Tag Archives: crow

Weekly Census

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The wind varied in velocity and direction throughout the day.  Fog settled in overnight as the wind blew between 15-25 knots from the southwest.  In the daylight hours, the wind blew from the south and west between 7-32 knots.  The barometer dropped slightly from 1008 hPa to 1004 hPa.  It was overcast with patches of sun and rain throughout the day. The temperature reached a high of 12.8oC at noon.

There was one whale watching boat seen in the reserve, in the mid afternoon.

I saw humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) twice today, both times from the kitchen window.  The whales were surfacing just south of Great Race Rocks, within the boundaries of the Ecological Reserve.  At 9:30am, I saw two humpbacks blow, surface and dive westward.  At 3:20pm, I saw one humpback surface and dive eastward.  I am not positive if they were different whales, so I counted them as two in the census.

Two branded steller sea lions were seen seen today.  76Y was a pup in 2002 when it was branded in St. George Reef, California.  443Y was branded in 2013, when it was a pup at Rogue Reef, Oregon.

Here are the results of the weekly census:

Humpback Whale: 2
Steller Sea Lion: 244
California Sea Lion: 216
Harbour Seal: 39
Northern Elephant Seal: 4
Bald Eagle: 5 (2 adults, 3 juveniles)
Canada Goose: 18
Crow: 2
Harlequin Duck: 4
Double Crested Cormorant: 61
Pelagic Cormorant: 142
Black Oystercatcher: 25
Gull: 411
Black Turnstone: 8
Rock Sandpiper: 6
Surfbird: 11
Savannah Sparrow: 2
Fox Sparrow: 2

A Good Day for the Birds

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As the sun rose, the wind and sea were calm. The wind picked up throughout the morning to become a moderate breeze with light rain and choppy seas during the afternoon. The barometer rose during the morning and dropped slightly in the afternoon, levelling out at 1014 hPa in the evening.

Eight boats were seen visiting the ecological reserve: 4 whale watching boats, 1 pleasure craft, 2 visits from SCUBA divers at Ogden Point Dive Centre and one boat from Pearson College to pick up Rikka, a student who was visiting for the last four days.

Maintenance tasks were performed today: chopping driftwood for the fire, daily seawater salinity test, running the generator and cleaning the houses.

Two crows were making their rounds on the reserve throughout the day. A juvenile bald eagle flew around Great Race at 0800, landing on Turbine Rock. An adult bald eagle landed on the high point of the South Islands at 1345 and took watch for an hour.

A bald eagle and sea lions on South Islands

A bald eagle and sea lions on South Islands

Animal Census First Sea Otter at Race Rocks

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Sea Otter in race ROcks Kelp Beds, photo by Adam Bird

Sea Otter in Race Rocks Kelp Beds, photo by Adam Bird on June 10/2012

Things have been fairly quite lately regarding birds and mammals here, though one of the eco-tour boats reported seeing a Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris) in a kelp bed on Monday! The percussive blasts from Rocky Point military testing range scared off most of the Sea Lions last Thursday and only a few have returned in the last couple days. A large pod of orca passed through and near the reserve on Tuesday. Thanks to Suna, Doris and Ishmael for the census.

Elephant Seals: about 10
Steller Sea Lions: 2
California Sea Lions: 2
Harbour Seals: 204
Glaucous-winged Gull: 246
Surfbirds: 18
Pigeon Guillemots: 108
Canada Goose: 13
Bald Eagle: 3
Black Oystercatcher: 12
Northwestern Crow: 1
Raven: 1
Sparrow: 4
Sea Otter: 1
Caspian Terns: 6
Herring Gulls: 20

Sea Lions are arriving

Aside

More and more California Sea Lions are showing up. There are about 10 on the rocks beneath the winch house as I write this. This photo however is of two Stellar’s enjoying the sunset after they cleared the rock of Californians.

I noticed three more Red Knots on the foreshore, and a corvus caurinus (crow) made it out for a visit. North-western crows are rare visitors here and I have only observed solitary excursions.

Work this week has comprised of painting the railings around the main house and walkway. We got the water desalinator working again, and some of the old computer equipment was removed from the student house.

Several dive groups have made underwater excursions just off the dock in the last week. We continue to see a lot of tour boats in the reserve.

This afternoon I noticed the first Glaucous-winged Gull egg in a shallow grass nest a few feet from my doorstep. I will have to stick to the sidewalk for a few months while the nesting and hatching play out.

Students end project week

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Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 9.1 ºC »» Min. 7.3 ºC »» Reset 8.5 ºC »» Rain 1.9 mm
MARINE LIFE:Still seeing fish balls but they are small and not as frequent as in the past weeks. Daily visitors are the usual gulls, Starlings,Crows,Black Turnstones, Surf Birds, Cormorants,Sparrows, Harlequin Ducks,a group of about 30 Black Oyster Catchers and the geese-usually 6 but every couple of days the 7th joins the group for at least part of the day. The Sealion population is still fairly low for this time of year as many of them have left the area since the last series of blasting on Bentinck Island.
HUMAN INTERACTION: Chris in with 2nd Nature to return Rosie, Ahmad and Jeremias to Campus. Garry out in 2nd Nature with guests also 4 Ecotour boats and 2 pleasurecraft through today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:19 PM
Good morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. 10 Miles »» Wind North 11 Knots »» Sea Choppy
Goodbye RR, thanks for our marvellous project week.posted by Race Rocks Relief at 7:48 AM
Good Evening
Temperature: Max. 9.1 ºC »» Min. 7.1 ºC »» Reset 8.0 ºC
Rainfall: 9.0mm

Our last evening on the island has arrived, we’ll spend it editing
the rest of our projects.
posted by Race Rocks Relief at 7:47 AM

West Coast Adventure for Women

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Tuesday, June 04, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 15.1 C  Min. 9.5 C  Reset 11.7
MARINE LIFE: Two Bald Eagle encounters today, one early this morning and one late this evening. The Gulls are very wary of any such danger to their nests and eggs. It appears we have a Gull nest on the roof of the science centre, the pair appear to be bringing material up to the old chimney, a most unorthodox place. The Crows have taken some more eggs, with a few cracked shells found about the place.
HUMAN IMPACT: Only one eco-tourist boat appeared today and no fishing vessels. The early morning fog that reduced visibility to less than a quarter of mile probably kept the tour boats away. Arriving at 9:30 in Second Nature, a small group of adults attending the week-long course going on at Pearson College (West Coast Adventure for Women) and their instructor Catrin Brown and Garry joined us for our morning webcast. The group stayed to the paths and respected the birds nesting areas.
Zodiac left and returned with supplies just after midday.
posted by at 9:12 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy  Vis. 5 Miles  Wind South West 5 Knots  Sea 1 Foot Chop
posted by at 5:42 AM

Recreational lingcod fishing prohibited in Strait of Juan de Fuca

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Saturday, June 01, 2002
Good Morning WEATHER: Sky Cloudy  Vis. 12 Miles  Wind West 11 Knots Rippled
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.0 C  Min. 8.1 C Reset 10.0
MARINE LIFE: Another beautiful day here, with quite a lot of marine activity. The Glaucous Winged Gulls are actively mating and nesting, being very defensive of their nests. Crows are harassing the Gulls, Oystercatchers and and Pigeon Guillemots, in search of an unattended nest and egg. One of the pairs of Canadian Geese on the Island are nursing their five young Goslings, despite the Goslings rapidly increasing size the Geese continue to be very protective of their youngsters. Divers spotted some large Ling Cod** around the docks, along with a healthy stock of smaller fish.
HUMAN INTERACTION: A lot of fishing activity around the reserve today, around 10 to 12 vesels on the reserve boarder actively fishing. Problems with both vessels motoring too quickly through the reserve and fishermen disregarding the reserve limitations and fishing around West Race rocks. Four eco-tourism vessels moved through the park today.
**Good news for the Ling Cod!! This note was just received from the Sierra Club:
June 1, 2002 Victoria, BC: Despite intense pressure from sports-fishery lobbyists, local Fisheries and Oceans managers have decided that this year’s recreational fishery for lingcod in the Strait of Georgia will not go ahead today as scheduled. In an unprecedented, last-minute move, regional Fisheries and Oceans officials decided late Friday to issue a variation order to the B.C. tidal waters recreational fishery regulations, to prevent the recreational fishery for lingcod from proceeding. In an unprecedented, last-minute move, regional Fisheries and Oceans officials decided late Friday to issue a variation order to the B.C. tidal waters recreational fishery regulations, to prevent the recreational fishery for lingcod from proceeding. The lingcod season, which would have run from today to September 30, would have allowed anglers a daily bag limit of one lingcod, a possession limit of two, and an annual limit of 10.
The commercial harvest of Strait of Georgia lingcod was banned in 1990, after commercial landings had steadily declined to 44 tonnes after a peak catch of 3,300 tonnes in the 1930s. Fisheries and Oceans scientists estimate that only five per cent of the 1950s-era lingcod biomass is left in the Strait of Georgia. Against the advice of federal fisheries scientists, the recreational lingcod fishery was allowed to continue, however, and by 2001 the sports catch was believed to result in an annual harvest of at least 30 tonnes. Friday’s decision to suspend the fishery will prohibit recreational lingcod fishing throughout Johnstone Strait, the entire Strait of Georgia area, and most of Juan de Fuca Strait.
“We believe that the vast majority of anglers will support this decision,” said Terry Glavin, fisheries adviser to the Sierra Club. “While we are encouraged by reports that there may be localized revivals in lingcod stocks, a full closure is the only hope that these precious fish will gain the time they need to recover to their former abundance.”posted by at 5:49 AM

Crows are harassing the Gulls

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Friday, May 31, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.0 C  Min. 8.1 C  Reset 10.0
MARINE LIFE: Another beautiful day here, with quite a lot of marine activity. The Glaucous Winged Gulls are actively mating and nesting, being very defensive of their nests. Crows are harassing the Gulls, Oystercatchers and and Pigeon Guillemots, in search of an unattended nest and egg. One of the pairs of Canadian Geese on the Island are nursing their five young Goslings, despite the Goslings rapidly increasing size the Geese continue to be very protective of their youngsters. Divers spotted some large Ling Cod around the docks, along with a healthy stock of smaller fish.
HUMAN INTERACTION: A lot of fishing activity around the reserve today, around 10 to 12 vessels on the reserve border actively fishing. Problems with both vessels motoring too quickly through the reserve and fishermen disregarding the reserve limitations and fishing around West Race Rocks. Four eco-tourism vessels moved through the park today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:33 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy  Vis. 15 Miles  Wind West 9 Knots Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:51 AM

–with the tail of the fish in it’s talons and the fish head bouncing off the water surface

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Tuesday, April 30, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 16.5 ºC »» Min. 5.7 ºC »» Reset 10.3 ºC »» Hi – Low and Totals For April »» Hi 16.5 ºC day 30 »» Low 3.1 ºC day 08 »» Total Rain 61.7 mm »» No snow
MARINE LIFE: 3 bald eagles( 1 juvenile ) With the very low tide this morning it was a seafood buffet for the birds and otters.Watched two determined gulls try to drag a large fish carcass that looked like a ling cod, out of water on to the rocks.They worked at this for over 20 minutes to no avail. Suddenly out of the fog the young eagle landed 2-3 metres away from the gulls which moved out of the way. The big bird had little trouble getting the fish carcass up on the rocks where it had a better hold then spent about 15 minutes feeding, all the while the gulls were getting more brazen, moving closer to maybe take back the fish.Not about to share, the eagle took off towards the southeast rocks with the tail of the fish in it’s talons and the fish head bouncing off the water surface several times before it was completely airborne. When the eagle had it’s fill the gulls and crows moved in to scrounge what they could.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 2 Ecotour boats and 3 Pleasure craft through the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:18 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Partly Obscured »» Vis. 2 – 4 Miles Fog »» Wind West 11 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:25 AM

Start of the Canada Geese

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-2002-04-02′, ’16:13:49′, ‘Good Evening TEMPERATURE: Max. 10.1 1?4C ?? Min. 4.0 1?4C ?? Reset 7.7 1 4C

MARINE LIFE: Not much activity this morning, the north wind was really cold but the afternoon sun was very therapeutic.While I was out picking a few greens the geese waddled over to see what I was up to, they are quite tame and a bit like puppies. As I worked my way along the garden they they kept up about a foot behind me.They enjoyed the carrots I threw on the grass and they spent an hour or so after I went inside, up in the garden scratching about for more. The small pond was popular this afternoon with the gulls and crows. The geese tried to join the gulls in the pond but the gulls squawked and took off , the geese happily shared with the crows and starlings About 14:00 a Blue Heron flew over from Pedder Bay and sat majestically on the east ridge of Gr. Race and is still there as the sun sets. HUMAN INTERACTION: 2 Ecotour boats and 2 College boats this afternoon with students for a dive with Chris and filming with Garry.

Mike and Carol