Tag Archives: elephant seal

Sunday Update

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There were about 50 sea lions on the rocks out front when I went to sleep last night, and I think all 50 of them decided to be particularly chatty from 4am onward. Needless to say, today ended up being an early morning start for me be but I’m glad it was! I opened my bedroom curtains to find about 15 brown pelicans resting on the rocks outside my window. I crept outside with my camera being careful not to disturb them and then sat on the back porch in the mist and watched them preen and dry their wings. I think I could stare at pelicans forever, they’re such funny looking creatures.

 

The Swiftsure International Yacht Race continued throughout the day with all boats on their way back to Victoria. Unfortunately the wind was at 0 knots and the ebb was strong so some of them appeared to be going backwards. Slowly I watched boat by boat as they admitted defeat, bringing their sails down and starting their engines. A few persevered but the same boat I saw at 7am was still bobbing outside the reserve at 1pm, trying its best to get past the currents.

Back to the animals —we are down to two elephant seals now, just one big and one small female. The gulls have officially started laying eggs which I know because one was dropped outside my front door this morning. They haven’t shown any aggressive behaviour towards me yet but I imagine I’ll be ducking for cover any day now. Ollie is still doing his best to blend in with the harbour seals, his bed of kelp and seaweed looking especially cozy today.

The weather today stayed windless with dark clouds and on/off rain. Quite a few ecotourism vessels passed by today, this time they did not bring the whales with them. Also noted a couple private vessels and one kayaker, all respecting the rules.

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

Rainy Tuesday

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It rained all day long today, and I actually really enjoyed it. There was no wind and the ocean was glassy and calm. The cloud cover was low down so everything was misty and quiet. I took advantage of the rain and scrubbed the solar panels and pathways to clear them of bird poop. Cedric popped by with supplies and some guests for a tour which is always fun! Nothing of note for the animals today, but the elephant seals are always keeping an eye on me as I work!

Facility Work:

  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Cleaned paths
  • Work done on desalinator to repair leak
  • Additional 500L of fresh water added to main tank

Visitors:

  • Cedric and 6 guests
  • Cedric again with supplies

Vessels:

Ecotourism: 11

Weather:

  • Sky: Cloudy and raining
  • Wind: Low of 3 knots, High of 21 knots
  • Sea: Calm
  • Temperature: Low 9•C, High 14•C

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

A Whale of a Day

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Happy Sunday! The sun is shining, the air is calm (finally!!!!) and I spotted my first baleen whale of the season!

My favourite days here are ones like this – I can get a lot of work done but also pause between tasks to soak up the warm weather and experience the wildlife. Today’s wildlife involved a humpback whale and I couldn’t be happier about it. The humpbacks have been making their way back into the Salish Sea for a while now so I’ve been not so patiently waiting for one to come by. With the wind being so strong this past week its been nearly impossible to spot the spout of a cetacean, but today was perfect for it and I even got a little fluke shot.

Hopefully more days like this to come!

Facility Work:

  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Cleaned main house windows
  • Repaired breaks in electric fence
  • Started bucking/chopping remaining wood in the outside pile

Vessels:

  • Ecotourism: 5
  • Private: 4
  • Dive boat: 1

Infractions:

  • No infractions, I did remind one private vessel to keep their distance from sea lion haulouts but no animals were disturbed. Tons of fishing vessels near/around the reserve but none came in.

Weather:

  • Sky: Blue sky and sun
  • Wind: Low of 4 knots, High of 16 knots
  • Sea: Calm, small whitecaps in afternoon when wind picked up
  • Temperature: Low 7•C, High 16•C

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

Friday Update

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The Steller sea lions have taken over the rocks to the right of the jetty which has resulted in the California sea lions inconveniently taking over the jetty and spilling over into the rocks on the left. Usually a calm and careful walk down the jetty clears them off but by the time I get back to the shed they are already back. Some seem to learn quicker than others or are more fearful of humans so those ones find themselves a new spot right away. However there are always a few stragglers that don’t seem to care in the slightest which results in me taking many trips down to the end of the jetty and back.

When I’m here I try to do everything in my power to not disrupt the animals, however it’s important to keep the jetty clear for when our boat arrives as well as for emergencies. It can also be dangerous at a very low tide if there are sea lions on the jetty and something spooks them. It’s a long drop into very shallow or no water and when something sets them off they seem to react first, think later. So really, a clear jetty is for both human and animal safety. Thankfully there are plenty of other areas for them to snooze and sunbathe and eventually they get tired of seeing me on the jetty and find themselves a safer place to relax.

Ollie spent his day in the kelp beds behind the student house again, grooming and sleeping before moving onto the rocks to settle onto a not so comfy looking bed of mussels.

The same 4 female elephant seals are still here. Elephant seals go through something called a catastrophic moult each year where they shed their fur as well as their top layer of skin. It’s quite common to see these guys looking pretty rough but all 4 of the ones that are currently here appear to be in good condition.

Facility Work:

  • Topped up battery electrolytes
  • Started filling the cistern, it is very low so I plan to run the pump tomorrow too

Vessel Traffic:
– 1 ecotourism vessel
– 2 cruise ships on the horizon and multiple freighters/tankers

Visitors:
– Cedric to help me fill the cistern and with a few other tasks around the site

Weather:
Sky: Sun and clouds
Wind: High of 10 knots, Low of 6 knots
Sea: Calm
Temperature: Low 7, High  13oC

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

Me Again!

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After 5 long weeks on the mainland…I’M BACK! I was counting down the days and I could not be happier to be back on this wonderful little rock.

The first thing I noticed on arrival was how lush it’s become in the past month, new pink, white, and purple lowers have bloomed and the grass and plants seem to have exploded everywhere.

While I am slightly disappointed that the male elephant seal is no longer here, I was very excited to meet the 4 females that were lounging in the grass outside the main house. They all appear to be different ages and have lots to yell about.

My next “welcome back” greeting came from T49A1 Noah as he passed by along the outskirts of the reserve. Just when I thought that a killer whale greeting couldn’t be topped I spotted Ollie the sea otter drifting and grooming in the kelp near Middle Rocks.

 

Could my first day back have been any better?!

Here are changes I’ve noticed (so far) since the end of March:

  • More kelp beds
  • Less pigeon guillemots, turnstones, and oyster catchers (will confirm with tomorrow’s census)
  • More plants and flowers on the main island
  • More sunlight! I’m looking forward to more solar and less generator use!
  • Increase in ecotourism vessels

Today’s facility work was minimal as I’m just settling back in, however I did complete the month end report which helped me get up to speed on fuel and water inventory on site.

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

Catastrophic moult

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OBSERVATIONS

This is my last full day here. The week has gone fast and slow. Time is different here. I spend countless hours watching the birds, mammals and the ocean. The intertidal is phenomenal. There is always “news”, elephant seals arriving, eagles catching prey, new birds momentarily setting down, sun rises, sunsets… this type of news is easy to get absorbed in.

This morning, once again, a gull had a goose egg at our back door. At this time there are no known eggs in any nests. When I first arrived the nest by the generator building had 2 eggs but they are gone. I watched the goose pull out its chest feathers to conceal the eggs when she left the nest. They were so well insulated and hidden. Below is the picture of the empty nest once the gulls had taken the eggs.

One of the elephant seals that I first saw yesterday morning is going through a “catastrophic moult”. Open sores on it’s back and abdomen. I also noticed it has laboured breathing and is shivering. I called Marine Mammal Rescue and sent them a video at rescue@vavqua.org. I know that the appearance of elephant seals can be upsetting when they are moulting but I was not aware that they get systemic symptoms. Also it is TAGGED with a green tag on it hind flippers. I have a picture but the numbers are not visible. I am continuing to see an opportunity to get the number.

I also saw a branded Stellar sealion, a small female? #895. If I don’t get a picture by the time I leave I will report it but I would prefer to report it with a picture.

Weather

calm wind variable all day, cloudy with periods of drizzle

Facility wok

ran the desalinator today when the generator was running

Vessel traffic

4 ecotourism boats

The Stellar sea lions are much quicker to vacate the rocks than the California sea lions when the tour boats come by. The tour boats do back off when the Stellar sea lions leave but they are still getting on and off a few times/day particularly the smaller ones, females and younger males.

 

Catastrophic moult

Bright blue gular on Brandt’s cormorant

two large female elephant seals

abandoned nest

Sunset reverence?

Wednesday Census

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I am writing this on Thursday although the census was done yesterday.

I was happy to welcome 3 new elephant seals to the island. Yesterday the count was at 5 and from what I can discern there are 2 large female, one subadult female, 1 small female and 1 small male. The small male is tagged. Update next post when I can get the number on its green tag.

Census

A sunny day in the intertidal

Mammals

Elephant seals 5

4 confirmed female and perhaps 1 male

Stellar sea lions 19

California Sea lions 33

Harbour seals 57 (mostly on surrounding rocks at low tide)

Sea otters 3 (seen off Turbine rocks 2 days ago)

Birds

Gulls   292 mostly glaucous wing and western and hybrids  (please see the amazing survey done last week by RPBO for species breakdown)

Bald Eagles 1 mature 2 immature about 1/2 and 1 year old

Turnstones 10

Cormorants 112 (roosting in the evening) the recent survey suggested the majority are Brandts, about 15% Pelagic and some Double Crested)

Dunlins 7

Surfbirds 56 (see photos below)

Rock Sandpiper? there may be some mixed in with the surfbirds see photo below

Fox sparrow 1

North western crow 1

 

Weather:

Clear and warm with mild variable winds mostly from the west

Visitors

Greg brought 3 boat loads of Pearson College biology students out with LAura to explore the low tides

Facility Work

Cleaned solar panels in the morning

wood to house

began cleaning fuel shed

Vessel traffic

A very noticeable change in the last several years in the marked increase in shipping traffic. I understand what a shipping lane is now. There is a CONSTANT stream of large container ships travelling by. There are about 6 on the horizon whenever I look out.

 

Constant shipping traffic

2? year old Bald Eagle

3 elephant seals , the 2 moulting are new

Surf Birds and others camouflaged

Mating has begun

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Observations: I am combining Saturday and Sunday. I wasn’t able to log in until Monday morning. Usually I like to write daily while events are still fresh that wasn’t an option.

The Mist Maiden, Romanzoffia tracyi, a red listed plant, is not yet blooming but coming up on the island.

There are 2 elephant seals on the island. They are both female. I am enclosing revealing pictures because often in posts the gender of the elephant seal can be assumed. In the future these pictures will be evidence!

The past 3 mornings I have opened the basement door to a new goose egg on the pavement being eaten by a gull. Why do they choose to bring the eggs to our door? Is it the least likely place to have it challenged?

…and the title for today, mating has begun.

 

Maintenence

Both Saturday and Sunday the solar panels were cleaned

The batteries topped up on Saturday

The fridge cleaned out

wood brought up to house for burning

Visitors and tour boats

On Saturday there were about 10 ocean touring boats. On Sunday closer to 30. As well on Saturday there were outrigger kayaks navigating Great Race.

Sunday Update

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This morning’s sunrise made up for yesterday’s gloom. All 3 elephant seals are still on the island. I’ve nicknamed the smaller female “Petal” because every time I find her she is squashing a different bed of flowers. Tonight she settled on the largest patch of grape hyacinth behind the house, but not before flattening the majority of the remaining daffodils. 

The darker of the new sea otters spent the morning around the South Island snacking on bright red urchins. It amazes me how they can make their way through the sharp spines and remain completely un-phased. I have not seen the little blonde one or Ollie this week. 

This afternoon I counted 26 California sea lions on the rocks near the jetty. I know this number may seem low for anyone whose here at busier times of the year but until today the most I’ve seen is 10! There was also one large Steller who snuggled himself in amongst the significantly smaller California boys. 

Lots of eagles around lately too!

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

 

Grey and Rainy

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Today was very grey and rainy but it didn’t stop the animals from showing off.

All 3 elephant seals (1 male, 2 females) are now on the main island. The smaller of the 2 females has been asleep in the grass behind the student house since last night. The larger one was chased up the boat launch by the male. For about 20 minutes he chased her around, lunging and throwing his head, grabbing her hind flippers and shaking them, both were very vocal. Since they are large and not so graceful this event (I’d call it a low-speed chase) involved lots of rest breaks. Finally the male made his way back to the water and the female found a place to sleep in the grass.

 

The torrential downpour was the perfect opportunity to deep clean the main house. Between cleaning I spotted 2 transient orcas, as well as the darker of the new sea otters a little while later.

 

So close but yet so far

This place is pretty unbelievable even when the weather isn’t!

Facility Work: (today and yesterday)

  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Split wood
  • Deep clean main house 
  • Cleaned windows of the main house inside and out
  • Cleared boat launch of drift wood
  • With the help of a very motivated Pearson student we also finished gardening around the old bricks at the base of the flywheel!

 

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Ecotourism vessels

Weather Events:

  • Saturday, March 23:
    • Sky: Dark cloudy skies, on and off heavy rain
    • Wind: High of WNW 10 knots, Low of ESE 1 knot
    • Sea: Calm
    • Temperature: Low 8oC, High  10oC

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

 

Weather – Current:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

Weather – Past:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?