Tag Archives: california sea lion

Coming back and setting down day

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Weather
Sky: Overcast to rainy;Wind: 10-15 knots West wind;Sea:Calm

Ecological
14 elephant seals and among them 2 big ones :On Great Race my friend Chunk and a new one for me , named Chuckles. The grassy field looks like a schoolyard with the playing young ones.
Surprise to see Gulls already so busy building nest and some on it. Pretty soon we saw our first egg …10 Californian Sea lions on Great Race Rocks
Seawater sampling around noon today: Salinity :32:01 and temperature :10:9 C
Maintenance
Checking around for priorities: A small leak from the gazoil filter needs attention.
Whaler battery put in charge.
Whaler diesel fuel tank filled up.
Different controls done
Boats
One whale watcher boat at 20:30 PM This is unusual ,looks like they were waiting for the lighthouse to light up..it was not for a nice sunset!
Other
We admire the beautiful bricks under the wheels .Thanks to Riley!
Intense activity at the DND: 4 strong blasts between 10:45 and 2:00 PM and a very surprising one at 10:30 PM  This one made the house shake ! WE were  kept in alert before by a flashing blue light ( a DND zodiac protecting the area).
We looked for a sailboat photo required by the boat owner and taken on Race Rocks . We found it and sent it to the college.

It’s good to be on Race Rocks ! Happy Eco – Guardians!

 

The Grand Sailboat Regatta

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Weather

  • Visibility: 8 miles in the early morning, 15 later on
  • Wind: 15-20 knots East, then North, then West
  • Sky: foggy and overcast, then sunny, then overcast
  • Scattered raindrops throughout the day
  • Water: mostly calm, with swells in the afternoon

DSC_6437

Ecological

  • Maya and Tazi conducted 4 intertidal transects today.
  • Studying an intertidal transect involves measuring out a certain distance from a peg, and then documenting the different species found every 0.5 metre.
  • In some transects the 0.5 metres are measured by water elevation; in others simply by distance.
  • By comparing the species found in every zone of the transect with transect data from previous decades, you can see the change in intertidal ecosystems due to climate change.
  • We saw a California Sea Lion with the brand U374 and another with a tracker.
  • While most of the gull eggs all look the same, one particular egg is quite different.

Maintenance

  • Maya and I ran the fire pump in the morning.
  • This added a few inches to the cistern.
  • We removed the old Canadian flag and hoisted a fresh one.
  • Tazi and I removed some algae.
  • Ali whacked away at the thistles.
  • We cleaned the solar panels.

Boats

  • Over 150 sailboats from Victoria passed by Race Rocks in the late morning on their way towards the Western horizon.
  • Some of them started to return as late as 22:30.
  • The colours of their sales included: red, blue, white, fluorescent yellow, green, purple, black, orange, and many combinations of all of the above.
  • Some standouts included the Miles Davis sail and the Union Jack.
  • I couldn’t stop taking photos and ended up with dozens. Below is a selection of the best.
  • One coastguard zodiac and a search and rescue boat appeared to be accompanying the sailboats.
  • Several eco-tours came by, including one Eagle Wings tour that drove through the South Channel.
  • Passing through the South Channel is prohibited as the width is too narrow.

A Dozen+ Eco-Tours

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind :15-25 knots West
  • Sky: mix of sun and clouds
  • Water: 1′ chop

Ecological

  • Down to 14 elephant seals on Great Race today.
  • Lots of sea lions on the rocks near the derrick.

Maintenance

  • Glued the edge of the desalinator bunker door back on.
  • Cleaned the solar panels.

Boats

  • Between 15-20 eco-tours came into the reserve today; I lost count.
  • Most of them appeared to be too close to the sea lions at one point or another.
  • Once there were 4 eco-tours in the reserve at the same time.
  • Another time there were 5 eco-tours within the reserve.
  • Two times the small Prince of Whales boats went THRU the South Channel.
  • When marine mammals are present, this channel is too narrow for boats to pass through (the minimum distance for boats viewing marine mammals is 100 metres!)
  • Both times there were many sea lions present, including several that were already swimming in the channel or near the entrances.
  • Most of the sea lions were at the right hand entrance to the channel. Unfortunately both times the boat had already passed thru that entrance before I could get a photo.
  • I did get some photos of one PoW boat in the middle of the channel, and exiting it.
  • Several pleasure craft passed through the reserve as well, including a sail boat that was towing a smaller boat (reminiscent of motorhomes that tow cars).
  • I wasn’t able to get photos of all these boats, as I didn’t always have the camera on me. I also accidentally deleted a few photos.

 

New Tiny Elephant Seal

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 0-5 knots SW
  • Sky: overcast in the morning, sunny all day!
  • Water: calm
  • Beautiful day!

Ecological

  • Saw a California sea lion branded U33 (perhaps U?33)
  • 16 elephant seals on Great Race today.
  • A very tiny seal (though weaner sized, based on its coat a yearling) spent the afternoon on the rocks near the jetty.
  • It had very little interaction with the bigger elephant seals, and then it swam away.
  • 3 elephant seals on Middle Rock.
  • Saw a hummingbird today.

Brand U33

Maintenance

  • Painting.
  • Ran the desalinator.

Boats

  • Many eco-tours came by today. At least 10.
  • Some of them appeared to be too close to the sea lions near the derrick.

Black Oystercatcher Nest!

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 25-30 knots West in the morning
  • The rest of the day 15 knots West.
  • Sky: overcast
  • Water: 2′ chop

Ecological

  • Finally discovered a Black Oystercatcher nest!
  • 2 eggs are inside the “nest”.
  • Their nests are made of rocks and shells.
  • Census day.
  • I don’t seem to see any Black Turnstones or Surfbirds anymore.
  • Also less Bald Eagles.
  • And the Otter has been gone for a while.
  1. Harbour Seals: 117
  2. Northern Sea Lions: 32
  3. California Sea Lions: 22 (one branded U 687)
  4. Elephant Seals: 20 (17 on Great Race, 3 on Middle Rock)
  5. Seagulls: 327
  6. Pigeon Guillemots: 114
  7. Canada Geese: 21 (14 resident geese, 7 stopovers)
  8. Black Oystercatchers: 10 (plus 2 eggs!)
  9. Harlequin Ducks: 8 (6 males, 2 females)
  10. Cormorants: 4
  11. Barn Swallows: 2
  12. Bald Eagle: 1 immature
  13. Savannah Sparrow: 1

Maintenance

  • Rust painting.
  • More thistle weed whacking.
  • You can cut them down like you’re the Queen of Hearts, but they grow back.
  • Cleaned the solar panels.

Boats

  • Four or so eco-tours came by today.

A Visitor From Afar

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Weather

  • Visibility: 10-15 miles today. At times quite hazy.
  • Wind: 15-25 knots West
  • Sky: clear and sunny
  • Water: 1′ chop

Ecological

  • Conducted a census today.
  • Found a tiny dead harbour seal on the rocks.
  • A flock of geese arrived in the late afternoon.
  1. Harbour Seals: 91
  2. Northern Sea Lions: 35
  3. Elephant Seals: 22 (17 on Great Race, 5 on Middle Rock)
  4. California Sea Lions: 20
  5. Seagulls: 275
  6. Pigeon Guillemots: 130
  7. Canada Geese: 20! (although for much of the day only 10)
  8. Black Oystercatchers: 8
  9. Harlequin Ducks: 3 (2 females, 1 male)
  10. Cormorants: 2
  11. Bald Eagle: 1
  12. Rock Sandpiper: 1
  13. Unidentified large bird on Middle Rock; Owl?: 1

Maintenance

  • Removed lots of algae from the boat house.
  • (Re)discovered that the pressure washer does not work.

Boats

  • About 4 eco-tours came by today.
  • Chris dropped off and picked up my friend Greg O’.

Visitors

  • Greg O’, the tree scientist of Vernon, came by in the afternoon for a 3 hour visit!

Greg O come for a visit!

Other

  • A couple of big DND blasts in the afternoon.

Marine Sciences Field Exam

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 5-10 knots West, in the evening up to 20.
  • Sky: clear
  • Water: calm

Ecological

  • The 15 elephant seals were slower down to the water today, perhaps due to the influx of students.
  • One California Sea Lion spent most of the exam at the end of the jetty, unfazed by all the activity going on. Quite unusual for a sea lion!
  • All manner of barnacle, shell creatures, and algae plant things were examined today by the Pearson College students.

Visitors!

  • Approximately 30 folk from Pearson College made their way out to Race Rocks today.
  • This included Laura Verhegge who was running the Marine Sciences field exam, Johanna who was observing Pearson’s instruction techniques, one 2nd year student, one alumni, Chris, and 25 or so students.
  • The first group arrived at 8:15, the final group left at about 12:15.

Maintenance/Chores

  • Weed whacking.
  • Algicide application. Photo shows before scrubbing.
  • Safety observation and hosting of students during exam.
  • Ran the desalinator.

Algae before

Boats

  • The Ocean River Kayak Discovery Shuttle and Haiaku each took two trips of students to and from Race Rocks.
  • On the return voyage the tide was very low, and the sea lions were in the way, so the shuttle boat “docked” against the rocks on the NE part of Great Race.
  • At least 4 eco-tours came by the reserve today.
  • Saw a nice red sailed sailboat to the north of the reserve.
  • One boat spent much of the day fishing on the edge of the reserve.

Strong Gale

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 0-5 knots W in the morning, by 14:00 it had jumped to 40+ knots.
  • The highest reading I saw was 48 knots, which is no longer a “strong gale” but a “storm”.
  • Sky: clear in the morning, dark clouds by evening.
  • Water: initially calm, but the wind kicked up massive waves!
  • Forecast: looks like more gale tomorrow.

48 knots winds! stormy waters!

Ecological

  • 15 elephant seals on Great Race.
  • A few California Sea Lions on the jetty today.
  • One lone crane fly was attached to a window for the second day straight. The gale blew it away.
  • The same elephant seal who blocked me outside yesterday tried the same trick again! Only this time I was already inside, so I wisely used a different door.

Maintenance

  • Goose work.
  • Weed eating. Or “whacking” if you prefer.

Boats

  • 6 eco-tours today.
  • 1 small pleasure craft had what appeared to be a family with young children fishing in the reserve. They departed very quickly before I could identify their boat, perhaps realizing their mistake independent of me?

 

SUP’ers and Census

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 0-5 knots South in the morning, 15 knots West in the evening
  • Sky: clear and sunny
  • Water: calm

Ecological

  • Conducted a census.
  • Surprised I didn’t see any Black Turnstones today.
  • Saw one Northern sea lion branded 524R.
  1. Northern Sea Lions: 93
  2. California Sea Lions: 59
  3. Elephant Seals: 20 (15 on Great Race. 5 on Middle Rock)
  4. Harbour Seals: 6
  5. Seagulls: 355
  6. Pigeon Guillemots: 101
  7. Canada Geese: 18
  8. Black Oystercatchers: 10
  9. Harlequin Ducks: 6 (5 male, 1 female)
  10. Cormorants: 4
  11. Bald Eagles: 4 (1 adult, 3 immature)
  12. Rock Sandpipers: 2
  13. Crow: 1

Maintenance

  • Cleaned more exterior windows.
  • More goose work.

Boats

  • 12 eco-tours today!
  • Some of them appeared to get too close to the sea lions.
  • Three uninvited SUP’ers (stand up paddle boarders) came by Great Race today.
  • After a short rest and a quick chat I sent them on their way again.

Other

  • Five DND blasts today.
  • Two medium blasts at 10:13 and 10:15.
  • One big blast at 10:17.
  • Two medium blasts at around 12:10.

Windy Census Day

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15+ miles
  • Wind: 15-20 knots West in the morning, 25-30 after noon.
  • Sky: Sunny with clouds.
  • Water: 1′ chop
  • Expect the wind to keep it up for a while.

Ecological

  • Conducted a census today.
  • I suspect that the high winds have kept away certain species of birds, making today’s list less impressive.
  1. Harbour Seals: 91
  2. Northern Sea Lions: 47
  3. California Sea Lions: 27
  4. Elephant Seals: 19 (15 on Great Race, 4 on Middle Rock)
  5. Seagulls: 314
  6. Pigeon Guillemots: 108
  7. Surfbirds: 39
  8. Canada Geese: 18
  9. Black Turnstones: 14
  10. Black Oystercatchers: 10
  11. Rock Sandpipers: 3
  12. Bald Eagles: 3 (2 adult, 1 immature)
  13. Savannah Sparrows: 2
  14. Harlequin Ducks: 2 (1 male, 1 female)
  15. Cormorant: 1 (one seen on Turbine Rock)

Maintenance

  • Intended to spray algicide on various building walls, but too windy to ensure accuracy. Perhaps tomorrow if the wind dies down.
  • Started investigating the paint stock.
  • Some goose work.

Boats

  • No boats in the reserve today.

Cruise Ship and Sea Lions

Het Nieuw Amsterdam

Het Nieuw Amsterdam