low 6oC, High 10oC
** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **
Weather – Current:
http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72
Weather – Past:
Christmas Bird Count
Thank you Ann Nightingale for providing the species break down for us.
CHECKLIST S125327057
Totals
Observations
-
Number observed: 8
-
Number observed: 132
-
Number observed: 95
-
Number observed: 28
-
Number observed: 6
Details
Photos to follow
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Number observed: 28
-
Number observed: 4
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gull sp.
Number observed: 100 -
Number observed: 40
-
Number observed: 46
-
Number observed: 50
-
cormorant sp.
Number observed: 60 -
Number observed: 18
-
Common Raven
Number observed: 4
Students Visiting the Elephant Seals
** Server not allowing photo uploads, will try to add later
Ecological Notes:
- 2 Adult Female Elephant Seals, 1 expecting, 1 with calf below
- 1 Elephant Seal Pup, 2 weeks old
- 1 Juvenile Male Elephant Seal (yearling?). He is determined to be with the others, but they keep chasing him away. He does a big loop around the flagpole mound and returns
- Still finding gull remains from the Eagle hunts, but have also seen the eagles swoop diving on the Turnstones as well
- Have seen all 3 types of Cormorants this last week – Pelagic, Double Crested, and Brandt’s
- Most gulls present are Iceland (formerly Thayer’s)
- Thanks to Ann Nightingale for helping me to learn to ID more birds!
Visitors:
- Cedric brought 2 groups of 6 students with their Teacher over to see and learn about the Elephant Seals and pup
Weather Events:
- Primarily N/NE winds for the last week, overcast with lots of snow
- Tuesday January 10:
- Sky: Slight haze, light haze, mostly sunny in the morning
- Wind: N/NE winds 10-15 Kts in the morning
- Sea: Flat calm
- Temperature Low 7 oC, High 9 oC
- Wednesday January 11:
- Overcast with a mix of sunny periods
- Wind: N/NE 10-20kts
- Sea: 1 meter waves
- Temperature Low 8oC, High 10oC
Weather – Current:
http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72
Weather – Past:
Animal Census
- Bald eagle adult 6
- Bald eagle juvenile 8
- Black Turnstones 28
- Surfbirds 28
- Black Oyster Catchers 42
- Gulls (mostly Iceland) 62
- Cormorants 87
- Canadian goose 8
- Ravens 2
Mammals
- Steller sea lion 98 (mix of large, medium, and small)
- Harbour seal 13
- California sea lion 45
- Male Elephant Seal (yearling?) 1
- Female Elephant Seal adult 2
- Newborn Elephant Seal (Dec 26) 1
Second Expecting Elephant Seal
Slow internet not allowing upload of photos right now
Ecological Notes:
- 2 Adult Elephant Seals, a new, expecting Female showed up on Saturday
- 1 Calf , 2 weeks old
- 1 Young (yearling?) Male Elephant Seal, drawn to where the others are hanging out, but often chased away be the first Female, minor wounds showing she caught him at least once.
Facility Work:
- Working on Electronics in Desalinator room
- Weekly battery maintenance
- Re-working fencing around the crane building
Noted Vessel Traffic:
- Sailboats looping around the reserve
- Private vessels visiting the reserve for sightseeing
Visitors:
- The Shorefront Coordinator dropped off groceries and supplies, and checked on Desalinator room.
Weather Events:
- Primarily N/NE winds for the last week, overcast with lots of snow
- Saturday January 7:
- Sky: Overcast with occasional sunny periods
- Wind: N/NE winds 10-20 Kts
- Sea: 1 meter swells
- Temperature Low 6 oC, High 9 oC
- Sunday January 8:
- Overcast with a mix of sunny periods, very light rain showers
- Wind: Morning NNE 15-20knts, Afternoon/Evening veering through 360 degrees back to N, dropping to 2-5knts
- Sea: 1 meter waves
- Temperature Low 5oC, High 9oC
- Monday January 9:
- Overcast with occasional sunny periods,
- Low distant haze, Visibility to about 10kms
- Wind: Early NNE at 25 kts, shifting to E 35 kts by noon
- Sea: chop to 1 meter
- Temperature Low 6oC, High 11oC
Weather – Current:
http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72
Weather – Past:
Waves and wood
Ecological Notes:
- Female Elephant Seal and pup
- Juvenile Male Elephant Seal just napping.
- For the past couple months, there have been a daily morning “crew” of eagles actively hunting gulls on the main island. Normally there are between 8 and 12, mostly immature, but a couple of adults too. There have been less lately as they have pretty much taken/scared away most of the gulls. I was finding up to 2 or 3 carcasses a day in the central area.
Facility Work:
- Replaced motherboard on the desalinator unit.
- Quick-fixed some of the siding that was peeling off the buildings.
- Far from good, but good from afar!
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- Before
-
- After
- Due to king tides, predominately high N/NE winds, and sheer amount of logs and debris in the water, made the long overdue decision to just pack up the pier electric fencing until spring. It’s easier to just move the Sealions off often when the tide is higher.
Weather Events:
- Thursday January 5
- Sky: mix of cloud and clear skies in the morning. turning to overcast mid day. Visibility 20 – 25 kms, low clouds obscuring the Olympic Peninsula
- Wind E 25 to 35 knots veering to SE 30 to 40 late in the afternoon …. gusts to 50knts ”” drop tp calm late in the evening
- Sea: up to 2 meter waves on top of swells from the southeast. You DO NOT want to be taking a boat from here to Victoria in that!
- Temperature Low 8 oC, High 13 oC
- Friday January 6:
- Overcast with a mix of sunny periods, clear skies after dark
- Wind SE 5-10 knots in the day, then increasing to SE 25 to 35 knots early evening.
- Sea: Flat calm in the morning (wind with tide),
- Temperature Low 6oC, High 10oC
** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **
Weather – Current:
http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72
Weather – Past:
Happy New Years!
Ecological Notes:
- Adult Female Elephant Seal and Pup are doing well …. the pup is filling out rapidly
A milk mustache
- A young Male Elephant Seal has come up onto the main island, Momma keeps him on the run and chases him if he gets within her eyesight.
“Keep your distance!”
- Orca were hunting actively in the reserve, circling the main island very close to shore, before heading to the outer rocks. Thanks to one of the Ecotourism captains for keeping me in the loop to their location.
Nervous Sea Lions!
Facility Work:
- Weekly battery maintenance.
- Monthly Equalization charges of the batteries.
- Troubleshooting the desalinator, power to the control box, but the input panel is non operational. Located replacement motherboard to install.
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- 240Vto the control box
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- power at the fuse, but no function of the motherboard
- Collecting wood from the shore and boat ramp.
- Moving fuel and restocking the reserves.
Noted Vessel Traffic:
- A few Ecotourism vessels, and at least 1 private vessel.
Noted Infractions:
- Private vessel got a little close to the sea lion haulout, but backed away as soon as the sealions started to move.
Weather Events:
- Lots of blustery days, with winds 20 to 30 knots, mostly NE/E
- Sky: Overcast with occasional light showers
- Sea: 1 meter swells
- Temperature Low3 oC, High 6 oC
** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **
Weather – Current:
http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72
Weather – Past:
December 2022 Seawater Data
| DAILY SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE AND SALINITY OBSERVATIONS | |||
| Institute of Ocean Sciences, North Saanich, B.C., V8L 4B2 | |||
| Please email monthly to Sebastien.Donnet@dfo-mpo.gc.ca | |||
| Station | RACE ROCKS | ||
| Observer | Derek Sterling | December | |
| YSI ID: | 27 | Year: 2022 | |
| YSI | YSI | ||
| Temp | Sal | ||
| Day | Time | ºC | ppt |
| 1 | 9:20 | 8.8 | 32.5 |
| 2 | 10:00 | 8.7 | 32.1 |
| 3 | 10:55 | 8.1 | 32.3 |
| 4 | 11:45 | 8.3 | 32.3 |
| 5 | 12:30 | 8.0 | 32.4 |
| 6 | 13:10 | 8.6 | 32.5 |
| 7 | 13:45 | 8.2 | 32.4 |
| 8 | 14:20 | 8.3 | 32.5 |
| 9 | bad storm. Pier awash | ||
| 10 | |||
| 11 | 16:00 | 8.3 | 32.3 |
| 12 | 17:00 | 8.1 | 32.4 |
| 13 | 14:00 | 8.1 | 32.6 |
| 14 | 14:45 | 5.2 | 32.4 |
| 15 | 8:00 | 8.1 | 32.1 |
| 16 | 8:30 | 8.2 | 32.3 |
| 17 | 9:30 | 8.3 | 32.6 |
| 18 | 10:00 | 7.9 | 32.4 |
| 19 | 11:00 | 7.9 | 32.5 |
| 20 | 11:45 | 8.1 | 32.1 |
| 21 | 12:30 | 8.3 | 32.4 |
| 22 | 13:15 | 8.0 | 32.3 |
| 23 | 14:00 | 8.3 | 32.6 |
| 24 | 14:45 | 8.1 | 32.4 |
| 25 | 15:30 | 7.9 | 32.3 |
| 26 | 16:30 | 8.0 | 32.1 |
| 27 | 17:45 | 7.8 | 32.4 |
| 28 | 19:00 | 7.8 | 32.6 |
| 29 | 8:00 | 7.9 | 32.3 |
| 30 | 8:30 | 7.8 | 32.5 |
| 31 | 9:30 | 7.8 | 32.4 |
Details
several large groupings on known refuge for this species- exact count