That’s it: we are invaded. Sea lions slowly crawled on the grass behind the crane and pretty soon they were all on the same crowded spot, side by side in rows. Amazing when you see that for the first time. Guy tried to fix a new wind wane and an anemometer but it was impossible the gulls were too aggressive. He had to submit. Maybe next week
The morning was relatively calm with west winds of 5 to 10 knots. As the day progressed wind speed picked up gradually. When the fog rolled in, early afternoon, the wind rose more and by 18:00, it was blowing the more usual, 25 – 30 knots. By sunset it had calmed right down to 10 -1 5 again. The sky was clear all day and the blue was even visible, looking straight up through the fog. The barometer dropped very slowly all-day and ended up at ~ 1014HPA. in the early evening. The forecast calls for continuing west winds increasing to 15-20 knots (strong wind warning) Sunday afternoon, with a mix of sun and cloud.
The fog rolling in past Church and Swordfish Islands (obscured).
It was another busy whale-watching day at Race Rocks and 18 whale watching visits to the Ecological Reserve were noted. There were many more vessels that passed just outside the Reserve following pods of Southern Resident pods of Killer Whales. The usual Saturday dive charter operator also worked in the Ecological Reserve. Three sports fishing vessels came through as well and they mostly respected the speed restriction (7 knots) in the Ecological Reserve boundary.
Race Rocks was again at the centre of whale activity today. A large Humpback was feeding to the east early and then headed west through Race Passage and then off to the south. Several groups of Southern Resident Killer Whales passed through the Ecological Reserve, through Race Passage and over Rosedale Reef, with the afternoon/evening flooding tide. One group of three to four individuals came right through middle passage passing within meters of the end of the Jetty. According to the whale-watching fleet there were animals from both J and K pods going through Race Rocks at the same time. Biggs’ Killer Whales also passed by Race Rocks through Race Passage also heading east with the flooding tide.
Chainsaw is the nickname for this big, male Killer Whale. Chainsaw is what we used to call a transient or T -killer whale. The Ts are now known as Biggs’ Killer Whales named after the late Mike Biggs who did ground-breaking, pioneering work on Killer Whale identification and social systems on the west coast. Photo thanks to Paul Pudwell.
The same three Northern Elephant Seals continue their moults on Great Race. There are no elephant seals left on Middle Rocks. The little, two-year-old, Stellers Sealion was joined by the one and only Californian, on South Islands and it was just as well they were hauled out with the Biggs Killer Whales around. The usual spots were filled with Harbour Seals at low tide.
Chunk chilling.
Lots of Glaucous-winged Gulls were seen mouth open and panting, to cool their eggs today during the intense sunshine. The Black Oyster catchers continue to incubate as well and Pigeon Guillemots continue to mate. The main nesting sites for the Guillemots seem to be in the rock piles just west of the jetty, west of camera five and in the surge channel southwest of the science house. There is also scattered guillemot activity around the perimeter of the island especially in boulder and crevice areas. The ten Canada Goose goslings left are at different stages of development but quite a few of them are getting flight feathers now and the black and white colouration on the head and tail (like the adults) is starting to fill in.
An interesting sighting today was an Anna’s Hummingbird, spotted by Alex near the Science House. Missing in action was the Sea otter, which was nowhere to be seen today. There was quite a bit of Bald Eagle activity early on and that might have an effect but I was also thinking of the parade of 25 whale watching boats that all made up-close and personal connections with the sea otter a few days ago and wondering if it was just too much.
The sunshine continues to provide almost all of the electrical power requirements for the island. There were no visitors today and chores were routine.
Today the wind continued its westerly path, bringing fresh ocean air in through the central Strait of Juan de Fuca at 20 to 35 knots. The sky was mostly clear, with clouds forming in the distance, along the tops of the Olympic and Cascade Mountain ranges. The barometer continued the climb it started yesterday until late afternoon, reaching almost 1020 hPa., before starting to gradually drop as the sun descended toward the horizon. Gale warnings continue to be in effect and the forecast calls for a mix of sun and cloud tomorrow.
Five whale watching vessels were observed working in the Ecological Reserve today in spite of adverse weather conditions. They all moved carefully and at a respectful speed being mindful of the marine mammals (Elephant Seal, Harbour Seals, Sea Lions, Sea Otter) and nesting seabirds in the Reserve. The only other vessel observed transiting the Ecological Reserve today was the Fisheries and Oceans vessel, Cape Kuper travelling at a discreet 25 knots towards Victoria, in the go slow zone.
Ecological happenings described in some detail in my earlier logs continue. (Elephant Seals haul out, socialize, sleep and moult. Other pinnipeds haul-out socially. Glaucous-winged Gulls, Pigeon Guillemots and Black Oystercatchers mate, nest, lay, incubate and get territorial. Mixed species feeding flocks (fish balls) attract gulls on the water and kelp is still growing.)
Glaucous-winged Gull incubating three eggs.
Of note was the sighting of Biggs’ Killer Whales (Transients) in the evening. I counted six individuals including a large bull with a very triangular fin. The two whale watching boats closer to them reported seven or eight individuals including a young calf. As often happens with T’s, as they used to be known, we spotted them a couple of times and then they totally disappeared. They showed up again, with the whale watching boats “in tow” a mile or so to the east.
Orca Spirit runs upstream through Middle Channel.
Here are the results of the weekly animal census.
Northern Elephant Seals 3 (Chunk, Floyd and young female) only on Great Race, none on Middle Rocks)
Harbour Seals 221
California Sealions 1
Northern or Stellers Sealions 1 (juvenile (Could be the two year old that was still with its mother earlier in the season (that size).)
River Otter (not seen but probably still here, fresh feathers in boat house)
Sea Otter 1
Biggs’ Killer Whales 6 (Transients) (Just north, outside of Ecological Reserve in Middle Channel near North Rock.)
Humpback Whale 1 (“Big Mama”) (Just outside of Ecological Reserve to the south of Rosedale Reef.)
Canada Geese 16 (= 10 goslings + 6 adults) (most have left)
Pelagic Cormorants 3
Double Crested Cormorants 5
Bald Eagles 1 sub-adult (no adults seen)
Black Oystercatchers 8 (4 nesting pairs)
Kildeer 2
Pigeon Guillemots ~100
Glaucous-winged Gulls total 457 (385 adults in nesting areas; 72 roosting/resting on Middle Island including 14 juveniles). Large majority of gulls are incubating now, although some are still getting started. No chicks observed yet
Alex and I came out on Second Nature last night with Chris. Christine and Guy returned to shore the same way. A big shout out to Chris for all his support.
There were no visitors and chores were routine, but more fun with company.
I had trouble with a temprarily unavailable log-in page when I went to to post my log blog last night, so am posting the two days together now.
The westerly blew throughout both days and fog obstructed the views. Yesterday it cleared after 4 PM and by 6 PM, thick fog had moved back in and visibility was back down to several hundred meters. Today it cleared earlier and stayed clear until sunset (at least). Wind speed both days varied between 10 and 25 knots over the course of the day and in varied direction from west-southwest to west. Yesterday the barometer went up to 1015 hPa from 1014 and then started dropping. Today, it was steady until noon and then it started dropping going as far as 1010hPA by 8 PM. The forecast for today was correct: strong westerly wind warnings, fog “patches” and sunshine. Tomorrow the wind warning has been upgraded to a gales and the rest remains the same.
Six whale watching vessels were observed working in the Ecological Reserve yesterday and today I saw three. They all abided by the rules and regulations more or less. Some boats/skippers may be used to pushing the distance limits but I did not observe negative impacts.
I was lucky enough to see Chunk ghosting around the island from the top of the light tower and it was a surreal sight. He started out in the surge channel in front of the science house and swam around anti-clockwise. If it wasn’t for his white scar, I might have missed him, as it was a bit foggy. He only came up to look around and make a right angle turn to avoid a reef, once. He moved elegantly with hind flippers sweeping side to side, ever so slightly and propelling his huge mass along at a good speed. He seemed to purposefully seek out the kelp and sweep through it. The pale grey, submarine shape shifted in and out of the kelp, hugging the coastline, in shallow water. How different this must be from his normal habitat offshore and in the deep. If that is what our Canadian elephant actually does. It would be nice to know where they go when they are not here.
Floyd as water watchdog.
I was glad that I topped up the freshwater the day before yesterday as Floyd decided to sleep right up against the freshwater tank-house yesterday and today. It would have been a challenge to get in and out to check water-levels with his head jammed in between the Diefenbunker and the tank-house.
The two-year-old northern elephant seals that looked so bad before moulting are now starting to look much better as their moult progresses. This one still looks a bit scabby but no more oozing and bleeding sores.
According to my favorite vet, Marty Haulena of the Vancouver Aquarium (Who else knows about such things?), “when there are deep cracks, bleeding and large ulcers it becomes part of a syndrome known as northern elephant sealskin diseases (NESSD) and that syndrome is not well understood though it is likely a combination of secondary bacterial infection, immune-mediated disease, and endocrine problems. It is most likely to occur in yearlings during their first or second major moult. If minor they can survive” Thanks Marty for letting me know.
These two have been moulting, losing weight and sleeping more and more since they arrived a couple of months ago.
Thursday was census day and here are the results.
Northern Elephant Seals 22 (including 16 on Great Race)
Harbour Seals 110
California Sea lions 19
Northern or Stellers Sea lions 25 (One male with a neck ring, one female with a two year old, is branded but could not see brand.)
River Otter 1
Sea Otter 1
Canada Geese 23 (+ 26 goslings, one gosling missing) (note one adult (non-breeding) taken by eagles)
Harlequin Ducks 0 (left last week)
Pelagic Cormorants 16
Double Crested Cormorants 3
Bald Eagle 1 adults, 2 sub-adults
Black Oystercatchers 10
Kildeer 2
Pigeon Guillemots 211
Glaucous-winged Gulls total 444 (436 adults in nesting areas; 8 sub-adults in roosting/resting area) Some gulls starting laying and incubating.
There were no visitors either day and chores were routine. I leave for Portugal tomorrow Christine will be doing the blog. Back June 7th.
Not surprisingly it was another day of westerly winds ranging from 15 to 20 knots. There was also thick fog almost all day, with only a few minutes here and there, with good visibility. The barometer didn’t do much and ended up where it started at ~1015 hPA and the forecast is calling for the usual strong wind warning and fog patches.
Five whale watching vessels were observed in the Ecological Reserve and there could well have been others, but I couldn’t see them due to the thick fog.
The demolition range at Rocky Point was very active today. There were some very large explosions, which when in succession, had the effect of scaring the Stellers Sealions into the water. The Northern Elephant Seals didn’t even flinch and the California Sealions became alert and then went back to sleep after a bit of barking.
Chunk returned to Race Rocks today after an absence. He seems to have itchy flippers.
Chunk looks older and wiser.
Chunk came back today. His absence has had me wondering whether he had met his fate in the deep or far offshore. I haven’t seen him since winter/spring 2014 and he is even bigger now. His unmistakable star shaped scar (the chunk that was torn out) is still prominent making identification straightforward.
Chunk fills the marine railway as he heads down for a swim. Floyd is lurking at the bottom in the water.
Chunk turns and heads up and around tank shed to avoid Floyd.
The interactions between Floyd and Chunk were interesting; Chunk tried to avoid Floyd, at one point rotating 180 degrees on the jetty ramp and then “hustling” up the ramp ahead of Floyd, who was also ascending. Floyd followed and Chunk went all the way around the tank shed and back down the other path to get into the water without an interaction.
Tagged Northern Elephant Seal female #5086 was spotted today. Her tag is getting a little worn, as is her flipper where it rubs. Earlier a male was biting her on the tale hard enough to draw blood.
5086F Mian
This little female loves chasing her own tail in the water.
Round and round in the water, chasing her own tail. You can see from this photo how loose her skin is getting during this moulting fast.
There were no visitors and chores were routine.
It was another steady, west by southwest day, blowing 15 to 20 knots, from morning to night and clearing out the clouds for a glorious afternoon and evening. There was just enough marine haze on the horizon to make a great sunset. This morning barometer gradually rose to 1016 hPA and then started a slow decline after noon ending up at 1014hPA just before 8:00 PM. The forecast is calling for strong westerlies to continue with a mix of sun and cloud.
Only four whale watching boats were observed in the Ecological Reserve today and everyone was on their best behaviour.
Ecological happenings were subtle today. More sealions are hauling out on Great Race including a few very chunky Stellers bulls. The California Sealions seem to putting the call out for others within hearing range to come and bark in concert. There are more birds mating wherever you look, the Canada Geese goslings are growing incredibly fast and the bull kelp is now forming a broad canopy even on the high tide. The gull bolus contents are shifting to more ‘forage fish’ bone content from the earlier strong bias toward chiton plates and the adults are feeding each other in practice for parenthood?
The Bald Eagles continue to fly in and scare all the gulls, geese and oystercatchers and it looked like they caught something today, but I am not sure what..
Chris and Courtney brought Second Nature out in the afternoon with two visitors from Scotland, (an alumna and her husband), and the two relief eco-guardians Guy and Christine who will be here for the summer. Chris, Courtney and Guy delivered diesel for the generator, using the derrick, barrels, a drum dolly and a fair bit of sweat. It looked scary to me but they pulled it off with aplomb and Chris said it is easier, safer and less risky than the old method, so that is really great.
My chores today were routine. I am going to post this now and update it with photos later in case the Internet goes down again in between. Must run and shut down the generator.
Again it was a day dominated by the west and west-southwest winds. It was blowing 30 to 35 knots at dawn but the velocity subsided and most of the day it blew 20 to 25 knots. Skies were partially overcast and as predicted there were a few showers. Air temperature remains low, and is not much different than flooding sea surface temperature at ~ 9.7 oC. ranging between 10 oC and 12 oC .The wind is also chilling and today had the highest wind speeds of the week. The barometer rose today from 1008 to 1013 hPa and is dropping now while the forecast calls for gales and a gale warning has been issued. Saturday is supposed to be mainly cloudy with a 30% chance of showers.
There were four whale-watching boats observed, working in the Ecological Reserve today. No other vessels were observed in reserve.
Female Northern Elephant Seal # 5086 is on day seven of her moult now and has made great strides in losing skin during the last 24 hours. She has achieved the two thirds moulted milestone and is still grouchy.
Black Oystercatchers are without a doubt nesting now and there are eggs in their terribly spartan nests, which have none of the comforts of home like soft vegetation or down.
Some of the goslings are getting quite large and although they may be considered pesty, they are still fascinating to watch.
The California Sealions are moving back onto Great Race and I awoke to a chorus of them doing a call and response outside my bedroom window this morning.
Thanks go out to Don Stewart for spotting and identifying an Anna’s Hummingbird on Great Race today, I believe this is a new addition to the species list here.
Another thank you to Rocky Point Bird Observatory for identifying a Yellow-headed Blackbird, another possibly new bird to the island. It has been hiding in the long grass and thistles near the base of the Light Tower and it has been difficult to get a photo fast enough. Today it flew to the roof of the Energy Building which made a photo much easier.
Yesterday was census day but it was too foggy much of the day to do a good census. Here are the results from today’s census.
Northern Elephant Seals 26 (18 on Great Race, 8 on Middle Rock)
Harbour Seals 228
California Sealions 14
Northern (Stellers) Sealions 26
Canada Geese 24 (+ 21 goslings)
Harlequin Ducks 6
Pelagic Cormorants 8
Double Crested Cormorants 13
Bald Eagle total 3; 1 adult, 2 sub-adults
Black Oystercatchers 14
Kildeer 2
Pigeon Guillemots 230
Glaucous-winged Gulls total 564 (556 adults in nesting areas; 8 sub-adults in roosting/resting area)
California Gulls 6
Common Raven 1
Northwestern Crow 1
Anna’s Hummingbird 1
Yellow-headed Blackbird 1
Chores were routine today. Courtney came out with the new switch box for Camera 2 and installed it. Camera 2 is working again now but a close-up study on diatom film. Don left on Second Nature.
The wind blew west 20 – 25 knots until early afternoon on Monday when it slowed, came in from the southwest and cleared out the cold, wet clouds. For the rest of the day, it stayed partially overcast with sunny breaks and the forecasted call for more of the same, with showers was spot on. The dropping barometer leveled out a bit Tuesday and the prediction is for continuing strong westerlies, which blew all day 10 – 20 knots. Wednesday looks like a wet one.
Monday morning was blustery and bristling with police and military activity on the water, all around but not in the Ecological Reserve. Only two whale watching boats were noted in Reserve on Monday.Tuesday only one whale watching vessel was noted in Reserve. There was a Pedder Bay rental with independent researchers counting seals and sealions. Tuesday, Second Nature arrived with a large contingent of support staff, maintenance, IT and volunteers. Tuesday was punctuated by military blasting.
The elephant seals were on the move today and yesterday. After a dawn swim, Monday, only half the animals moved back behind the boathouse, where most of them have been sleeping for the last couple of weeks. The grass where they were lying, behind the boat house, is a fried brown colour. Although it looks dead, it will probably come back after a couple of weeks like the other crushed and cooked parts.
Elephant Seal lawn treatment results.
Seven animals, including two females who started the move, found fresh, green grass right outside my basement door. Tuesday was a repeat performance except that we were also graced by the presence of a very large male. It was a short visit and I was too busy to measure him but he was massive.
This before the lawn treatment, the previous photo is after.
This big boy is luxuriating in the nice green grass.
There were at total of 17 Northern Elephant Seals on Great Race Monday and at least two individuals here Sunday that were gone Monday. My guess is that there is exchange with the group hauling out on Middle Rocks and that was reinforced by the big visitor here today.
California Sealions started hauling out on the jetty today.
Some the gull pairs are getting quite good at their acrobatic feats of reproduction which involve the male standing, balanced on the females back.
Chores were minimized Monday due to an injury. There were no visitors Monday and six staff/volunteers Tuesday. The men moved a tidy tank across the island, Max fixed camera 5 and did some trouble-shooting and Courtney started training Guy.
Thick fog met me at dawn, not the sleepy kind that coffee cuts through, but dripping wet, zero visibility, fog created through the convergence of cold ocean water and warm air. The fog retreated and advanced repeatedly before it was beaten back by high wattage sunshine. The westerly wind blew throughout, at 5 – 15 knots only rising near sunset to closer to 20. The barometer started a gradual drop in pressure late morning yet the forecast is for sunshine and continuing westerlies.
There were a few whale watching boats in the area mid-morning with two observed in the Ecological Reserve. Sports fishing boats were seen in the general area but outside the Reserve.
The elephant seals found the trek to seawater quite an effort today and some of them gave up for a few hours on the way to have a swim. Getting back up the hill was even more of an effort.
The tide is a long way out.
Observational efforts were focused in the inter-tidal and on the mega-fauna census today. Another really good tide (0.5m) allowed me to do a large algal survey and find more marine invertebrate species. I will share some of the invertebrates here and come back to the seaweeds tomorrow. In each photo, if you look closely you will notice smaller and smaller animals in a wall to wall competition for space or is it sharing of space.
Both the natural and human history at Race Rocks are profound.
California Mussel beds are ‘old growth’ and substantial on Great Race. The large area provides important habitat creating significant diversity.
Extensive mussel beds on the south side of Great Race.
A brooding sea anemone (Epiactus prolifera) with numerous offspring attached low on the column near the pedal disc.
The mottled sea anemone (Urticina crassicornis) is quite common in the low inter-tidal on the south side of Great Race.
This species of tubeworm, named after Vancouver (Eudistylia vancouverensis) is usually more abundant sub-tidally. Here in the high current area between Great Race and South Islands, it is common in the low inter-tidal.
There is a lot of gigantism on the Pacific coast but here at Race Rocks even the giant species seem even more abundant and bigger than I have seen them elsewhere.
The gumboot chiton (Cryptochiton stelleri) is an important grazer in the inter-tidal. They are very abundant here.
The Black Leather Chiton (Katharina tunicata) is another grazer and like the gumboot chiton grows both very large and is super abundant here.
Orange sea cucumbers (Cucumaria miniata) are really abundant both in tide pools and under the edges of boulders and there a lot of boulders on the south side.
Three species of sea urchin were observed today, adding the green urchin (Stronglyocentrotus drobachiensis) to the list. The green and purple both like to “dress-up” aka cover themselves, with shells, seaweeds and even bits of wood. Here they were using empty limpet shells in an area frequented by oystercatchers.
Green and purple sea urchins with a small orange nudibranch to their left (Rostanga pulchra) that usually lives on the red sponge Ophlitasponge.
Today was large animal census day and the results are as follows:
Humpback Whale (young (small) animal) 1
Northern Elephant Seals 34 (including 15 on Great Race)
Harbour Seals 179
California Sea lions 17 (includes brand U792)
Northern Sea lions 20 (mostly old males)
Sea Otter 1
Canada Geese 36 (includes 18 goslings)
Harlequin Ducks 8
Pelagic Cormorants 0
Double Crested Cormorants 6
Bald Eagle 2 adults, 3 sub-adults
Black Oystercatchers 10
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Black Turnstones 0 (none seen in spite of searching)
Western Sandpipers 2
Least Sandpiper 2
Pigeon Guillemots 148
Glaucous-winged Gulls total 607 (458 adults in nesting areas; 60 adults in roosting/resting area; 79 sub-adults in roosting/resting area)
Western Gull (hybrid?) 1
Herring Gull 2 (Juv.)
Common Raven 1
Northwestern Crows 2
Barn Swallows 2
Savannah Sparrow 6
There were no visitors today. Chores were routine.
The wind was less blustery today and blew a steady 10 – 15 knots all day from the west-southwest. Even the mountains took their hats off, after a partially overcast start to the day, cleared for glorious sunshine. The barometric pressure leveled out and started to drop, late in the afternoon and the forecast is calling for clear and windy with increasing temperatures..
Only one sports fishing boat was observed in the Ecological Reserve today and the people were looking at the sealions, keeping a respectful distance and travelling slowly in reserve. No whale watchers were seen.
The elephant seal moult continues and the animals seem to really enjoy their daily swim and tussle in the tide.
It must be a relief to be supported by water and away from the flies during the daily swims.
“Circle Sister” and one of the young males practice mouthing each other in the water.
A new raft of male California Sealions arrived today and hauled out in front of the science house. One of them was branded, and it took quite a while to get a good shot of the full brand, a very pink looking brand #U792. Sometimes you just have to persevere a little longer to get what you after.
All of the solar power means that the water tank is fuller than I have ever been able to fill it before. A good feeling, heading into drought season on this desert island. Speaking of sustainability efforts on Race Rocks, the new composting toilets seem to be working fine and the increasing temperatures will really help with the temperature dependant processes. I am considering growing a few vegetables and greens here, even if it is right against or in the house. It is so nice to be able to feed yourself with fresh food. I would wait a few years before using the humanure and get it tested but must say that the earthworms are making quick work of it.
There were no visitors today and chores were routine.