Tag Archives: elephant seals

Smokey Skies

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The wind was still, early this morning. It didn’t really start moving until mid-afternoon, 5 – 10 knots from an east-southeastly direction. Although it was sunny, there was a haze in the air that made for a blazing sunset last night and sunrise today. I am curious if this is smoke, all the way from Squamish, where there was a big creosote wharf fire a few days ago?

sunset

Are these red skies in the evening and the morning a result of the Squamish wharf fire?

Are these red skies in the evening and the morning a result of the Squamish wharf fire?

The barometer rose slowly until about noon and then it started to slowly fall, nothing dramatic and no strong winds. The forecast is for more of the same, with afternoon westerlies tomorrow.

Three whale watching boat were noted in the Ecological Reserve today. The last whale watching vessel of the day, idled slowly through, keeping a deferential distance away from the animals, Tourists were out on the bow, shooting pictures of the blazing sunset and lounging marine mammals. It was a tranquil scene. No sports fishers were observed either speeding in the Ecological Reserve or fishing in the closed area, although several passed through at speeds respectful of the wildlife in the area.

Passive Northern Elephant Seal data collection continued. As luck would have it, all seven animals that had been sleeping in the garden, woke up and decided to go for a swim late morning. This allowed me to take their photos as they passed by the measuring device. I was also able to get some photos inside mouths for dentition information while they were wallowing around gargling saltwater and ‘wrestling’. Tagged animal #5850 continues to hang out as one of the seven ‘gardeners’.

Dentition changes with age and can be a health indicator. Say ah.

Dentition changes with age and can be a health indicator. Say ah….

A branded and tagged California Sealion # U 902 was noted hauling out on South Islets this afternoon. Note the large range of sizes of both species.

California Sealion branded and tagged U902 also read as C902 C is for the mouth of he Columbia River where it was born.

California Sealion branded and tagged U902 (lower left) can also be read as C902. C is for the mouth of he Columbia River, where it was born.

 

There are still three pairs of Canada Geese trying to establish nest sites and they are having a hard time finding territories on this tiny island that already has at least nine Canada Goose nests. Maybe they will head over to Vancouver Island where there is more room. Their territoriality can get in the way of other species having a piece of the very small island as they chase off, not just each other, but Glaucous-winged Gulls, Black Oystercatchers and Pigeon Guillemots.

There were no visitors today. Maintenance chores were routine.  About 9:30 PM the phone/Internet went down for the seventh time since I arrived. Even that is becoming routine.

Westerly Winds Prevail

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Well it blew hard west, west-southwest all night and all day without let up. I didn’t see the tower anemometer drop below 20 knots and it was often gusting to 30 (and over last night). Although there were a few serious clouds and showers that came through it was overall a sunny day and the barometer climbed high and fast in the late morning, slowing to a more gradual ascent in the afternoon. The forecast continues to be the same with a strong wind warning in effect but winds are forecast to drop to 10 to 20 overnight and become light in the morning.

There were no boats of any kind in the Ecological Reserve today. It was a wild place with the wind combing whitecaps, on top of a big oceanic swell. Beautiful to watch from shore but not something you would want to be out in, especially in a small boat.

Northern Elephant Seals sleeping in the old garden.

Northern Elephant Seals sleeping in the old garden.

The ecological happenings are subtle right now. There is nest building, courtship, egg laying and brooding, lots of resting and sleeping by the seals and sealions and continuing predation by the eagles. The Northern Elephant Seals visiting Great Race spent the day sleeping in the heritage garden and another 22 animals could be seen asleep on Middle Rock bringing the total to 27. These are mostly sub-adult animals and some of them appear to be starting their moult. This time on land looks really labourious for them but it is important in building bone density to have some weight bearing time ashore.

Mian sleeepy M

I believe that the animals here on Great Race now are the some of the same ones that were here in the fall. It is easy to know for sure with the tagged animal and I am quite sure with one other animal that had terrible looking psoriasis last fall and still does now. The only place the skin is not scratched raw is under the flippers. The others look really familiar too but that could just be their generic elephant seal look.

It was sunny enough to run the desalinator off the solar energy today and it always feels good to know that the sustainability plan is paying off. Now we just need to add to the suite of diesel alternatives and wind is such a natural for this site.

There were no visitors today.

April 12

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As the sun set, the wind shifted around to south-southeast after blowing about 10 knots  from a westerly direction most of the day. The snow line across the Strait is very low and the chill in the air continues. Although there was some sunshine today producing a high solar radiation reading of 1,000 watts/m2, there was also a lot of cloud. The barometer reached a high of 1020 hPa mid-day and then began to fall. The forecast is for southeast showers switching back to westerlies tomorrow afternoon.

Only one tour boat was observed in the Ecological Reserve today and although there were dozens of sports-fishing boats all around the reserve none were observed inside.

American Pipits have been spotted bobbing and flitting around Great Race and there is a photo below as evidence. Thanks go out to Rocky Point Bird Observatory for the identification confirmation.

American Pipits have been busy feeding on insects on the ground at Great Race.

American Pipits  busy feeding on insects on the ground at Great Race.

Six Northern Elephant Seals came ashore at first light and spent the whole day sleeping in the garden. One was a tagged, with a pale green tag #5850. This same individual had two tags when I first saw it last fall, October 14.

Goose exclusion cage keeps seals from flattening all the grass. Cage may be flattened too.

Goose exclusion cage keeps seals from flattening all the grass. Cage may be flattened too.

Northern Elephant Seal tagged at Ano Nuevo as a weaner in 2012.

Northern Elephant Seal tagged at Ano Nuevo as a weaner in 2012.

 

The Canada Geese are in over-drive right now and uber-territorial. One pair tried again to take up residence in the entrance way to the de-salinator room which is just not going to work.

Canada Geese defending the entrance to the de-salinator.

Canada Geese defending the entrance to the de-salinator.

The Glaucous-winged Gulls are engaging in more definite pairing behaviours and also becoming more territorial. Many are nest building, pulling out chunks of grass turf for padding. Black Oystercatchers are looking broody too and I observed Black Oystercatchers eating limpets today.

 

There were no visitors today.

 

Almost the end of March.

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Visiting student group from Pearson College departs leaving tin of Maple Syrup behind. Merci beaucoups. Back L to R Hana, me, Chloe, Michael, Sebia, front Malou (L) and Annabelle (photographer).

Visiting student group from Pearson College departs leaving tin of Maple Syrup behind. Merci beaucoups. Back L to R Hana, me, Chloe, Michael, Sibia, front Malou (L) and Annabelle (Chris Blondeau photographer).

 

Fog from overnight burned off in the late morning revealing a beautiful day. Although the barometric pressure continued its gradual decline from yesterday, the winds were less than 10km/hour at ground level until early evening when a gentle westerly started. As the sun is setting, clouds gather in the west making god rays and but no sailor’s delight colours. The forecast is calling for showers and possibly even thunder and lightening on Tuesday afternoon and near gale force winds are expected to the west.

There were eleven Elephant Seals visibly hauled out on Middle Rock today and over 115 Harbour Seals hauled out, scattered on all the islets and rocks. There are many birds on and around the Reserve right now and I look forward to next weeks census. I am trying to persuade the usual gaggle of geese to move on but they are pretty persistent and in some cases quite peevish. While looking for nests, I came across several goose wings so something has been eating them, probably either the otters or the eagles. A total of four tour boats came to the Ecological Reserve to searching for that sort real life adventure, and viewing wildlife in glorious, afternoon sunshine.

That sunshine powered solar panels and batteries so well that the generator run time today was 50% of the daily average over the last two weeks. As day length grows, this will become a continuing trend. The solar panels are a really important piece of the sustainability puzzle on Race Rocks. Over the years Pearson College has done really well in reducing its dependency on fossil fuels on the island and the solar panels are big part of that reduction. Going from eight large oil tanks to one is a big step and of course also helps mitigate spill risk.

The reduction in emissions is not only helpful in reducing greenhouse gas and improving air quality, it is also helpful to the ocean. Ocean acidification, a lowering of pH due to atmospheric carbon dioxide uptake is a serious issue that some people call “the other C02 problem”. Our very close neighbours to the south, in Washington State are taking the threat of ocean acidification very seriously and are mobilizing to address this threat. Their efforts were precipitated by the near collapse of their oyster industry due to ocean acidification. It would be great to add a good pH meter to the kit here in order to monitor that aspect of water quality as ocean water sweeps past Race Rocks and into the inland Salish Sea.

Chores today included seawater sampling, sorting, moving and stacking wood, sweeping walkways, rotating composters, and keeping an eye on activities. The underwater camera is back up and running due to a quick fix and I have started to get to know the computer and its myriad of files again. There were no visitors today and I missed the students who were here on the weekend.

 

Last Week at the Race

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The day started with a red sunrise even though it was overcast and blowing east-northeast 15knots.

Red sky in the morning.

Red sky in the morning.

That wind continued all day, as the barometer fell and now as I write this blog, I see that there is a strong wind warning in effect for central Juan de Fuca Strait. I will find out what sort of sounds this vibrahome makes in the east wind. No autumn leaves here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igbpx26YE3k

Yes, there were whale watchers today and three were observed in the Ecological Reserve. The humpbacks are still around and of course, the pinnipeds here on Race Rocks. I was glad to see the sailing vessel Jack Mathews heading for the safety of Pedder Bay, as the last whale watchers sped off towards Constance Bank. Those students are on a sailing project week and came quite close to Race Rocks during their morning sail.

The last whale watching boat of the day taken through the front window.

The last whale watching boat of the day taken through the front window.

There are now 16 Northern Elephant Seals on the ramp and sealion numbers and distribution are similar to the last few days.

Northern Elephant Seals are the champion divers of the Pinniped world. We have a lot to learn from them when it comes to navigation, diving and fasting. Fascinating animals.

Northern Elephant Seals are the champion divers of the Pinniped world. We have a lot to learn from them when it comes to navigation, diving and fasting. Fascinating animals.

I have been keeping an eye out for the Steller Sealion disentanglement candidates and saw two of them about 20 meters away from the science house today.

Disentanglement candidate lying just outside science-house living room window.

Disentanglement candidate lying just outside science-house living room window.

Another ring-necked Steller Sealion hanging out beside the science-house.

Another ring-necked Steller Sealion hanging out beside the science-house.

A different view of the same animal resting above.

A different view of the same animal resting above.

A third ring-necked Steller Sealion, one that was branded as a pup at Rogue Reef, Oregon (#946R) was over on Middle Rock today and when I went to look for it I saw a beautiful young Peregrine Falcon.

It was amazing to watch this young Peregrine Falcon flying with such incredible expertise.

It was amazing to watch this young Peregrine Falcon flying with such incredible expertise.

 

The Peregrine Falcon killed an adult California Gull and the ravens, who probably follow the Peregrine around, managed to eat most of it.

Gull killed by Peregrine Falcon and eaten by ravens. Spooky Halloween stuff.

Gull killed by Peregrine Falcon and eaten by ravens. Spooky Halloween stuff.

The gull kill was very different from the other gull mortalities on the island. I photo documented over fifty gull mortalities when I first arrived. Today’s gull was partially plucked, while the other birds were not plucked and often had their heads pulled inside out (like taking off a turtleneck). I am quite convinced that the latter is the also spooky, handiwork of the river otters.

Although it is only Monday and I don’t leave until Friday, I am cleaning up for the next eco-guardian and packing up some of the recycling left here by what seems like, generations of eco-guardians (probably not). I finished going through all the photos and completed the first draft of my sealion brand spreadsheets. I had no idea when I started how much work it was going to be. The usual chores of washing the solar panels, taking the seawater samples and running the generator make a nice break from the computer work.

 

 

Autumn Storm

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The sunrise this morning was a brilliant band of red, silhouetting Mt Baker and foretelling of the blustery day to come. A true autumn storm arrived, with a north wind sustaining 20 – 25 knots (up the tower), most of the day. Air temperature was a little cooler than the sea surface temperature of 11.3oC today. There was also heavy rain and a falling barometer in front of the low. It is at 987.5 now ~ 5PM and it is still looking for the bottom. The forecast is for more of the same.

I keep expecting the whale watching industry to shut down for the season, but no, even today there were half a dozen visits to the Ecological Reserve. Ocean Magic surprised me as she came out from behind the north-west “hill” and flew past my living room window: definitely travelling at more than 7 knots through the Reserve. As yesterday, there were also open boats, with ruddy faces looking out from under hoods and hats. The temperature this afternoon reached a high of 10.5oC but with all that water falling from the sky and wind pushing it around, it didn’t look that comfortable just sitting in an open vessel.

A dozen Northern Elephant Seals have moved in and today they were lined up like hydrodynamic sausages, in front of the boat shed doors. ‘Gat’ (#5850-6967) is right in the middle of the pile and ‘Flake’ sleeps alone behind the boat-shed. There are at least two females and at least five sub-adult males. Sealions did not haul out on Great Race in the usual numbers today perhaps it was more comfortable on Middle Rock. There were still Humpback Whales just south of Rosedale Reef but most of the birds seemed to be hunkered down on the rocks. The Black Turnstones seem almost giddy with all the freshwater and are busy taking baths in the bigger puddles

Collecting the water sample was a bit wild today: first I had to get by the elephant seals and then the whole jetty was awash with the big waves that were rolling in. Quite exciting and successful. It was also a great day for collecting rainwater, looking on the bright side of the dark. This was the first day out here that I just took it easy. I lit a fire and read a book. Starting to think of home and my own hearth as my stay draws to a close. This is my last week at Race Rocks until spring.

Mega-fauna Draw

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It was another north-northeasterly day on Race Rocks. There was even some sunshine during the late morning and early afternoon but it clouded over for the latter part of the day. The barometer is dropping again and the forecast is for windy, cloudy and wet.

The weather did not deter the hardy whale watchers and nine tour vessels were observed in the Ecological Reserve.

Meno and WW

Killer Whales, Humpback Whales, Steller and California Sealions, Northern Elephant Seals and Harbour Seals were also observed from the Ecological Reserve creating the draw for tourists.

Sealions lounging

Most of my day was tied up with supporting the water technician’s visit to repair the desalinator, briefing fending off Elephant Seals, stowing fire hoses and entering/organizing data. During my tower trip I was able to see all of these species and noted three new brands on Steller’s Sealions on MiddleRock.

Mian boat ramp

Elephant seals occupy

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The barometer climbed right out of its 996 hole today and there was glorious sunshine mixed with dark and nasty, west to southwest squalls. Some of the gloomier squalls also brought thunder and lightening. Band after band of bright and dark passed from the southwest. There was also a substantial groundswell. All of the weather drama made for a spectacular sunset.

Oct24 sky

Six brave whale watching boats were observed in the Ecological Reserve today and the folks in open boats must have had an interesting time during the big, mid-afternoon windstorm with a sudden and sodden downpour. I was out in the middle of it too, standing by, on the end of the jetty, waiting for a landing, but was too rough. It was gusting ~ 25 knots when I left the lighthouse to meet the boat and there were about 300 sealions hauled out in front of the science house.

There were also five adult Brown Pelicans on South Rock in the middle of this tempest’s blast. They can huddle down into a very low aerodynamic, face into the wind, posture and they didn’t get blown away.

The sealions retreated to the water during the deluge and have only now hauled out again en masse, three hours later. Many of the Stellers are in full molt now and some of them are looking quite scruffy. ‘Flake’ is the only Northern Elephant Sea of the ten blocking the jetty this morning that looks like he is still moulting. He may have a skin condition, as it is quite pink and raw looking.

The biggest of this crew is starting to “sprout” the big proboscis for which the adult males are famous. It looked to me like it was quite uncomfortable and kept awaking and thrashing around and garbling. They must feel really heavy on land after being at sea so much of their life.

Flake, (top left) and other Northern Elephant Seals have taken over the entrance to the boat shed and jetty.

Flake, (top left) and other Northern Elephant Seals have taken over the entrance to the boat shed and jetty.

 

The seal on the left kept awaking from sleep disturbed and the one on the right would grip him each time it happened. I wonder if it hurts having your nose grow that fast?

The seal on the left kept awaking from sleep disturbed and the one on the right would grip him each time it happened. I wonder if it hurts having your nose grow that fast?

Today was census day and the results are listed below. I missed the Harbour Seals due to the ferocity of oncoming squalls but will try to catch them tomorrow.

Steller Sealion 318

California Sealion 381

Northern Elephant Seal 10

Canada Goose 22

Greater White-fronted Goose 1

Harlequin Duck 5

Double-crested Cormorant 118

Pelagic Cormorant 19

Brown Pelican 5

Black Turnstone 9

Surfbird 5

Sanderling 3

Western Sandpiper 2

Dunlin 2

Black Oystercatcher 12

Killdeer 2

Glaucous-winged Gull 150

Thayer’s Gull 1200

California Gull 2

Western Gull 7

Heerman’s Gull 4

Gull sp. 50

Common Murre 3

Fox Sparrow 2

Dark-eyed Junco 1

Savannah Sparrow 15

 

 

 

Spot the Mian.

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Weather was happening all around Race Rocks today but it was pretty nice here. There was a significant swell, which is nice to watch, unless you want to launch a boat. Across the Strait, on the American side, it was really pouring on the Olympic Peninsula especially in the Elwah Valley. Here, clouds came and went, it rained a little, it shone a bit and the barometer was actually up and steady after yesterday’s low. Forecast is for more of the same.

There were only two whale-watching boats observed in the Ecological Reserve today and one was a “new” catamaran vessel that I have not seen before, called “4-Ever Wild”.

Juan de Fuca Warrior spent the day with a crew diving in the Ecological Reserve most of the day again today. I forgot to mention that yesterday there were three happy kayakers enjoying a paddle in the Ecological Reserve and unwittingly getting a little too close to the sealions.

happy kayakers
Kayakers disturb sealions too

Some of the photos of sealions taken from the tower actually show Elephant Seals too. Can you spot the Elephant Seals in these two photos?
spot the Mian
spot the Mian2

I spent quite a bit of time troubleshooting web-cams, “watertight boxes”, power and ethernet lines, not very successfully, but maybe tomorrow. I changed both of the cartridge filters on the desalinator today. I worked on further organization of the brand, tag and entanglement data for both species of sealion and got some new photos of brands.
Zaca U255 Oct 20

The Steller Sealion in the background Euju 299Y was I believe, tagged on St. George Island in the Bering Sea. The Y refers to that location which is close to 5,000 kilometers away from Race Rocks. Looking for confirmation of this amazing voyage.

The Steller Sealion in the background Euju 299Y was I believe, tagged on St. George Island in the Bering Sea. The Y refers to that location which is close to 5,000 kilometers away from Race Rocks. Looking for confirmation of this amazing voyage.

The Tale of Two Tags

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It is a beautiful evening with God rays and backlit clouds after light westerly winds and rain showers for most of the day. The afternoon swell told of offshore storms but the wind waves here were fairly calm throughout the day. The barometer continued yesterday’s slide in the morning but climbed out its bowl after lunch and is still climbing as the sun sets over behind Neah Bay. Tomorrow looks finer but strong wind warnings continue and it looks like it will turn to another southeaster by evening.

The sun was setting north of the Straits of Juan de Fuca when I arrived at the end of August. Now it sets in behind Neah Bay

The sun was setting north of the Straits of Juan de Fuca when I arrived at the end of August. Now it sets in behind Neah Bay

In spite of wet, cool weather, the whale watching boats continue to ply their trade and a total of four boats were noted in the Ecological Reserve today. There are also hardy sports-fishers, still looking for the big one. Most of those boats steer around the Ecological Reserve and a minority of those who pass through, still do not heed the Ecological Reserve speed limit of 7 knots.

More on the tagged Elephant Seal spotted last Sunday. I thought that I had found another tagged animal yesterday because even though I was fairly sure it was the same animal #6967, the tag I spotted was #5850. I finally managed to get a photo showing both tags.

Mark re-capture or re-sight data is used to estimate population numbers and tendencies. These two tags tell of an interesting story about assumptions and how we need to be careful of our assumptions as they can hide the truth.

Mark re-capture or re-sight data is used to estimate population numbers and tendencies. These two tags tell of an interesting story about assumptions and how we need to be careful of our assumptions as they can hide the truth.

Patrick Robinson, Director of Ano Nuevo Reserve, explained that they are double-tagging Northern Elephant Seal weaners with non-matching numbers and it was interesting to learn why. Mark-racapture is a technique long used by biologists to determine population sizes and is based on known proportions, the number of individuals marked versus the total number counted. The students at Pearson College use this technique to estimate limpet populations. Mark re-sight is similar and, you guessed it, recapture is not necessary, just re-sighting. Adult bull Northern Elephant Seals can weigh up to 2,000 kilos, be 4 meters long and are known to be aggressive so I am really relieved that recapture is not needed to do the math. What is messing up the math is the assumption the animals that have lost their tags are dead and of course it is much more complex than that even if they have two tags.
Researcher Lisa Schwarz, of Dan Costa’s lab at the University of California Santa Cruz, is experienced modelling demographics in other species of marine mammal, including the Southern Elephant Seal. She is now looking at problematic assumptions about tag loss that can reduce perceived survival rates in Norther Elephant Seals. In Southern Elephant Seals, her team found that the “assumption of independent tag loss produced an underestimate in the proportion of animals with zero tags which led to underestimates in survival.” It turns out for many species that they are more likely to lose both tags than just one. They also found that tag loss varies with age, sex and health. Her work on Northern Elephant Seals will further refine the demographics modelling for this species. That is the backstory of the tale of two tags which is of course really just the tip of the iceberg. If you want to read more here is a link to Lisa’s paper on Southern Elephant Seals. http://www.esajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1890/ES12-00132.1

Lisa Schwartz is interested to see if Northern Elephant Seals' tag loss patterns are similar to their southern 'cousins'. The results may have implications for predicting accurate survival rates in young animals, adult males and females.

Lisa Schwartz is interested to see if Northern Elephant Seals’ tag loss patterns are similar to their southern ‘cousins’. The results may have implications for predicting accurate survival rates in young animals, adult males and females.

Maintenance chores were mostly of the indoor variety today after getting pretty soaked doing a quick town run in the boat. I have improved my landing technique and tie two lines crossed in front of the bow while winching the boat aboard the cradle. It seems to reduce the stern movement a little. The swell was also more manageable today. Picking your weather for boating forays is key to safety at Race Rocks.