Tag Archives: glaucous-winged gull chick

August 17

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Wildlife Notes:

  • The dead Steller sea lion is still in the jetty bay and untouched by scavengers. The tide last night did flip it over and move it slightly away from the boat ramp.

Facility work:

  • The generator ran automatically this morning from midnight to 08:00 because the state of charge dipped to 66%. This afternoon, the solar energy kept the battery topped up.

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 14
  •  Private: 4

Weather:

  • Sky: Partly cloudy
  • Wind: (mostly) west 1-15  knots
  • Sea: rippled
  • Air temperature: low 13 °C, high 16 °C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 11.5 °C

Photos from today:

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

August 13

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Wildlife Notes:

This morning, I spotted a Steller sea lion on the north side of the island that had a brand 460Y. This sea lion was branded 12 years ago as a pup in July 2013 in Rogue Reef, off the southern coast of Oregon. I have read that sea lions live between 20 to 30 years. I submitted the resighting to the researchers at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Check out this log post by Anne Stewart from April 2015, when this sea lion was last recorded at Race Rocks.

Facility work:

  • Check and top up the water in the 24 batteries

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 4

Weather:

  • Sky: Partly cloudy
  • Wind: west 19-39 knots
  • Sea: up to 3′ moderate
  • Air temperature: low 11 °C, high 19 °C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 11.6 °C

Photos from today:

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

August 10

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Wildlife Notes:

  • Many of the gull chicks and adult gulls were panting in the middle of the day, due to the high (for Race Rocks standards) heat reaching 21 °C. The low wind and clear sky helped crank the heat.

Facility work:

  • Tidying the top of the lighthouse tower and sweeping the stairs

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 16
  •  Private: 8

Weather:

  • Sky: Clear
  • Wind: variable, predominately from west 1 to 19 knots
  • Sea: rippled
  • Air temperature: low 11 °C, high 21 °C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 10.7°C

Photos from today:

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

August 9

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Weekly Census
Observed today in between fog patches.

Mammals:

  • Steller sea lion: 41
  • California sea lion: 35
  • Harbour seal: 105

Birds:

  • Bald eagle: 1
  • Canada goose: 4
  • Cormorant: 37
  • Gull: 495
  • Black oystercatcher: 16 (including 3 chicks)
  • Pigeon guillemot: 112
  • Harlequin duck: 2
  • Surfbird: 34
  • Black turnstone: 68

Facility work:

  • Check and top up battery water
  • Weed whacking paths

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 21

Weather:

  • Sky: fog with occasional patches of visibility up to 2 km
  • Wind: west 12-26  knots
  • Sea: rippled
  • Air temperature: low 12 °C, high 15 °C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 10.7°C

Photos from today:

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

August 6

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Wildlife Notes:

  • A scoop of brown pelicans stopped by the ecological reserve this afternoon. They rested and preened on the South Islands before taking off a couple hours later. A group of pelicans can go by many names: brief, fleet, pod, pouch, scoop, and squadron.
  • Many of the gull chicks are practicing their take offs and landings. Some are getting about 30 cm or higher off the ground during their wing strengthening exercises. Soon they will all take flight! Then I can stop walking around with a broom over my head to prevent the gull parents from attacking me.

Facility work:

  • The generator ran automatically this morning when the battery voltage dipped down to 47.8V just before 07:00am. The batteries did not fully charge from solar power yesterday due to the clouds. The generator ran for almost seven hours today, using about 30 L of diesel. The battery state of charge went from 65% to 100%, with only some assistance from solar energy since it was cloudy this morning.
  • Changed the relatively much smaller 12V battery in station boat after charging it for a couple days.

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 17
  •  Private: 3

Weather:

  • Sky: Cloudy this morning, partly cloudy this afternoon, fog patches in the evening
  • Wind: variable early this morning, west 4-30 knots from mid morning onwards
  • Sea: rippled for most of the day, then up to 3′ chop in the evening
  • Air temperature: low 13 °C, high 18 °C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 10.7°C

Photos from today:

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

August 3

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Wildlife Notes:

There were many humpback whales seen throughout the day to the south of the ecological reserve. They did not come close enough to this rock for any great photos. Although that did not stop me from trying. Many ecotourism boats spent time out there observing and must have got excellent photos from their vantage.

Three California sea lions have landed on the main island. This advanced team marks the beginning of the takeover that will last into the fall and winter, when several hundred of them will sleep, bark, and attempt to occupy any surface. The Californians have not always been the best neighbours at Race Rocks when it comes to the human built infrastructure. So far these three have been respectful and keeping to the perimeter.

A few times today, I saw a very small and fast bird flying around the middle of the tower. I wonder if it is living in the currently malfunctioning foghorn sensor nearby where I caught glimpses of the quick bird. Coast Guard technicians are planning to visit next week to do maintenance on their equipment like the foghorn. I will keep looking out with binoculars for the fast flyer. Hopefully the bird is actually living in the recently installed nesting boxes attached to a post above the ecoguardian’s back porch.

Facility work:

  • Run generator in the evening to top up the batteries after not getting enough solar energy on the mostly cloudy day
  • Clean windows in the lantern room so I can better spy on marine mammals
  • Clean ecoguardian’s house windows so I do not have to look out through guano

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 20
  •  Private: 1

Weather:

  • Sky: Cloudy in morning with some sunny patches in the afternoon and evening
  • Wind: west 16-29 knots
  • Sea: 1′ to 2′ chop
  • Air temperature: low 12 °C, high 16 °C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 11.5 °C

Photos from today:

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

August 1 Census

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Weekly Census:

Mammals:

  • Steller sea lion: 36
  • California sea lion: 4
  • Harbour seal: 129

Birds:

  • Canada goose: 9
  • Cormorant: 19
  • Gull: 556
  • Black oystercatcher: 10
  • Pigeon guillemot: 102
  • Short-billed dowitcher: 1
  • Surfbird: 22
  • Black turnstone: 52

Facility work:

  • Clean solar panels and windows
  • Tidy up the boat house

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 21

Weather:

  • Sky: Partly cloudy, fog in evening
  • Wind: west 22-41 knots
  • Sea: 3-4′ chop
  • Air temperature: low 12 °C, high 17 °C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 10.3°C

Photos from today:

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

It is my time to leave

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Once again, this is my last night on Race Rocks.

Wildlife notes:

The sea lions are steadily increasing each day and the sea gulls might have doubled in number in the last week. More gull chicks have fledged, leaving their parents guarding the old empty nesting areas. The female elephant seal may also have moved on as I have not seen her for a couple of days.

Facility work:

  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Ran generator and desalinator, fresh water tank is full with 4500L
  • Operation walkway – work in progress

Vessels:

  • 23 Ecotourism, 3 private

Weather:

Periods of fog until early afternoon then partial cloud. Wind direction variable, light to gentle breeze. Daytime temperatures: low 12, high 16.

 

I will miss this magical place

 

 

August 2

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I will contact NOAA and DFO to report the resighting of the California sea lion with the tag 13-2. The orange tags mean the sea lion was rehabilitated. The tag on the left flipper means the sea lion is a male. I will update the log when I hear back about his history. The rest of the California and Steller sea lions are currently hauled out on Middle Rocks. Perhaps this guy needs a break from the frat party.

Facility work:

  • Clean solar panels
  • Check guest house for supplies and cleanliness

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 12
  •  Private: 3

Weather:

  • Sea: rippled in morning, up to 3′ chop in afternoon/evening
  • Sky: Partly cloudy
  • Wind: variable light winds overnight; from 07:00-12:00 westerlies 8-20 knots; afternoon/evening westerlies 20-31 knots
  • Air temperature: low 12°C, high 21°C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 11.0°C

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

August 1 Census

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Census Results:

Mammals:

  • Elephant seal: 2 (female and male)
  • Steller sea lion: 34
  • California sea lion: 11
  • Sea otter: 1
  • Harbour seal: 78

Birds:

  • Bald eagle: 1
  • Canada goose: 3
  • Cormorant: 33
  • Gull: 584
  • Black oystercatcher: 20
  • Pigeon guillemot: 131
  • Whimbrel: 1
  • Surfbird: 28
  • Black turnstone: 137
  • Song sparrow: 2
  • Least sandpiper: 1

Facility work:

  • Reacquaint myself with the standard operating procedures and various systems on the island
  • Check boat electronics, safety equipment, and winch
  • Clean solar panels
  • Sample seawater

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 23
  •  Private: 5

Weather:

  • Sea: Rippled
  • Sky: Clear in morning, then partly cloudy
  • Wind: Variable light winds overnight until sunrise ~06:00, when wind switched to easterlies varying from 3-14 knots throughout the rest of the day
  • Daytime air temperature: low 13 C, high 24 C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 10.6 C

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