Chunk and Chuckles are still on Great Race. I’m not even sure they are going off island at night these days.
There was a lone harbour seal hauled out on a rock near the derrick most of the day.
Saw some bald eagles gnawing away at the dead elephant seal pup.
Maintenance
Cleared logs off of the ramp.
Began making a list of things to do by the end of the month.
Boats
The Sir Wilfred Laurier patrol vessel was out in the straight this morning. Quite a fine looking ship!
One pleasure craft with a family on board stopped by to view the sea lions. They seemed to be too close.
Two eco-tours came by this afternoon. The first one was the largest boat that I have ever seen in the reserve. The second one appeared to be too close to the sea lions, and a few of them made haste for the water.
Saw a northern sea lion with a cooker cutter shark scar.
Noticed at least 50 harbour seals out on the south islands today.
Saw a common merganser wash itself on a rock close to shore. Apparently it is quite uncommon to see them at Race Rocks. Later some harlequin ducks swam nearby.
Saw a jellyfish floating around near the jetty. Not sure what variety it was.
Noticed some grape hyacinth for the first time today. By my estimate there are least 6 different species of flowers now in bloom out here.
Maintenance
Stacked firewood until there was no remaining space. Will have to restart stacking once some of the stores have been burnt up to create space.
Boats
Jeff and his two Belgian volunteers came by with food supplies this morning. Eggs, milk, and bread. Surprised the Belgians didn’t bring me any Jupiler.
Quite a bit of traffic today out in the straight. Documented the more interesting looking ones with photographs.
One fishing boat went through the middle channel of the reserve.
Other
Heard 5 DND blasts today from Bentinck Island. A small one at 12:47, and then 4 medium blasts at 12:50, 12:55, 15:04, and 15:06. The animals didn’t make too much of a fuss.
Spotted two northern sea lions with brands on them. The bigger one seemed to have 76Y branded on it, although the “7” was a bit undefined. The smaller one had three circles branded on its side. I assumed this was a brand, although in one of Anne Stewart’s log posts she mentions “cookie cutter shark scars” so perhaps this sea lion has three of those in a row?
Chunk and Chuckles spent the day in the same positions as yesterday.
Sadly, the weaner elephant seal on Middle Rock seems to be deceased. When I looked over there this morning I saw 8 bald eagles and blood stains all over the rock. I assume that one of the males killed it in the night. The body must have washed into the water.
With that death, we are now 0/4 at Race Rocks with elephant seal pups for 2016; 1 pup killed accidentally and 3 weaners killed on purpose. Killed for what purpose we do not know.
Maintenance
Stacked more firewood today.
Hauled some very large logs off the ramp. They seemed like small boats.
Had some troubles getting the YSI to turn on, so I took the sea water samples the old fashioned way first, before finally getting the YSI to work.
Chunk and Chuckles were both on Great Race today, but I saw no interactions.
The mother is gone on Middle Rock, making her pup a weaner.
Conducted a census.
California Sea Lions: 75
Northern Sea Lions: 32
Harbour Seals: 6
Elephant Seals: 3
Seagulls: 300
Cormorants: 299 (142 on Great Race, of which 87 were Double Crested, 28 Pelagic, 8 male Brandt’s, and 19 unidentifiable to me. 157 on North Rock, too far away to identify.)
The first thing I saw this morning was a bald eagle landing over by the Energy Building, right where the elephant seals had been last night, and a place where they normally don’t land.
I headed over there and my suspicions were affirmed; the newest weaner had been killed in the night and many birds were feasting on his corpse.
Unlike the previous weaner who had simply had his skull crushed by teeth, this one had been virtually torn to shreds, making it much easier for the birds to begin feasting.
Chunk was lying nearby, but this time I cannot be sure that he was the culprit, as he didn’t seem to have any blood on him, and Chuckles had been with the weaner last night.
The old river otter returned today. It must be blind or in some way sensory impaired, as it is easily approached without seeming to notice ones presence. I say this because I encountered it quite closely by accident, and yet it didn’t seem to take much notice of me until I was only a few feet away.
Encountered quite a few surfbirds on the beach.
Maintenance
Stacked more firewood.
Cleared logs off the ramp.
Boats
Two eco-tours came by this afternoon.
One fishing boat passed through the reserve.
One unidentified boat spent some time floating on the edge of the reserve, but I saw no indication of fishing.
48 knots falls into the “storm” category. Only “violent storm” and “hurricane” are higher on the scale. The house is shuddering.
Water: 2′ chop, later at least 5′
Sky: overcast and some rain
Ecological
The mother elephant seal on Great Race was gone this morning, making the fourth pup a weaner. He is much smaller than the previous weaner was, and over on Middle Rock the mother is still with her pup, who was born approximately 8 days before, and is quite larger. All this makes me think the mother has left prematurely?
In the morning Chunk spent some time chasing the weaner, but he was too slow to catch him and he gave up, later heading over to Middle Rock.
Chuckles showed up on Great Race afterwards and has been watching the weaner.
At one point I found the weaner chewing on a wire cord underneath the big old yellow diesel tank by the Energy Building.
Today was the first day that I saw a great blue heron at Race Rocks! Not a first in general though, or for Race Rocks.
Pam Birley also noticed the heron and she took some photos with the webcam.
After analysing the elephant seal pup on Great Race, I am fairly certain that it is a male pup.
Mum and pups on Great Race and Middle Rock were alone most of the day.
For the first time, I saw a bald eagle eating from the dead elephant seal pup out on the rocks.
Maintenance
Stacked firewood.
Cleared the ramp three times.
Started replacing dead light bulbs in the Student’s House.
Moved the weaner’s body away from the main house with ropes and the derrick, helped by Chris, Jeff, and 3 volunteers from the college.
Boats
Second Nature came by for a couple of hours in the afternoon, crewed by Chris, Jeff, the IT guy, and 3 volunteers. They helped move the weaner and checked up on various electronic systems.
One eco-tour came by in the late afternoon.
Other
There were 6 more DND blasts today.
Two massive blasts that shook the house at 10:15 and 10:17. Birds and mammals quite disturbed, but they settled back down.
The newest female elephant seal was gone this morning.
Chunk mated with the current mother on Great Race today. Unlike the other times I have seen him initiate mating, the female did not fight back or try to get away. She seemed okay with it, and her pup lay beside her as it happened.
Chuckles spent the day on the south-east corner of Great Race.
Status quo on Middle Rock with the mum and pup.
Lady left the island at 3:30, just after the 5th and 6th DND blasts.
Watched a bald eagle tear away at weaner’s head for over half an hour at dusk. This was the first time I had seen an eagle approach the corpse. Fascinating.
Maintenance
Mopped up the remaining water in the Energy Building.
Stacked more firewood in the water shed.
Cleared logs and debris off the ramp three times.
Other
There were 6 very powerful DND blasts today coming from Bentinck Island. They came in three pairs, each pair spaced out from the other. I was outside for the first two and they hurt my ears. I was inside for the final four, and they shook the house considerably.
After when I walked around the island, I noticed that nearly all the birds and sea lions had disappeared. There was only 1 sea lion on Great Race, and he appeared to be injured, which would explain why he was the only one who stayed. There were about 10 sea lions left on South Island, and 20 Harbour Seals. No cormorants. The blasting must have scared the rest off.
Spotted 9 immature bald eagles on South Island with one mature eagle a bit farther away.
Status quo with the elephant seals, although I have my suspicions that the female whom Chuckles tried to mate with yesterday is not the grieving mother, but a different one arrived the night before, and the grieving mother departed.
The pup out on Middle Rock seems to be getting quite large. Perhaps he’ll become a weaner soon?
There were over 50 harbour seals in the reserve today.
Saw a northern sea lion branded with 443Y.
Maintenance
More cleaning in the Student’s House.
Stacked firewood in the water shed.
Boats
No eco-tours today.
One fishing boat passed nearby.
A large container ship seems to be anchored out in the strait towards Victoria.
Wind: 5-10 knots SE, late afternoon up to 33 knots from the West
Water: rippled, later wavy
Sky: foggy in the morning, overcast in the afternoon
Ecological
Chunk spent the day on Middle Rock with the mum and pup.
Lady, Grieving mum, mum and pup, were in the same spots on Great Race.
Chuckles arrived on Great Race in the late afternoon.
Conducted a census.
California Sea Lions: 87
Northern/Stellar Sea Lions: 50
Harbour Seals: 21
Elephant Seals: 8
Cormorants: 742 (of the 742, I think that at least 10 were Male Brandt’s, 131 Double Crested, and 200 Pelagic; my identification is improving, but many were either too far away, or indistinguishable to me.)
Seagulls: 605 (131 had darker plumage and therefore must be immature gulls?)
Pigeon Guillemots: 50
Bald Eagles: 30 (23 juveniles, 7 adults)
Black Oystercatchers: 13
Canada Geese: 10
Harlequin Ducks: 8 (4 male, 4 female)
Black Turnstones: 6
Surfbird: 3 (unless they were Rock Sandpipers?)
Raven: 2
American Pipit: 2
Maintenance
Did some more cleaning in the Student’s House.
Boats
In the morning, one fishing boat passed through the reserve. The occupants did not fish in the reserve; they were going slow and appeared to be observing.
In the afternoon, one large eco-tour boat came through the reserve.
