Whale Sightings

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Wildlife Notes

Whales! I was mesmerized by the sight of humpbacks off to the Southeast in the early morning. Thanks to the surrounding calm glassy waters all afternoon, I caught a few more glimpses throughout the day. The wind picked up towards the end of the day, making them harder to pick out. I’m still learning, but this page by Our Wild Puget Sound is great resource for becoming familiar with the surfacing patterns and shapes and sizes of the most commonly sighted whales in the area.

Facility notes

  • Cleaned panels
  • Tidied up in tank shed
  • Response kit inventories
  • Mended electric fence sections

 

Weather

Smoky calm morning, with mainly Northeasterly winds around 2 knots picking up to 25 at night. Temperature from 22 to 25 degrees.

 

Vessels Observed

Ecotourism: 19

Private: 4

Small projects

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Wildlife

Nothing out of the ordinary, today was filled with the usual shenanigans of newly fledged gulls crashing about and quickly taking off from surrounding nesting sites and sea lions wrestling around the outer edges of the rocks. The gulls that have found themselves suddenly sharing their space with much larger, equally vocal neighbours seem to be tolerating the change of scene as best they can. Every once in awhile, I’ll catch sight of a disgruntled exchange between a sea lion and the gull that has been forced to land on its back for lack of any bare rock around.

 

Facility notes

  • Washed panels
  • Greg and Richard came by to refuel tank in shed, install a buffer at the end of the jetty to prevent lines getting chewed by the concrete when tied up. My first time drilling into concrete- what a fun learning experience!
  • Weeded walkways and removed small driftwood debris from jetty entrance

Weather

Sunny, hazy skies. Shifting winds from WSW to NNE, from 9 to 25 knots. Temperatures from 13 to 16 degrees.

Swollen Chick

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Wildlife

Today I noticed a strange swelling of the neck on this chick. It’s not unusual to see chicks with various injuries from wandering too close to another adult or running in a panic from intrusions into their own nesting site- swollen or missing eyes in particular. Christine’s post from earlier in the nesting season points out a few of the noticeable injuries around. This one is new, and looks serious! The chick doesn’t seem to be impaired otherwise, and is alert and feeding. I’ll keep an eye on it for the next while and see if the swelling improves at all.

In other news, the sea lions seem determined to battle for the jetty! Twice today I came down to find different sections of downed posts and warped fence wiring, and a handful of cheeky haul-outs where they should not be. By the time I went to fix the cracked post at the end of the jetty, it was starting to get dark. A quick reset will have to do for tonight, tomorrow I’ll have to rethink the current setup.

Facility notes

– Cleaned panels

– Washed windows

– Tidied inside student house

– Tidied inside main house

– Fence maintenance

 

Weather

Cloudy, winds mostly from the Southwest from 9 to 18 knots, early morning gusts up to 23 knots. Temperatures 12 to 17 degrees.

 

Vessels

Ecotourism: 19

Private: 1

Friday August 21 Census

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California sea lion: 232
Steller sea lion: 177
Harbour seal: 94

Cormorant: 103
Pigeon Guillemot: 42
Oyster catcher: 11
Turnstone: 27
Bald eagle: 2
Seagull (adult): 1200
Seagull (juvenile): ~400

<em>Wildlife notes</em>

The shorebirds were a bit harder to count this time around, as the edges of the rocks and their usual concentrated areas were busy with sea lions. I also spotted a few whales off to the southeast this morning, but couldn’t quite make out the species- either humpback or minke.

Although many of the chicks are almost as big as their parents and starting to stay aloft for nearly minutes at a time, they’re unlikely to take off for a week or two still. It’s been such a privilege to watch these tiny, bandy-legged fluffballs grow into their flight feathers and prepare to head out on their own.

 

<em>Facility notes</em>

-Cleaned panels

-Continued work on fence

 

<em>Weather</em>

Cloudy, calm. Westerlies around 15, picking up to 25 knots later in the evening. Temperatures from 11 to 12 degrees.

 

<em>Vessels</em>

Ecotourism: 18

Private: 2

 

More Fence Repair

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More patching of the fence today! There’s just the section from the energy building around the lighthouse left to do tomorrow. Despite the wear and tear, the lines are coming along well- and not a moment too soon. A group of sea lions showed up on the helipad yesterday evening and has only grown today. The entirety of the outer rocks are dotted with sea lions, vying for space amongst the seagull nests. Tomorrow’s census will be revealing, as it feels like their numbers have increased significantly since the last count. I can’t wait to get an idea of roughly how many more have arrived.

The gulls don’t seem so happy about my fence mending activities, and I learned my lesson the other day after receiving a hefty smack to the back of the head. Although a cap and broom are good enough for getting around, the hard hat is a necessity with busy hands!
Fortunately, the chicks are mostly big enough to withstand the consequences of a mad dash into surrounding nesting sites, and my presence didn’t lead to any serious injuries out of the ordinary- many fights and pinched wings and heads though! I hate to disturb the nesting sites like this, but moving slowly and watching out for chicks hiding underfoot, I can only do my best to mitigate the damage while I work.

Facility notes
-Cleaned panels
-Mending electric fence

Weather
Sunny, wildfire smoke haze. Gentle winds mostly West by Southwesterly, from 3 to 18 knots. Daytime temperatures from 10 to 18 degrees.

Vessels
Ecotourism: 23
Private: 4

DFO Visitors

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Wildlife
A pod of orcas came by at sunset today! With the low lighting, it was tricky to get a clear photo at a distance, but it was incredible to see them in the fading light.

Facility notes
-Fixed up jetty fence
-Cleaned solar panels
-Finished clearing built-up roof grime; if it rains this weekend as the forecast says, hopefully I can give it a good final scrub!

Weather
Foggy morning, sunny and clear rest of the day. Westerlies from 10 to 22 knots. Temperatures from 10 to 12 degrees.

Visitors
Three researchers with the DFO came by this afternoon for a visit. They were interested in how the daily salinity and temperature samples are taken, about the history of race rocks and future plans for the reserve. We intended to do a demonstration of the water sampling for them as they prepared to head out, but the batteries on our sampling device happened to have died! What timing. I still demonstrated where the sampler is dipped from the end of the jetty, and replaced the batteries shortly afterward.
It was great to meet the researchers making use of the data collection that is such a quintessential daily ritual here on the rocks.

Another daily ritual seems to be reinforcing the jetty fenceline- there’s one young California sea lion who seems to have taken a liking to hauling out there, willing to brave an initial jolt for that sweet patch of flat, flat concrete. Twice today I had to shoo him away, watching as he took out another section on the way out.

Entanglement Recovery and fence preparation

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Wildlife
I’ve noticed a change in the pitch of the seagull chick chirps. Their little peeps are transitioning to the full-throated calls of adult gulls- they grow up so fast!
I spotted the jetty California sea lion again this morning, looking well after yesterday’s excitement. I’ll be keeping an eye on him for the next little while, as he recovers from the plastic line removal. It’s easy to recognize him thanks to the fancy new orange tag, and unfortunately still prominent marking around his neck.

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Facility notes
-Cleaned panels
-Topped up batteries
-Generator refuel/weekly checkup
-Repaired crane shed fence portion
-Cleared grass around north flats fenceline
No photos, it was raining seagull dinner (in all states of digestion) rather heavily! They did not appreciate the disturbance, and I did not risk taking the camera out.

Weather
Heavy fog early morning and later in the evening, sunny all afternoon. Winds from 12 to 22 knots, primarily from the West, West by South-West. Temperatures from 11 to 13 degrees.

Vessels
Ecotourism: 16
Private: 2

Sea Lion Disentanglement

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The long-awaited window of fair weather and coordinated schedules finally arrived late this morning, allowing the Marine Mammal Rescue Society (VAMMR) team to carry out an operation for the sea lion caught in plastic line near the jetty. It’s been a few weeks since he was first spotted, and luckily he hung around long enough for this incredible group to come and bring some relief!


Dense morning fog initially cloaked the shoreline and outer rocks, lending the islands a soft, sunlit glow while complicating the search.
Because of all the activity around the jetty, the entangled sea lion had moved away from his usual resting spot. The team started by surveying the perimeter by water before launching a drone search once conditions calmed.

Finally! He was spotted playing in the shallows near the southwest corner by the energy building. Just a few metres away from another sea lion sporting a clean scar from a prior, successfully healed entanglement. Let’s hope our friend has a good recovery and long life as well.

Rather than attempting a risky water intervention, the shore crew monitored the lion from a distance while the support boat stood by in the bay.

He looked to be thinking about hauling out several times, but there was no chance to safely tranquilize him before he headed back out!
Luckily, he swam back around the rocks and hauled out in his usual spot on the concrete jetty, where access was significantly safer and more manageable.

The crew moved in swiftly to carry out the procedure. Marty must have been taking lessons from the seagull chicks, as from my vantage point in the lighthouse (and through the fog) he did a pretty bang-on job of blending in.

After administering a tranquilizer to safely restrain him, they cut away the constricting plastic line from his neck, collected a small blood sample for analysis, and applied a new identification tag so we can monitor him in future sightings. Once the reversal was administered, he woke up a bit groggy but was visibly relieved to be rid of the plastic before it caused further injury. The entire intervention drew a curious audience both in and on the water.

To cap off a demanding day of careful planning and execution, the crew were sent off with the breathtaking sight of a transient orca pod hunting and breaching in the rips just off the rocks. It’s inspiring to see all of the hard work and dedication to our wild neighbours here on the coast- this would not have been possible without the incredible caring people with VAMMR and the DFO.

Facility notes
-Cleaned panels
-Continued repair of fence

Weather
Rolling fog banks throughout the day, sunny otherwise. Winds mainly from the west, from 15 to 25 knots. Temperatures 11 to 12 degrees.
Vessels
Ecotourism: 5
Private: 2

Taking Flight

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Wildlife
The number of fledgelings taking to the air is growing almost as quickly as the number of sea lions coming to haul out. The juvenile gulls can be identified by their distinct mottled plumage and endearingly abrupt water landings.

Meanwhile the lions are proving to be just as raucous a crowd as the gulls; the patch of flat ground outside the bedroom window is alive all night with the barks (California) and growls (Steller) of rowdy haul-outs. This morning, I spotted the arrival of a new California sea lion scarred deeply from an entanglement- so deeply that I thought for a moment there was still material caught around his neck. The entangled male at the jetty is still hanging around, and will hopefully be sorted out by Monday.

Facility notes
-Cleaned panels
-Topped up battery levels
-Scraped energy building roof- just the first row filled half a bucket!

Weather
Clear skies and a growing wind. Westerlies from 16 to 33 knots, gusting 38. Daytime temperatures from 11 to 16 degrees.

Vessels
Ecotourism: 22
Private: 4

Friday August 14 Census

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California sea lion: 174
Steller sea lion: 168
Harbour seal: 93

Cormorant: 98
Pigeon Guillemot: 81
Oyster catcher: 12
Turnstone: 138
Rock sandpiper: 13
Bald eagle: 2
Seagull (adult): 1230
Seagull (juvenile): ~400

Wildlife
The chicks are taking to the sky! Many of the older gulls have been taking advantage of the recent strong winds and getting some good flight time in. The three chicks by the main house path pictured below are only a handful of the young’ns hopping about all over the place. I watched this one stay off the ground for a solid few seconds during a particularly strong gust.

Facility notes
– Cleaned panels
– Water desalination
-Generator fuel check

The jetty fence faced its first challenger this afternoon. I watched as a California sea lion braved the section next to the boat ramp, moved along the length of the jetty, and jumped off the end into the water, taking a bit of the fence with him. The spot fixes have already begun!


Weather
Misty morning opening up to strong winds all afternoon. Westerlies from 16 to 35 knots. Temperature from 11 to 14 degrees.

Vessels Observed
Ecotourism: 18
Private: 2