Tag Archives: Black Oystercatcher

Cold and Clear

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Ecological Notes:

 

  • 3 female Elephant Seals (mom #1 returned in the night)
  • 3 Elephant Seal pups. Pup #1, born Dec 26, 2022, is independent, not associating directly with mom #1

  • Relative rare sighting of a Sanderling

Black Oystercatchers feeding

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • 3 Eco-Tourism Vessels

Weather Events:

  • Yesterday (Sunday January 29):
    • Sky: Sunny and clear
    • Wind: NNE 15kts shifting to NE later in the day
    • Sea: Rippled, no swell or waves
    • Temperature Low 1oC, High 6oC
  • Today (Monday January 30):
    • Sky: Mostly clear with some clouds, very slight overall haze, full light overcast by afternoon
    • Wind: NNE 10 kts , veering to SSE in the afternoon
    • Sea: Rippled, no swell or waves
    • Temperature Low 0oC, High 3oC – although wind speed is low, there is definitely a wind chill factor
    • Standing “fresh” water pools are all frozen

 

** 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:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

August 16 and 17

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The compost rejuvenation project continues with 58 more buckets of aged compost removed from the first chamber to complete stage 1. Stage 2 involves moving the compost from the second chamber over to the first, turning and mixing it in the process.

Several branded sea lions are being seen.  When their histories are obtained, updates will be posted.

It has been very quiet on the water the last two days both mammal and bird-wise.

Ecological Notes:

  • All three elephant seals were seen on August 16 and 17
  • Only passerines seen in the last two days were Brown-headed Cowbird.
  • 26 Brown Pelicans circled Great Race before heading towards Esquimalt at dusk on Wednesday.
  • 2 branded Steller’s sea lions (486Y and 304Y) and 1 branded California sea lion (X759) were seen during census on Wednesday. 304Y was branded at Rogue Reef, Oregon in July 2011, and has been resighted from California to BC.
  • Very quiet on the water over the last two days.
  • See photos below for more ecological sightings.

Census (Wednesday, August 17):

Mammals

  • Elephant seal: 3 (1 adult male, two juvenile females)
  • Steller sea lion: 129 (including branded 304Y and 486Y)
  • California sea lion: 115 (including branded X759)
  • Harbour seal: 131

Birds

  • Black oystercatcher: 9 (8 adults 1 chick )
  • Killdeer 1
  • Black Turnstone: 49
  • Surfbird: 11
  • Common Murre: 2
  • Pigeon Guillemot:60
  • Heermann’s Gull: 2
  • California Gulls: 500
  • Glaucous-winged Gulls: 448 adults 203 chicks (including 1 banded adult)
  • Pelagic Cormorant: 4
  • Brandt’s Cormorants: 19
  • Double-crested Cormorant: 4
  • Brown Pelican: 26
  • Bald Eagle: 1
  • Brown-headed Cowbird: 3

Weather:

  • Yesterday (Tuesday, August 16):
    • Sky: Foggy most of the morning; sunny in the afternoon, with light cloud
    • Wind: W/WSW 15-25 kts
    • Sea: up to 2′ chop
    • Temperature Low 13oC, High 15oC
  • Today (Wednesday, August 17):
    • Sky: Clear and sunny
    • Wind: variable calm to 22 kts
    • Sea: calm to rippled
    • Temperature Low  14oC, High  25oC

Facility Work:

  • Solar panels cleaned daily. Windows washed.
  • Fence east of lighthouse repaired
  • Compost renewal project continues.

Vessel Traffic:

  • Many Canadian ecotour boats have been nearby and heading through the waters of the ecological reserve. Cruise ships are going through daily.
  • Tours from Pearson College continued on Wednesday.

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

Compost chamber emptied and ready to be refilled.

On to the next chamber!

Potatoes were growing in the compost. Unfortunately not fit for human consumption.

Elephant seals

Brown-headed Cowbirds

Fence in need of repair

Glaucous-winged Gulls circling the tower

Gulls have been particularly aggressive with each other this week.

Colour-banded Glaucous-winged Gull

California sea lion

These look as though there might have been scientific equipment attached. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/marine-mammal-protection/california-sea-lion-research

Adult male and juvenile female elephant seals.

Steller’s sea lions on alert

Possibly scar from previous entanglement. No rope or line was visible.

Pearson College tour.

Branded California sea lion

Branded California sea lion

Brandt’s Cormorant (left) and Pelagic Cormorant (right) demonstrating size and shape differences.

Branded Steller’s sea lion

Brown Pelicans at dusk

Brown Pelicans

Flock of 26 Brown Pelicans

August 10 and 11

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Ecological Notes:

  • First sighting of Ollie the sea otter since I arrived. His new favourite location is in the kelp east of Great Race. I had seen him there on a boat trip on Aug 1.
  • First on-land passerines of my stay seen on Thursday, Aug 11: two juvenile Brown-headed Cowbirds. It is possible the bird I saw in the fog last week could have been one of these.
  • Sea lion numbers continue to climb.
  • Whale action must be in the Gulf Islands/San Juans, as fewer whale watching boats are coming this way.
  • Most of the young gulls are busy testing their wings, especially when the wind comes up.
  • Very low tides have revealed the eel grass beds and normally hidden intertidal zone.
  • See photos below for more ecological sightings.

Weekly Census observed on Wednesday, August 10:

Mammals

  • Elephant seals: 3 (1 adult male, two juvenile females)
  • Steller sea lions: 124
  • California sea lions: 40
  • Harbour seals: 186
  • Sea otter 1

Birds

  • Canada geese: 4
  • Harlequin ducks: 8
  • Black oystercatchers: 9 (8 adults 1 chick )
  • Killdeer 2 (only on island between dusk and dawn)
  • Black Turnstones: 194
  • Surfbirds: 17
  • Common Murres: 79
  • Pigeon Guillemots:183
  • Rhinoceros Auklets: 2
  • Heermann’s Gulls: 2
  • California Gulls: 353
  • Glaucous-winged Gulls: 341 adults 169 chicks (probably undercounted as wind caused a lot of chicks to seek cover)
  • Caspian Terns: 2
  • Pelagic Cormorants: 5
  • Brandt’s Cormorants: 12
  • Brown Pelican: 1

Weather:

  • Yesterday (Wednesday, August 10):
    • Sky: Overcast, with a few sunny periods
    • Wind: W 11-31 kts
    • Sea: up to 3′ chop
    • Temperature Low 12 oC, High 19 oC
  • Today (Thursday, August 11):
    • Sky: Overcast until mid morning, then partly cloudy
    • Wind: W 4-21 kts
    • Sea: calm to rippled
    • Temperature Low 14 oC, High 18 oC

Facility Work:

  • Solar panels cleaned daily. Some windows washed.  Postponed on Wednesday due to brief electrical storm. North side of researcher building skipped on Thursday due to presence of large elephant seal.
  • Compost renewal project continues.

Vessel Traffic:

  • Many Canadian ecotour boats have been nearby and heading through the waters of the ecological reserve. Cruise ship traffic is increasing

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

Eel grass

Race Rocks mussel beds appear unaffected by last year’s heat dome

Eel grass and mussel beds

Leatherback chitons

Bull Kelp

Many varieties of seaweeds exposed by the low tides

Feather duster tube worms in the intertidal zone

Alumni tours from Pearson College continued.

Cooperative Brown Pelican for census

Brown Pelican south of Great Race

Lots of food available Aug 10

Bait balls nearby were a boon for gull chicks

Young California Gull

Heermann’s Gull

Harlequin Ducks (females)

Young elephant seals on the ramp

Young elephant seal

Caspian Tern

Juvenile Brown-headed Cowbirds

Brown Pelicans west of Great Race Aug 11

Brown Pelican

Brown Pelicans west of Great Race

Smoke is coming. Moonrise on Aug 11

California sea lions

Black Oystercatcher

Ollie the sea otter sighting

Pigeon Guillemots

California sea lion

August 4 and 5

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Thanks to everyone on the island and the transport team for a wonderful welcome back. It’s been a year, and my brain is spinning with things I think I should remember and new things to learn. I will be posting many bird sightings to the Race Rocks hotspot (Race Rocks, Capital District, BC, CA – eBird Hotspot) on eBird during my stay here. I really like Nick’s succinct summaries and will be following his format for the most part.  I will also be updating a personal blog with many more words and photos here: http://nightingaleadventures.blogspot.com/

Ecological Notes:

The large elephant seal remained onshore on Aug 4, but headed to the ramp and nearby waters much to the joy of whale watching boats on Aug 5. There is at least one young elephant seal still in the area as well, and it made its way almost to the lighthouse on Aug 5.

Steller and California sea lion numbers are growing with several groups of Californias now being seen around the island.  Next week’s census should be considerably different than last week’s.

Brown Pelicans continue to be seen with a group of 10 heading west in late afternoon Aug 5.

California Gulls are clustering on the south part of the island.  I’m expecting these numbers to increase over the next weeks.

Three Heermann’s Gulls were with California Gulls on Aug 4.

A flock of about 15 Barn Swallows headed south over the west side of the island mid-morning on Aug 5.

One humpback whale was seen in the company of whale watching vessels south of the island on the morning of Aug 5.

Weather:

Yesterday (Aug 4)

  • Sky: Overcast in the morning, clearing in the afternoon
  • Wind: W 16-25 kts
  • Temperature: Low 13 oC, High 16 oC

Today (Aug 5)

  • Sky: Clear, except for fog that rolled in for about two hours in the morning
  • Wind: Variable from ESE 3 to W 21 kts
  • Temperature: Low 11 oC, High 20 oC

Visitors:

Volunteers Abi and Jeremias continue.  Garry Fletcher arrived with Greg and Ann for the Ecoguardian changeover on Aug 4.

Facility Work:

Solar panels cleaned; electric fence checked and repaired as required.

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.

Changing of the eco-guard. Nick leaving, Ann arriving.

Glaucous-winged Gulls are ferocious protectors of their young.

California Gulls amassing at the southwest corner of Great Race

Sharing a meal- Glaucous-winged Gulls

During breeding season, the mouth lining and feet of the Pigeon Guillemot become bright red.

Pigeon Guillemots in flight.

Not birds–flies! The quantity of organic matter on the island attracts a lot of them.

Surfbirds

Black Oystercatcher family

One of 15 migrating Barn Swallows over Race Rocks on Aug 5.

Do you really want to fight a sea lion for a meal?

August 2 and 3

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Tomorrow is a shift changeover and my last day on the Island. Ann Nightingale is coming to be the Ecoguardian. I have enjoyed my stay here for the past five weeks. The near constant west wind provided excellent air conditioning. I learned to live harmoniously with the nesting gulls and chicks. The marine mammals (elephant seals, sea otter, humpback whales, orcas, and Steller sea lions) provided me with plenty of entertainment. I fixed more things on the island than broke. Another successful Ecoguardian shift.

Ecological Notes:

  • The large male elephant seal spent the whole day today on the land, most of the time nestled against the north side of the Guest House.
  • The population of Steller sea lions has doubled in past week. The stench of sea lion poop is also growing down wind of Middle Rocks. There are even a few California sea lions showing up on the main island.
  • In the morning yesterday, myself and the two visitors took the station boat out for a trip to the closest land to the north. I enjoyed seeing a closer view of Bentinck Island, Rocky Point, Church Rock and Swordfish Island. There were many harbour seals hauled out on the rocks and little jumping fish along the way.
  • See the photo gallery below for the ecological happenings from the past two days.

Weekly Census observed on Wednesday, August 3:

  • Elephant seals: 3 (1 adult male, two juvenile females)
  • Steller sea lions: 95
  • California sea lions: 3
  • Harbour seals: 146
  • Bald eagles: 2 adults
  • Brown pelican: 1
  • Canada geese: 2
  • Cormorants: 5
  • Glaucous-winged gulls: 232
  • Glaucous-winged gull chicks: approximately 200 (They are hard to count due to their hiding in plants and rocks. Some chicks have died and new chicks have been born recently.)
  • Gulls (uncertain of species): 331 (around outer islands and congregating on the south end of Great Race Rocks)
  • Black oystercatchers: 8 adults (no chicks seen today)
  • Harlequin duck: 1 female
  • Pigeon guillemots: 132
  • Surfbirds: 12
  • Black turnstones: 148

Weather:

  • Yesterday (August 2):
    • Sky: Partly cloudy
    • Wind: W 11-28 kts
    • Sea: up to 1′ chop
    • Temperature Low 12 oC, High 15 oC
  • Today (August 3):
    • Sky: Overcast until mid morning, then partly cloudy
    • Wind: W 15-34 kts
    • Sea: up to 3′ moderate
    • Temperature Low 12 oC, High 15 oC

Visitors:

  • Abi and Jeremias, the two volunteers
  • 9 visitors from Pearson College in the afternoon of August 2

Facility Work:

  • Scrubbed and squeegeed solar panels, poured cement to fix a broken section of sidewalk, routine tidying and checking infrastructure around the island. 

DND Blasting:

  • Just before 13:00, there was one large blast from the DND lands at Rocky Point.

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.

July 29 and 30

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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.

July 27 and 28 – Weekly Census

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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.

July 19 and 20 – Weekly Census

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Ecological Notes:

  • An elephant seal swam up to the boat ramp at some point yesterday late afternoon or evening. When I went to do the seawater sample at 19:30, I spotted her sleeping at the water’s edge. As far as I can tell, she has been there ever since.
  • See the photo gallery below for more ecological happenings from the past two days.

Weekly Census recorded on Wednesday, July 20:

It was not an ideal day to record the census, as it was quite foggy. Although, I had a window of less fog at around noon, when I could see all the islets that comprise Race Rocks and the water in between, so I was able to count the species from the lantern room of the lighthouse. I counted other species throughout the day as I walked around.

  • Elephant Seal: 1
  • Steller/Northern sea lions: 15
  • Harbour seals: 125
  • Bald eagles: 2 (1 juvenile and 1 adult)
  • Canada geese: 9 (5 adults, 4 goslings)
  • Black oystercatchers: 11 (8 adults, 3 chicks)
  • Cormorants: 5
  • Glaucous-winged gulls nesting on the main island: 229
  • Glaucous-winged gull chicks: approximately 250 (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: 163
  • Black turnstones: 2
  • Western sandpiper: 3
  • Fox sparrow: 1

Weather:

  • Yesterday (July 19):
    • Sky: Partly cloudy, fog in evening
    • Wind: W 3-29 kts
    • Sea: rippled, then up to 1′ chop in afternoon and evening
    • Temperature Low 11oC, High 15oC
  • Today (July 20):
    • Sky: Fog overnight, a mixture of partly cloudy and fog throughout the day and into the evening
    • Wind: W 12-30 kts
    • Sea: rippled, then up 2′ chop in afternoon and evening
    • Temperature Low 11oC, High 14oC

Visitors:

  • 2 visitors from Pearson College to deliver supplies. 

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.

July 13 and 14 – Weekly Census

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

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.

July 9 and 10

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Ecological Notes:

  • On Saturday afternoon, a southern resident orca pod went through Race Passage, just north of the ecological reserve. Someone was warning boats over the VHF radio to reduce their speed, as they were “in the path of endangered southern resident killer whales.” All boats appeared to oblige. For a while, the very large pod was spread out from the Bentinck Island, at the west side of the mouth of Pedder Bay to well past William Head to the east, at least 4km or 2NM. I watched the pod for a while through binoculars and saw an orca fully breach out of the water. I did not get a photo of the breach, but it was spectacular. Then the pod travelled south to the east of Race Rocks, based on the group of ecotour boats I could see watching the pod from a safe distance.
  • The gull chicks are still popping out, with many nests having one to three chicks. There are still some gulls tending to eggs.
  • See the photo gallery below for more ecological happenings from the past two days.

Weather:

  • Yesterday (July 9):
    • Sky: Overcast, then cloudy throughout rest of day
    • Wind: W 15-30 kts
    • Sea: rippled, 1′ chop in evening
    • Temperature Low 13oC, High 16oC
  • Today (July 10):
    • Sky: Part cloudy
    • Wind: W 3-24 kts
    • Sea: rippled, 1′ chop in afternoon
    • Temperature Low 14oC, High 17oC

Visitors:

  • No visitors.

Facility Work:

  • Scrubbed and squeegeed solar panels, topped up water in battery bank, 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.