Tag Archives: black-turnstone

Elephant seals occupy

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The barometer climbed right out of its 996 hole today and there was glorious sunshine mixed with dark and nasty, west to southwest squalls. Some of the gloomier squalls also brought thunder and lightening. Band after band of bright and dark passed from the southwest. There was also a substantial groundswell. All of the weather drama made for a spectacular sunset.

Oct24 sky

Six brave whale watching boats were observed in the Ecological Reserve today and the folks in open boats must have had an interesting time during the big, mid-afternoon windstorm with a sudden and sodden downpour. I was out in the middle of it too, standing by, on the end of the jetty, waiting for a landing, but was too rough. It was gusting ~ 25 knots when I left the lighthouse to meet the boat and there were about 300 sealions hauled out in front of the science house.

There were also five adult Brown Pelicans on South Rock in the middle of this tempest’s blast. They can huddle down into a very low aerodynamic, face into the wind, posture and they didn’t get blown away.

The sealions retreated to the water during the deluge and have only now hauled out again en masse, three hours later. Many of the Stellers are in full molt now and some of them are looking quite scruffy. ‘Flake’ is the only Northern Elephant Sea of the ten blocking the jetty this morning that looks like he is still moulting. He may have a skin condition, as it is quite pink and raw looking.

The biggest of this crew is starting to “sprout” the big proboscis for which the adult males are famous. It looked to me like it was quite uncomfortable and kept awaking and thrashing around and garbling. They must feel really heavy on land after being at sea so much of their life.

Flake, (top left) and other Northern Elephant Seals have taken over the entrance to the boat shed and jetty.

Flake, (top left) and other Northern Elephant Seals have taken over the entrance to the boat shed and jetty.

 

The seal on the left kept awaking from sleep disturbed and the one on the right would grip him each time it happened. I wonder if it hurts having your nose grow that fast?

The seal on the left kept awaking from sleep disturbed and the one on the right would grip him each time it happened. I wonder if it hurts having your nose grow that fast?

Today was census day and the results are listed below. I missed the Harbour Seals due to the ferocity of oncoming squalls but will try to catch them tomorrow.

Steller Sealion 318

California Sealion 381

Northern Elephant Seal 10

Canada Goose 22

Greater White-fronted Goose 1

Harlequin Duck 5

Double-crested Cormorant 118

Pelagic Cormorant 19

Brown Pelican 5

Black Turnstone 9

Surfbird 5

Sanderling 3

Western Sandpiper 2

Dunlin 2

Black Oystercatcher 12

Killdeer 2

Glaucous-winged Gull 150

Thayer’s Gull 1200

California Gull 2

Western Gull 7

Heerman’s Gull 4

Gull sp. 50

Common Murre 3

Fox Sparrow 2

Dark-eyed Junco 1

Savannah Sparrow 15

 

 

 

Whistling House

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There was a big blow last night and I learned that this house can whistle; with three distinct tones, synchronously, very musical. This morning there was a swell from the southeaster and an even bigger groundswell coming in from open sea to the west. Add the tidal race to the mix and you can imagine that the wave patterns created were mesmerizing.

It seemed like the day was in recovery from the storm, with gentle winds from the north-northeast, light rain and overcast. The pattern of barometric pressure change was not so reassuring, falling since noon it is now back below 998 hPa. That is where it was for last night’s big blow. It looks like the forecast is for more of the same.

There were six whale-watching boats observed in the Ecological Reserve today; five Canadian and the almost daily visitor from Port Angeles, called Island Explorer. The big draw, other than Race Rocks itself, were abundant Humpback Whales in the area. It certainly wasn’t the weather. At least two of the Humpback Whales were in the Ecological Reserve .

There were four Elephant Seals on the marine railway today, Gat (#5850-6967) , Flake and two larger animals. They ‘played’ together and then slept together for most of the day. More sealions than have hauled out since about a week ago, were also sleeping soundly throughout the day today, perhaps recovering from last night.

Euju ringneck south2 Oct 22

The three entangled Stellers sealions that are proposed candidates for disentanglement were all attending, two of them hauling out close to the living-room window of the science house.

 

Euju ringneck west 2 Oct 22

Euju ringneck west Oct22 Euju hi-top ringneck Oct22

When I was doing the seawater sample I noticed a couple of Harlequin Ducks foraging on the north side of the island. I would like to see them on the underwater camera.

Hadu M & F

More shorebirds were observed foraging on the abandoned sealion haul-out today; Dunlin, Western Sandpipers and Sanderlings were foraging with the Black Turnstones. The smaller birds were kneading the substrate with their feet and probing. That area is completely covered in a mat of sealion hair from their moult.

sand tapping

Even though it was a dark and gloomy day, the solar panels managed to keep up with operational, electrical use. The generator is just cooling now after topping up the batteries for the night.

The Tie That Binds

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It was another northeast day, with really not much happening weather wise. It blew NE about ten knots, was mostly overcast in the morning, with some sun in the afternoon. The barometer rose gradually all morning and then started to slowly slide after noon. It is expected that tomorrow’s southeast will bring rain, starting late tonight.

The whale watching boats were busy in the afternoon with Humpback Whales to the southeast of Race Rocks and more activity out to the west. A total of eight tour boats were seen in the Ecological Reserve.

Today was mega-fauna census day and these are the results:
Steller Sealion 298
California Sealion 508
Harbour Seal 79
Northern Elephant Seal 9
River Otter 2
Canada Goose 22
Greater White-fronted Goose 1
Harlequin Duck 5
Double-crested Cormorant 61
Pelagic Cormorant 15
Black Turnstone 9
Surfbird 5
Black Oystercatcher 38
Glaucous-winged Gull 145
Thayer’s Gull 1482
California Gull 3
Western Gull 7
Heermann’s Gull 35
Gull sp. 52
Common Murre 1
Common Raven 2
Fox Sparrow 2
Savannah Sparrow 15

Here are a couple of shots of Surfbirds, alone and with Black Turnstones.

Surfbirds resting in the Jetty Bay.

Surfbirds resting in the Jetty Bay.

Subi & Bltu
The census was challenging due to the numbers and species of gulls and the fact that both Steller Sealion and Harbour Seal numbers were lower than expected during the morning count, so they were re-counted in the early evening. I generally like to count Harbour Seals on the morning low tide but the tide wasn’t really doing much today. The evening counts were higher for both the Steller and the Harbour Seals. Two new Elephant Seals arrived today. They are both moulting, the smaller one hung out with the dual tagged three year-old, which appears to be staying on. The bigger animals may have gone back to Middle Rock as there were still six animals visible there.

Ring-necked animals as well as tagged and branded animals were also re-surveyed today. I am still working on the branding data from a month ago. Two of the ring-necked Steller Sealions that have been observed since August are still here and languishing as the plastic straps cut into the backs of their necks. I am putting out an appeal to the disentanglement crew again.
Euju plastic_strap Oct16
Euju oct 16 close-up
The second ring-necked animal ‘highlighted’ here is also branded on its’ left side 946R. I believe that it was branded at its’ natal colony which from the R should be Rogue Reef in southern Oregon. From the number it was branded after 2009 but I will find out more.

If it is not lying on its' left side this ring-necked Steller's Sealion is easy to tell apart from the others.

If it is not lying on its’ left side this ring-necked Steller’s Sealion is easy to tell apart from the others.

Like the other Steller it has plastic strapping, which is visible on the ventral surface.

Like the other Steller it has plastic strapping, which is visible on the ventral surface.

This is a bit gory but I hope it will inspire the disentanglement team to come to Race Rocks.

This is a bit gory but I hope it will inspire the disentanglement team to come to Race Rocks.

The Atlin Post passed by Race Rocks today but did not slow. Must have been in a hurry.

The Atlin Post passed by Race Rocks today but did not slow. Must have been in a hurry.

Did not do much maintenance today other than the basic cleaning, making water with the desalinator and electricity with the generator.

Pea Soup

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It was socked in with fog as thick as pea soup today. It cleared off this evening just before six and well in time for a fantastic sunset and my realization that it was probably a beautiful day, just about everywhere else in the region.

California Sea Lions silhouetted by setting sun.

California Sea Lions silhouetted by setting sun.

There was not much wind today, the high was 5 knots out of the east-northeast and everything is damp almost as if it had rained. Most of the day the flag hung limp and a bit sodden. The barometer continued yesterday’s gradual rise until about noon when it started to slowly decline, ending up at about the same place it started. The forecast looks like rain for at least a week but it probably just means showers. I keep forgetting that rain here and rain in Bamfield are just not the same thing.

There were no whale-watching boats observed although one commercial sports fishing boat stopped by to have a look at the sea lions.

The results of this weeks’ large animal census follows:

Steller’s Sea Lion 173
California Sea Lion 412
Harbour Seal 136
Elephant Seal 12
River Otter 1
Canada Goose 20
Greater White-fronted Goose 5
Harlequin Ducks 8
Double-crested Cormorant46
Pelagic Cormorant 5
Black Oystercatchers 20
Black Turnstones 6
Killdeer 4
Glaucous-winged Gull 88
Glaucous-winged x Western Gull Hybrid
Thayer’s Gull 303
Heerman’s Gull 17
California Gull 12
Western Gull 2
Ring-billed Gull 2
Gull sp, 260
Bald Eagle (adult) 1
Fox Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 17

Most of the sea lions have moved over to the west side of the island and are hauling out on Middle Island and some of the smaller rocks. They are seem to be spending much more time in the water instead of sleeping on land and salmon kills are visible all over the Ecological Reserve when the visibility is good enough to see.

Wall-to-wall California Sea Lions catch a nap in a pile.

Wall-to-wall California Sea Lions catch a nap in a pile.

Thayer’s Gulls are the dominant gull now in terms of numbers and they seem to spend a lot of their day resting and grooming. All the gulls seem to take advantage of the sea lion feeding events as bits of salmon are flying. I double-checked my Thayer’s Gull identification with Dick Cannings and his super-birder son, Russell and they concur that this is a Thayer’s Gull.

Race Rocks is an important resting, roosting and feeding place for Thayer's Gulls recovering from a busy summer in the Arctic.

Race Rocks is an important resting, roosting and feeding place for Thayer’s Gulls recovering from a busy summer in the high Arctic.

My biggest task today was attempting to muck out the roof of the energy building where the solar panels are installed. It reminded me of a stable job I had when I was a kid. I actually used a snow shovel to scoop out the organic crud that had built up under the last of the panels to be raised by the electrician yesterday. The rest of the day’s maintenance-type activities were the regular jobs entailed in living here; making fresh water, topping up the batteries with the generator (even the solar panels had a hard time keeping up in the thick fog), doing the seawater sampling and sweeping a few walkways.

Gray on gray.

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It was a bit of a gray day with some thick fog and even a few patches of sunlight, which made fog-bows. This is my made up word for the colourless, rainbow-like arches made by the sun in the fog. Winds were light and swung around out of the north, northeast and over to the east, with the northeast predominating, at about 5 knots. The barometer was fairly steady today and the forecast for tomorrow is for more of the same only more southeast, also with showers.

There were Dall’s Porpoise and Humpback Whales nearby late in the afternoon, which brought a few whale watching boats with a total of nine noted in the Ecological Reserve. The operator of the vessel King Salmon, of Great Pacific Adventures needs to review the regulations for operation in the Ecological Reserve.

The newcomers today were four Greater White-fronted Geese. This species nests in the arctic west of Hudson’s Bay and the western populations winter from here down to Mexico.

Greater White-fronted Geese were resting and recovering here today.

Greater White-fronted Geese were resting and recovering here today.

Today was the day, for the weekly census of megafauna and these are the results:
Steller’s Sea Lion 176
California Sea Lion 406
Elephant Seal 6
Harbour Seal 168
River Otter 2
Canada Goose 4
Greater White-fronted Goose 4
Double-Crested Cormorant 18
Pelagic Cormorant 8
Cormorant sp. 2
Black Oystercatcher 8
Black Turnstone 11,
Killdeer 2
Surfbird 28
Common Murre 4
Thayer’s Gull 113
Glaucous-winged Gull 22
Heerman’s Gull 6
California Gull 1
Western Gull 1
Gull spp. 256 (probably in similar proportions to above, unable to tell due to distance and fogged glass in the tower)

Fence maintenance takes quite a bit of time right now as new sea lions arrive for the winter and learn to stay away from the houses and off the jetty. They would probably prefer to be right here in the kitchen but that is a trade-off with having a guardian here. Fresh-water production and electrical generation continue to be a priority. Today was also the day for month-end report, house cleaning and packing. I am off to Scandinavia to share and learn more about Ocean Literacy. Thanks to all the PC Marine Science students who were willing to share their thoughts with the participants of the gathering at the University of Gothenberg.

Wetter, cooler weather arrives.

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There were definite autumn overtones to the weather today in spite of the westerly winds, which shifted over to the southwest a few times. First thing this morning a heavy fog came in and soaked everything. At dark there were ominous looking rainclouds to the west but the forecast actually looks like it is improving. After a week of sliding downhill, the barometric pressure actually rose today and that is a really good indicator of an improving trend.

There were only six whale watching boats noted in the reserve today and I couldn’t see any whales (for a change). The few recreational boaters left on the water stayed out of the reserve. The Oriole sailed past through Race Passage today, flying with the wind and tide.

A series of large military explosions rocked the island mid-day.

Oriole

Two Steller’s Sea Lions with Ring-necks were photographed today as was a Steller’s with a green flasher hanging out of its mouth. One of the ring-necked Steller’s is not yet badly wounded by the plastic strap, the other (see photos) has the strap cutting into the back of its neck but not yet the front. This animal likes to sleep about ten meters from my house and would be a good candidate for disentanglement.
ring-neck Steller's

ring-neck Steller's sep18

This plastic packing strap is digging into the back of this animals neck.

This plastic packing strap is digging into the back of this animals neck.

ring-neck Steller's sept 18 3

EuJu flasher

Today was animal census day and these are the counts.
Harbour Seal 179
Elephant Seal 8
Steller’s Sea Lion 184
California Sea Lion 287
Canada Goose 4
Brown Pelican 1
Double-crested Cormorant 22
Pelagic Cormorant 3
Cormorant sp. 2
Black Turnstone 7
Black Oystercatcher 4
Glaucous-winged Gull 76
Thayer’s Gull 75
Heerman’s Gull 21
California Gull 16
Mew Gull 21
Gull sp. 152
Common Murre 1
Common Raven 2
Savannah Sparrow 6

There were no visitors today. Maintenance chores, other than making fresh water and electricity included cleaning in the boat shed, mending both houses’ fences, and keeping the weed-eater going. The weed-eater makes really good compost mulch.

Standing Waves

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The fine weather continued today with light outflow winds and clear skies. The barometric pressure rose to almost 1020 hPa by mid–morning and then started to slowly slide back down. This pattern is forecast again for tomorrow.

I counted 32 tour boats in the reserve today and may have a missed a few as I was busy. I talked to the Garry Fletcher, Ecological Reserve Guardian and learned a great deal.
There were Biggs Killer Whales out to the west again so many of the boats broke up their trips coming or going with a stop at Race Rocks. A few recreational fishers went through at low speed but no poaching today. The only transgression noted was a Grady White speeding. The man with the white hat and red rubber boat was back but stayed just outside the line.

Just before sunset, an enormous aircraft carrier headed past and on out to sea. Ahead of it was a container ship and behind a schooner. The volume of goods and people coming and going in Juan de Fuca Strait is really amazing and it all passes by Race Rocks. Port Metro Vancouver alone trades $184 billion in goods and then there is Seattle, Victoria, Bellingham, Spokane etc..

Corrections to yesterday’s log: 1. There are still at least two Pigeon Guillemots feeding young. 2. I forgot to count in the four Canada Geese that are here daily. 3. I got a good look at the Black Turnstones from the tower today and counted 23.

I did some research today, starting with reading a few papers on Steller’s and California Sea Lions and looking at a paper on Glaucous-winged Gull chick mortality. I talked to Race Rocks Ecological Reserve Guardian, Garry Fletcher, learning a great deal. I started a Glaucous-winged gull survey today and found 30 so far. It is important to get this done before it starts getting too damp.

The practical side of the day involved more cleaning and starting a perimeter fence for the science house. The doors of the house are no match for a 2200 pound sea lion.
I watched the creation of large, breaking standing waves today, right in front of the house/jetty. The tide was flooding in and there was no wind so there must have been some ebb pushing out against it. Pretty spectacular for a few minutes then it calmed down.

Killer Whales and Sport-fishers to the West

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Another glorious day on the rock with good visibility, calm waters and a clear sky. The barometer rose gradually until noon and then dropped slightly. Barely perceptible outflow winds kept the fog out at sea and it looks like a similar forecast for Friday.

There was a lot of activity in the Reserve today with whale watching boats stopping by to see the sea lions en-route, back and forth between Victoria and the two pods of transient (aka Bigg’s) Killer Whales off to the west. The smaller pod had four individuals and passed close to the reserve heading west spending the day between Becher Bay and Beachy Head. A second larger pod was reported from further west near Otter Point by days’ end. A total of 37 tour boats were noted in the reserve and many more passed by at speed outside of the boundaries. They keep constant contact with the whales during the day and pass off to each other, on leaving the area.

A couple of recreational boats spent time in the reserve today, one photographing sea lions for several hours and the other jigging. The conservation area is bounded by the 40 meter contour, and no jigging is allowed. Jigging targets territorial fish such as rockfish and lingcod although you can catch coho that way too. The Conservation Area is enforced by DFO and is there to protect long-lived, territorial fish like rockfish and lingcod, so that their offspring can disperse to other areas with the currents. A Marine Protected area like Race Rocks becomes a source of recruitment of young fish to nearby areas that don’t have protection and this ultimately makes the fishing more sustainable.

It was census day today.
Biggs’ Killer Whales 4
Steller’s Sea Lions 243 (7 brands noted)
California Sea Lions 334 (7 completed brands noted, 1 incomplete)
Total sea lions both species = 577
Harbour Seals 142
Elephant Seal 1 (pup)
Savannah Sparrows 8 (seemed to fly off to the south across the Strait after visiting)
Double-crested Cormorants 11
Pelagic Cormorants 4
Black Turnstones 7
Sandpipers 5
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Glaucous-winged Gulls 99 (4 chicks still begging)
Heerman’s Gulls 5
California Gull 1
Black Oystercatchers 7
The Pigeon Guillemots were not spotted today so I assume that the chicks finally fledged and have headed off to sea. I will miss them. It is fun to watch them ride the currents and carry crazy-looking fish to their young.

There were no visitors today, although both Second Nature and Hyaku made multiple trips within a stone’s throw of the jetty, as part of student orientation week.

Calm Saturday

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Light variable winds most of the day. Four brief periods of rain, clear skies in between. Very low West swell. Rainbows.

6 tour boats
2 dive boats

I spent some time today trying to learn to use the Nikon DSLR that lives out here at Race Rocks. The zoom on the big lens is awesome, but I still have a few technical issues to work out. My mission was to get a photo of a Pigeon Guillemot flying away from me with its red feet sticking out, but I wasn’t happy with any of my attempts. While wandering around looking for things to photograph I saw 10-15 Turnstones. They are spending most of their time in the middle of Great Race. There was 4 Western Sandpipers, 1 Sanderling, and 2 Dunlins all feeding in the muck-puddles on Great Race.The Elephant seal that has been next to the tank shed left this morning, but there are still two out on Middle Rocks. There are a few monster Steller Sea lions among the group out on South Rocks. There are now three Canada Goose nests, all with eggs in them.

Animal Notes

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A single, juvenile Greater White Fronted goose (Anser albifrons) arrived a few days ago and has been rustling around the middle of Greater Race Rock. This species was also documented at Race Rocks on May 2012, May 2007 and September 2007. Thanks Ann for verifying the species.

At the end of September a juvenile elephant seal was on the jetty for roughly a week. It had the classic signs of a scabby molt. Scabby molt is a skin disease that attacks elephant seals between the ages of eight months and two years old. Two-year-old elephant seals often suffer from a skin disease known as the northern elephant seal skin disease or NESSD for short. This form of dermatitis is also often referred to as scabby molt. This ulcerative skin disease can either infect a small portion of the fur and underlying skin or spread to cover up to 60% or more of this outer protective layer. Although, in most cases, the elephant seals heal up without any further problems, sometimes, secondary bacterial infections and/or sepsis can lead to death.

Check out this link to a paper by Beckamn et al, 1997 that describes this disease.

-Ran desalinator
-Washed solar panels
-Washed exterior windows on Student house
-Tidied Student house basement and bathroom
-Hung pictures in student house
-Fixed underwater camera issue with help from Jonathan