More Snow and Elephant Seals

Posted on Wednesday,January 15, 2020 by Nick Townley

Wind: yesterday 10-29 knots N, today 16-63 knots N switching to E in the afternoon
Sea State: yesterday rippled, today up to 3 m waves from E
Visibility: yesterday and today 1-10 NM
Sky: both days fog, blowing snow, cloudy and patches of sun
Temperature: yesterday -1 to -4 °C, today -4 to 3 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 412.38 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

The snow has continued to fall, creating large snowdrifts against buildings, paths and rocks. I have enjoyed watching the elephant seals move through the snow and appear to play in it. The snowdrifts have changed my routes around the island, finding the path of least resistance that doesn’t disturb the ground or engulf me into a metre of snow or a hidden puddle. It’s not all fun and games here, there have also been some fights amongst the elephant seals. The beta males have been chasing each other around the island and sinking their teeth into each other. There are once again four adult males on the island. The alpha male continues to be with the pups and females. A new pregnant female elephant seal arrived yesterday morning as I was waiting for Greg to arrive in the boat with a food delivery. She made her way up the boat ramp to the centre of the island with the others. That brings the current elephant seal count to ten. Perhaps two more pups will arrive soon.

Since the snow and strong winds came, the sea lions are still mostly in the water, floating in large groups. Today, a few california sea lions huddled on the jetty. A smaller number of birds have been seen in the ecological reserve. Stay tuned for the post in two days with the results of the weekly census.

See the photos below for some recent snowy, windy and wavy views.

: Yesterday, a new female elephant seal arrived on the boat ramp. I was collecting those large pieces of wood when I saw her approach, then I backed off and gave her some space to come ashore.

: It’s getting crowded here

: Bird tracks in the snow. Black turnstone perhaps.

: Another view of the elephant seal group on the lawn, before the second round of snow.

: Looking northwest out of the lower door into the lighthouse

: The alpha male on the lookout

: The snowdrifts added a level of difficulty as I navigated my way to turn off the generator last night. In the centre of the flashlight beam, is the large alpha male, sleeping under the snowdrift. I’m glad I didn’t walk through that snow!

: The three beta elephant seals have a stand off on the southwest side of the island, near the CODAR antenna, which measures sea currents.

: The wounds are visible on the back of a beta male elephant seal that has been fighting with two of the other males. Blood can be seen in the snow on the path he travelled.

: A large snowdrift covers the rock ledge by the desalinator building and west of the base of the lighthouse.

: California sea lions hauled out on the jetty between the snow and large waves. Look at all the wood delivered by the sea for burning in the wood stove next winter. I hope some wood is still there when the snow and wind subside.

: The anemometer showed very strong gusts of wind from the east. 62.6 knots is almost hurricane force.

: A view from the top of the lighthouse of large waves from the east. A large raft of sea lions can be seen as a brown blob in the water in the centre right of the photo.

Video clips of a few elephant seals interacting with the snow:

Sea Otter Visit and Snow Day

Posted on Monday,January 13, 2020 by Nick Townley

Wind: yesterday 3-53 knots W, today 9-34 knots N
Sea State: yesterday 2 m waves from W, today up to 1 m waves from N
Visibility: yesterday 2 to 10 NM, today 1 to 2 NM
Sky: yesterday sunny with cloudy patches, today fog and snow
Temperature: yesterday 7 to -1 °C, today -1 to -4 °C with windchill as low as -14 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 413.15 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

Yesterday brought many gifts from the sun: rainbows, warmth and solar power for the batteries. In the afternoon, I spotted an unusual sight for this time of year. A sea otter was being tossed around in the waves near the jetty. I grabbed the camera and did my best to capture some photos as it swam around the northeast side of the island, got out briefly on the rocks near the house, then swam back to the waves of the north side, before it floated northeast past the east side of the North Rocks. The wind was over 40 knots, which made it hard to hold the camera steady and take photos. I managed to get a few photos (see below) that show a slightly blurry sea otter in action.

Last night, the temperature dipped below O °C. I prepared the buildings from getting too cold by turning on heat in the evening. Throughout the night, the fog horn sounded and the snow accumulated. Judging by the snow on the relatively sheltered ground mounted solar panels, there was about 8 cm of snow overnight and into the early afternoon. On the rest of the island, the tracks of sea lions, birds and slide marks of elephant seals showed the few movements of a quiet island. A smaller than usual group of gulls and cormorants were hunkered down on the southwest side of the island. Most of the sea lions were rafting in the water, which was observed this afternoon at 7.7 °C, much warmer than the -4 °C air temperature.

: Elephant seals basking in the relative warmth on Sunday morning

: Sea otter floating in the lee of the island

: Sea otter briefly crawling up onto the rocks behind the house

: Sea otter floating in the choppy water

: Elephant seals in cooler times on Monday morning. What a difference a day can make. The orange snow makes it easy to track where the seals have travelled.

: When I went to check on the temperature of the guest house, through the window I saw the fresh flipper prints of a group of california sea lions taking shelter from the wind.

: Usually I remove bird poop from the solar panels. Today I brushed 8 cm of snow off the 44 panels. These are the 12 ground mounted panels. On the roof of the energy building, there are 32 more. The red horns coming out of the building are the old foghorns before they were replaced with an electronic system at the base of the lighthouse.

: Looking north from the entryway of the lighthouse, one of the beta male elephant seals is seen in the foreground.

: The older pup in the middle was covered in much more snow than the other seals.

A video of the two beta male elephant seals fighting at the base of the lighthouse. They move very fast when they are motivated. After they disappeared behind the tower, they chased each other around the island and into the water by the jetty, causing a stampede of some nearby sea lions.

A video of the snowy views and windy sounds of the islands.

Another Elephant Seal Birth

Posted on Saturday,January 11, 2020 by Nick Townley

Wind: yesterday 2-19 knots NE, today 1-46 knots NE shifting to W
Sea State: yesterday 3 m waves from NE, today 2 m waves from W
Visibility: 10 NM
Sky: both days overcast with patches of sun and rain
Temperature: 6-8 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 413.54 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

Yesterday morning in the rain, I started pressure washing the slime covered stairs up to the door of the lighthouse. They were getting a bit treacherous on a wet and windy day. A second tank of water later, it was sunny and the 18 stairs as well as entryway were clean.

The past two nights have been louder than usual, with the elephant seal bellows and barks dominating the soundscape of waves, wind and sea lion barks. I was surprised to not see a new pup yesterday morning, after all the carrying on outside my windows all night. This morning, the light brought a delightful sight of a new pup. Once again, the eagles, black turnstones and gulls all made quick work of getting rid of the placenta and umbilical cord. The new mother had arrived at Race Rocks on January 3. The other pup looks huge compared the new pup. It’s amazing how much weight the older pup has gained in two weeks. The three females appeared to be at odds with each other for most of the day, with lots of bellowing and chomping. If the remaining pregnant female sticks to the pattern, she should give birth on Tuesday, which is nine days after she arrived on the island.

See the photos and videos below for some sights and sounds of the past two days.

: The jetty was swamped for most of yesterday with the northeast swell.

: With the desalinator producing more fresh water, the pressure washer is used to get rid of the slippery algae on the outside stairs to the lighthouse. I did the first five and half steps before I realized it was easier to go from the top down.

: The other day I found this red strip of fabric near the south side of the house. It took me a moment to figure out it was the edge of the flag that had been knotted twice, torn off the rest of the flag and blown half way across the island in the strong winds. I brought it inside to the old frayed flag, which I need to dispose of in a dignified way.

: A new morning brings a new elephant seal pup. This photo was taken from my kitchen window.

: A juvenile bald eagle eats the placenta.

: The elephant seal new mother and her pup

: A gull and black turnstone help remove the umbilical cord from the pup.

: Three bald eagles lean into the wind on the northeast edge of the island.

Video from yesterday afternoon of a chorus of elephant seal bellowing:

Video of the new pup inching towards its mother:

Weekly Census

Posted on Thursday,January 9, 2020 by Nick Townley

Wind: yesterday 15-46 knots W, today 3-14 knots W shifting clockwise around to S
Sea State: yesterday up to 2 m waves, today rippled water
Visibility: 10 NM
Sky: yesterday overcast, today mainly sunny
Temperature: yesterday 6-7 °C, today 3-5 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 413.56 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

The last two days were spent doing some tasks around the island like running the desalinator, topping up the batteries with the generator and cleaning. Today, the sun in the morning and early afternoon was taken advantage of to get a great view of all the species for the weekly census and do a solar powered load of laundry.

The only visitor was Greg, who came out from the college this afternoon for an hour to show me how to use some equipment and remove a load garbage from the island. No other boats were seen in the ecological reserve.

I am glad to hear the Race Rocks live video cameras are being used by the grade 10 students in the Trek Outdoor Education Program, in Vancouver.

Weekly megafauna and bird census results:
7 elephant seals (1 pup, 3 adult females, 3 adult males)
262 steller sea lions
413 california sea lions
45 harbour seals
9 bald eagles (7 adults, 2 juveniles)
1 raven
59 pelagic cormorants
17 brandt’s cormorants
8 double-crested cormorants
663 thayer’s gulls
5 surf scoters
41 black oystercatchers
8 harlequin ducks
1 whimbrel
12 surfbirds
30 black turnstones
1 snow bunting

: A seal lion surfs in a wave with a container ship in the background

: The group of elephant seals bask in their usual spot in the middle of the island.

: A closer view of the elephant seal pup and mother. The pup is growing fast, since its birth just 12 days ago.

: A raven is seen in its usual spot by the cannon at the base of the lighthouse.

: The desalinator system using reverse osmosis to turn seawater into freshwater.

New Desalinator and New Adult Female Elephant Seal

Posted on Tuesday,January 7, 2020 by Nick Townley

Wind: 1-44 knots from NE yesterday to W this evening as the wind increased
Sea State: up to 3 m waves breaking on west side of the island
Visibility: 5-10 NM
Sky: overcast with rain and a few sunny patches today
Temperature: 6-11 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 413.70 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

It was a flurry of activity on the island yesterday. A big change from having no human visitors for a week and a half. Greg brought seven other people on the boat Second Nature. Three volunteers from the college (Lawrence, Sandra and Vincent) came to help with some maintenance and clean up tasks. John and Mike, from Pacific Coast Fire Equipment, were here to do the yearly inspection of the fire extinguishers. Warren and Ric spent almost six hours doing the electrical and plumbing hook ups and tests of the new desalinator. The desalinator room is very cramped quarters with thick concrete walls and only a six foot high ceiling inside. As Race Rocks legend goes, the building was originally constructed as a fallout shelter for Cold War fears of nuclear attack. It apparently contained emergency supplies and two bunks for the lighthouse keeper and assistant keeper. There was no space for their families. In 1975, the building was converted to a water filtration plant.

The non-human activity was busy too, with the arrival of a new adult female elephant seal. She showed up soon after the boat, staying on the boat ramp for a while before coming up to the middle of the island. The alpha male chased her around, they barked a lot, then she settled in the grassy area between the desalinator shed and the flagpole, where she still is this evening. Now there are two suspected pregnant seals hanging out in the centre of the island near the mother, pup and alpha male. The two other males appear to be keeping their distance. One is near the jetty. The other is behind the house by the compost bins.

The desalinator is running well after a total of nine hours of use. This evening, I was delighted to see that it had pumped 600 L of fresh water into the tank. Combined with the 500 L from yesterday, the desalinator has produced more fresh water than has been used since my shift began on December 21. At this rate, the 4,500 L fresh water tank should be filled up in about a week. At that point, the desalinator will be run regularly, but for shorter amounts of time. It’s an energy intensive way to produce water which consists of a reverse osmosis system and secondary UV filter. The temporary method of getting fresh water while the desalinator was out of commission was also very energy intensive. It consisted of filling up a 1,000 fresh water tank at the college, boating it to the island, and pumping it up to the tank from the boat. The water usage is planned to increase a little bit in the near future, due to some much needed pressure washing of the exteriors of the buildings, to prevent them from being overtaken by algae.

See the photos below for some recent views on the island.

: One of these things is not like the other! A large male elephant seal is in the seal lion cuddle puddle on the jetty.

: Elephant seal count: 3 females, one alpha male, one pup Not pictured: 2 males

: 23 black oystercatchers and one whimbrel trying to fit in

: I was surprised by this large fish head that was lying amongst the rocks. Perhaps it was discarded from a fishing boat, then washing ashore, or it was was picked up by a bird.

: The elephant seal pup has taken to sleeping on its back.

Stormy Sunday

Posted on Sunday,January 5, 2020 by Nick Townley

Wind: 3-52 knots swinging around from SW yesterday in every direction to NW this evening
Sea State: up to 4 m waves
Visibility: 5-15 NM
Sky: overcast with rain and some sunny patches
Temperature: 5-8 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 413.65 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

It has continued be very windy over the past two days, whipping up big waves from the west. Today, the wind reached a top speed of 54 knots or 100 km/h, which on the Beaufort Wind Scale is force 10, corresponding to a storm. The two higher forces on the scale are 11 (56-62 knots violent storm) and 12 (64-71 knots hurricane). See the photos and videos below for some windy and wavy views.

The wind cleared off the South Seal Rocks of its usual inhabitants of steller sea lions. They were floating in sea lion rafts and surfing the waves for most of the day. When the wind died down a bit in the late afternoon, I walked in the intertidal zone which at low tide connects the main island with the closest of the South Seal Rocks. I hadn’t been able to walk around there in the past two weeks I have been here, due to the hauled out sea lions. It was great to see the main island from the perspective of a sea lion. On my walk around, I found some intertidal trash, some of which has been there for a while. See the photos below for some of my finds.

On Monday, there is a planned visit from some electricians and technicians to do some work on the desalinator and energy system. These will be the first visitors in a week and a half. If all goes according to plan, the desalinator will be operational by early afternoon and pumping water into the tank.

During my time here in the past two weeks, I have used 800 L of water, according to the gauge on the water tank as well as the three consumed drinking water jugs. While I’m conscious of my water use, I still do all the normal tasks like cooking, drinking lots of tea, washing dishes, showering and doing laundry. As a comparison, the 2018 average day per capita water use in Vancouver, BC was 444 L. I’m doing all right!

: The bright moon last night offered a great view of the lighthouse and ecoguardian’s house

: My walk back to the house in the evening after turning off the generator. The bright lights in the distance are Esquilmalt and Victoria.

: Sea lions swimming through the waves

: A rare sea lion’s view from South Seal Rocks of the energy building, lighthouse and fog horn.

: Large fishing lure wedged between rocks in the intertidal zone

: Intertidal trash finds: fishing lure, glass, ceramic, metal, plastic

: Rusted metal found in the intertidal zone

: I moved my metal finds up onto the island with the other remnants of the old engine room.

Video: A panoramic view of the whole island and waves as seen from helicopter pad. The sound is quite loud due to the strong wind.

Video: Watching hail on the window from the comfort of inside the house, while the elephant seal neighbours brave the elements outside. It hailed three times today.

First Weekly Census of the Decade

Posted on Friday,January 3, 2020 by Nick Townley

Wind: 5-21 knots N-NE
Sea State: up to 3 m waves
Visibility: 10 NM
Sky: overcast with rain
Temperature:5-11 C
Atmospheric CO2: 412.64 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

The weekly census was done today, because the rain yesterday created poor visibility. This morning, it was overcast but not raining, so there was a good birds-eye view from the top of the lighthouse. Some species that were not last week are a whimbrel, snow bunting and another female elephant seal. The new seal looks pregnant, so there might be another pup very soon. She has moved into a spot on the grass between the desalinator building and the flagpole. That’s a great place for me to watch from the house, which is just 20m away. Last year, the three pups were born between January 4 and January 20.

I heard back from a sea lion researcher about the branded sea lions that were seen on Race Rocks a two days ago. Bryan, from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, let me know about some of the places where the sea lions have been:
California X282: branded at Astoria (Oregon) on Feb 25, 2016 and resighted in Oregon and at San Miguel Island, CA in 2016-2017.
California X392: branded at Astoria on March 8, 2016 and resighted in Oregon and at San Miguel Island in 2016.
California X501: branded at Astoria on May 24, 2016 and resighted in Oregon fall of 2016.
California 1-59: braded at Bonneville Dam (near Portland, Oregon on the Columbia River)on May 19, 2015 and resighted at Astoria and Bonneville through 2017.

The only boats seen in the ecological reserve were two eco tour boats and two kayakers.

January 3 census results:

6 elephant seals (2 females, 3 males, 1 pup)
223 steller sea lions
291 california sea lions
30 harbour seals
21 bald eagles (13 adults and 8 juveniles)
1 raven
103 brandt’s cormorants
16 double-crested cormorants
17 pelagic cormorants
264 gulls (most of them appeared to be thayer’s gulls)
36 black oystercatchers
18 harlequin ducks
1 whimbrel
15 surfbirds
28 black turnstones
1 snow bunting

: The newly arrived adult female elephant seal

: Whimbrel

: Whimbrel

: Whimbrel and three gulls

: Harlequin ducks

: Nursing elephant seal pup

: Nursing elephant seal pup

: Snow bunting

: A silhouette of a raven with the backdrop of the Olympic Mountains and a bulk carrier ship.

: A view of the lighthouse from the porch of the ecoguardian’s house on a cloudy, moonlit night.

Blowing a Hooley

Posted on Wednesday,January 1, 2020 by Nick Townley

Wind: Yesterday 5-35 knots N to W; Today 25-35 knots W with gust of 44 knots
Sea State: up to 2.5 m waves
Visibility: 5-10 NM
Sky: overcast with clear patches today
Temperature: 7-12 C
Atmospheric CO2: 413.20 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

The forecasted gale warning materialized right on time on Tuesday evening. Overnight and throughout today, the westerly winds were between 25 to 35 knots with gusts as strong as 44 knots. There are lots of whistles and creaks in the 1960’s house. The storm also showed a few leaks in the various outbuildings. The strong winds brought clear skies and slightly warmer temperatures. For most of the day, rainbows were visible to the north, between Rocky Point and Victoria.

Yesterday, even though it was stormy, several hours were spent working outside on various maintenance and month end tasks around the island, which was made easier due to the animals and birds being less spread out as they hunkered down out of the wind.

Today, four branded sea lions were recorded and reported to researchers, who study sea lion ranges and lifespans.

The island’s population of elephant seals is currently at seven. One recently came back from a solo retreat on the West Rocks. The four non dominant males appear to be keeping their distance from each other at cardinal points of the island. The alpha male is hanging out in the middle of the island with the mother and pup. This morning, two of the beta males had fresh wounds on their backs, suggesting a possible disagreement with each other overnight. The elephant seal pup is continuing to nurse. Pups gain a whopping 4.5 kg per day from their 35 kg birth weight. Between all those pounds the pup is packing on and the rain, no wonder its coat is looking less wrinkled.

: When the skies were clear, the solar panels were producing 2kW of power, which is quite good for this time of year.

: This large male elephant seal was seen this morning by the jetty with numerous fresh puncture wounds on its back. Another male, who is about three quarters in size also has fresh wounds.

: The elephant seal family basking in the sun after a wet and windy night. Notice the mother has tucked itself under the bush, seemingly to get shelter from the strong westerly wind.

: Branded california sea lion

: Branded california sea lion

: Branded california sea lion

: Branded california sea lion

: This california sea lion appears to be the one that was spotted by the Pearson staff member Corey, on December 19. At that point its neck was entangled with rope. Now it does not appear to have any rope, but does have wounds. The Marine Mammal Rescue Centre has been notified.

: Looking north from the house, a rainbow stretches from William Head to Victoria.

: Sea lions pack onto the jetty like sardines.

: The anemometer at the top of the lighthouse has been picking up some high numbers for wind speed. The number on the left is the speed in knots. 42.1 knots equals 78 km/h. The number on the right is the wind direction in degrees on the compass.

Videos and Photo of Elephant Seal Pup Nursing

Posted on Sunday,December 29, 2019 by Nick Townley

Here are two videos of the elephant seal pup nursing and barking. The videos were taken from the basement door of the ecoguardian’s house. California sea lions can be heard barking in the background.

Photo of the elephant seal pup nursing

Elephant Seal Pup