Tag Archives: Canada goose

Weekly Census of Race Rocks Fauna

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The wind was gusting up to 33 knots from ENE overnight.  In the late morning, the wind settled to around 15 knots from the ENE, and has maintained that throughout the afternoon.  The gale warning for the Juan de Fuca Strait was lifted mid morning.  The barometer dropped slightly from 1018 to 1015 hPa, between overnight to the afternoon.

Two whale watching boats were seen in the reserve at 16:00.

There were a few differences noticed while doing today’s census, compared to last week. There were not as many smaller birds seen today.  The elephant seals are not hanging out near the jetty, where they have been for the past few weeks.  They are now a few hundred metres west, on Middle Rocks.  The harbour seals were easier to spot because they were basking in the sun on the many small islands that make up the ecological reserve.

Here are the results of today’s census:
Steller Sea Lion: 430
California Sea Lion: 359
Harbour Seal: 36
Northern Elephant Seal: 6
Canada Goose: 37
Double Crested Cormorant: 12
Pelagic Cormorant: 41
Gull: 756
Black Turnstone: 1
Savannah Sparrow: 1

Jeff Spears is coming to the Rock to relieve me for a few days, as I head to a meeting in Calgary.

A Mighty Wind’s a Blowin’ for Census Day

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The barometer dropped all last night from 1015 hPa to 1002 hPa this morning, before it began to climb again towards 1008 by the end of the day.   The wind started from the northeast, but then switched to blow strongly from the southwest from mid morning onwards. The gusts reached 47 knots in the evening.

There were two whale watching boats seen in the reserve.

Once the fog lifted, the census was a bit easier to do. Then the wind blew up and most of the birds hunkered down on the leeward side of the island. I wasn’t able to positively identify all of the individual species of gull. Next week, I will strive to get an accurate breakdown of the number of glaucous-winged, thayer’s, california, western and heerman’s. There are a lot fewer gulls compared to last week, only 14% of the 3224 that were on the reserve last Thursday.

See the photos below for some of the noteworthy species and sights seen during today’s census.

Here are the results of the census:

Steller Sea Lion: 211

California Sea Lion: 404

Harbour Seal: 7

Northern Elephant Seal: 11

Bald Eagle: 1

Canada Goose: 24

Double Crested Cormorant: 14

Pelagic Cormorant: 56

Gull: 450

Black Oystercatcher: 18

Black Turnstone: 26

Surfbirds: 15

Dunlin: 4

Killdeer: 2

Savannah Sparrow: 2

Fox Sparrow: 1

A rainbow appeared as the fog was burning off this morning. Turbine Rock is in the foreground. The pot of gold is Church Point.

A rainbow appeared as the fog was burning off this morning. West Rock is in the foreground. The pot of gold is Church Point.

A savannah sparrow near the burial mounds by the marine science centre

A savannah sparrow near the burial mounds by the marine science centre

Another view of a savannah sparrow near the burial mounds by the marine science centre

Another view of a savannah sparrow

Black turnstone

Black turnstone

Black turnstone on the boardwalk by the crane

Black turnstones on the boardwalk by the crane

A male elephant seal barks and floats beside the jetty.

A male elephant seal floats and barks beside the jetty.

Sandpiper-like birds: durlin, surfbird and black turnstone

Sandpiper-like birds: dunlin, surfbird and black turnstone. Can you identify them all?

A black turnstone and elephant seal share boat ramp

A black turnstone and elephant seal share the boat ramp

Black oystercatchers on the rocks by the surge channel

Black oystercatchers on the rocks by the surge channel

A steller sea lion with the brand "966R." The "R" signifies that it was branded in Rogue Reef, Oregon. I will add more information when I find out.

A steller sea lion with the brand “966R.” The “R” signifies that it was branded in Rogue Reef, Oregon. I will add more information when I find out.  [Updated information from Pat Gearin with the NOAA: The Steller was branded as a pup at Rogue Reef, Oregon in July 2011.  It is a male and so far we have 9 resights from this individual, all from BC.  In 2011, he was sighted at Pachena Point once, and in 2012 he was sighted at Carmanah 8 times.]

Another view of 966R

Another view of 966R

A branded california sea lion with the brand "U596." The "U" or "C" depending on which way you look at it, means that the sea lion was captured in the Columbia River Area. It was branded in Astoria, Oregon.

A branded california sea lion with the brand “U596.” The “U” or “C” depending on which way you look at it, means that the sea lion was captured in the Columbia River Area. It was branded in Astoria, Oregon.  [Updated information from Matthew Tennis: U596 was branded on August 15, 2014 in Astoria. At that time he weighed ~193 kg. He was seen in Astoria for a few days following the branding and again in the middle of October. This is the first resight for this animal outside of Astoria. They have high site fidelity and being a relatively young animal, it is very possible he will be seen at Race Rocks for years to come.]

A group of steller and california sea lions get bashed by the waves on the south islands.

A group of steller and california sea lions get bashed by the wind and waves on the south islands.

The wind gusted to 47 knots from the south west during the late afternoon, whipping up big waves. The buoy that marks Rosedale Reef can be seen getting tossed around in the background.

The wind gusts reached 47 knots from the southwest during the late afternoon, whipping up big waves. The buoy that marks Rosedale Rock can be seen getting tossed around in the background.

lighthouse moonrise

The lighthouse with the moon rising behind

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

 

 

 

Musical Rocks at the Race

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It was another north-easterly day, with an ocean swell running up and down the islets of the Race. Although it was mostly overcast in the morning, periods of sunshine dominated and it was a pleasant, autumn day. The barometer continued to climb until about noon and then slipped back down, but not as far as yesterday’s low. The marine forecast is for variable winds in the morning and west Wednesday evening with periods of rain during the day.

In the pinniped world of Race Rocks, haul-outs are shifting around like musical chairs. Steller Sea lions are now abundant on North Rock, which in September was the exclusive domain of Harbour Seals. There is a small Harbour Seal hauling out in the jetty bay now and most of the California Sea Lions have moved to the south and west side of Great Race. Middle Rock, which had ten Elephant Seals, a few weeks ago, now has over one hundred Steller Sea Lions and five of the Elephant Seals have moved back onto Great Race. They arrived all wet and big-eyed this morning and moved in for all day slumbering. All of these pinnipeds make interesting sounds, music to their ears, I am sure, and they all distinctly different. More on that another day.

It is quite delightful what you can see out your kitchen window here. I looked out while doing dishes this evening and saw two large Humpback Whales to the south, just outside the Ecological Reserve near Rosedale Reef. There were no boats around, just the two of them blowing and diving, circling around in the same area, taking fairly short dives and showing their big flukes in a beautiful display of might and grace. The dishes were quickly superseded with the spotting scope and binoculars. A sport fishing boat approached, slowed and stopped a respectful distance away and just sat there taking it all in, for a long time. When they left the scene, they did so slowly, giving the whales a wide berth. I believe that this sort of respect insures a better viewing experience as well as protecting the whales. Earlier in the day, I stopped for tea and was just heading for my book when I looked out the kitchen window and saw this plain, medium-sized shorebird foraging with the Canada Geese. It was a Dunlin in winter plumage.

Dunlin?Dunlin?3

Routine maintenance was augmented with getting the Underwater Video Camera (Camera #2 on this web-site) hooked up to the Internet and starting winter preparations such as getting the furnace running. I had hoped to join the marine science class by boat for their kelp forest adventure but the swell and wind waves were a bit too large to launch and retrieve the boat.

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.

Cut and Recycle Plastic Straps

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Beautiful weather continues and today’s lack of fog and strong winds made it a really perfect summer day. The barometer rose steadily all day and the outlook is for more of the same.

Thirty-five whale-watching boats were noted in the reserve today and some may have been missed as I made a mad dash to “civilization” during the late afternoon slack tide. It is quite a process getting the boat launched and then back up into the boat shed but the good coffee I picked up made it all worthwhile. Back on the rock now with 600 sea lions and one Elephant Seal.

Killer Whales were within sight today, out in Juan de Fuca Strait, but not in the reserve and that was why there was high traffic by the boats, stopping by to see the sea lions.

I spent an hour this morning in the tower, photographing the tagged/branded animals that I have been recording. It is really nice to have a birds’ eye view of the rookery. Speaking of rooks, there were two ravens this morning. Until today I have only seen solo ravens. The evening bird continues to be a mystery to me, I can only describe the call as being high pitched and saying something like chee bedee be dee be dee. From the few glimpses I have had of it in the dark (not very good glimpses) I would say that it flew like a shorebird. (turned out to be a killdeer)

Common Murres and Rhinoceros Auklets are feeding in deeper water around the reserve now and today saw an influx of California Gulls into the reserve. The Heerman’s Gulls continue to join mixed-species, feeding flocks and forage on their own but I have not seen any landing on Great Race. There are more and more Canada Geese landing every day and they are eating every new little green thing that is not a thistle. Can they be classified as pest-like?

Another reason to both cut and recycle plastic straps. Three ring-necks observed today.

Another reason to both cut and recycle plastic straps. Three ring-necks observed today.

I photo-documented more entangled sea lions today to follow up on work being done by Wendy Szaniszlo, the Vancouver Aquarium and others. I observed two California Sea Lions ring necked, one is doing very poorly with an open wound and liquid coming out of it. It looks like a white plastic strap. The other may have already been treated as it looks and acts healthy. As I was coming into to land at the jetty in the tidal race, I noticed a Steller’s Sea Lion that was ring-necked. I did not get a chance to photograph it as landing here is already exciting enough by myself. I will look for it after chores in the morning.

Chores were basic today, cleaning and organizing, sharpening tools and almost completing the new fence.

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.

Animal Census

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Fog on and off since yesterday. West winds rising since the morning from 10 knots to over forty. More fog forecasted for tomorrow and 20-25 knot winds.

4 whale watching boats this morning

Animal Census:

710 Gulls*
15 Pigeon guillemots
4 Elephant seals
142 Steller sea lions
421 Harbour seals
8 Black oystercatchers
6 Canada geese
There are a large number of gulls because of the California gulls which make a large majority (~550). There seems to be a much lower number of Glaucous-winged gulls this year from last. I notice there are a lot more dead chicks, be it the evening visits from the otters or the bald eagles that visit several times daily. There has been no sight of Chunk since Sunday night. Currently there are two young males, a female, a stubborn seal that refuses to lie on its back. This stubborn seal was bleeding from its mouth pretty badly leaving a small pool of blood on the ramp yesterday evening. This morning there was still blood on its face though it seemed to be a bit better. Because the bleeding was perpetual I assume it is more than a simple abrasion but I cannot see the wound well enough to be sure.
Several blasts have gone off on DND land this morning and yesterday.
Some sea lions have started using the jetty as a resting spot so I started putting up the electric fence.

 

Angry birds

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Clear skies. Moderate to strong West wind. Force 5.
The barometer has levelled out around 1007.0 hPa. The forecast is for the moderate to strong West winds to continue.
Big tides and currents these past few days: Low tide is 0.3m and high tide is 2.3m today, and the current is running -6.1kn and +5.6kn.

17 tour boats
6 recreational boats
3 boats fishing on the edge of the reserve

There could be two Cackling geese on the island, or it might just be two small, scruffy Canada Geese, it’s pretty hard to tell. I saw a Canada goose attack a Gull today and break the Gulls wing. I also saw a Gull chase a Canada Goose away from its nest. Lots of antagonistic birds with all this nesting. Judging by the disaster that I have to wash off the solar panels every day, the Gulls are capitalizing on these low tides and catching lots of small fish. I find entire fish skeletons and lots of scales among all the poop on the solar panels. The Elephant seals spent most of the day in the water by the jetty. There are 5 super fat and healthy-looking California Sea lions hanging out on/making a mess of the jetty. I saw the river otter sneak up from the water by the crane and hang out under the crane deck. I think it has a hole/home somewhere under the walkway between the crane deck and the tank shed. I have only ever seen a single otter, but I wonder if it is two and I just never see them together.

I will go as far to say that two recreational fishing boats almost wrecked on the South seal rocks today, but they probably don’t even know how close they came to doom. Two rental boats from Pedder Bay marina came ripping East to West between Great Race and the South seal rocks (which is about a 30m gap). It was pretty close to max flood with the water moving at about 5kn. By sheer luck, they both made it past the rock slab of the South Seal rocks, but I heard one of the boats bottom out on a rock turning around the South-West corner of great race. Thankfully that made him turn away from Great Race because he was headed straight for a very shallow, very sold rock that sits just below the surface. I reported it to the Pedder Bay Marina since they have asked that we contact them when their rental boats are in the reserve. Boating tip from Race Rocks: if there is a patch of ocean that looks like a river, with standing waves and whirlpools, go around it not through it.

-started spring cleaning the Keeper’s house
-pulled nails and tacks from walls, puttied, and did some paint touch ups in the Keeper’s house
-painted upstairs door frames in Keeper’s house