Tag Archives: DND blasting

High tides and winds

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Ecological Notes:

  • As noted previously, there was a drop in all animals and birds during/after the storm surge, but they are starting to return
  • No elephant seals have returned yet …. checking past blogs, this is not uncommon, but was still hoping there would be some here before I leave!

Facility Work:

  • In addition to weekly battery electrolyte top ups, cleaned the tops of the batteries and did an extra mop up of the floor
  • Due to heavy winds and rain from the north, and the old door still in place, the battery room flooded and needed a full mop out
  • After an initial clean out, debris is starting to fill the boat ramp area again. Many logs rolled right over the jetty!
  • Did a full strip down of the jetty electric fence for now

  • Sticking as close to the proper times as possible, daily salinity and temperature readings adjusted to get safely out onto the jetty

DND events:

  • One blast Monday morning

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • High winds kept boats out of the area

 

 Feature Event:

  •  As there are ongoing concerns about the battery readings, I’ve gone to a hybrid running pattern……. leaving the system on “Auto” to avoid shutoffs from sudden low voltage readings, but shutting off and switching to “Manual” when the batteries reach 100% to avoid extending float charges (sometimes as long as 4-5 hours extra.)
  • Consulting with  technicians on further adjustments and battery corrections

Weather Events:

  • Monday, December 16:
    • Sky:Bright overcast with small clear spots
    • Wind: N 20-25kts, dropping in the afternoon
    • Sea: rippled, wind against tide chop north of reserve
    • Temperature Low 4oC, High 8oC
  • Tuesday, December 17:
    • Sky: Foggy until mid-afternoon, clear and sunny to overcast, mix of cloud and sun by afternoon
    • Wind:NE 5kts veering E to 35kts mid day, back to NE 10kts  by evening
    • Sea:  3 ft swells mid day, large swells rolling into the jetty area
    • Temperature Low 4oC, High 9oC
  • Wednesday, December 18:
    • Sky:Clear overhead, some low cloud and mist in the distance,
    • Wind: W gusts to 50kts early morning,dropping over the day to 10kts
    • Sea:  2 ft chop, dropping to smooth by late afternoon
    • Temperature Low 8oC, High 12oC

 

 

** Any 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:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

unplanned break

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I took ill last week, and left the reserve for 4 days. The generator system was set to auto, and the island was visited once to do a fuel drop off and top up the generator tank.

 

Ecological Notes:

  • Although i reported little disturbance during the DND blasting, the last day was larger blasts on the southern most point, the by the next day, virtually all the Steller Seas Lions that have been hauling out on the north side of the main rock (next to the pier) have moved to the southern side of the main rock
  • Lots of juvenile and adult Bald Eagles visit each morning, actively chasing birds, while still scanning the sea for fish

Facility Work:

  • While eco-guardian was away, the generator was run on Auto. It manages the batteries differently that way, and we will analyze the results.
  • Fuel delivery to the island, transfer and topping up of the gen tank

DND events:

  • some blasting early in the cycle

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Ecotourism and private vessels

Weather Events:

  • Friday, December 06:
    • Sky: Overcast with light showers in the evening
    • Wind: N 10-15 kts, veering to NE by afternoon
    • Sea: rippled to 2′ chop
    • Temperature Low 3oC, High 8oC
  • Saturday, December 07:
    • Sky: Overcast with heavy rain squalls in the morning, giving way so clear periods in the afternoon
    • Wind: low S early morning, veering to W 25-30 kts during the day
    • Sea:  chop turning to light waves by afternoon
    • Temperature Low 3oC, High 7oC
  • Sunday, December 08:
    • Sky: Foggy until mid-afternoon, clear and sunny to overcast
    • Wind: W/WSW 16-37 kts
    • Sea:  light chop turning to high waves by evening
    • Temperature Low 4oC, High 9oC

 

 

Weather – Current:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

 

Weather – Past:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

Ecoguardian Change-over day

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FRIDAY 19 April CHANGE-OVER DAY
Sunny with brisk breeze. 7C NE 18/gusts33
6.30 AM Observed 9 Steller, 3 Cal plus two young (or females?) on Welcome Rock (near jetty).
Five Elephant seals. Gulls still at rest. Very odd to see no guillemots in sun from north window.
Early detonation on DND.
Housekeeping: The usual bath/floors/fridge. Wiped window casings and sills of new windows;
swept baseboards; cleaned light switches and cabinet pulls.

Animal Census and Blog

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The great weather had to come to an end eventually! Despite being a dark and cloudy day we lucked out with no rain and no wind.

I had 9 extra helpers for the animal census today, the Pearson students are extra observant so this may be the most accurate count yet!

No sea otters were seen today but the two new ones have been around the past few days. Still no additional elephant seals on the main island, just our solo male! A couple of females have been hauled out on the various surrounding rocks but none of come ashore here.

March 20th Animal Census:

Birds:

Oyster catcher: 15
Harlequin duck: 12
Gulls: 261
Cormorant: 62
Pigeon guillemot: 149
Juvenile eagle: 3
Adult eagle: 4
Canadian geese: 9
Shore birds: 10
Turnstones: 28
Savannah sparrow: 1

Marine Mammals:

Steller sea lions: 17
Harbour seal: 64
Male Elephant seal: 1
Female elephant seal : 2 (north rocks)
California sea lion: 20

Injuries:
Harbour seal with facial injury


DND Activity:

  • 2 blasts at 12:55 and 13:00. They did startle the harbour seals and the second blast sent a California sea lion fleeing into the water.
  • 3rd blast at 14:15 no obvious disturbance noted. 
  • 4th blast at 15:05 no obvious disturbance noted.
  • 5th blast at 15:08 no obvious disturbance noted.

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • One ecotourism vessel
  • One Coast Guard vessel
  • Three RCMP vessels

 

 

Weather Events:

  • Wednesday, March 20:
    • Sky: Cloudy all day
    • Wind: High of WNW 13 knots, Low of  SW 4 knots
    • Sea: Calm
    • Temperature: Low 8oC, High  10oC

** 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:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

Growing sea lion numbers…

Kendra – New Ecoguardian!

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Hello blog readers! My name is Kendra, and I am the new Ecoguardian here on Race Rocks, so I thought I’d introduce myself.

I grew up in Tsawwassen, BC and have been in love with the ocean and all its creatures for as long as I can remember.

My background is in veterinary medicine, and I’ve been a Registered Veterinary Technician for 8 years now. Much of the work I’ve done in the veterinary field has been marine related. It all started back in 2017 when I worked in sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation in Australia and got my advanced diving license. Shortly after that I returned home to Vancouver where I worked in marine mammal rescue with the Vancouver Aquarium for 4 years, and absolutely fell in love with harbour seals – who remain my favourite animal!

For the past 1.5 years I’ve worked for Fisheries and Oceans Canada supporting Southern Resident killer whale recovery before moving into a marine mammal rescue and response role which brought me all over the BC coast.

Marine mammals are my passion and I’m so lucky to be living here on Race Rocks, fully surrounded by them. I must admit that I am not as familiar with birds, but I am quickly learning as each day goes by here and I’m enjoying watching all of the different behaviours and mating rituals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 6th Animal Census:

Birds

  • Bald eagle adult: 3
  • Bald eagle juvenile: 7
  • Turnstones: 2
  • Gulls, Glaucous and Western: 74
  • Cormorants: 46
  • Pigeon Guillemots: 53
  • Oyster catcher: 20
  • Canadian goose: 4
  • Surf Birds: 3

Mammals

  • Steller sea lion: 20
  • Harbour seal: 44
  • California sea lion: 26
  • Elephant seal male: 1
  • Sea otter: 0
  • Animal Tracking and Injuries: none

Ecological Notes:

  • 1 lone male elephant seal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visitors:

  • 1 alumni for a visit
  • 2 guests for tour

Facility Work:

  • Gardening
  • Pressure washed the final bit of the jetty
  • Split lots of wood for fires

DND events:

  • 2 blasts March 4th at 14:30, no noted impact to animals but quite loud
  • 5 blasts March 5th at various times throughout the day, startled nearby birds but they quickly returned

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Ecotourism vessels, the same 2-3 seem to pass by each day

 Feature Event:

  • Transient orca passed by along the outside of the reserve but didn’t come through to hunt!

Weather Events:

  • Monday, March 04:
    • Sky: Sunny morning clear, 15:00 dark cloud and hailstorm!
    • Wind: High WNW 21 knots, low of 0 knots in afternoon
    • Sea: swells in the morning, chop picked up later in the day
    • Temperature: Low 0oC, High 5oC
  • Tuesday, March 05:
    • Sky: Bright blue sky morning and full sun all day
    • Wind: High of W 21 knots, low of SE 2 knots
    • Sea: Flat calm all day long
    • Temperature: Low 3oC, High 4oC
  • Wednesday, March 06:
    • Sky: Overcast, brief snow/hail at 10:30am
    • Wind: High of N 23 knots, low of E 2 knots
    • Sea: Calm, slight ripple
    • Temperature: Low 2oC, High 5oC

 

 

 

** 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:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

July 11, 12, 13, and Weekly Census

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Weather for July 11:
Wind: W 11 to 27 knots
Visibility: 15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 2′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 12-14 C

Weather for July 12:
Wind: W 18 to 35 knots
Visibility: 10 to 15 NM
Sky: Cloudy in morning, partly cloudy in afternoon
Sea: 1’ chop in morning, up to 4′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 11-15 C

Weather for July 13:
Wind: W 16 to 33 knots
Visibility: 15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 2′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 11-15 C

DND Blasting:
There was one DND blast at 14:05 on July 12 at nearby Rocky Point.

Visitors:
Greg and Bruce visited this afternoon to deliver 1,400 L of freshwater and a new first aid kit.

Maintenance:
I did the routine tasks of cleaning the solar panels and house windows, topping up the water in the 24 deep cycle batteries, fixing the electric fence, tidying, and maintaining the freshwater system.

Ecological notes:
There have been a lot of humpback whale activity over the past few days to the west, south, and east of Race Rocks. The whale watching boats have been active in the area. From what I hear on the VHF radio, they have been very pleased with the humpback viewing. I have not seen any whales swim through the ecological reserve.

I heard back about the tagged elephant seal, from the researcher at Año Nuevo Natural Reserve, in California. The juvenile seal, tagged H999 and K646, is a male who was born in January 2022. He was previously observed here and reported to the researchers on April 1, 2023. He has been moulting here for at least the past several weeks. He appears to be almost complete the moulting process, so he might be moving on soon to feed in the deep waters.

Weekly Census observed on July 13:
elephant seal: 1 juvenile (tagged H999, K646)
Steller sea lion: 3
harbour seal: 79
bald eagle: 2 adults, 1 juvenile
raven: 1
cormorant: 7
black oystercatcher: 6 adults, 1 chick (that I could spot today)
pigeon guillemot: 148
glaucous-winged gull: 387 adults, 120 chicks
surfbird: 12
killdeer: 4
western sandpiper: 3
barn swallow: 3

Photo highlights from the past three days:

Foggy day for an Animal Census

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The first foggy day in a couple weeks today!

With 6 new solar panels installed along with replacements to wiring that had corroded with the salty air this week, it seems the fog is barely affected our power supply which is amazing!

A couple DND blasts at Noon through the fog made even fewer animals around the reserve today.

 

Birds

  • Harlequin duck                                  5
  • Bald eagle adult                                2 
  • Glaucous winged Gulls                  527   
  • Cormorants                                      31
  • Pigeon Guillemots                             176
  • Oyster catcher                                    10
    • Oyster catcher eggs                   7   (3 in two nests and 1 in a third)
  • Savannah Sparrow                              1
  • Canada Goose                                     14
  • Barn Swallow                                       1
  • Crow                                                     3

Mammals

  • Steller sea lion                             10
  • Harbour seal                                 63
  • California sea lion                        17
  • Elephant seal sub adult male      2
  • Elephant seal adult female          2
  • Elephant seal pups                      3

 

Visitors:

  • Race Rocks Challenge participants
  • 3 contractors installing and maintaining solar panels
  • 44 Marine Science students visited to write their exam
  • 4 Pearson College Second year students came for a visit before the school year ends.

Facility Work: 

  • Fixed Compost
  • Taped off Oyster Catcher nests and made map 
  • Cleaned house
  • Filled water in batteries
  • Emptied and cleaned composting toilet
  • Cleaned windows and solar panels
  • Mopped basement
  • Organized and cleaned tool drawers
  • Fixed and rebuilt sections of Electric fence
  • Cleaned lighthouse

 

** 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:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

July 31 and August 1

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Ecological Notes:

  • The four elephant seals have been busy near the boat ramp with lots of movement to and from the water.
  • This morning, I saw four brown pelicans off the south side of the island.
  • See the photo gallery below for the ecological happenings from the past two days.

Weather:

  • Yesterday (July 31):
    • Sky: Clear, fog in evening
    • Wind: W 3-30 kts
    • Sea: Rippled in morning, then up to 2′ chop
    • Temperature Low 12 oC, High 18 oC
  • Today (August 1):
    • Sky: Fog overnight, then partly cloudy at 07:30
    • Wind: W 18-35 kts
    • Sea: up to 3′ moderate
    • Temperature Low 12 oC, High 21 oC

Visitors:

  • Abi and Jeremias, the two volunteers

Facility Work:

  • Scrubbed and squeegeed solar panels, routine tidying and checking infrastructure around the island.
  • Month end stats:
    • Water used: 1,843 L (average of 59.4 L/day)
    • Diesel used: 168 L
    • Generator hours: 28.3 (average of 0.91 hours/day)
    • Visitors: six people visited

DND Blasting:

  • At sunset this evening, there was one large blast that shook the island from the DND lands at Rocky Point.

Vessel Traffic:

  • Many Canadian and American ecotour boats have been nearby and heading through the waters of the ecological reserve.

Here are photo highlights from the past two days. Click on the photos for larger views and captions.

July 17 and 18

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Ecological Notes:

  • A large pod of humpbacks has been around Race Rocks for at least the past few days, with many visible to the south. Today, I saw a few blows and dorsal fins near north of Turbine Rocks (north of the main island), then near West Rocks. Unfortunately, I did not get any photos.
  • I keep seeing a fast moving barn swallow and fox sparrow fluttering low around the island. I only see one at a time, so it is possible there are more of each species. Similar to the humpbacks, the little birds don’t stop in one place long enough for a photo opportunity.
  • See the photo gallery below for more ecological happenings from the past two days.

Weather:

  • Yesterday (July 17):
    • Sky: Cloudy, heavy rain showers after sunset and overnight
    • Wind: W 14-25 kts
    • Sea: rippled, then up to 2′ chop in evening
    • Temperature Low 12oC, High 16oC
  • Today (July 18):
    • Sky: Partly Cloudy
    • Wind: W 12-30 kts
    • Sea: rippled, then 1′ chop in afternoon
    • Temperature Low 13oC, High 15oC

Visitors:

  • No visitors

Facility Work:

  • Scrubbed and squeegeed solar panels, routine tidying and checking infrastructure around the island.

 DND Events:

  • Between 10:20 and 13:20 today, there were three detonations on the nearby DND (Department of National Defence) training area on Bentinck Island, about 2km or 1NM from Great Race Rocks. The sudden explosions sent many birds into the air, as well as seals and sea lions into the water.

Vessel Traffic:

  • Many Canadian and American ecotour boats have been nearby and heading through the waters of the ecological reserve.

Here are photo highlights from the past two days. Click on the photos for larger views and captions.

July 15 and 16 – A Scoop of Pelicans

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Ecological Notes:

  • 12 brown pelicans flew around the island at 12:30 yesterday. They returned just before 14:00, flew by the South Islands, and landed on the South Seal Rocks. They moved to the east side of Race Rocks, where they remained for at least a couple hours. A group of pelicans is known as either a pod, pouch, scoop, squadron, or fleet.
  • The glaucous-winged gull chicks are growing quickly, with many meal deliveries happening throughout the day by their parents.
  • See the photo gallery below for more ecological happenings from the past two days.

Weather:

  • Yesterday (July 15):
    • Sky: Part Cloudy
    • Wind: mostly W, 0-28 kts
    • Sea: rippled, then up to 2′ chop in afternoon
    • Temperature Low 12oC, High 16oC
  • Today (July 16):
    • Sky: Overcast
    • Wind: W 15-25 kts
    • Sea: rippled, then 1′ chop in afternoon
    • Temperature Low 13oC, High 15oC

Visitors:

  • No visitors

Facility Work:

  • Scrubbed and squeegeed solar panels, routine tidying and checking infrastructure around the island.

 DND Events:

  • Between 10:00 and 14:00 yesterday, there were five detonations on the nearby DND (Department of National Defence) training area on Bentinck Island, about 2km or 1NM from Great Race Rocks. The sudden explosions sent many birds into the air, as well as seals and sea lions into the water.

Vessel Traffic:

  • Many Canadian and American ecotour boats have been nearby and heading through the waters of the ecological reserve.

Here are photo highlights from the past two days. Click on the photos for larger views and captions.