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
Day old goslings
Male elephant seal
This photo shows how much larger than the female elephant seal he is!
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.
A beautiful blue day (view from jetty towards esquimalt)
Plastic found in one of the seagull nests being constructed
The elephant seals leave these pieces of molted fur and keratin all over the island.
Bits of broken glass mistaken for food and brought to the island by seagulls.
“Thrift”- Armeria maritima
The weather station which sends wind and rainwater data to UVIC researchers
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
The elephant seal flippers move in extraordinarily human ways.
Coastguard defense vessel
Harlequin Ducks
Fish in the shallow jetty waters
A foil helium balloon floating in the current
Seagull nest with urchin shell
Seagull eating a stolen goose egg- they roll them down the hill to crack them open on our sidewalk!
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
We occasionally see a sea lion or elephant seal penis. We’re not sure why.
Example of erosion caused by geese on Race Rocks
Incredible clarity over Victoria this week. We wonder if this is partially due to reduced pollution emissions.
A view of the many scientific instruments on top of the lighthouse, including internet antennae and weather instruments.
The young seal pup near the generator building.
Port Angeles on a clear day.
Olympic Mountain Range over Port Angeles
Coastal Defence Vessel HMCS Brandon
Commercial fishing vessel at the mouth of Pedder Bay
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
Visibility 10 NM this morning, 15+ NM this afternoon
Sky overcast in morning but clear this afternoon
Wind 20-30 knots NW-NE
Sea state: white caps (.25m), fast moving ripples
Visitors/Boats:
Greg and Nick on Monday
Greg and Nick on Tuesday
Greg and a technician for generator maintenance on Wednesday
Greg and Nick this afternoon (Thursday)
Aside from this there have been very few vessels aside from commercial/shipping traffic. Today a couple of sailboats passed by despite the astounding wind gusts (all a fair distance away).
Ecological:
There have been 4 eagles in the reserve daily on average, both juvenile and adult. They typically perch on Rosedale Rock to our SE, but we have been spotting them on the webcam tower, crane, and diesel tank near the power building. The juvenile eagles seem to be more interested in Great Race Rock, while the adults tend to stick to the outcroppings. Occasionally they swoop over the reserve, prompting the seagulls to rise into the air to avoid becoming lunch!
The geese continue to protect their nests but no new eggs have been observed.
The elephant seals have settled to complete their moult, all in various stages. The remaining pup is still here, and spends most of its time on the jetty away from the others.
There is a sea lion with a significant head/neck wound that we have been seeing daily. It looks like it has been tagged by the Vancouver Aquarium, so we are wondering if it has been disentangled and tagged at the same time.
Yesterday we spotted a killdeer, a type of plover. We’ve never seen one here before!
Repairs/Maintenance:
We filled the underground cistern with sea water to be desalinated (pumped using the fire pump and fire hoses).
To maximize our solar intake we have been keeping the solar panels as clean as possible (when they are covered in bird waste they create much less power).
Two kayakers in the reserve yesterday- very respectful of the wildlife, well done folks!
One pleasure craft yesterday that drifted around the reserve for quite a while (at least an hour)
A few “drifting through” pleasure crafts/off shift whale watching boats sprinkled over the past two days
We spotted the HMCS Regina heading into Pedder Bay
Ecological:
We found another goose nest yesterday underneath the back steps of the main residence containing 8 eggs. We noticed that the nest near the desalination structure has been looted by seagulls and abandoned.
The seagulls continue to arrive and establish their nesting spots. There are roughly 50% more gulls this week.
Two juvenile gulls spent yesterday in the reserve. We didn’t observe them catching or eating anything.
Census:
92 Harbour Seals
87 Sea lions
11 elephant seals
8 pelagic cormorants
1 double crested cormorant
1 bald eagle (adult)
14 Canada geese
140 seagulls
3 black turnstones
2 black oystercatchers
1 black brant goose
The HMCS Regina
A cormorant taking flight
A young seal waits for mom to return (1/6)
2/6
3/6
4/6
5/6
6/6
An oyster catcher searching for snacks at low tide
A branded sea lion
The elephant seals have been soaking up the sunshine
A young eagle
Two kayakers making their way through race passage from Pedder Bay
Wind: yesterday variable 2-28 knots, today W 7-38 knots Sea State: yesterday calm, today rippled in morning and up to 1 m chop in evening Visibility: both days 15 NM Sky: both days clear Temperature: yesterday 7-13 °C, today 8-11 °C Atmospheric CO2: 415.81 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)
Today is my last full day on the island before the shift changeover. Tomorrow morning, Mara and Kai will arrive to take over as Ecoguardians. They were here last year from May to September.
I spent the past two days finishing up some tasks around the island and cleaning. I also took time to walk around the island and get a look at all of the incredible species, land and shoreline that make up this ecological reserve.
There were no boats in the ecological reserve.
See the photos below for some views from around the island.
The combination of clear water and low tide make it easy to see lots of colourful seaweeds, surfgrass, urchins and other intertidal species.
Two swallows were fluttering around the island yesterday. This one landed on the a cable on the winch long enough for me to take a photo.
At first I thought it was barn swallows, but then with the help of a field guide realized it’s a violet-green swallow.
The sun peering over the horizon at 6:20 this morning.
The lighthouse just after sunrise this morning. The moon, in its third quarter, can be seen to the south.
A thayer’s gull with a Canada goose egg in its beak.
Can you spot the juvenile elephant seal in the middle of the photo, amongst the group of california sea lions?
A beautiful sunset on the edge, where the land meets the sea meets the sky.
Wind: yesterday W-S 0-32 knots, today W-SE 2-17 knots Sea State: both days calm Visibility: yesterday 10-15 NM, today 15 NM Sky: yesterday partly cloudy then clear from mid morning, today clear Temperature: yesterday 8-14 °C, today 7-14 °C Atmospheric CO2: 416.33 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)
The lawn in front of the house got busier this morning with nine elephant seals, two more than yesterday. A tenth seal, the pup, was near the jetty. The two new arrivals have green tags on their tail flippers. One is a male tagged C887. The other is a juvenile tagged G512 on the right flipper and E779 on the right. I will update the information on age and past sightings when I hear back from the researchers. The green tags signify the elephant seals were tagged at Año Nuevo, south of San Francisco.
[UPDATED April 13: I heard back from Dr. Patrick Robinson, the researcher from Año Nuevo Reserve. The elephant seal with green tags E779 and G512 was tagged as a pup in February 2019, where he was born at Año Nuevo. This is the first time the male juvenile has been spotted outside of Año Nuevo, where he was last seen as a weaner in March, 2019. The elephant seal with the green tag C887 is a juvenile male that was born at Año Nuevo in February 2017. He has been seen at Race Rocks in the month of December in 2017, 2018 and 2019.]
There was one boat seen in the ecological reserve on each of the past two days, a pleasure boat yesterday and a sailboat today.
Census results observed this afternoon at low tide: 10 elephant seals (1 female pup, 1 female juvenile, 1 juvenile, 2 sub adult males, 5 female adults) 16 steller sea lions 91 california sea lions 1 sea otter 72 harbour seals 5 bald eagles (2 juveniles, 3 adults) 16 Canada geese 1 black brant goose 99 gulls (mostly thayer’s) 17 pelagic cormorants 4 brandt’s cormorants 5 double-crested cormorants 6 black oystercatchers 24 pigeon guillemots 7 harlequin ducks 2 surfbirds 5 black turnstones
Two eagles on Turbine Rock and a colourful sailboat passing through Race Passage.
Newly arrived juvenile elephant seal tagged G512 and E779
Green tags G512 and E779 on the juvenile elephant seal.
Newly arrived sub adult male elephant seal tagged C887
Green tag C887 on the sub adult male elephant seal
Black brant goose
Four elephant seals waiting for the water to come to them
Newly arrived juvenile seal exploring the boardwalk
A view from the top of the lighthouse this afternoon of the clear water of the east bay. A group of sea lions can be seen on the rocks.
