Tag Archives: Canada goose

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:

August 17 – Weekly Census

Posted on by

Wind: W 19 to 33 knots
Sea State: up to 1m chop
Visibility: 10-15 NM
Sky: clear
Temperature: 15-21 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 412.54 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

Last night after the sunset, a lightning show began. There was at least one flash visible per minute when I was watching from about 21:00 to 22:00.  According to CBC News, there were 1,600 lightning strikes overnight across BC’s South Coast: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/august-lightning-weather-bc-south-coast-1.5689195

Weekly census results observed today:
33 steller sea lions
45 california sea lions
1 sea otter
313 harbour seals
1 adult bald eagle
1 Canada goose
3 pelagic cormorants
1256 gulls (approximately 2/3 glaucous-winged gulls and 1/3 california gulls)
4 black oystercatchers
53 pigeon guillemots
42 black turnstones
1 american pipit

There were many ecotour boats passing through the Ecological Reserve today and only a few fishing boats visible in the distance.

 

The Animals Have Been Busy

Posted on by

Weather:

  • Sky clear, blue
  • Visibility 15+ NM
  • Wind 20-25 knots W
  • Sea state: rippled, whitecaps, small waves breaking at .5 m

A fun link! Our weather station data can be publicly viewed Here.

Marine Traffic/Visitors:

  • On Friday Greg and a plumber visited
  • It has been quite windy but we have continued to see 5-10 whale watching boats per day on average
  • Quite a few fishing pleasure crafts outside of the reserve closer to Pedder bay, but no issues with fishing in the reserve this week so far.

Ecological Observations: 

  • This week we noticed a pigeon guillemot carry fish into a crevice in the rock wall outside our back door. We are excited to keep an eye on it and see if it is nesting! We have continued to notice breeding pairs copulating and flying into/out of crevices around the island.
  • This week there are large amounts of shorebirds visiting.We have seen ruddy and black turnstones daily as well as the occasional sandpiper. The turnstones are particularly elusive and fly away before we notice them quite often.
  • An appreciated bird ID correction from Daniel: The bird which we photographed on June 20 was in fact a whimbrel and not a short billed dowitcher.
  • This week we have seen quite a few harbor seals with their pups swimming or resting on rocks. We haven’t seen any nursing, but they are still quite small (and cute!).
  • The goslings and two parents haven’t returned since we saw them leave by water last Thursday. There seem to be two more adult geese gone today. We wonder if the goose family left for the main island, as the seagulls have become very territorial and aggressive, or perhaps the geese are naturally beginning to leave as they do seasonally.
  • A steady increase of sea lions in the reserve this week. There are now both california and stellar sea lions, and a few younger ones mixed in with the huge stellars that appeared last week.

 

 

Goslings!

Posted on by

Today’s Weather:

  • Sky blue, obstructed by very thick fog
  • Visibility 200-500 m
  • Wind 5-10 knots SW
  • Sea state: calm

Visitors/Marine Traffic:

  • Today Greg visited to do some maintenance
  • One whale watching boat in the reserve yesterday
  • The occasional pleasure craft outside of the reserve or passing through

Ecological Observations: 

  • No seagull chicks yet, although most nests have 2-3 eggs now.
  • The oystercatcher chicks have grown incredibly fast, and are now approximately half of the size of their parents
  • One male goose who was injured by another goose during a fight earlier in the year is still limping. It seems like the damage to his leg will be permanent and while he is able to move around the island, he sits to eat and is too slow to keep up with the other geese. He spends a lot of time alone.

 

Glaucous-winged gulls nest

Posted on by

Weather: 

  • Sky partly cloudy (intermittent fog)
  • Visibility 15+ NM (less than 400 m this morning)
  • Wind 15-20 knots W
  • Sea state: calm, rippled

Marine Traffic: A few eco-tourism vessels over the past few days. One approached extremely close to the sea lions today.

Ecological: 

  • The five goslings seem to have been eaten by another animal, perhaps eagles. We have not been able to spot them in two days, since we had a very stormy night. We found one gosling deceased near our back steps following the overnight storm. It appeared that it had become separated and could not survive the elements alone.

Beautiful Spring Day

Posted on by

Weather: 

  • Sky partly cloudy
  • Visibility 15+ NM
  • Wind 10-15 knots SW
  • Sea state: calm, rippled

Visitors/Marine Traffic: One pleasure craft within the reserve yesterday

Ecological: 

  • There are now 5 goslings between 2 nests
  • There are 2 oyster catcher chicks (nest on E side of island). They are too elusive for our camera for now!
  • The garbage brought to the island by seagulls is increasing now that they are nesting and laying eggs
  • Yesterday we spotted a patch of broken seagull eggshells near the guest house. Our best guess: the gulls are already looting neighboring nests for food

 

Stunning Weather, Spring at Full Force!

Posted on by

Weather:

  • Visibility 15+ NM
  • Sky clear
  • Wind 5-10 knots SW
  • Sea State: calm

Marine Traffic/Visitors:

  • 2 jet skis yesterday evening, 1 kayak this morning, 1 eco-tourism vessel yesterday
  • Greg today with supplies (thanks Greg!)
  • 1 boat inside the reserve fishing this morning- Greg stopped to remind them that they were within the boundary on his way
  • Many pleasure crafts just outside of the reserve boundary

Ecological: 

  • Consistent eagle presence as the seagulls continue to return, and food is plentiful in the water
  • The geese seem to be getting pushed out of their territory by the seagulls. The seagulls have continued to steal goose eggs when they get an opportunity, thus there are only 2 remaining nests with eggs. The geese have started to spend more time on the water, and often leave during the day.
  • The pineapple weed has been growing at an impressive rate! Most of the grassier areas on the island are covered by the fluffy foliage.