Tag Archives: elephant seal pup

9 Eagles on South Islands

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Weather

North east wind at 8:00AM, 12 knots ,over 13 miles of visibility.Pretty chilly morning (4 degrees Celsius ), cloudy and rainy.

Ecological

So many eagles around and some crows too…I guess they are attracted by the Elephant Seal body still in the rocks but actually they have been everywhere around all the time…juveniles and adults.. Boss  was coming back early from water. The 2 females have almost not moved from the birth spot and gradually the pups got bigger. Pam saw the famous harbour Seal ,”Six Spots”  is his name but we we have not found him yet.

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see the shadow of the eagles on South Island

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Eagle around

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Maintenance and visits

Kyle came Today to get the chain saw that needed some repairs or a new one …The dryer has also some problems.With Guy they had a look at the old and unused generator. it will be hauled out pretty soon. In the afternoon Travis from the college came in his Kayak and stopped for a visit of the place and some chatting with us . The day was just perfect for the crossing : no current and no wind.! One watching boat seen

 

Census day

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Weather

Pretty windy day ,North wind ,22knots at 8:00 and around 30 at 2:00PM.,white crests on the sea,visibility over 15miles

Maintenance 

Outside wall of the main house and staircase washed.

Ecological

Birds very active :fishing all around. many Oyster catchers on the south rocks of Main. Quiet Elephant seals

Census

Elephant seals:5: one big male,2 females and 2 pups

Sea lions:140

Gulls:440

Geese :4

Oyster catchers :20

Cormorants :around 40

Eagles: 2 adults and 2 juveniles

Black Turnstones:15

Harlequin ducks: 14 seen this week

Others 

Water infiltration by the windows and from the wall in a spot.Stairs a little bit slippery

 

the storm never came

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Weather

Looking at the forecast we were expecting a gust (to 40knots)on the 17th but it stayed pretty calm .Just a big swell came from East. When we had a look on the website Windyty the wind was on the West coast outside and on Victoria and the North of Vancouver Island. The sky has been very cloudy with a dark sea  and rain never far.The air temperature was a higher and the water too( around 7 degrees Celsius.) In the morning of the 18th in a gloomy atmosphere the flag was hanging like a stick for a while and like the day before keeps changing its direction all the time . The tides are really high. never saw them like that before

Ecological

Everything is fine in the nursery .The big male spend his days closed to the females and babies ,waiting for his turn and sometimes trying to get one or the other but to now without success. We got the visit of a few eagles and some geese .

Maintenance

More wood split and stacked. The desalinator and generator are on almost everyday . Guy hauled up with the crane a very long log around 30feet. The last 200 liters of gas oil have been transfered to the yellow tank.We have now 7 barrels empty ready to be filled up and 2 Propane bottles. The barrels bottoms have been got rid of rust  and repainted.

Vessels

One watching boat almost everyday

 

2 pups this morning and never 2 captains on the same boat!

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This morning before the sunset the second pup was born! Almost same location on the grass closed to the desalination house … Boss (big nose male ) was looking at the quiet scenery when another male arrived …I never saw a elephant Seal going so fast. he rushed and made the other one go back to the water and for an hour he stayed at the top of the jetty! never 2 captains !

Boat shed roof repaired

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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

 

The new one and mum get settled

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Weather

Wind:11knots,North East

Sky:Clear to cloudy

Visibility:Over 15miles

Ecological

Everything was going smoothly for the the new one.We missed the birth for one minute looking for our camera. It was so quickly done . What was very nice to watch and listen were the fist interactions between the 2. The male coming from sea one hour letter was also pretty dramatic : the female trying to protect the young one but she couldn’t help a full inspection. After that he went away observing closely the situation from a distance. The placenta went out 6hours later for the delight of a gull keeping the others out of the way.The baby was already looking for the tits and the mother tried to help him but no feeding for that day.

other

Visitors :Kyle brought James . and he put a camera up ready for the next coming birth in a few days.

A Quiet Day (Except for the Explosions)

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As predicted, winds were light today, starting in the southwest, then switching to west, 5 – 15 knots. Although it was sunny, there was a real nip in the air first thing. The barometric pressure continued its slow rise today, reaching 1025.5 before steadying. Tomorrow’s forecast calls for more sunshine and a low of 2o C, while and winds to switch to east, 20 – 25 knots.

Several whale watching boats visited the Ecological Reserve today, stopping by South Rocks to see the sea lions and eagles. It was a beautiful day to be out on the water. A few sports fishing boats passed close by and fished outside the Protected Area. There were more explosions from across Race Passage today and it was unusual that they continued after dark.

Images of sea lions sleeping on South Rock before and after an explosion can be seen below. Three branded sea lions were photographed today; two California Sea Lions #U68 (brand on posterior) and #8240 (brand on left side) and one Steller’s Sea Lion #42DY.I remember #8240 from last fall but had not noticed him until today during this shift. There appear to be more sea lions daily.Tomorrow is census day. At dawn this morning, Alex noticed a small seal, possibly a Northern Elephant Seal and a Sea Otter on the ramp.

Forage fish were active at the surface again today; guessing that they are herring are on their way back out to offshore habitat after spawning. The fish attract the fishers and by late morning there were three adults and 12 juvenile Bald Eagles in the Protected Area. They favour sitting in large groups on South and West Rocks but they also use Great Race in a more solitary way. The Canada Geese seem to be staying away and the large number of eagles may be deterring them from feeling comfortable on Great Race.

Harlequins continue to astound and inspire with their gorgeous plumage and amazing diving abilities. All three species of cormorant Pelagic, Brandt’s and Double Crested were busy in the Ecological Reserve today. It appears that they like to forage where there are convergences and upwelling. They dry their feathers, roosting in the wind and sun on the west end of Great Race, Turbine and Middle Rocks.

Chores were routine today.

 

New Weaner on Great Race

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 10-15 knots E, later up to 48.6 knots W
  • 48 knots falls into the “storm” category. Only “violent storm” and “hurricane” are higher on the scale. The house is shuddering.
  • Water: 2′ chop, later at least 5′
  • Sky: overcast and some rain

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Ecological

  • The mother elephant seal on Great Race was gone this morning, making the fourth pup a weaner. He is much smaller than the previous weaner was, and over on Middle Rock the mother is still with her pup, who was born approximately 8 days before, and is quite larger. All this makes me think the mother has left prematurely?
  • In the morning Chunk spent some time chasing the weaner, but he was too slow to catch him and he gave up, later heading over to Middle Rock.
  • Chuckles showed up on Great Race afterwards and has been watching the weaner.
  • At one point I found the weaner chewing on a wire cord underneath the big old yellow diesel tank by the Energy Building.
  • Today was the first day that I saw a great blue heron at Race Rocks! Not a first in general though, or for Race Rocks.
  • Pam Birley also noticed the heron and she took some photos with the webcam.

Maintenance

  • Stacked some firewood.

Other

  • Heard one small DND blast at 10:30.

Weaner’s Derrick Ride

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 0-10 knots North
  • Water: rippled
  • Sky: mix of sun and cloud

Ecological

  • After analysing the elephant seal pup on Great Race, I am fairly certain that it is a male pup.
  • Mum and pups on Great Race and Middle Rock were alone most of the day.
  • For the first time, I saw a bald eagle eating from the dead elephant seal pup out on the rocks.

Maintenance

  • Stacked firewood.
  • Cleared the ramp three times.
  • Started replacing dead light bulbs in the Student’s House.
  • Moved the weaner’s body away from the main house with ropes and the derrick, helped by Chris, Jeff, and 3 volunteers from the college.

Boats

  • Second Nature came by for a couple of hours in the afternoon, crewed by Chris, Jeff, the IT guy, and 3 volunteers. They helped move the weaner and checked up on various electronic systems.
  • One eco-tour came by in the late afternoon.

Other

  • There were 6 more DND blasts today.
  • Two massive blasts that shook the house at 10:15 and 10:17. Birds and mammals quite disturbed, but they settled back down.
  • Two small blasts at 11:31 and 11:34.
  • Two medium blasts at 14:40 and 14:45.
Massive DND blast.

Massive DND blast.