So… the fog horn went all night… when it was not foggy….
We let Coast Guard know and they told us how to disable it. So they will be back here in the next couple weeks to try again to get it fixed.
Today, did some organisation/cleaning of the main house.
We also saw the injured sea lion James and Christine noted in August, when we were doing our water sample. He isn’t putting weight on it at all.. but the wound itself looks a little better. Reported to DFO.
Ran Generator
Ran Desalinator
Chopped Wood
Water Sample
Whale Watching Vessels: 10
Private Vessels: 2
Weather: Clear Day (Visibility about 12 NM), Winds SW ~5Knts all day, Overcast, Rain in the afternoon
Today Coast Guard came back to fix the Fog Horn. It is very loud.
Scott chopped a lot of wood that will be stacked up in the basement for use in the winter. We also received materials from Greg to build the electric fence around the North side of the island. That will be the weekend project.
The sunset today was beautiful, and there were so many humpback whales feeding in the distance!
Ran Generator
Ran Desalinator
Cleaned solar panels
Chopped Wood
Water Sample
Whale Watching Vessels: 17
Private Vessels: 3
Weather: Foggy Morning, dissipated in the afternoon. Winds W Built to 23 knts, 12 C
Hey! We are Scott and Neha, the next Eco-Guardians for the month of September.
Bit of a whirlwind first day, we got paid a visit by the Canadian Coast Guard who were here to check out the foghorn that has been having some issues. They also sent an engineer to check out the lighthouse and dock crane. Had a nice cup of coffee with a couple of the guys, learning about different ways people work on our amazing coast!
We spent the rest of the day getting accustomed to the house and grounds and we are slowly introducing ourselves to the 800 + Sea Lions we are currently sharing the rock with. We ended the day watching the sunset on the top of the tower, joined by a couple of feeding humpback whales in the strait.
Today was so action packed I’m not even sure where to begin!
I woke up just after sunrise as I knew today was going to be busy and I wanted to get a few tasks out of the way. At 6am it was already warm out with barely a breeze. The ocean was glassy as I cleaned the solar panels – which were yet again decorated by the birds.
Around 8:30am the first group of Pearson students were dropped off for their marine science exam which was taking place here at Race Rocks. By 9am we had 46 humans on the island which is a lot after not seeing anyone for a whole week. Today’s tide was one of the lowest I’ve seen since being here and its neat to see the rocks and small islands that are usually well below the surface.
Halfway through the exam we had a surprise visit from Coast Guard via helicopter to continue working on the fog horn. Thankfully all of the students were safely tucked away working on their exams down in the tide pools when it arrived. This time they had a smaller helicopter so they actually landed on the grass next to the tower rather than the helipad. Overall disturbance was limited aside from birds leaving the area (but immediately returning) and the minor panic exhibited by me.
If that wasn’t excitement enough, we saw 3 passing transient killer whales shortly after! Once again, they were quite far in the distance but always nice to see. One of these days I’ll see them up close!
On return to the school, one of the boats found a deceased harbour porpoise floating on the surface. I reported this to DFO and the animal was collected and brought back to the college where it can be stored in a freezer until the DFO team and veterinary pathologist are able to perform a necropsy.
The afternoon slowed down once it was just me and the animals alone on site. Ollie was relaxing in the kelp beds, the sea lions were quiet, and the sun was toasty. I ventured down to the rocks behind the student house to soak up some sun when something shiny caught my eye. Partially sticking out in the dirt I picked up what originally looked like some sort of bivalve or calcified shell, almost something you’d expect to see on a tropical beach. Upon picking it up I realized how heavy it was and that it actually appeared to be man made, with grooves that seemed as though they would hold rope or line. My next guess was that it was a lead fishing weight of some sort or maybe a piece of similar equipment. I rinsed it off and sent some photos to colleagues to further inquire. One of the other Eco Guardians, Derek, helped me to ID it as an “open-end strain insulator” and it supports guy wires/cables by working under compression. Through a page on the Maine Historical Society website I was also able to learn that this porcelain egg like tool was made in 1900. How wild is that! I know this island holds more history than I’ll ever know, but never did I think I’d stumble across a little piece of it among the dirt and the goose poop. I’m going to have a read through some books here tonight and see if there are any photos or mention of it!
From the website of Collections of Maine Historical Society
Wow, okay I think that is everything for today! Race Rocks will never cease to amaze me.
…I guess I spoke/posted too soon! Shortly after publishing this blog post I spotted a brown pelican circling the reserve and figured it deserved a mention!
Additional info:
Ecotourism vessels: 10+ busiest day I’ve seen so far!
Weather:
Sky: Blue skies and sunny
Wind: High of 8 knots, Low of 2 knots
Sea: Glassy
Temperature: Low 8•C, High 22 •C
** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **
Wind: yesterday W 15-40 knots, today variable 2-17 knotsSea State: yesterday up to 0.5m chop, today up to 1 m chopVisibility: both days 10-15 NMSky: both days partly cloudyTemperature: both days 4-7 °CAtmospheric CO2: 415.60 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii) … Continue reading →
Wind: yesterday variable 1-21 knots, today W 2-31 knots Sea State: both days rippled Visibility: both days 10-15 NM Sky: both days partly cloudy then clearing in the mid morning Temperature: yesterday 4-10 °C, today 5-6 °C Atmospheric CO2: 415.81 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)
Yesterday morning, a new elephant seal arrived on the island. He has green tags on each tail flipper, D018 and D019. The green tags signify it was tagged at Año Nuevo Reserve, similar to the female juvenile seal here right now. Due to the website being down for a few days, I didn’t realize at the time the seal was the same one here for the last two weeks of December. The seal was also seen here for two weeks in April 2019. I reported the sighting to Dr. Patrick Robinson, the Director of Año Nuevo Reserve, near San Francisco in California. He reported back that the seal was born at the beginning of 2017, meaning he is now a three year old sub adult. Based on the photos I sent Dr. Robinson and included in the gallery below, he determined the seal is in great body condition but fur/skin is in poor condition.
In the past few days, the sea lions have been taking over the jetty, something they haven’t done in critical mass since the beginning of the winter. This afternoon, I finished setting up and testing the electric fence on the jetty to deter sea lions from congregating and damaging the railings and boat cleats. When I need to use the jetty to test the seawater or for boats, the sea lions need to be cleared off. No matter how slowly I approach the them, they only have one speed of getting off the jetty, which is stampede. It will take some time each day to maintain the fence from sea lions bumping it, as well as wind and waves.
Only one boat was seen in the ecological reserve, a Coast Guard rigid hull inflatable went through Middle Channel yesterday afternoon and stopped to take photos of sea lions on the rocks.
Sunrise from the top of the tower
Morning mountain view
The newly arrived sub adult male elephant seal
He has a green tag on each tail flipper D018 and D019
D018
The beginnings of the electric fence to protect the jetty from sea lions
Wind: yesterday 2-15 knots from E to N, today 3-10 knots from S to N to E
Sea State: yesterday and today rippled
Visibility: yesterday and today 15 NM
Sky: yesterday and today clear
Temperature: yesterday 5-7 °C, today 5-8 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 414.73 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)
The past two days have been sunny, which means the animals and scenery are very photogenic.
There was lots of activity with the elephant seal harem today. Overnight, the third mother left the island, after nursing her pup for 24 days. Her pup is now a weaner, no longer getting milk from her mother. The three mothers whose pups survived all stayed for 24 days. The last female, who’s pup died 17 days ago, left late this morning. After the male mated with her, she was either trying to get away from him or was chased down the path and out into the water by the boat ramp. The alpha male left for about an hour, perhaps to get some food. He’s been on the island the longest of any of the elephant seals. He hasn’t eaten or left the island since before the first pup was born on December 29. That’s almost as long as I’ve been here without leaving, except I eat three meals a day. The female elephant seals will most likely return to Race Rocks exactly eleven months after they left, to give birth to another pup. Stay tuned to the Log next December and January for more pupping season drama.
Now that there are no adult female elephant seals left on Race Rocks, the alpha male’s role has changed from mating with the females, to protecting the three pups that remain. The alpha male is most likely father to all of them, as he was the alpha male last year as well.
Three beta male elephant seals are still on the island. One left for about 24 hours and returned this afternoon. When he slid up the ramp onto the island, he appeared to look around to see if any females were around. Then, he headed for the oldest pup and put his mouth around it. He didn’t appear to be trying to hurt it because no blood was drawn. The pup was screaming. The alpha male came over and scared away the beta male. For the afternoon and evening, the three pups were lying in the grass about 10 m away from each other. It will be interesting to see if the pups interact with each other, as they have in previous years.
Some other interesting sights were a sea otter, two black brant geese, and a very bright Venus visible in the western sky for a few hours after sunset for each of the past three nights.
There were no visitors to the island in the past two days. Four pleasure boats and three tour boats were seen in the ecological reserve.
See below for photos from the past two days:
The majority of the steller sea lions are hanging out on the south end of the island, on a place called south seal rocks. The sea lions in the foreground of the photo are california sea lions.
This male steller sea lion has been seen here for the past month. I checked with a marine mammal biometrician in Oregon, who reported that this sea lion was branded 347Y at Rogue Reef, Oregon on July 17, 2013, making him almost seven years old. The smaller sea lion by his side is a yearling, between one and two years old.
Local members of the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue were doing training with the Coast Guard yesterday afternoon, just to the north of the ecological reserve. The buildings near the shoreline in the background are part of the William Head Federal Institution, a minimum-security federal correctional institution located at the mouth of Pedder Bay. The prison is one of Race Rocks’ closest neighbours, located 5 km to the north.
Mt. Baker, a 3,286 m active glaciated volcano, can be seen in the distance peaking above the clouds over northern Washington.
The colourful sky after sunset yesterday and one of the male elephant seals on the helicopter pad.
A bird’s eye view of the area worn down by the elephant seal harem for the past month and a half. The slide marks and flipper prints can be seen in the mud. The alpha male and the two female pups are visible. The oldest pup, a male, is out of the frame near the top of the photo.
One female and two male surf scoters
I saw a sea otter through the binoculars this afternoon. By the time I got the camera, I had lost track of the sea otter. Although I did see a pair of black brant geese. A sighting of them hasn’t been recorded at Race Rocks for almost five years. It’s hard to see them in the photo because they were quite far out by the North Rocks. They are small black and white geese with white bands around their necks.
A juvenile bald eagle perches on top of the fog signal.
Nine adult bald eagles keep watch on the south islands.
One of the beta male elephant seals takes a break from sliding out of the water at the boat ramp to converse with a california sea lion.
The beta male elephant seal let go of the male pup as the alpha male approached.
The older of the two female elephant seal pups lies in evening sun, with two little daisies poking out of the grass near her head.
Wind: yesterday 3-32 knots from NE to S to W, today 3-45 knots from W to S
Sea State: yesterday rippled with chop up to 1 m in evening, today chop up to 1 m, then rippled in afternoon
Visibility: yesterday 5-10 NM, today 10-15NM
Sky: yesterday overcast and rain, today clear
Temperature: yesterday 5-9 °C, today 7-9 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 414.11 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)
Results of weekly megafauna and bird census from Saturday, February 8:
9 elephant seals (2 female adults, 4 male adults, 2 female pups, 1 male pup)
169 steller sea lions
202 california sea lions
29 harbour seals
41 bald eagles (37 adults, 4 juveniles)
1 raven
19 brandt’s cormorants
138 pelagic cormorants
65 double-crested cormorants
4 canada geese
412 gulls (most are thayer’s gulls)
20 black oystercatchers
2 surf scoters
20 harlequin ducks
35 surfbirds
26 black turnstones
1 snow bunting
1 fox sparrow
Yesterday in the morning, three members of the Coast Guard came in a helicopter to do a routine check on some equipment on the island. The pilot phoned ahead to confirm the best place to land to try to avoid disturbing the animals. They landed on the helicopter pad. Sometimes they land on the grass at the base of the lighthouse. The Coast Guard guys were excited to see the elephant seals, which they hadn’t seen before. Usually when they fly into the lightstations up the coast, they see a lot of sea lions.
In the afternoon yesterday, three visitors from Pearson College came to the island to have a tour.
The only other boats that were seen in the ecological reserve were two tour boats this afternoon.
See the photos below for some views from the last two days.
Coast Guard helicopter taking off from the helicopter pad.
The sleeping california sea lion on the right was damming the water that was draining down the ramp by the boat launch.
Yesterday, the clouds parted at sunset after a brief blast of wind and rain in the late afternoon.
Double-crested cormorants drying out their wings
The elephant seal harem basks in the sun. The pup in the middle is the third pup, a female, which is the last one nursing. In a couple days, the mother will wean the pup and leave the island.
The first pup lies by himself on the east side of the house. Gulls and sea lions are by the shore in the background
Black turnstones sleeping in the sun on the rock ledge to the west of the jetty
I took this photo to make a note of where the alpha male was lying. Later, after he moved to the grass, I measured from the places where his tail flippers and proboscis were. He is 4.4 m long or 14.5′.
The smallest adult male elephant seal is on the path after coming in from the water. The scars on his back show that he gets in a lot of fights with the other males.
Surf scoter
The full moon rising in the background of the lighthouse at sunset this evening
We received a response from the scientists who had tagged the elephant seal mentioned and pictured in this previous post. They were able to share some interesting information about GE103, whom we nicknamed Eric. GE103 was part of a mother and pup interaction study, as well as the subject of a blubber biopsy study.
“Eric”, GE103
Juliette Linossier, a researcher working under a Fyssen grant at UC Santa Cruz/Año Nuevo Reserve, was able to tell us more about the early life of this animal and others. She told us that shortly after the birth of another elephant seal (GE338), there was a huge storm at Año Nuevo and GE338 was separated from it’s mother. The pup was stuck on the beach, and his mother in an protected elevated area. They called to each other for a long while, but were never able to return to each other. GE338 did survive but was nursed by another female in the colony.
The now ’empty nest’ mother of GE338 became attached to GE103! She nursed him, and stayed close to him and his mother, G9474. Thus, GE103 (or as we call him, Eric) was able to take advantage of more than one milk source as a pup; the two mothers even fought over him from time to time.
According to her bio, Juliette wants to investigate the link between allonursing and maternal cognitive abilities using new approaches. Using time-lapse photography, chemical profiles and other techniques she plans to look at variables such as maternal age, pup similarity, genetic connection, spacial proximity and more to further understand what drives allonursing in these interesting creatures. Thanks for sharing, Juliette!
GE103’s blubber biopsies were taken for the purpose of furthering the understanding of pollutants bioaccumulating in marine mammals. Read more about this subject here.
Many thanks to Patrick Robinson, director of Año Nuevo Reserve and lecturer at UC Santa Cruz, for helping us learn more about this work.
We left Race Rocks last Monday (October 30th), and hours before leaving we were surprised by the landing of a Bell 412EPI Coast Guard helicopter. They came to Race Rocks in order to replace the solar battery bank beside the foghorn (near the base of the lighthouse). We were able to get great video of them landing as well as taking off!
Unfortunately, as one can see at the left of the video the landing scared many sea lions off of the rock in a rush. Without knowing that they were coming we had no chance to gently move any vulnerable animals away from the helicopter pad. We were able to speak with someone at the college about this, and the Coast Guard will hopefully be able to better work with Race Rocks in the future to ensure the safety and comfort of the animals.
The pilot was kind enough to take a moment to show us around and allow us to take some pictures. He explained that a smaller helicopter could have been landed near the house, but the 412EPI’s cargo capacity (over 6000lbs) was needed to transport the batteries. The helicopter is powered by a Pratt & Whitney PT6T-9 turboshaft engine that makes over 2000hp (about 1500kW), and it’s made in Canada!
Loading old batteries into the helicopter.
Fresh batteries getting installed.
That’s not your regular engine!
We enjoyed our time at Race Rocks (a big thanks to everyone who supported us during our term), and hope to return and continue this work protecting and observing the fragile ecosystems and the animals within. Until next time!
Water rough, waves to half a metre with some whitecaps
Boats/Visitors:
No visitors today
The whale watching boats continue to decrease in volume, this month looks to be a turning point in their season.
Ecological:
We spotted the sea lion with plastic around its neck on the jetty last night, and today it was hauled out onto land between the helicopter pad and the guest house. We contacted DFO, and the entanglement response team will assess if it’s a job that they can do.
This afternoon we saw a blue heron, which we haven’t seen before out here.
Maintenance:
The Coast Guard visited briefly a few days ago. They stayed on RR for about an hour and did some maintenance on the fog horn system. Two people came on to land, and a third stayed in the Coast Guard zodiac.
(1) The entangled sea lion on the jetty.
(2) The offending material looks like it may be polypropylene strap, the kind used when packing and shipping large boxes.
(3) It looks like it hurts.
Working on the fog horn.
The coast guard vessel.
A large sea lion defends its position from the highest part of a rock.
A small seal in front of the boat shed.
It doesn’t seem to mind resting with the larger sea lions.
