Tag Archives: elephant seal

Boat shed roof repaired

Posted on by

Weather

Very nice weather 15 to 20 knots East wind . calm day

Ecological

Now every 2 hours  the baby got fed and everything looked fine. the baby was not moving easily  and was crying a lot maybe from frustration or to get attention. It was really nice to see everything from the window .

Maintenance

Kyle came with his wife and helped Guy on the boat shed roof. it badly needed repairs and patches of shingles before the heavy rainy days expected next week.

Marine activity

One whale watcher boats with freezing people ! and a plane above in the afternoon

 

2 new female Elephant Seals

Posted on by

Weather

Wind:at 8:00 12km/h North East

Sea : calm,no waves

Visibility :over 15 miles

Ecological

At low tide I discovered 3 couples of oystercatchers. Many hunting and watching eagles around ,some very big and immature ones. At night the big male Elephant Seal and one of the female came closed to the house ,lying against each other and she was complaining at times.

green tag, C-586

Posted on by

Weather: West wind, 30 knots reaching up to 40 knots. Visibility limited by rain.

Ecological: While doing the Christmas Bird count I came across a female elephant seal on the West side of Great Race.  She is flipper tagged, green, c-586 and appears to be moulting. She also appears to be stuck in between some rocks.  With an iron bar I was able to move a rock that was against her neck, this exposed a nasty wound where the rock had been embedded into her flesh.  With the impediment removed I left her to see if she would be able to move freely.  When I returned a few hours later she had only changed position by 90 degrees.  I could see signs of abrasion on her underside as well.  I took photos and sent a marine mammal injury report to the DFO and a veterinarian at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Centre.

Boats: 1 ecotour

Maintenance: continued firewood stacking, basement tidying.

christmas bird count and census

Posted on by

Birds:

  • Turnstone: 12
  • Dunlin: 4
  • Bald Eagle: 13
  • Raven: 2
  • Harlequin Duck: 22

     

  • Black Oyster Catcher: 13

 

  • Cormorant (pelagic and double crested): 57
  • Gull: 67

Pinnipeds:

  • California Sea Lion: 106
  • Northern Sea Lion: 94
  • Elephant Seal: 2 male, 1 female green flipper tag c-586
  • Harbour Seal: 10 (probably more, West Rock)

 

 

elephant seal scuffle

Posted on by

Weather: North wind, 20 knots, mostly clear sky.

Ecological:  The two male elephant seals have been back and forth between West Rock and Great Race over recent days.  Chunk has always appeared to be the dominant male, the other male stays around the periphery of the island and seems to avoid him.  Today though for the first time I saw Chunk being chased by the other male.  They had fought, both males had tooth mark cuts on them from their interaction.

Maintenance:  Moved firewood to basement, stacked.

Last Full Day of the Shift

Posted on by

Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 15-20 knots W, later 10 knots E, then 20 knots N
  • Sky: sunny in the morning, cloudy in the afternoon
  • Water: calm
  • Too cloudy to see the large moon tonight.

Ecological

  • 3 elephant seals on Great Race.
  • The little female did not return with the others.
  • I observed two armadas of cormorants in the afternoon.
  • Then they all flew away!
  • Also one young seagull is wandering around with a broken wing.
  • I think it is the same gull that I saw a couple of weeks ago.

Maintenance

  • Added one 55 gallon barrel of diesel to the tidy tank.
  • Finished hauling the various unused pieces of the electric fence back to the tank shed.
  • Stacked some firewood.
  • Cleaned the house for Guy.
  • Published the July, August, September, and October seawater data sheets on the website.

Boats

  • One boat appeared to be inspecting the Rosedale Rock buoy.
  • Two eco-tours came by.

Other

  • This is my last log post out at Race Rocks, until next time.
  • Hopefully I will be back out here in the springtime!
  • Signing off now. Good luck Guy (and Alex)!

photo-on-2016-11-14-at-7-49-pm

Rainy Day

Posted on by

Weather

  • Visibility: 10 miles
  • Wind: 5-15 knots N/NE
  • Sky: overcast with showers
  • Water: calm

Ecological

  • 4 elephant seals on Great Race.
  • They all headed down to the water in the late afternoon.
  • Saw a pair of killdeer in the nocturnal hours.

sleeping-e-seals-13-11

activate-e-seals-13-11

Maintenance

  • Added some diesel to the tidy tank.
  • The usual chores.
  • Started preparing for my Tuesday departure.

Boats

  • Did not see any boats.

Gale Force Winds and Peregrine Falcon

Posted on by

Weather

  • Visibility: 10 miles
  • Wind: 0-5 knots NW in the morning
  • By 11:10 up to 25 knots West
  • By 11:25 33 knots, 11:55 40 knots West
  • Post 12:00 steady at 30-35 knots West
  • Late afternoon into darkness 15-20 knots West
  • Sky: mix of sun and cloud
  • Water: 2′ chop

Ecological

  • 4 elephant seals on Great Race.
  • They were very playful today.
  • Pam Birley spotted a Peregrine falcon with the webcam!
  • She took these 4 photos for us!

Maintenance

  • Back flushed the desalinator.
  • Ran the desalinator.
  • Uploaded June Seawater data to the website.

Boats

  • Did not see any boats in the reserve.