Tag Archives: Black Oystercatcher

a change in the weather

Posted on by
Friday, March 22, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 8.5 C  Min. 3.9 C  Reset 6.2 C
MARINE LIFE: Well the birds are certainly willing to give this ‘spring thing’ another go, what a difference a day can make.At first light the island was alive with honking geese-2 pair- cheerful Oyster Catchers and 80 to 100 noisy gulls.Amazing how a change in the weather can have such an effect , hope it lasts! 1 of the bull Elephant Seals hauled out again on the boat ramp and over the course of the day moved up by the tank room and seemed not at all stressed by the attention of the human visitors, as long as reasonable distance was maintained of course!
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 5 Ecotour boats, 3 Pleasure Craft through the M.P.A. 1 College boat with Garry and students arrived in the afternoon also the station boat made a return trip to Pedder Bay.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:59 PM

Good MorningWEATHER: Sky Cloudy �� Vis. 15 Miles �� Wind North East 11 Knots �� Sea 1 Foot Chop

posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:17 AM

Black Oyster catchers arrive noisily

Posted on by
Saturday, March 09, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max 9.0C  Min. 2.7C Reset 6.5C  No Precipitation
MARINE LIFE: 4 Bald Eagles – 3 mature,still 2 pair Canada Geese. The gulls and Black Oyster catchers arrive noisily soon after daybreak and spend a good part of the day in and around the nesting areas; the Oyster Catchers foraging along the shoreline call out to each and often form a group of 22-24 birds then fly around the island several times before pairing off again to search for food.There are now 3 Elephant seals hauled out on the boat ramp, the 2 bulls and 1 smaller one about 11/2 metres long juvenile,they are very noisy especially from 1-3 a.m.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:14 PM

Good Morning: WEATHER: Sky Overcast  Vis. 15 Miles  Wind 23 Knots Sea 3 Foot Moderate >> Low East Swell

posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:39 AM

Black Oystercatchers calling

Posted on by

‘Mike gave me a lift over this morning to work on the data computer, I will be going back to “civilization?” at noon tomorrow. Students are all off on Project week this week so it is rather quiet around the campus. The pair of Black Oystercatchers was active here with their high pitched calls down by the docks this afternoon. One can hear them occasionally these days on cameras 1 and 3. I also noted an eagle perched on the subtidal island directly to the West this afternoon at low tide. You may often see an eagle along the island rock crests in presets 2 and 4 of the remote camera if you pan along the cliff edge. I noted an absence of gulls this evening. They don’t stay around at night until they have established territories and taken up nesting. Go to the video archives for recent website additions: several new videos in the invertebrate section and a new Northern Sea Lion video–Garry

Glaucous-winged Gulls visiting

Posted on by
Monday, March 04, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 9.9C Min. 3.8C Reset 7.8C No Rain
WEATHER: It was a cloudy day  Vis. 15 all day Wind North 4 – 7 knots at 14:30 wind shift West 17 right now at 16:11 West 40 knots  Sea rippled until 15:15 >> 2 – 3 foot chop now 5 foot moderate
MARINE LIFE: 3 Bald Eagles – 2 immature.In pairs, the Black Oyster Catchers are spending most of the mornings along the shore adjacent to nesting areas on Gr. Race. The Glaucous-winged Gulls are visiting the nesting areas in the early morning, they are very noticeable by their vocalizing in contrast to the gulls that winter over which are very quiet.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:11 PM

Good Morning

WEATHER: Sky Cloudy  Vis. 15 Miles  Wind North 4 Knots  Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:36 AM

More jellyfish

Posted on by

Wednesday, February 06, 2002
Good Evening

TEMPERATURE: Max. 7.1C  Min. 4.9C Reset 5.1C  Rain 6.2 mm
MARINE LIFE: 8 Mature and 6 immature Bald Eagles today, and we are back to 5 Canada Geese which although not exactly tame do allow us to get within a few metres before hissing a warning and waddling away.The Black Oyster Catchers are still spending some time in their traditional nest and feeding areas in the early morning and again in the late afternoon, the rest of the time they spend in a group of 22-24 along the south side of Gr. Race. There were 19 Moon Jellyfish along the east side of the dock this morning and we saw quite a few more just off shore when we left in the boat.
HUMAN INTERACTION: Race Rocks boat to Pedder Bay and back – trip to town for mail and supplies- mmm fresh fruit!
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:24 PM

Good Morning

WEATHER: Sky Overcast  Vis 15 Miles Wind North East 10 Knots Sea 1 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:16 AM

3 day summary

Posted on by
Wednesday, January 23, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 7.7C Min. 4.9C  Reset 7.7C  Rain 3.4 mm
MARINE LIFE: 7 (5 mature) Bald Eagles.Group of 22-24 Black Oyster Catchers were around most of the day and at times paired off and spent 45-60 minutes along the shore near traditional nesting areas.Saw 5 Harlequin Ducks, all male, in the east bay area.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 2nd Nature in with several guests and 1 tour boat.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:05 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast  Vis. 15 Miles Wind East 9 Knots  Sea 1 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 10:14 AM
Tuesday, January 22, 2002
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast Vis. 15 Miles Wind West 23 Knots Sea 3 Foot Moderate – Low South West Swell
MARINE LIFE: 9 Bald Eagles (5 mature) today. 24 Black Oyster Catchers spent most of the day along the south shore of Gr. Race and at times paired off and spent 1/2 hour or so in nesting areas.Saw 4 male and 2 female Harlequin Ducks in the East bay area early afternoon.
HUMAN INTERACTION:2nd Nature in with Angus,Garry,Chris and Guests approx.2:30pm
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:33 AM
Monday, January 21, 2002
Good Evevening
TEMPERATUER: Max. 6.C  Min. 2.2C  Reset 3.7C  Rain 2.0 mm
MARINE LIFE:6 (4 mature) Bald Eagles today. Very stormy all morning with a series of squalls coming in from the west,by 2 pm the wind decreased to 12 knts and we enjoyed some sunshine.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:09 PM

22 Bloys

Posted on by
Tuesday, January 15, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 6.5C Min. 2.1C  Reset 5.4C
MARINE LIFE: 14 Bald Eagles today -5 mature. There are still many hundreds of sea birds feeding although much farther out from the reserve.A group of 22 Black Oyster Catchers spent most of the day along the south shore of Gr. Race.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 1 Sailboat, 1 Pleasure craft ( 2 divers )and 1 Charter -‘Discovery Launch’ through the M.P.A.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:10 PM

BLOYS return

Posted on by

-2002-01-07′, ’16:10:30′, ‘The bull Elephant Seal is still hauling out on the rocks below the engine room and for a few hours, usually in the morning,floats leisurely along the shore, upright with his head and snout just above the surface. With the fairly light winds we are able to hear his distinctive ”bellow” mostly at night. Only one immature Bald Eagle visited today. The fog was very thick and right down to the water surface not the best hunting conditions. 22-24 Black Oyster Catchers arrived on Gr. Race about 11:00am, broke off into pairs and spent 1/2 hour or so in previous years nesting areas.Although they are the first of the birds to nest, January seems too early for serious courting and nest building even with the very mild temperatures!’, ‘Mike or Carol’, ’16:11:43 ,

22-24 Black Oyster Catchers arrive

Posted on by

Monday, January 07, 2002 Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.3C  Min. 8.3C Reset 10.0C Rain 36.2 mm

MARINE LIFE: The bull Elephant Seal is still hauling out on the rocks below the engine room and for a few hours, usually in the morning,floats leisurely along the shore, upright with his head and snout just above the surface. With the fairly light winds we are able to hear his distinctive ‘bellow’ mostly at night. Only one immature Bald Eagle visited today. The fog was very thick and right down to the water surface not the best hunting conditions. 22-24 Black Oyster Catchers arrived on Gr. Race about 11:00am, broke off into pairs and spent 1/2 hour or so in previous years nesting areas.Although they are the first of the birds to nest, January seems too early for serious courting and nest building even with the very mild temperatures!
HUMAN INTERACTION: 2nd Nature arrived approx. 13:45 -a tricky landing at the dock with an ebbing tide and 1-2 metre swells.The supplies ( 8 pails of oil for generator oil change) and 4 passengers were quickly off-loaded and Angus waited off shore until the visitors were ready to be picked up,only an experienced boat driver can manage a landing under these conditions!.2nd Nature returned to campus 14:30.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:32 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Obscured  Vis. 1/8 Mile Light Rain and Fog  Wind South 5 Knots  Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:23 AM

2500 to 3000 sea birds feeding

Posted on by

-2002-01-03′, ’15:48:41′, ‘Another red letter day,calm sea,blue sky and wonderful warm sunshine. There were 3 – 1 mature ) Bald Eagles today. Counted 18 Black Oyster Catchers and again 7 Harlequins – 4 Male ). There was a lot of feed in the water in the tide lines, 200-300 hundred metres off the reserve to the west and north,and into Pedder Bay.There must have been 2500 to 3000 sea birds feeding. The eagles were flying low just skimming the surface, talons outstretched as they hit the water.As the eagles circled,the other birds flew off and landed some distance away, except for about 7 or 8 gulls that tried to ”herd” the eagles away.Every once in a while the eagles would dive at the gulls, I think more out of frustration from the harassment then wanting to catch the gull- it was the fish they were after.It is so quiet with the light wind that we have heard Elephant Seals vocalizing tonight.’, ‘Mike or Carol’, ’15:49:37 ,