Little climbers

Posted on Sunday,July 7, 2024 by Christine Chourmouzis

The black oyster catcher chicks near the house on the east beach are strong, agile and are covering a lot of ground.

Over the top

Wildlife notes:

The female elephant seal’s eye is better and the male continues to bellow in the water. He does this even when alone. The injured California sealion is still here and is the only sealion around. The third banded gull was spotted and reported. More gulls have hatched. It is hard to guess at the percentage as it seems to vary by location (north and east sections – 80%, around the tower base – 0%, west sections – 20%). A group of 18 surfbirds and 12 black turnstones settled on the east beach for the night.

Clean eyes

Colourful catch

Banded gull

Facility work:

cleaned solar panels
thistles
weeding brick walkway

Vessels:

22 ecotourism, 3 private

Weather:

Light easterly breeze most of the day, switching to gentle to moderate westerly by early evening. High 25 degrees.

July 17-21 and Weekly Census

Posted on Friday,July 21, 2023 by Nick Townley

Weather for July 17:
Wind: W 14 to 34 knots
Visibility: <1-15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 3′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 13-17 C

Weather for July 18:
Wind: W 9 to 25 knots
Visibility: 15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 2′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 11-14 C

Weather for July 19:
Wind: W 6 to 27 knots
Visibility: 15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 1′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 12-17 C

Weather for July 20:
Wind: W 21 to 40 knots
Visibility: <1-15 NM
Sky: Foggy in early morning, Partly Cloudy after 10:00
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 4′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 12-20 C

Weather for July 21:
Wind: W 19 to 40 knots
Visibility: 5-15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 3′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 12-14 C

Maintenance:
I did the routine tasks of cleaning the solar panels and house windows, topping up the water in the 24 deep cycle batteries, fixing the electric fence, tidying, testing the salinity and temperature of the seawater, maintaining the freshwater system, and running the desalinator with solar power to produce fresh water.

Visitors:
I drove the Race Rocks station boat to pick up a friend, who came for the night of July 18. Brad had visited Race Rocks before when we both worked for many summers on campus as coordinators for PSYL (Pearson Seminar on Youth Leadership).

Weekly Census observed on July 20:
Steller sea lion: 14
California sea lion: 1
harbour seal: 124
cormorant: 5
black oystercatcher: 24 adults, 2 chicks
pigeon guillemot: 162
glaucous-winged gull: 396 adults, 147 chicks
surfbird: 30
black turnstones: 87
western sandpiper: 4

Photo highlights from the past five days:

: Periwinkle shells piled up in the Jetty Bay

: View of Race Rocks from the station boat approaching on the return trip from Pedder Bay

: View of Race Rocks from the station boat approaching on the return trip from Pedder Bay

: Pigeon guillemot with a freshly caught eel meal

: Another pigeon guillemot with a freshly caught sculpin fish meal

: A Canadian Navy warship heads south towards Puget Sound, with the volcano Komo Kushan (Mt Baker) in the background.

: A lone California sea lion hauled out on the south side of the island

: Male Steller sea lions gather on Middle Rock

July 11, 12, 13, and Weekly Census

Posted on Thursday,July 13, 2023 by Nick Townley

Weather for July 11:
Wind: W 11 to 27 knots
Visibility: 15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 2′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 12-14 C

Weather for July 12:
Wind: W 18 to 35 knots
Visibility: 10 to 15 NM
Sky: Cloudy in morning, partly cloudy in afternoon
Sea: 1’ chop in morning, up to 4′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 11-15 C

Weather for July 13:
Wind: W 16 to 33 knots
Visibility: 15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 2′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 11-15 C

DND Blasting:
There was one DND blast at 14:05 on July 12 at nearby Rocky Point.

Visitors:
Greg and Bruce visited this afternoon to deliver 1,400 L of freshwater and a new first aid kit.

Maintenance:
I did the routine tasks of cleaning the solar panels and house windows, topping up the water in the 24 deep cycle batteries, fixing the electric fence, tidying, and maintaining the freshwater system.

Ecological notes:
There have been a lot of humpback whale activity over the past few days to the west, south, and east of Race Rocks. The whale watching boats have been active in the area. From what I hear on the VHF radio, they have been very pleased with the humpback viewing. I have not seen any whales swim through the ecological reserve.

I heard back about the tagged elephant seal, from the researcher at Año Nuevo Natural Reserve, in California. The juvenile seal, tagged H999 and K646, is a male who was born in January 2022. He was previously observed here and reported to the researchers on April 1, 2023. He has been moulting here for at least the past several weeks. He appears to be almost complete the moulting process, so he might be moving on soon to feed in the deep waters.

Weekly Census observed on July 13:
elephant seal: 1 juvenile (tagged H999, K646)
Steller sea lion: 3
harbour seal: 79
bald eagle: 2 adults, 1 juvenile
raven: 1
cormorant: 7
black oystercatcher: 6 adults, 1 chick (that I could spot today)
pigeon guillemot: 148
glaucous-winged gull: 387 adults, 120 chicks
surfbird: 12
killdeer: 4
western sandpiper: 3
barn swallow: 3

Photo highlights from the past three days:

: Humpback whale surfaces close to a whale watching boat. Looking northeast from Race Rocks, Esquilmalt can be seen in the background.

: Whale watchers get a good view of a humpback pectoral fin. Victoria is in the background.

: Humpback whale pectoral fin with Trail Island Lighthouse in the background.

: The ecoguardian house at magic hour, as I came back from the daily seawater sampling. Can you spot the elephant seal in the middle left portion of the photo?

: The solar panels were producing a whopping 6.03 kW at 3:00 yesterday afternoon. The capacity of the solar array is 7 kW.

: Oystercatcher chick and parent on the eastern side of the island. This is the only photo evidence I have of an oystercatcher chick from the past week. I have seen a few more through binoculars.

: Regurgitated lunch for a gull chick

: Harbour seal mother and pup

: A pair of harbour seals hauled out surrounded by a strong current near the South Seal Rocks.

: A lone male Steller sea lion in the evening glow on the South Islands.

July 29 and 30

Posted on Saturday,July 30, 2022 by Nick Townley

Ecological Notes:

I have spotted at least six oystercatcher chicks over the past four weeks, although they are hard to get photos of since they often hide and blend in with the rocks. The parents alert the chicks when I am nearby. On any census day in July, I have only been able to spot three each day. Today I spotted four.
I launched the station boat early this afternoon to pick up two volunteers from Pearson campus. On the way to and from Pedder Bay, I slowly and at a safe distance checked out some of the smaller islands that make up the ecological reserve. On the way back with the visitors, we went around the island clockwise to see the sea otter in the east kelp, around the south side of the island, through Middle Channel to see the hauled out sea lions, then landing at the jetty to many watching eyes on the eco tour boats and four elephant seals in the jetty bay.
The three juvenile elephant seals (two females and one male), who have been in the jetty bay and on the boat ramp over the past week, have been joined by a large male elephant seal. His huge size, as well as large proboscis (trunk) and back battle scars lead me to believe he is the alpha male I witnessed here in the winter and early spring of 2020. He has also been here as the alpha male for the past two winter birthing seasons. Some past ecoguardians referred to this alpha male as Bernard. I prefer not to anthropomorphize animals. I suspect the three juvenile seals are offspring of the adult male, as the alpha mates with all the females after they give birth. I also believe the juveniles might be the three pups born between December 2019 and January 2020, when I was on the island. They appear to be the correct size for two and a half year olds. They also seem to be friendly with each other as they were in the spring of 2020. See the comparison photo below :)
See the photo gallery below for the ecological happenings from the past two days.

Weather:

Yesterday (July 29):
- Sky: Partly cloudy with fog overnight until mid morning
- Wind: W 16-26 kts
- Sea: Rippled in morning, then up to 2′ chop
- Temperature Low 11 ^oC, High 14 ^oC
Today (July 30):
- Sky: Partly cloudy
- Wind: W 0-24 kts
- Sea: Rippled
- Temperature Low 11 ^oC, High 18 ^oC

Visitors:

Two volunteers, Jeremias and Abi, arrived today to help out around the island for the next nine days.

Facility Work:

Scrubbed and squeegeed solar panels, routine tidying and checking infrastructure around the island.

Vessel Traffic:

Many Canadian and American ecotour boats have been nearby and heading through the waters of the ecological reserve.

Here are photo highlights from the past two days. Click on the photos for larger views and captions.

: An oystercatcher chick waits for a fresh mollusc snack harvested by their parent. This oystercatcher family on the north shore has a second chick, who did not make it in this photo.

: The three juvenile elephant seals on the boat ramp yesterday. The two at the front of the photo are females and the one at the back is male.

: Here is a comparison photo of the three pups on March 18, 2020. They are in the opposite order of the previous photo. In this photo they are lined up from oldest to youngest, with the male in the front and two females behind.

: A view of Race Rocks as I motored slowly near the North Islands. The Elwha Valley and Olympic Mountains are in the background.

: A much closer view than I have seen in the past month of the sea lion haul out on Middle Rocks.

: A few Steller sea lions warming up in the early afternoon sun and low wind.

: We got a closer look at the sea otter, but still kept a safe distance, in the kelp off the east side of the island.

: What a treat to return to the island to the very large alpha male swimming near the jetty.

: The big male climbed up the ramp and plopped down behind the boat house this evening. Check out that big proboscis (snout)! The little male slid alongside, but only stayed for a few minutes before returning to the water.

July 27 and 28 – Weekly Census

Posted on Thursday,July 28, 2022 by Nick Townley

Ecological Notes:

I counted 40 Steller sea lions hauled out on Middle Rocks, the highest number so far this month.
About 200 black turnstones, ruddy turnstones, and surfbirds have been hunkering down in the east bay in the strong west winds for the past two afternoons and evenings.
See the photo gallery below for the ecological happenings from the past two days.

Weather:

Yesterday (July 27):
- Sky: Fog at 07:40 until late morning, partly cloudy until fog at 17:00 onwards
- Wind: W 9-29 kts
- Sea: Rippled in morning, then up to 2′ chop
- Temperature Low 13 ^oC, High 21 ^oC
Today (July 28):
- Sky: Fog overnight until late morning, partly cloudy until fog rolled in at 16:00
- Wind: W 18-32 kts
- Sea: Rippled in morning, up to 3′ moderate in afternoon
- Temperature Low 12 ^oC, High 14 ^oC

Weekly Census (observed on July 27):

Elephant Seal: 3
Steller/Northern sea lions: 40 on Middle Rock
Harbour seals: 132
Bald eagles: 2 (1 juvenile and 1 adult)
Canada geese: 6
Black oystercatchers: 21 (18 adults, 3 chicks)
Cormorants: 6
Glaucous-winged gulls nesting on the main island: 189
Glaucous-winged gull chicks: approximately 200 (It is hard to get an exact number due to their camouflage)
Gulls not nesting (some glaucous-winged and some other species) on the south end of the main island and outer islands: 156
Pigeon guillemots: 182
Surfbirds: 16
Black turnstones: 192
Ruddy turnstones: 6

Visitors:

No visitors

Facility Work:

Scrubbed and squeegeed solar panels, routine tidying and checking infrastructure around the island.

Vessel Traffic:

Many Canadian and American ecotour boats have been nearby and heading through the waters of the ecological reserve.

Here are photo highlights from the past two days. Click on the photos for larger views and captions.

: Three elephant seals cooling off in the jetty bay.

: Launching the boat to do maintenance on the dolly and check the electronics on the boat.

: Sibling gull chicks on a walk.

: Black turnstones and surfbirds sheltering from the wind in East Bay.

: The manager of Pedder Bay Marina, Robin, passed along this photo that her sister took of elephant seals on the boat ramp. Photo by Ronda Ellery

: The manager of Pedder Bay Marina, Robin, passed along this photo that her sister took of Steller sea lions on Middle Rock. Photo by Ronda Ellery

: Foggy evening sunset

July 13 and 14 – Weekly Census

Posted on Thursday,July 14, 2022 by Nick Townley

Ecological Notes:

The sea lion population is growing. For the past few days there have been 18 Steller sea lions hauled out on Middle Rocks. That is up from four sea lions one week ago. One of the sea lions has a brand. It appears to say 620R, although the researcher I contacted in Oregon mentioned it is what they call a bad brand and he was unable to determine the brand from the photos I sent. I will keep a look out for the sea lion and see if I can get a better view. The researcher will check his records to see if he can identify the sea lion and be able to record the resighting.
The super moon on Wednesday night rose in the southeast at 10:00pm. It was a big bright orange orb that looked more like the rising sun, than the moon.
Today’s extremely low tide of -0.2m or -0.7′ was at 10:13am. The overnight high tide at 00:55am was 3.0m or 9.8′. It is apparently the lowest tide in a decade. I was fascinated to see the extended edge of the water all around the many islands. I looked at the exposed intertidal zone from a distance and up on the jetty, so as not to disturb the many delicate species.
See the photo gallery below for more ecological happenings from the past two days.

Weekly Census Results from July 13:

Steller/Northern sea lions: 18
Sea otter: 1
Harbour seals: 133
Bald eagles: 2 (1 juvenile and 1 adult)
Canada geese: 9 (5 adults, 4 goslings)
Black oystercatchers: 11 (8 adults, 3 chicks)
Cormorant: 4
Glaucous-winged gulls nesting on the main island: 247
Glaucous-winged gull chicks: approximately 200 (it is hard to get an exact number due to their camouflage in the grass and hiding under their parents)
Gulls not nesting (some glaucous-winged and some other species) on the south end of the main island and outer islands: 96
Pigeon guillemots: 142
Black turnstones: 2
Western sandpiper: 2

Weather:

Yesterday (July 13):
- Sky: Part Cloudy
- Wind: W 12-32 kts
- Sea: rippled, then up to 3′ waves in afternoon and evening
- Temperature Low 12^oC, High 16^oC
Today (July 14):
- Sky: Part Cloudy
- Wind: W 15-27 kts
- Sea: rippled, then up to 2′ chop in afternoon
- Temperature Low 11^oC, High 13^oC

Visitors:

No visitors

Facility Work:

Scrubbed and squeegeed solar panels, routine tidying and checking infrastructure around the island.

Vessel Traffic:

Many Canadian and American ecotour boats have been nearby and heading through the waters of the ecological reserve.

Here are photo highlights from the past two days. Click on the photos for larger views and captions.

: A gull brought back a meal for its chicks. The flounder was still alive, so the gull spent a while trying to kill it by stabbing the fish with its bill.

: The gull chick on the right appears to be practicing using their wings.

: Intertidal sights on Wednesday’s low tide. The mossy chiton in the centre of the photo is about 10cm long. There is also a lined chiton above and to the right of it. There are a variety of snails. Around the outside there is bull kelp, sea lettuce, and surf grass. Can you spot other species?

: Two black turnstones in the intertidal zone.

: Steller sea lions hauled out on Middle Rocks.

: Branded sea lion, which might read 620R. I submitted the sighting to a researcher in Oregon, who is looking into the hard to decipher brand.

: The oystercatcher chick near the jetty with one of its parents.

: The oystercatcher chick near the jetty eats a meal it just received from its parent.

: Harbour seals and non-nesting gulls on South Seal Rocks.

: Sea otter in the bull kelp east of the main island.

: Wednesday’s super buck moon rises in the southeast at 10:00pm. It was very large and orange near the horizon.

: A bald eagle perched on Turbine Rock. In the background on Bentinck Island, there is a red flag to signify active blasting at the Department of National Defence site. Although, I did not hear any blasting on Thursday.

: A very low tide view of the east bay, with lots of urchins near the surface.

: Thursday’s very low tide fully exposed the jetty.

: Another angle of the jetty which shows the boat tracks ending before the water’s edge in a big pile of bull kelp.

: A wide angle view from the lantern room of the lighthouse showing the exposed areas on the southeast side of the island created by the low tide. The rocky islands are the South Rocks.

: A wide angle view from the lantern room showing the exposed areas on the north side of the island created by the low tide.

Census July 6

Posted on Wednesday,July 6, 2022 by Nick Townley

Ecological Notes:

I am seeing more gull chicks everyday. Many gull parents are frequently feeding their two or three chicks.
I seem to have come to an understanding with some gulls. If I approach near them on the path at a slow speed, we both ignore each other. There are other gulls who freak out if I even look in their direction. As I do necessary work, I limit my movements around the island and avoid certain paths that have nearby nests and chicks.
See photo gallery and captions for more details on the ecological happenings over the past two days.

Weekly Census Results:

Elephant seal (juvenile male): 1
Steller/Northern sea lions: 4
Harbour seals: 113
Bald eagles: 6 (4 juveniles and 2 adults)
Canada geese: 11 (7 adults, 4 goslings)
Black oystercatchers: 10 (8 adults, 2 chicks – probably more that are camouflaged)
Cormorant: 2
Glaucous-winged gulls nesting: 172
Glaucous-winged gull chicks: approximately 50 (also hard to spot in the grass and under their parents)
Gulls not nesting (some glaucous-winged and some other species) on the south end of the island and outer islands: 97
Pigeon guillemots: 123
Surfbirds: 3
Killdeers: 2
Western sandpiper: 1

Weather:

Yesterday (July 5):
- Sky: Fog in morning, Part Cloudy in afternoon
- Wind: W 0-12 kts
- Sea: calm
- Temperature Low 11^oC, High 17^oC
Today (July 6):
- Sky: Overcast in morning, Part Cloudy in afternoon
- Wind: W 8-22 kts
- Sea: rippled in morning, 1′ chop in afternoon
- Temperature Low 12^oC, High 15^oC

Visitors:

No visitors over the past two days

Facility Work:

Installed bird deterrents on new solar panels, scrubbed and squeegeed solar panels, emptied composting toilet, fixed screen door at basement entrance.

Vessel Traffic:

Many Canadian and American ecotour boats have been nearby and heading through the waters of the ecological reserve.

Here are photo highlights from the past two days. Click on the photos for larger views and captions.

: My view out the south side of the house yesterday morning. I saw an ecotour boat do a 180 on the other side of the Rosedale Reef bouy, which tipped me off to the presence of orcas.

: Orcas on the south side yesterday

: Orcas on the south side yesterday

: The stealthy elephant seal watches from the water near the jetty, as I head out to collect the sea water data last evening.

: A backlit juvenile bald eagle this morning on the east side of the island. I heard lots of commotion in the gull community, so looked around to see three bald eagles perched on the east side and two on the South Rocks.

: Clean solar panels! Even on cloudy days, they can absorb enough kilowatts to power the load of the island. The sunny days are a treat to top up the batteries to 100%.

: The centre of the island where all the paths meet is home to lots of calendula and a very territorial gull.

: Pigeon guillemots in the South Channel

: Harbour seals looking like sea sausages on the South Rocks.

: A gull standing guard as one of their chicks ducks into the calendula and thistles at the edge of the path down from the lighthouse. I don’t take this path because there are a few sets of chicks nearby.

: A gull and chick sharing a meal where the elephant seals often like to lie. In the centre of the photo is a rolled up piece of seal fur that was moulted at some point this spring.