Tag Archives: Canada goose

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

Bustling Wildlife

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Weather:

  • 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). 
  • Juvenile eagle on diesel tank
  • Juvenile eagle on power building
  • The gang
  • Moulting elephant seal skin and fur
  • The gulls continue to arrive for nesting…
  • … and defend their territory fiercely!
  • a breeding pair of geese resting
  • This one has a sore leg from a fight!
  • The youngest nest
  • Tag of the latest arrived elephant seal
  • Pigeon Guillemot
  • Sea lion with healing entanglement wound
  • Killdeer (adorable!)
  • Juvenile bald eagle perched on the crane

Sunny Days, Census

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Weather:

  • Visibility 10+ NM
  • Sky Clear, partly cloudy throughout the day
  • Wind 15-20 knots NW
  • Sea State white caps, waves up to .5 m

Visitors/Boats:

  • No visitors to the island
  • 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
  • Seals resting on a sunny day

April 13 and 14 – End of Shift

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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.

April 11 and 12 – Weekly Census

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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.
  • These lucky gulls won of the goose egg hunt

April 9 and 10

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Wind: yesterday W 0-26 knots, today W 11-38 knots
Sea State: both days calm in am and up to 1 m chop in pm
Visibility: yesterday 15 NM, today 0-15 NM
Sky: yesterday clear, today fog from 7:00-8:00 then clear
Temperature: yesterday 7-9 °C, today 7-10 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 417.85 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

The youngest elephant seal pup came back ashore, on the east side of the island. She is easy to identify from the scar below her right eye. She spent the evening and night on the southeast side of the house, where she spent several weeks in February and March once she weaned from her mother. Today she had moved around to haul out on the boat ramp and swim in the sheltered water by the jetty.

A new sub adult male elephant seal has joined the other elephant seals. He is a bit smaller than the other sub adult male that joined the last week.

Yesterday there were two visitors, Guy and Corey, in the college boat Second Nature. There were no other boats in the ecological reserve.

  • The youngest elephant seal pup spent yesterday evening and night by the south east side of the house.
  • A view to the south
  • Newly arrived sub adult male elephant seal
  • Pup practicing swimming in the jetty bay
  • Canada geese in flight
The fog signal sounded for an hour this morning, before the sky cleared. It hasn’t sounded for almost two months. The fog signal is (3) 60 s, which means three blasts sound and repeat every minute. The more detailed version is blast 2 s; sil. 3 s; blast 2 s; sil. 3 s; blast 2 s; sil. 48 s.