Tag Archives: Canada goose

Baby Geese

Posted on by

Ecological Notes:

  • 8 Elephant seals still on land
  • Sealions quite scattered, many just in the water today (maybe all the blasting?)
  • Gull “nests” being set up all over the place, no eggs yet that I could observe

Gull nesting spot

  • First Canada Goose hatchlings seen

“Follow Mom!”

Enjoying the sun

Facility Work:

  • Not all work has to by major – moved and sorted left over lumber, window cleaning, and fastened down the under deck

DND events:

  • 5 Detonations today, all animals on edge

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Outside the reserve, but the Atlantic Raven transited at 12 knots, 2nm south of the Race Rocks Lighthouse.

The Atlantic Raven

Weather Events:

  • Clear skies with slight haze, winds westerly 15-20 knots all day

 

** All photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

 

 

Weather – Current:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

 

Weather – Past:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

New Eco Guardian Arrival

Posted on by
Ecological Notes: 6 female elephant seals.
Elephant seal pups: Only 2 pups on land
Visitors: 1, and Last Eco Guardian departed … Thank you Rod!
Facility Work: More Painting, Water Tank refill
Weather Events: Cloud and rolling water.
Weather– Current: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72
Weather–Past:  http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

Canada Goose nest by the Science Building, one of many on the island.

Census

Posted on by

Ecological Notes  : After much effort to detour the Canada geese from nesting, I came home today to this Easter gift on my door step!

I have been Goosed!

 

 
Animal Census:

Birds

  • Harlequin duck 14
  • Snowy plover 0
  • Bald eagle adult 2
  • Bald eagle juvenile 4
  • Turnstones 22
  • Killdeer 0
  • Gulls 207
  • Cormorants 76
  • Pigeon guillemots 34
  • Oyster catcher 9
  • Canadian geese 12
  • Surf Birds 16

 

  • Mammals
  • Steller sea lion 51
  • Harbour seal 144
  • California sea lion 64
  • Elephant seal male 0
  • Elephant seal female 3
  • Elephant seal pup 4
  • River otter 1
  • Sea otter 1
  • Animal Tracking and Injuries: California sea lion.
Elephant seal pups:4 The pups are swimming at night and returning at day time.
Visitors:1
 Vessel Traffic: Two Eco tour boats One pleasure craft.
 
Weather– Current: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72
Weather–Past:  http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?id=72
 

Canada Geese

Posted on by

          Ecological Notes:. Canada Geese are nesting on the island. I found 2 nests this week but they don’t last long.  We have a river otter appetite for goose eggs!

Visitors: Saturday, the PC boat arrived to take my brother home before the forecasted high winds.

Facility Work: Battery maintenance day. Stacking wood for keepers house. Cleaning the outside of buildings.

Vessel Traffic: 4 Eco-tour boats, a morning fishing derby and lots of sport boats fishing vessels around the park.

 

Weather– Current: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

Weather–Past:  http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?id=72

Sea otter back

Posted on by

One tour boat today in main channel. Eagles all over the island. 1 sea otter off boat ramp eating sea urchin. Canada geese are claiming parts of the island. Bird of prey is feeding at night on some of the gulls. Perhaps a owl but I have not seen it yet. The leftovers from the kills are scattered around the island every morning.

A Canada Goose Curiosity

Posted on by

Weather Today: 

  • Visibility 10-15 NM
  • Sky overcast
  • Wind 20-30 knots NE
  • Large swells and some whitecaps

Visitors and traffic: 

  •  There has not been many boats coming through, probably due to the poor conditions.

Notes: 

  • The weather since our last post was very rough, we had winds of over 50 knots (about 100km/h) and some very rough surface conditions.
  • We have been having some equipment issues but we are back and have some great photos to share!
  • On Saturday we spotted an oddity – a Canada Goose with a mostly white neck. It really stood out from the rest of its feathered friends and it was a rush to the camera for us. We think it may be leucistic. Leucism is not one specific condition, and this ‘depigmentation’ probably has an underlying genetic cause.
  • We have seen a variety of eagle but most exciting was the bird about 20 feet in front of the house, perched on top of a freshly caught seagull!
  • On Sunday a seagull with a badly injured and nearly missing wing was around, perhaps the result of a predator attack gone badly for both parties. It was completely alert and walking around with the other seagulls but we haven’t seen it since and presumably it succumbed to its injuries or predation.
  • Canadian Coast Guard Ship John Cabot, an offshore fisheries science vessel, paid the area a visit. The vessel hung around for about an hour and looked to be doing something with a lifeboat, maybe training? CCGS John Cabot was just recently constructed at Seaspan Shipyards and was launched in July, champagne bottle and all, by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
  • Visibility has been erratic – we will have a census posted when first possible.

August 31 – Weekly Census and Shift Change

Posted on by

Wind: W 2-15 knots
Sea State: calm
Visibility: 5-15 NM
Sky: partly cloudy in early morning, then clear
Temperature: 11-17 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 411.90 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

Census results recorded this morning at low tide for the mammals and throughout the day for the birds:
26 steller sea lions
110 california sea lions
1 sea otter
290 harbour seals
1 Canada goose
7 pelagic cormorants
1,232 california gulls
251 glaucous-winged gulls
98 gull chicks
2 black oystercatchers
7 black turnstones
1 song sparrow

There were a lot of eco tourism boats passing through the ecological reserve today. An outrigger canoeist paddled through the main channel in the mid morning and again in the early afternoon.

Tomorrow is my last day as the Ecoguardian. Mara and Kai are returning for a few months. I have enjoyed being back on this wonderful island for the past 17 days, learning on the edge where the land meets the sea meets sky. Race Rocks is a unique place that couldn’t exist without the work of Pearson students, staff, faculty, alumni and volunteers.

Here are some sights from around the island today:

 

 

 

 

August 27

Posted on by

Wind: W 5-25 knots
Sea State: calm in morning, rippled in afternoon
Visibility: 0-15 NM
Sky: fog until evening, then clear
Temperature: 11-15 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 411.99 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

August 22 – More Flashers

Posted on by

Wind: W 9-12 knots
Sea State: calm in morning, rippled in afternoon
Visibility: 10-15 NM
Sky: clear
Temperature: 13-15 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 412.45 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

It rained heavily overnight, giving the windows and pathways a much needed cleaning of the built up bird poop. I have been able to collect run off water from the downspouts on the main house and energy building, which can be used in the pressure washer to clean paths and exterior walls.

This morning, two steller sea lions were spotted with flashers hooked to the left sides of their mouths. One appears to be the sea lion spotted over the past few days. The other has an identical flasher. The Marine Mammal Rescue Centre has been updated, as this makes three different stellers with flashers hooked to their mouths in a week and a half.

Here are a few photos from today: