Tag Archives: facility work

Facility Work Friday

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Happy Friday! I can’t believe today is already the last day of May, I feel like I just got back out here and now I only have a few days left!

Greg came over this morning with the Ocean Network Canada team who is working on the CODAR unit here. While they got to work, Greg, myself, and the new eco guardian (who will be starting after me) also got to work.

We managed to get quite a lot done (see list below) before the tide started dropping the everyone had to head out. This includes the highlight of my day which was Greg putting together my brand new herding board! Well…brand new to Race Rocks at least and hand made from repurposed materials!

Herding boards are typically used on farms to move pigs and other small animals from one area to another but I’ve used them for years when working in marine mammal rescue and they’re very effective with pinnipeds. It’s essentially an intimidating barrier between the person and the animal which makes moving them safer and in my experience more efficient.  I’ve been eyeing a piece of plywood in the basement of the student house for a while and today Greg found the perfect handles. The next few days are supposed to be rainy so if I’m feeling creative I may have to paint it too.

I got to test it out when one of the female elephant seals was blocking the path today which became a hazard for all our guests on site. It worked like a charm and she found the board very offensive so quickly moved off the path and went down to take a swim.

The male elephant seal is still here and massive as ever – he is not an animal I would use a herding board with or ever attempt to move. He moves about as he pleases around here and if he is blocking a path then I find a different one.

I think this is what people refer to as “a face only a mother could love”

Facility Work:

  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Repaired electric fence
  • Topped up battery electrolytes
  • Worked on desalinator
  • Fuel transfer up to generator building
  • Replaced main house propane tanks

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

Killer Whales Everywhere!

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What a killer day!

I think the rainy days might be my favourite so far. This morning it poured with rain as I drank my coffee, the mist hung low around the reserve and I could see the steamy breath of the sea lions as they yelled and yawned.

The ocean surface was glassy, and Ollie casually floated in the water around South Seal Rocks. Sometimes I think that otter has spent so little time around other otters and so much time around pinnipeds that he thinks he is a seal. The seals are completely unbothered by him, just giving him the occasional side eye.

I completed most of my to do list in the rain, which makes the cleaning tasks far easier. Around noon I headed inside to eat and just as I was about to sit down I noticed a few slow moving ecotourism boats in the distance. I ended up eating my lunch with one hand and holding the binoculars in the other to try and figure out what was coming my way. After a few minutes I saw at least 5-6 transients heading towards me so I ran out with my camera. As per usual they stuck to the outside of the reserve, although this time they passed by slightly closer. No hunting today, they were on the move with an adorable baby in tow. Each time it came up for a breath it basically flung it’s entire body out of the water. As I watched them I looked up and a flock of 19 brown pelicans flew over my head, I think the rainy days might be the best for spotting animals!

After that amazing experience, I went back inside to try and sit down yet again. I had barely taken off my shoes when I saw 2 more boats heading my way from the same direction as the previous ones. I pulled the binoculars back out only to find ANOTHER family of 5-6 transients following the same route as the others. These ones came closer and actually cut into the reserve, but not too close, sticking a couple hundred meters behind the South Islands. This family had an even smaller baby with them which was exciting to see. No hunting for these guys either, another quick pass by but I was grateful that it was the closest I’ve seen yet!

At this point I gave up on taking a break for the day. I continued on with my to do list and just as I went down to the jetty to take the salinity and temperature readings, 2 large killer whales popped up 100m in front of me. Of course I didn’t have my camera with me but I’ve never seen orca so close from land before, it was incredible. By the time I sprinted back inside to get my camera they were almost at the outskirts of the reserve. The current was strong so they came up that one time in front of me and by the time they surfaced again they were already out near Turbine Rock where they took another dive and I wasn’t able to spot them again.

Today was unbelievable, I am truly living the dream out here!

Facility Work:

  • Topped up battery electrolytes
  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Cleaned outside windows of both houses
  • Chopped wood and kindling
  • Scrubbed algae off of outer lighthouse stairs
  • Swept/cleaned deasal bunker floor

Vessels:

  • Ecotourism: 15
  • Private: 1

Weather:

  • Sky: Clouds and rain
  • Wind: Low of 1 knot, High of 7 knots
  • Sea: Flat
  • Temperature: Low 8•C, High 13•C

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

So Many Sea Lions!

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I swear the sea lions have doubled in number since yesterday’s census! Or maybe they just ALL decided to hangout around the jetty today. Between the Stellers and the California’s I counted 40 sea lions out front this afternoon! Okay, so maybe they haven’t quite doubled…but there is about 10 more today and that seems significant.

One of the California sea lions had an orange flipper tag with the numbers 14-1 on it. While the Vancouver  Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society uses these tags, this is not the numbering system they use so I’m still on the hunt to find out where he came from. I’ve reached out to a few of my contacts in Washington and California to see if its an American tag but no luck so far. I’ll be sure to update the blog when I find out!

I also noticed a different California sea lion with a large wounded front flipper. The wound was clean and pink with no noted necrosis or signs of infection and he seemed otherwise fat and healthy. All good signs, especially when there is a wound of that size! Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) keeps track of all incidents, disturbances, deaths, injuries, etc when it comes to marine mammals so although this animal doesn’t require intervention I did report it to them so they can add it to their yearly totals. I hope this guy sticks around over the next few weeks so I can observe his healing progress!

Aside from staring at sea lions, I did do some actual work today. While I love how lush and green the site is right now, the plants have overgrown so much that they’ve made some of the paths nearly non existent. I decided to fix that today with a weed whacker which I had way too much fun with. I got a few done and  I still have a few paths to work through, trying my best to only clear the edges and not take away anything that isn’t necessary. We’ve just had so many guests and students this month that I want to ensure everyone actually has a nice path to walk on!

I also found a few new patches of these pretty pink flowers around the house today. It amazes me how many different flowers and plants grow here and I wonder how they got here. Some of them pop up in the most random places so I wonder if they were intentionally planted at one point and have now spread. I enjoy it either way!

Facility Work:

  • Rolled fire hoses
  • Big clean of main house
  • Weed whacked along the paths
  • Cleared out garbage from student house basement

Visitors:

  • Cedric + 2 contractors

Vessels:

– Ecotourism: 7

Weather:

  • Sky: Blue sky, some clouds
  • Wind: Low of 7 knots, High of 17 knots
  • Sea: Relatively calm
  • Temperature: Low 8•C, High 18•C

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

Thursday Update

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I think I experienced every possible type of weather today! From a beautiful rainbow at sunrise to dark clouds and sideways rain, to enough sun to charge the batteries to 100%, to now window rattling wind as I type this. I guess that’s technically not EVERY type of weather, but at this point I wouldn’t be shocked by a snow storm before dark.

Weather aside, today was still very productive which is my favourite kind of day. No boats in the reserve today which wasn’t surprising.

Facility work:

Cleaned outer windows of both houses

Finished work on desalinator; it has been leaking so Cedric did some work on it yesterday and I finished putting it back together this morning but unfortunately it still leaks so more work to come!

Lots of cleaning and organizing inside the house, the wind is too strong for much else right now. My favourite thing to do when the weather is bad is to bake so I quickly whipped up some banana muffins during the rain. I always do my best to not waste any food and make the most of all my supplies here so this was the perfect opportunity to make use of my very brown bananas. 

DND:

– 6 blasts throughout the day; minimal animal disturbance noticed (although I nearly jump out of my skin every time!)

Unphased

Weather:

  • Sky: Cloudy, sun and clouds in afternoon
  • Wind: Low of 17 knots, High of 20 knots, gusts up to 31 knots
  • Sea: Rough, whitecaps
  • Temperature: Low 9•C, High  15•C

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