Tag Archives: Canada goose

August 17 – Weekly Census

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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

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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!

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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

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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

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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!

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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.

 

Blooming Biodiversity

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Weather:

  • Visibility 15+ NM
  • Sky clear
  • Wind 15-20 NE diminishing to 5-10 SE
  • Sea state: calm
  • Temperature 22.5°C

Visitors/Marine Traffic: 

  • A trickle of pleasure crafts outside of the reserve, 4 inside of the reserve
  • Yesterday a very small vessel came to the reserve with 3 people aboard. They approached each outcropping very closely, scaring the animals into the water.
  • This evening a boat with 6 passengers sped through the reserve. They passed the resting sea lions very closely, and sped through the passage where many were swimming and fishing.
  • On Friday Greg visited to work on the generator, and Nick came too
  • There have been large commercial barges steadily passing through the straight. Since the weather has been so calm we can hear them inside the house, even though they are nearly 8 km away.

Ecological:

  • The elephant seals have been taking daily soaks in the shallow water surrounding the jetty in this warm weather.
  • In the shallow and warm waters this week we have been spotting schools of small fish. The larger animals in the water seem to ignore them completely.
  • There have been blooms of jellyfish passing by in the currents, mostly water jellies and the small “sea gooseberries” which seem to glitter in the light due to the the tiny hairs (cilia) that pulsate to move them through the water.
  • A few harlequin ducks spent the evening in the reserve on Friday

Census: 

  • 16 Canada Geese
  • 8 Oyster Catchers
  • 4 Crows
  • 8 Elephant Seals
  • 300 Seagulls
  • 2 Cormorants
  • 2 Bald Eagles
  • 48 Sea Lions
  • 9 Harbour Seals

Sun, Census, Sea Lions!

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Weather: 

  • Visibility 15+ NM
  • Sky partly cloudy
  • Wind 5-10 knots N (yesterday was very windy, 35+ knots)
  • Sea state: calm

Marine Traffic/Visitors:

  • This morning we observed 3 kayakers in the reserve when we heard the hullaballoo of  sea lions rushing into the water. They stayed for roughly 20 minutes before crossing back towards Pedder Bay.
  • A few fishing vessels outside of the reserve
  • One large commercial fishing vessel from Vancouver passed by quite close to the reserve yesterday evening
  • Today we saw the large “Cable Innovator” crossing towards Port Angeles. This article state that it’s the largest of its kind (2017)!

Ecological:

  • Yesterday we spotted the beginnings of the first seagull nest of the season. They have begun to hover overhead when we leave the house and have become much less afraid of us.
  • The sea lions have started to venture further onto the island. They wiggle under the fence on the jetty now to make space for more. The stinky days are on the horizon.
  • The last remaining pup is not present in the reserve today. We are wondering if she has finally left her birthplace to explore!
  • We spotted two wandering tattlers today. We suspect this is what we saw earlier in the week, and not a willet.

Census: 

  • 2 Adult Bald Eagles
  • 120 Seagulls
  • 63 Harbour Seals
  • 23 Sea Lions
  • 16 Canadian Geese
  • 8 Adult Oystercatchers
  • 9 Elephant Seals
  • 2 Wandering Tattlers

 

Windy Weekend

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Weather:

  • Visibility 10 NM
  • Sky mostly clear, some clouds in late afternoon
  • Wind 15-25 knots N
  • Sea state: white caps, waves breaking at 1 m

Boats/Visitors: None

Ecological:

  • Things have remained uneventful over the weekend. The elephant seals have been settling in for windy weather and bickering quite a bit.
  • There have been two crows visiting off and on this week. They don’t usually stay very long and the other animals don’t seem to mind.
  • The youngest goose nest has two eggs today.
  • This nest has two eggs- the geese cover them when they leave the nest
  • Periwinkles in the intertidal
  • Remaining pup in her favorite spot
  • Stormy clouds moving in from the west
  • Today’s intertidal find: Abalone!

Business As Usual

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Weather:

  • Visibility 15 NM
  • Sky partly cloudy
  • Wind 30-40 knots N
  • Sea state: white caps, fast moving water, waves and swells up to 1 m

Visitors/Boats:

  • There have been no visitors to the island and no boats within the reserve

Ecological:

  • There is a new goose nest with one egg so far established in the middle of the island where the footpaths intersect
  • The young pup has seemed particularly inactive recently, and we have not seen her in the water for some time. Nick mentioned to us when he visited that she seems to have gained weight so we are not overly concerned. She spends most of her time near the jetty behind her favorite fence post.
  • The goose with an injured leg continues to limp around the island, but seems to be making do and there are no signs of deteriorating condition.
  • The eagle activity has been steady, aside from today with these strong winds
  • The seagulls are beginning to pull the grass and collect other debris for nesting, but no established nests so far.

Maintenance:

  • The generator is still out of commission, but we have been taking in a substantial amount of solar energy. Combined with the smaller generator contributing, our batteries have remained healthy. We are conserving water heavily until the new part arrives, as the desalination process requires a sizable amount of electricity.
  • Felted sea lion fur
  • Goose down clinging to rocks
  • Abandoned goose nest behind fuel shed
  • E103, “Erica” enjoying the sprinkle from a punctured fire hose
  • Keeping the solar panels clean