Tag Archives: elephant seal

Bull Elephant Seal

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Ecological Happenings

  • Today a older bull Elephant Seal was noticed on middle rocks. He is accompanied by two much smaller looking Elephant Seals. We have lost track of the others who haven’t been seen since last week’s storm.
  • Canada Geese, have also not been seen since the storm.

Marine Vessels

  • One tour boat today.
  • Navy vessel and helicopter, beyond the reserve.

Maintenance

  • Removed the last of the electric fence – the aesthetics on the island have improved!
  • Boat maintenance. The wires connecting the battery to the engine were corroded. An interim solution has been put in place, until a new part is ordered.

Other

  • We are on the prowl for an eco-guardian to step in for 3 weeks. If you are interested please contact Chris Blondeau at Pearson College.
  • As the current eco-guardians, we are wrapping up for the end of our shift on Nov 30th.

 

1% for the Planet Donor Visits

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Ecological Happenings

  • 6 winter plumaged Pigeon Guillemots spotted today.
  • Most of the Sea Lions were not around the island late this afternoon. The rocks around the island are bare!
  • Two of the Elephant Seals are back hanging out at Middle Rocks.
  • Weather turned today, with light fog and rain.

Visitors

A 1% for the planet donor was given a tour of the island today by Chris Blondeau. There were a total of 5 visitors.

No marine vessels today

Pigeon Guillemot

Pigeon Guillemot in winter plumage

 

Elephant seal behaviour

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I received this email from the ecoguardian about interesting elephant seal beahviour:

A few weeks ago we saw a E-seal pup from Ano Nuevo (see the pictures attached). When it encountered some difficulty in getting off our docks, one of the larger E-seals was behaving very motherly. It was quite panicked and monitoring the pup closely swimming from one side of the dock to the other, reaching up to see it. In the photo I’ve attached you can see her peering up to see the pup, which she was doing over and over again. I have since seen these two around together in the water as well.

The research says that mothers are only with pups for 4 weeks – so I’m intrigued by this behaviour as this pup must be about 9 months old or so…maybe some mothers stay around for longer? Or there is other behaviour that I’m not aware of……

Visit from a Predator

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Ecological Happenings

  • Barred Owl in the reserve today. Its’ prey were found (one small bird near the lighthouse and a gull near the student house). Gulls and smaller birds were much fewer today.
  • Juvenile elephant seal and accompanying adult seal returned today.
  • South Seal Rocks is particularly crowded with the Stellers that have moved from other surrounding rocks.
  • California Sea lion brand 8456 spotted

Marine Vessels

  • Two tour boats
  • One pleasure vessel
  • 10 Canoers
  • A helicopter flying in good range of RR

Maintenance

  • Continuing to experience challenges with the water system. Next steps are to check the pumps and piping.
  • Boat maintenance and clean out.

No visitors today.

Gust, Swell and Rain

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Ecological Happenings

  • Another wild weather day as RR. Gusts throughout the morning and afternoon, with showers and just moments of sunshine. Wind/gust warnings are still in effect until midnight.
  • Humpback whale spotted feeding towards Port Angeles.
  • Fresh propeller cuts spotted on a Sea Lion.
  • Animals continue to shift around the island and surrounding rocks, adjusting to the weather and moving away from the swell.
  • Number of geese on the island increased significantly from 13 to at least 48 today.
  • A necklaced Sea Lion spotted today near the dock.

Marine Vessels

  • Three tour boats
  • Two pleasure vessels

Maintenance

  • Camera 1 & 5 remote controls via RR website are not functioning – this is currently being troubleshooted.
  • High pressure hose requires a new pump. Attempts at rebuilding it have not been successful.
  • Electric fence repair attempts continue…..

Other

  • No visitors today.

 

 

Rough Conditions

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Ecological Happenings

  • Rough conditions with winds of up to 39 kts
  • Sea Lions have left the rocks to the East of the dock, and moved to the west
  • Elephant Seals have moved far up the island close to houses and main access paths
  • Two Elephant Seals are seen battling/courting continuously

Boat Activity

Given the conditions – not many vessels were seen today, aside from 2 tour boats.

Other

  • End of month reporting is being completed
  • No visitors today
  • Thorough house clean
  • Good responses received from tour companies re the friendly reminder on the speed limit within the reserve

Sea Lion Rescue Attempt

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Ecological Happenings

  • Animal Rescue! After many attempts at locating necklaced Sea Lions, no rescues were made. The animals seen previously, could not be found today. 9 DFO staff, 1 Vancouver Aquarium staff and 3 Pearson College staff (including the Eco-guardians) were all on the job and worked hard to spot the animals. Until next time…..
  • 29 Surfbrids spotted today
  • Another young Elephant Seal on the dock
  • Brand Y40 Sea Lion spotted

Marine Vessels

  • 2 DFO vessels equipped for today’s Sea Lion rescue
  • 5 tour boats – travelling at good speed out of the reserve after yesterday’s friendly reminder
  • 1 pleasure vessel

Other

  •  There were 2 visitors – Jeff from Pearson College and a chimney sweeper.

 

Elephant Seal Pup

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Ecological Happenings

  • After last nights’ strong winds, many of the regular Sea Lions on the North East of the island were not there, but returned towards the afternoon.
  • Four Elephant Seals were on the dock (where the California Sea lions usually lay), including one pup. The pup was tagged (B228). It had a hard time getting off the dock to return to its mother (see photographs below)
  • Great Blue Heron, spotted today by Camera 5 on the high coastal rocks
  • One more tangled Sea Lion was spotted in preparation for the Vancouver Aquarium rescue on the 28th of October. The two that were previously sighted, could not be found today.

Marine Vessels

Four tour boats, no fishing/pleasure vessels seen today.

Maintenance

  • Davis weather station was offline – this has been resolved.
  • Troubleshooting the pressure hose, in preparation of some cleaning on the island.

No visitors today

 

Lasting Fog

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Weather

Mostly foggy today. Winds below 6kts, though picked up to 12kts by 20:00, in varying directions, with a couple of hours of calm in the early afternoon. Barometer reading was mostly consistent at 102.0. A strong wind warning is in effect for tonight and tomorrow.

Boat activity

  • 6 tour boats
  • 1 pleasure vessel

Maintenance

  • Electric fence repairs on the south side of the island. The fence was also extended as sea lions, are creeping further up onto fresh clean grass.
  • Old water pump was removed in the student house, and the new pump will be installed tomorrow.

No visitors today.