Birds
- Bald eagle adult 1
- Bald eagle juvenile 2
- Turnstones 28
- Gulls, Glaucous and Western 31
- Cormorants 50
- Canadian goose 6
Mammals
- Steller sea lion 119
- Harbour seal 4
- California sea lion 101
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Northern Elephant Seal 3
Tag Archives: census
Census
Birds
- Bald eagle adult 4
- Bald eagle juvenile 8
- Turnstones 8
- Dunlin 7
- Gulls, Glaucous and Western 97
- Cormorants 45
- Canadian goose 9
- Crows/ Ravens(?) 18
Mammals
- Steller sea lion 132
- Harbour seal 23
- California sea lion 147
First Fog and Census
Fog rolled in on Monday night, activating the signal from the beacon. It’s a piercing set of three tones every minute, and a sound that I am very familiar with from hearing it often while at Rocky Point. I had been warned to bring earplugs, which I did, but I didn’t need them.
Fog roll
I was actually welcoming the fog for several reasons. Recent Eco-guardian Joan Rosenberg shared a tip about cleaning the solar panels when they were still wet with fog. Great idea! That made things go much quicker. There were also some things I really needed to get to on the computer, but when the weather is good, I want to be out looking around. The panels got cleaned, but the fog cleared fairly early, so things that should be done are still waiting.
The fog clearing definitely made my planned census today possible. Here is my report:
Census
Mammals
Humpback Whale: 1
Elephant Seal: 1 male
Returning from his daily swim.
Harbour Seal: 191 including several pups
Steller’s Sea Lion: 27
Steller’s and California Sea Lions
California Sea Lion 23
California Sea Lions
Birds
Black Oystercatcher: 8
Killdeer: 2
Black Turnstone: 21
Surfbird: 1
Rhinoceros Auklet: 5
Common Murre: 1
Heermann’s Gull: 1
California Gull: 700 (mostly early morning, although some lingered through the day)
Glaucous winged Gull: 655 (by clicker–highest count for me so far)
Pelagic Cormorant: 5
Double-crested Cormorant: 4
Bald Eagle: 1
Song Sparrow: 1
Brown-headed Cowbird: 1
Unidentified passerine: 1 (right as the sun set, the bird flew in east of the lighthouse, but I couldn’t relocate it. I’ll be checking the area in the morning!
Facility Work: Solar panels and windows cleaned. Greg came by with a load of diesel. Arriving California Sea Lions prompted check and minor fixes to the fencing. We also topped up all of the batteries with distilled water.
Battery bank. 24 needing juice!
Vessel Traffic: Ecotourism was big today with as many as five vessels in the reserve at once. Estimate more than 20 came through today. No private vessels noted.
Another beautiful sunset!
Sunset
Weather – Current: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72
Weather – Past: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?
Census
Birds
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Surfbird 17
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Western Sand Piper 4
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Gulls, Glaucous and Western 191
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Many Gull chicks, unable to count without being disruptive.
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Cormorants 11
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Pigeon Guillemots 62
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Oyster catcher 11
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Ruddy Turnstones 6
- Black Turnstone 114
Mammals
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Steller sea lion 4
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Harbour seal 53
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Harbour seal pup 8
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Elephant seal male 1
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Elephant seal female 1
- River Otter 2
Census
Birds
-
Bald eagle adult 4
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Bald eagle juvenile 3
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Black Turnstones 6
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Ruddy Turnstones 3
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Surfbird 9
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Western Sand Piper 8
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Gulls, Glaucous and Western 110
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Many Gull chicks, too difficult to count
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Cormorants 42
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Pigeon Guillemots 74
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Oyster catcher 16
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Oyster catcher Chick 2
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Canada Goose 7
Mammals
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Steller sea lion 8
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Harbour seal 117
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Harbour seal pup 19
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California sea lion 3
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Elephant seal male 1
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Elephant seal female 1
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Sea otter 1
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River otter 1
Census
- Bald eagle adult 4
- Bald eagle juvenile 3
- Gulls, Glaucous and Western, Adult 97
- Gulls, chicks …. many, but unable to count without being disruptive
- Cormorants 8
- Pigeon Guillemots 53
- Oyster catcher 28
- Canadian goose 8 (including possible goslings, they are big and hard to tell from a distance)
- Sparrows 4
- Surf Birds 14 (on outer rocks, hard to tell specifics)
- Turkey Vulture 2
Mammals
- Northern Elephant Seal Male 1
- Northern Elephant Seal 6 month old pup 1
- Harbour seal 143
- Harbour Seal pup 13
- California sea lion 2
- Steller Sea lion 8
- Sea Otter 1
Census
*Note, extreme heat, followed by very high winds most likely has affected this survey
- Bald eagle juvenile 2
- Gulls, Glaucous and Western, Adult 78
- Gulls, chicks …. many, but unable to count without being disruptive
- Pigeon Guillemots 18
- Oyster catcher 13
- Canadian goose 11 – including “goslings” as they look about the same from the tower
Mammals
- Northern Elephant Seal Male 1
- Northern Elephant Seal 6 month old pup 1
- Harbour seal 162
- Harbour Seal pup 4
- Steller Sealion 1
- Sea Otter 1
Census
- Bald eagle adult 2
- Bald eagle juvenile 3
- Gulls, Glaucous and Western, Adult 120
- Gulls, chicks …. many, but unable to count without being disruptive
- Cormorants 9
- Pigeon Guillemots 64
- Oyster catcher 23
- Canadian goose 12
- Canada Goose “Goslings” 7
- Surf Birds 7
Mammals
- Northern Elephant Seal Male 1
- Northern Elephant Seal 6 month old pup 1
- Harbour seal 162
- Harbour Seal pup 7
- California sea lion 2
- Sea Otter 1
Viewing from the Tower
Ecological Notes:
- I gave it a couple days to be sure, but it does appear that the last 2 elephant seals have left the island. Checked the outer rocks from the top of the tower as well. It was time for them to head to open water and regain the weight they lost during their molt.
(Photo from a previous day!)
- Only 11 sealions left as well, 8 California sealions and 3 Stellers. One remaining Steller is relatively young.
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- Some of the California Sealion hold outs
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- Juvenile Steller Sealion
DND events:
- Several loud blasts, but no boat sentinels or flags, so it looked like it was further inland.
Noted Vessel Traffic:
- 2 Ecotourism vessels, following all guidelines properly.
Feature Event:
- Weekly Wildlife Census is an all day event. Counting occurs early morning through to late evening, as activity changes throughout the day.
- Low tide is a good time to count Oystercatchers and surf birds foraging in the inter-tidal zone. Right now, I’m limiting walking around the island edge due to all the various bird nesting locations.
- The view from the top of the tower gives the best overview of the seal haulouts, surrounding rocks, and bird counts on the main island.
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- Better to count from above
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- Holding that last bit of rock as the tide comes in
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- So many pups on the way!
- Other than Oystercatchers and Pigeon Guillemots , it’s best to count birds from the tower
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- Although not in the reserve, Biggs Orca (also known as Transient Orca) were also observed from the tower today. Identified by a friend as the T46Bs
Weather Events:
- Other than a short early morning fluctuation, winds were consistently from the west at 10 – 15knots all day. Cloudy with a few sunny breaks and good visibility all day.
** All wildlife 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:
Census
Birds
- Bald eagle adult 3
- Bald eagle juvenile 5
- Turnstones 3
- Sparrow 5
- Gulls, Glaucous and Western 114
- Caspian Terns 2
- Cormorants 18
- Pigeon Guillemots 72
- Oyster catcher 27
- Canadian goose 15
- Canada Goose Goslings 7
- Surf Birds 6
Mammals
- Steller sea lion 3
- Harbour seal 171
- California sea lion 8
- Sea Otter 1