A slide show by Ron Bellamy of Sooke August 2018
Tag Archives: elephant seal
Bye-bye Race Rocks
This is my last post as Ecoguardian for summer 2018 – I’m headed back later this afternoon and Laas will be returning to take over.
Weather
- Visibility:Â 10 miles
- Wind:Â 15-25 knts W
- Sky:Â slightly hazy/partly cloudy
- Water:Â Calm
- Strong winds last night cleared part of the haze, and we have blue skies after a long period of grey.
Boats/Visitors/Sightings
- Guy arrived yesterday to take away all the garbage and recycling from the island, so there would be less to take back today.
- The increasing number of sea lions on the jetty have caused more and more boats to approach close to the dock – just a reminder that DFO guidelines set a 100m minimum for observing distance!
- On Tuesday, a group of Pearson students from the SPELL group came for a short tour on the island.
Island maintenance
- I raised a new Canadian flag yesterday after the old one was beginning to wear out.
- The Ecoguardian house has been completely cleaned for the next Ecoguardian
- Guy and I washed some of the pathways outside the science shed
Bird notes
- The first of the juvenile seagulls have now taken full flight – they soar as high as the adults now and even fly above the ocean.
- Saw one adult seagull with an injured leg and a juvenile with an injured leg as well. Not sure if this is just a coincidence or an attack tactic by other adult seagulls, but it immobilizes the injured bird almost completely.
Marine mammals
- A tagged female elephant seal has arrived at the island. The tag number is C887. Apart from a few scratches on the back, the seal is in very good health.
- The harbour seal pups seem to have grown quite a bit, gaining some weight and coming close to adult size
- The sea lions have started settling around the helipad and the back of the guest house (near the tidal radar) – an electric fence will be needed soon to allow for movement space.
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Census and haze
Weather
- Visibility:Â 10Â miles
- Wind:Â 0-5 knts W
- Sky:Â Hazy
- Water:Â Ripply
Mammal Notes
- More sea lions continue to arrive on the island – spotted a few branded ones, but could only make out one number (steller with brand 348R).
Bird Notes
- The first of the juvenile seagulls have started to fly short distances (5-6 feet at a time). Most are still grounded though.
Census
- Elephant Seals
- Male =Â 1
- Female =Â 0
- Sea Lions
- California =Â 32
- Steller =Â 38
- Seagulls = 305 adults + 128 juvenile
- Pigeon Guillemot =Â 67
- Eagles =Â 0
- Oystercatchers =Â 4 adults
- Harbour Seals = 16 adults, 2 (maybe more) babies
- Geese = 9
- Black turnstone =Â 85
Census, more stellers and fog continues
Weather
- Visibility:Â 10Â miles
- Wind:Â 20-25 knts W
- Sky: Clear
- Water:Â Ripply
- Heavy fog in the morning and evening
Mammal Notes
- More and more stellers have started arriving on the surrounding rocks. I saw stellers on the southeastern rocks for the first time today.
- No sign of the malnourished/injured california sea lion for the last 2 days, which leads me to believe that he may have finally passed away
- Spotted both the seal pups today, and looks like they’re getting pretty big. They’re about half the size of the adults now.
Bird Notes
- Geese continue to remain on the island after their return from their long absence. Counted 6 today.
Census
Species counts may not be fully accurate – the fog hindered visibility significantly.
- Elephant Seals
- Male = 2
- Female =Â 1
- Sea Lions
- California =Â 6
- Steller =Â 41
- Seagulls = 382 adults + 150 juvenile
- Pigeon Guillemot =Â 88
- Eagles =Â 2
- Oystercatchers =Â 6 adults
- Harbour Seals = 18Â adults, 2 (maybe more) babies
- Geese =Â 6
- Black turnstone =Â 81
Census, end of the fog and more stellers
Today was the first day in over a week where the island wasn’t covered in dense fog for most of the day. I was finally able to get a good look at what was happening on and around the island.
Weather
- Visibility:Â 10 miles
- Wind:Â 20-25 knts W
- Sky: Clear
- Water:Â Ripply
- Heavy fog this morning, lifted by mid-afternoon
Boats/Visitors/Sightings
- A few ecotour boats and a couple of private boats as well
Technical
- I installed bird deterrent strips on all the solar panels this morning. It took a couple of hours of drilling and screwing in strips of wire, but all the panels are now protected from seagulls. This should drastically reduce the frequency with which the panels will have to be cleaned.
Mammal Notes
- Once the fog lifted, I got a good look at the western rocks and looks like the steller population has doubled! There seem to be several more large bulls. Pictures below.
- The injured seal that was resting their the jetty for the last week or so, seems to be more mobile now. I saw it playing in the water by itself this evening.
- The injured california sea lion doesn’t seem in any better condition. It’s getting skinnier every day.
- I found the spot where the two seal pups like to sleep! I found them dozing on the southeast corner of the island, in a small and shallow inlet.
Bird Notes
- The seagulls have been gradually getting less and less aggressive. I spent almost 6 hours outdoors today without getting hit on the head – I’ll take it as a good sign!
- Most of the seagull chicks are now at least 1/2 the size of the adults – some appear almost as big as the adults! However, there are still a few really small ones, especially near the water, that are about a week old. I witnessed an adult seagull trying to kill another’s week-old baby this afternoon.
- I spotted two geese on the island after a long time
Census
- Elephant Seals
- Male = 2
- Female = 0
- Sea Lions
- California = 3
- Steller = 30
- Seagulls =Â 450 adults (a big part of them remain on the smaller rock islands during low tide), ~100 babies (hard to estimate)
- Pigeon Guillemot =Â 90
- Eagles =Â 0
- Oystercatchers = 12 adults
- Harbour Seals =Â 50 adults, 2 (maybe more) babies
- Geese = 2
- Black turnstone =Â 72
Census
Weather
- Visibility:Â 15 miles
- Wind:Â 25-30 knts W
- Sky:Â Overcast
- Water:Â small white caps
Boats/Visitors/Sightings
- A few ecotour boats in the area
Marine Mammals
- All the Elephant seals seemed to be huddled up on the north side of the student residence, possibly to stay out of the wind
Census
- Elephant Seals
- Male = 4
- Female = 0
- Sea Lions
- California = 1
- Steller = 0
- Seagulls = 200
- Pigeon Guillemot = 90
- Eagles = 5
- Oystercatchers = 9
- Harbour Seals = 65
- Geese = 2
Working on the energy systems
Weather
- Visibility:Â 15 miles
- Wind:Â 25-35Â knts W
- Sky:Â Partly Cloudy
- Water: 1-2 meter waves with white caps
Boats/Visitors/Sightings
- Kyle brought in a team of PTTP technicians to the island to help finish our new energy system wiring and to optimize our solar array for the greatest efficiency. Additionally, we also carried some of the older lead-acid batteries from the battery room to the tank room, from where they will be loaded on to a boat for the main island.
- Kyle was also able to repair the Boston Whaler onsite – looks like the issue was corrosion on the contacts to the battery and the switch. He was able to sand the corrosion away and the electronics jumped to life!
Marine Mammals
- The sea lions have completely disappeared over the last 2-3 days. Can’t see a single one around now
- Elephant seal counts are at 2 females and 4 males – 3 of the males seemed to be all huddled up next to the student house, possibly to escape the wind.
Pelican and new male elephant seal
Weather
- Visibility:Â 15Â Miles
- Wind:Â 5-10 knts NW
- Sky:Â Overcast
- Water:Â Ripply
Boats/Visitors/Sightings
- Garry Fletcher (ER Warden) and the IT team from Pearson College came ashore this morning. The IT team worked on replacing some of the wiring at the top of the lighthouse while I gave Garry a brief rundown of the happenings on the island.
- A group of 9 visitors from the Kule Foundation came for a tour later in the afternoon. They spent close to an hour exploring every part of the island, including the top of the lighthouse, as Guy and I provided information, facts and stories.
- After a Seaking Adventures boat violated the rules of the reserve day before yesterday and went into the eastern channel, I called the company this evening to give a warning. They explained that they have a new driver who is new to the area, but assured me that there would be no more boating violations on their part.
- HMCS Edmonton was headed towards Pedder Bay this evening, along with a tail of two hard-hulled inflatables.
Bird Notes
- A Pelican spent a good part of the afternoon on the island, just north of the student house. I haven’t seen this Pelican here before in the last 10 days that I have been at Race Rocks.
- More seagull eggs. None hatched yet. Seagulls are relatively less aggressive than usual for this time of the year.
Marine Mammals
- Garry spotted a new male Elephant Seal on the island today. It’s a fairly young one with remarkably unmarked/scarred skin. We believe that’s because it may have recently finished molting.
Very windy day
Weather
- Visibility:Â 15Â Miles
- Wind:Â 20-30 knts W
- Sky:Â Partly cloudy
- Water:Â White caps, 1-2 meters
- Some light showers during the afternoon
Boats/Visitors
- Just a couple of ecotour boats today due to the strong wind.
- Not much private boat traffic either
Birds
- The seagulls have gotten noticeably more aggressive but still no signs of offspring
Marine Animals
- There were four Elephant seals on the main island today – one male and three female. The male and one female seemed to occasionally get aggressive with each other, but no harm was done to either.
- One of the females still seems to be undergoing the molting process.
- Elephant Seal tagged B198 is still on the island and has been in the same spot over the last few days.
Overall, quite an uneventful day.
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Sunday
Weather
- Visibility: 15 Miles
- Wind: 20-30 NW
- Sky: Partly Cloudy
- Water: Waves 1-2 metres
Boats/Visitors
- quite a few ecotours went by today
Ecological
- About a dozen elephant seals out there today, one young male, the rest female
- looks like there is a few oyster catcher nests around, I saw the one by the house awhile ago, I hope to see them hatch before I leave at the end of the month but we will see