Tag Archives: glaucous-winged-gull

Branded Sea Lion Back

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Today the weather was like a sandwich, with winter as the bread and spring in the middle. The wind did not relent all day, blowing north by northwest in the morning, with more of a southwest spin, peaking in the afternoon. Now as the sun sets, the wind is easing a little and dramatic rain showers sweep out of the bottom of clouds to the west. The barometer bottomed out late morning and is tentatively climbing now. Tons of new snow on the Olympic Mountains, gives them a magnificent look and brings a chill to the air here only 15 kilometres across the Strait.

I only noted one whale watching boat today but may have missed some while working out of view. Most of the tour boats stop by on the south side to see sea lions hauled out and sleeping in the water there. The photo below was taken a few days ago when the weather was kinder and the animals in the water had just awoken with a start. There were no sports fishers observed in the Ecological Reserve today.

"Whale watchers" and sea lions that just woke up.

“Whale watchers” and sea lions that just woke up.

The first thing I noticed this morning was that there were a lot more sea lions hauled out than yesterday (census day). I scanned them with binoculars and noticed right away there was a branded Steller’s or Northern Sea Lion. Even before coffee, which is something for me, I was outside taking photographs. Although the image quality isn’t great due to the distance, it is good enough to match to an individual that was here on September 10, 2014 during my first shift.

 

A branded sea lion interacting with haul-out mates on South Seal Islands.

A branded sea lion interacting with haul-out mates on South Seal Islands.

 

This male 533R was branded as a pup in July, 2007 on Rogue Reef. His daytime activity here is practically nil. He lifts his head once and a while to interact with his closely packed neighbours, otherwise he sleeps all day. I wonder if he is full of herring? I also wonder if they forage at night right now?

Sealions hauled out on the south islet. 533R is in the middle of the back row.

Sealions hauled out on the south islet. 533R is in the middle of the back row.

Glaucous-winged Gulls seem to sit tight during the day now too. I guess they are establishing nesting territories and resting up for parental duties. They all lift off when a Bald Eagle passes over or a Peregrine Falcon swoops around the island but soon settle back in place waiting patiently.

There are many more Pigeon Guillemots in the Ecological Reserve now than can nest here and they seem to like to forage in fairly large groups, right in the rips and standing waves of the big currents. I would like to see one underwater, using their little alcid wings to fly through the water while steering with their wildly red feet.

Eleven visitors graced the island with their presence today and it was good to interact with people again. Michael who is on the Pearson College board and his family came out with Chris and Alex for a tour. Alex, a student at Pearson College was deckhand and tour guide and did an excellent job of both. Chris solved my water woes by simply turning on a valve that I hadn’t managed to get open.

Chores today included unsuccessful trouble-shooting on cameras #2 and #5, disassembling a bunk bed (probably much easier with two people), and moving the bed frame to the foreshore for pick-up. Seawater sampling, fresh water production and electrical generation, balanced out with more wood clean-up and walkway sweeping. The best thing, was putting up a fresh, new Canadian flag to replace the winter worn one that was fraying badly in the wind.

Uneventful Weather: Perhaps a Small Blessing.

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The weather at Race Rocks was spectacularly uneventful today. The barometer creeped down, little by little all day, to end not much lower than it started, at 2018 hPa. The sky was overcast with a bit of drizzle from time to time. Winds were light and at ground level the wind never got over 10 km/hr. The whole thing fizzled out into a patchy fog as darkness fell.

I didn’t see any tour boats in the Ecological Reserve today other than the Dive Boat from Ogden Point. There were plenty of sport-fishers, but all outside the reserve, trying to catch halibut. The currents are so strong here that they have to anchor to fish a specific spot and it looks like it can be challenging.

There were over 100 Pigeon Guillemots here today and it was a treat to watch them in their new, bright plumage as they bobbed and dove in the currents. The Glaucous-winged gulls are also looking very dapper in their new feathers and they seem to be spending a lot of time head dipping and bill raising and generally shuffling around looking like they are biding their time for the perfect alignment of day length and the Milky Way for nesting. Bald Eagles, two adults and sub-adult were hunting on Great Race today and they would make the gulls all lift off from time to time. That was the big excitement of the day. It was generally just a blissful sort of day.

My student visitors left in the late morning, picked up by Chris Blondeau in Second Nature. It was such a treat to have them on the island for my first few days. I felt lucky to have such an auspicious start. These students may be humble but they are really very special. I found out during our safety briefing that the five young ladies from Greenland, Guatemala, Quebec and young man from New Brunswick, were collectively trained as fire fighters, first-aid responders and counsellors, as part of their duties at Pearson College. These young people have my respect and are really using education as “a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.” When I asked them what made their stay on the rock special and why it should be maintained as part of Pearson College, they mentioned things like peacefulness, quiet, nature, hopefulness, the importance of the marine protected area. They also said how great it is to just get away and how lucky they felt, to be able to come to such a special and beautiful place.

As we said our goodbyes on the jetty, they presented me with a hand-drawn thank you card and a can of Maple Syrup from Quebec. How sweet! There is something about Maple Syrup that is beyond delicious.

I did the regular chores today, getting back into the routine of spot checks, VHF monitoring, seawater sampling, washing solar panels, clearing walkways, running the generator and generally fighting entropy. I also managed to clear a few pernicious, waterlogged chunks of wood that were blocking the marine railway, which was really satisfying. It was fun to use the pee-vee and pike pole and I managed to stay mostly dry.

Back on the Rock

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Last night’s storm blew in just as shift-change finished. Nick Townley waved goodbye from Second Nature as Chris Blondeau, still in his dry-suit from the diving activity, pulled the vessel out into the tidal stream and headed her back to Pedder Bay.

Nick Townley

Nick Townley ( a photo from last fall, selfie?).

Six students from Pearson College came out to the rock for the weekend and I started my shift with great company. Their goal was to catch up on studies (and sleep (my guess)) and to have their own experience in this gem of a biodiversity hotspot.

As we unpacked and settled into the two houses, heavy rain followed the black horizon moving in quickly from western Strait of Juan de Fuca. It was very nice to be snug inside as it was a wild night with heavy squalls. There were quite a few rattles and thumps that I didn’t recognize from last fall’s storms. Morning broke with gusts over 30 knots in the tower and alternate clearing skies and rainbows shone through and faded out on all sides. It was a white water scene with wind and current colliding in a frenzy. The barometer which had taken a nose dive Thursday and Friday, climbed back up to over 1024 HPa from Friday’s low of 1009. By noon, the westerly winds had dropped to 12 knots and the afternoon and evening was uneventful; overcast with showers and light winds shifting to northwest.

Although there was no fishing activity in the Ecological Reserve (ER) today, five wildlife viewing tour boats were noted. I was surprised by the number of both Northern and California sealions still hanging out and there were at least 75 Harbour Seals hauled out in the afternoon (not a complete count. I saw two pairs of adult bald eagles and numerous other birds including Canada Geese, Black Oystercatchers, Harlequin Ducks, Black Turnstones, Pigeon Guillemots, Double-crested and Pelagic Cormorants and an interesting mix of gulls. Many of the Glaucous-winged Gulls are already paired up and getting excited about spring. They are scattered around Great Race in all the places that there were nests last year. A much more condensed flock of gulls with about 100 birds was hunkered down in the lee of the rock on the west side of the science house. This flock was a mix of some unexpected visitors including Herring Gulls, Ring-Billed Gulls and even a few California Gulls, probably en route somewhere else. As dusk fell last night I heard the calls of Killdeer and it really felt like my home away from home.

It was great to get back up the tower again and have a good look around and for fun and more exercise, I started clearing off some of the winter’s woody debris accumulated on the marine railway. Greenlanders Hana and Malou joined in and we made it into a bit of a game, practicing our aim and strengthening arms. When we finished there was a stream of wood heading out to sea and we hoped that the whale watching boats were avoiding the busy tide lines.

March 19 – Last Day of Winter- Census

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Raining
Wind: NE 4-14 knots
Air Temperature: Low 8.8°C, High 10.3°C
Ocean Temperature: 8.8°C

The wet conditions were helpful with cleaning some exterior walls and windows. The rain water cistern was filled up from the roof. The rain also helped wash away the algae and slime on the walls, along with some scrubbing.

The low light and rain made the census difficult. In recent days, there has been a much higher number of harbour seals hauled out on the rocks. The sea lions also spent most of the day in the water. It was not possible to distinguish between the species of cormorants on Turbine or Middle Rock.

There were no boats seen in the reserve today.

Census results:
Steller Sea Lion: 59
California Sea Lion: 62
Harbour Seal: 21
Bald Eagle: 7
Cormorant: 27
Canada Goose: 24
Gull: 352
Black Oystercatcher: 4
Harlequin Duck: 9
Pigeon Guillemot: 13
Surfbird: 4
Black Turnstone: 16
Rock Sandpiper: 6
Savannah Sparrow: 1

Shift Change

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The wind was blowing northeast this morning 20 – 25 knots, it dropped mid-afternoon for about an hour and then swung to the west. The west came on strong in the late afternoon and blew over 25 before settling down to 15 -20 knots. The barometer, which has been falling all day, started climbing at 19:00 and the forecast for tomorrow is looking better with light winds forecast.
There were only two whale watching vessels spotted in the Ecological Reserve today. There were no other vessels other than Second Nature dropping off Nick Townley the new eco-guardian and Pearson College student Riikka who is here to finish her project week.
The results of the census are as follows:
Steller Sealion 447

California Sealion 433

Northern Elephant Seal 16

Harbour Seal 17

Canada Goose 24

Greater White-fronted Goose 1

Double-crested Cormorant 324

Pelagic Cormorant 29

Brown Pelican 2

Black Turnstone 12

Sanderling 3

Dunlin 4

Black Oystercatcher 24

Killdeer 4

Glaucous-winged Gull 700

Thayer’s Gull 2400

California Gull 3

Western Gull 45

Heerman’s Gull 76

Fox Sparrow 1

Savannah Sparrow 11

Most of the work today was packing, cleaning,  and training Nick in preparation for departure tomorrow.

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

 

 

 

The Tie That Binds

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It was another northeast day, with really not much happening weather wise. It blew NE about ten knots, was mostly overcast in the morning, with some sun in the afternoon. The barometer rose gradually all morning and then started to slowly slide after noon. It is expected that tomorrow’s southeast will bring rain, starting late tonight.

The whale watching boats were busy in the afternoon with Humpback Whales to the southeast of Race Rocks and more activity out to the west. A total of eight tour boats were seen in the Ecological Reserve.

Today was mega-fauna census day and these are the results:
Steller Sealion 298
California Sealion 508
Harbour Seal 79
Northern Elephant Seal 9
River Otter 2
Canada Goose 22
Greater White-fronted Goose 1
Harlequin Duck 5
Double-crested Cormorant 61
Pelagic Cormorant 15
Black Turnstone 9
Surfbird 5
Black Oystercatcher 38
Glaucous-winged Gull 145
Thayer’s Gull 1482
California Gull 3
Western Gull 7
Heermann’s Gull 35
Gull sp. 52
Common Murre 1
Common Raven 2
Fox Sparrow 2
Savannah Sparrow 15

Here are a couple of shots of Surfbirds, alone and with Black Turnstones.

Surfbirds resting in the Jetty Bay.

Surfbirds resting in the Jetty Bay.

Subi & Bltu
The census was challenging due to the numbers and species of gulls and the fact that both Steller Sealion and Harbour Seal numbers were lower than expected during the morning count, so they were re-counted in the early evening. I generally like to count Harbour Seals on the morning low tide but the tide wasn’t really doing much today. The evening counts were higher for both the Steller and the Harbour Seals. Two new Elephant Seals arrived today. They are both moulting, the smaller one hung out with the dual tagged three year-old, which appears to be staying on. The bigger animals may have gone back to Middle Rock as there were still six animals visible there.

Ring-necked animals as well as tagged and branded animals were also re-surveyed today. I am still working on the branding data from a month ago. Two of the ring-necked Steller Sealions that have been observed since August are still here and languishing as the plastic straps cut into the backs of their necks. I am putting out an appeal to the disentanglement crew again.
Euju plastic_strap Oct16
Euju oct 16 close-up
The second ring-necked animal ‘highlighted’ here is also branded on its’ left side 946R. I believe that it was branded at its’ natal colony which from the R should be Rogue Reef in southern Oregon. From the number it was branded after 2009 but I will find out more.

If it is not lying on its' left side this ring-necked Steller's Sealion is easy to tell apart from the others.

If it is not lying on its’ left side this ring-necked Steller’s Sealion is easy to tell apart from the others.

Like the other Steller it has plastic strapping, which is visible on the ventral surface.

Like the other Steller it has plastic strapping, which is visible on the ventral surface.

This is a bit gory but I hope it will inspire the disentanglement team to come to Race Rocks.

This is a bit gory but I hope it will inspire the disentanglement team to come to Race Rocks.

The Atlin Post passed by Race Rocks today but did not slow. Must have been in a hurry.

The Atlin Post passed by Race Rocks today but did not slow. Must have been in a hurry.

Did not do much maintenance today other than the basic cleaning, making water with the desalinator and electricity with the generator.

Pea Soup

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It was socked in with fog as thick as pea soup today. It cleared off this evening just before six and well in time for a fantastic sunset and my realization that it was probably a beautiful day, just about everywhere else in the region.

California Sea Lions silhouetted by setting sun.

California Sea Lions silhouetted by setting sun.

There was not much wind today, the high was 5 knots out of the east-northeast and everything is damp almost as if it had rained. Most of the day the flag hung limp and a bit sodden. The barometer continued yesterday’s gradual rise until about noon when it started to slowly decline, ending up at about the same place it started. The forecast looks like rain for at least a week but it probably just means showers. I keep forgetting that rain here and rain in Bamfield are just not the same thing.

There were no whale-watching boats observed although one commercial sports fishing boat stopped by to have a look at the sea lions.

The results of this weeks’ large animal census follows:

Steller’s Sea Lion 173
California Sea Lion 412
Harbour Seal 136
Elephant Seal 12
River Otter 1
Canada Goose 20
Greater White-fronted Goose 5
Harlequin Ducks 8
Double-crested Cormorant46
Pelagic Cormorant 5
Black Oystercatchers 20
Black Turnstones 6
Killdeer 4
Glaucous-winged Gull 88
Glaucous-winged x Western Gull Hybrid
Thayer’s Gull 303
Heerman’s Gull 17
California Gull 12
Western Gull 2
Ring-billed Gull 2
Gull sp, 260
Bald Eagle (adult) 1
Fox Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 17

Most of the sea lions have moved over to the west side of the island and are hauling out on Middle Island and some of the smaller rocks. They are seem to be spending much more time in the water instead of sleeping on land and salmon kills are visible all over the Ecological Reserve when the visibility is good enough to see.

Wall-to-wall California Sea Lions catch a nap in a pile.

Wall-to-wall California Sea Lions catch a nap in a pile.

Thayer’s Gulls are the dominant gull now in terms of numbers and they seem to spend a lot of their day resting and grooming. All the gulls seem to take advantage of the sea lion feeding events as bits of salmon are flying. I double-checked my Thayer’s Gull identification with Dick Cannings and his super-birder son, Russell and they concur that this is a Thayer’s Gull.

Race Rocks is an important resting, roosting and feeding place for Thayer's Gulls recovering from a busy summer in the Arctic.

Race Rocks is an important resting, roosting and feeding place for Thayer’s Gulls recovering from a busy summer in the high Arctic.

My biggest task today was attempting to muck out the roof of the energy building where the solar panels are installed. It reminded me of a stable job I had when I was a kid. I actually used a snow shovel to scoop out the organic crud that had built up under the last of the panels to be raised by the electrician yesterday. The rest of the day’s maintenance-type activities were the regular jobs entailed in living here; making fresh water, topping up the batteries with the generator (even the solar panels had a hard time keeping up in the thick fog), doing the seawater sampling and sweeping a few walkways.

Fogimatrix.

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The weather here was dominated by fog today. It lifted in an interesting way this morning so that you could see out and under the fog for several miles yet there was thick fog above, at very low elevation. The rising sun shone through this clear layer, creating a weird and wonderful lighting effect from below. By mid-day the fog had burned off and sunshine prevailed at sea level. There was still fog in the shipping lane and the tops of the Olympic mountains were visible. The fog flowed back in by mid-afternoon and thickened steadily after that, pushed in by a westerly fog wind. During the day there wasn’t much wind until late afternoon/early evening when it picked up to 15 to 20 knots from the west. The barometer continued its slow trend downward that started a few days ago and the forecast looks relatively good until rain on Friday.

There was a fairly steady parade of whale watching boats in the Ecological Reserve today. They were looking at Humpback Whales, Harbour Porpoise and of course the Sea Lions. Sixteen tour boats were noted although I may have missed some in the fog. One of the tour operators had the chance to see a really big (tyee) spring salmon swimming through the kelp forest.

There were sports fishers catching Coho, Spring and Chum Salmon to the south and west of Race Rocks and many sea lions were also busy catching salmon while at the same time helping to feed the gulls with their scraps, not out of any benevolence, just because they are messy eaters.

There are many gulls here now including Glaucous-winged, Glaucous-winged hybrids and Thayer’s gull which are challenging to distinguish. I look forward to doing the census first thing tomorrow to try and figure out how many of which species. The Heerman’s Gulls continue to benefit from sea lion salmon treats which they certainly can’t do where they breed in Mexico. I like watching them. They are very beautiful and have a interesting feeding behaviours that they may have learned from birds like skimmers where they live rest of the year. They fly with their lower bill hanging down just above the water and occasional skim the water with it, catching small prey.
There are many sea lions on the west side of the island now and the westerly wind carries the dusty grime from them onto everything in its path. The Savannah Sparrows feed in and around the sea lions.

These little Savannah Sparrows forage through the sea lion waste picking up morsels and probably a few parasites.

These little Savannah Sparrows forage through the sea lion waste picking up morsels and probably a few parasites.

Elephant Seals have been hauling out on Middle Rock for over a month and now some are back on Great Race again. There was a small one hauled out on the northeastern side and a bigger one on the railway with the sea lions.

This Elephant Seal is napping with California Sea Lions on the marine railway.

This Elephant Seal is napping with California Sea Lions on the marine railway.

Washing the solar panels took a long time this morning. They were really dirty. I will do them after the census and it will probably take even longer, tomorrow as I want to shovel off the organic stuff that has accumulated before the electrician arrives to work on the panels. Today I readjusted to life on Race Rocks, finished the month-end report for September, did the seawater sample, made freshwater with the desalinator, ran the Lister generator and sorted photos as well as sea lion brand and entanglement data.

This entangled California Sea Lion has been spotted repeatedly since the end of August.

This entangled California Sea Lion has been spotted repeatedly since the end of August.

Out of the Fog

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I returned to Race Rocks today after attending the Trans-Atlantic workshop on Ocean Literacy and the European Marine Science Educator’s conference last week, in Gothenburg, Sweden. I am refreshed and inspired to finish off my shift at Race Rocks.
It was warm and sunny when Courtney and I left Pearson College in Pedder Bay this morning but as we drove southeast towards Race Rocks, we were soon enveloped in the cool, damp fog. As the sunny peaks of the Olympic Mountains slid out of view, obscured by fog, the dark shape of North Islet emerged and behind it came Great Race and the light-tower, out of the fog. It is great to be back and was just as great for Jeff, who was filling in, to leave.
It was foggy on and off all day with a few periods of sunshine with visibility of over a nautical mile. Throughout the day, the foghorn blew and I could hear ships signaling as they navigated the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the fog. There was no wind for most of the day but it has been consistently blowing about ten knots out of the west for the past several hours and the fog is thickening.
The fog did not deter the whale watching boats as there were Humpback Whales feeding in the area today and the last cruise ship of the season in port. One smaller Humpback was diving and presumably feeding right in the Ecological Reserve diving against the flooding tide. I wonder if they can use the flow to their advantage in feeding more efficiently with less effort? Natural history speculation aside, the count of observed whale watching boats from 11:00 to 19:00 (dusk) was thirteen with some vessels visiting more than once.
The Chum Salmon run started in earnest while I was away and there appears to be fewer sea lions hauled out than there were before. There are many in the water however. Sea lions of both species are very busy eating Chum Salmon with most of the kills I observed, happening right in or at the edge of the tidal flows. They thrash the fish and rip it apart at the surface and swallow large chunks tail last at the surface as well. This source of scraps, of course attracts gulls. Several species of gull were seen in these sea lion driven feeding flocks today; Glaucous-winged, Hermann’s, Thayer’s and Ring-billed Gulls. There were three or four fairly hefty Elephant Seals hanging around the marine railway today. They have such huge eyes and such clean looking pink mouths. Many of the Sea Lions have serious tooth decay and oral disease.

While I was away there were several a visits to the island. The Victoria Natural History Society made it part of their birding trip on September 27, sixteen friends of the Royal BC Museum made a visit October 4th and a family visit was made by by Mike and Carol Slater, one of their daughters and several grand-children. Mike and Carol were the last light-keepers at Race Rocks and the first Eco-Guardians. They survived some epic storms and I am sure they have some great stories to tell. If you are interested in the “contemporary” history of Race Rocks, there is a lot of information on this web-site, including ancient videos, images and even historic weather events.

My main tasks today were to get moved back into the house, to do the seawater sampling, fix the pier fence and run the generator for a few hours in order to top up the batteries. There is new clean oil in the Lister gen-set and new filters etc. thanks to Jeff. The old Lister seems to run better than ever tonight a I finish my last task, posting this blog..