July 9 and 10

Posted on Monday,July 10, 2023 by Nick Townley

Weather for July 9:
Wind: W 20-41 knots
Visibility: 15 NM
Sky: Clear
Sea: 1’ chop in morning, up to 3′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 10-14 C

Weather for July 10:
Wind: W 14 and 36 knots
Visibility: 15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: 1’ chop in morning, up to 3′ chop in evening
Air temperature: 11-15 C

The sea lions seem to be making a return. Four male Steller sea lions were gathered on Middle Rock today. One California sea lion was on the end of the jetty this morning.

Here are some photos from the past two days:

: Blustery evening

: A lone California sea lion on the end of the jetty

: A bazaar of pigeon guillemots on the north side of the island

: Elephant seal traffic jam on the boat ramp

: Three Steller sea lions on Middle Rock

: Camoflague gull chicks

: Gull chicks in the grass

Back on the Rocks!

Posted on Saturday,July 8, 2023 by Nick Townley

I am back on Race Rocks for the next two weeks, having been away since August. Greg drove me out yesterday afternoon in the boat Second Nature, arriving at 15:30. After unloading my gear and food, I reacquainted myself with the island’s building, systems, and other species.

There are two elephant seals on the island. One sub adult hauled out on the boat ramp has two green hind flipper tags labelled H999 and K646. They mentioned by Derek on the April 1, 2023 census: https://racerocks.ca/animal-census-31/. Green tags usually signify the seal was tagged as a pup at Ano Nuevo Reserve, near Santa Cruz, California. I have put in a request with the researchers there to find out about the sighting history of the seal. The other seal here right now is a female adult, who has been hauled out near the bushes on the centre of the island and made some trips to the water, was probably one of the mothers from the winter breeding season.

The most populous birds right now are the few hundred nesting glaucous-winged gulls and chicks. There are still many nests with eggs yet to hatch. The pigeon guillemots are active in a few places around the island: near the jetty, blasted rocks north and west of the helicopter pad, and the south side of the island. I have yet to see any oystercatcher chicks or the barn swallows that have been seen recently.

Weather for July 7 afternoon and evening:
Wind: W 32 knots
Visibility: 15 NM
Sky: Clear
Sea: 3′ chop
Air temperature: 14 C

Weather for July 8:
Wind: W between 10 and 31 knots
Visibility: 10-15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 3′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 12-15 C

I gave the solar panels a good scrub this morning to get off the built up gull guano. I have also been monitoring the freshwater levels after a couple recent leaks that have been fixed.

Here are some photos from the past two days:

: Approaching Race Rocks in Second Nature

: Walking along the jetty after arriving by boat

: Female elephant seal hauled out near the centre of the island.

: View to the south from the steps to the lighthouse. In the foreground, there is a gull nest with three eggs.

: View from the lantern room looking north towards Victoria. The ecoguardian’s house is the red roofed building.

: Elephant seals on the boat ramp. The adult female is on the left. The sub adult with the green tags is on the right.

: Green tags on sub adult elephant seal H999 and K646

: Active gull nest under the solar panels.

: Glaucous-winged gull parent and three chicks

Bird Band confirmation

Posted on Thursday,June 15, 2023 by Joan Rosenberg

One of the advantages of having a resident Ecoguardian in the Ecological Reserve is the opportunity to submit sightings like this.

tagged gull

Congratulations Joan for your report in the log https://raceroc ks.ca/gull-with-tags/
–and for this recognition from USGS

Foggy day for an Animal Census

Posted on Wednesday,May 17, 2023 by Jillian Brown

The first foggy day in a couple weeks today!

With 6 new solar panels installed along with replacements to wiring that had corroded with the salty air this week, it seems the fog is barely affected our power supply which is amazing!

A couple DND blasts at Noon through the fog made even fewer animals around the reserve today.

Birds

Harlequin duck 5
Bald eagle adult 2
Glaucous winged Gulls 527
Cormorants 31
Pigeon Guillemots 176
Oyster catcher 10
- Oyster catcher eggs 7 (3 in two nests and 1 in a third)
Savannah Sparrow 1
Canada Goose 14
Barn Swallow 1
Crow 3

Mammals

Steller sea lion 10
Harbour seal 63
California sea lion 17
Elephant seal sub adult male 2
Elephant seal adult female 2
Elephant seal pups 3

: Three elephant seals snuggled up

: Glaucous winged gulls on the tank shed

: Canada goose washing at sunrise

: Oyster catcher at sunrise in the fog

: Harbour Seals in the fog

: Glaucous winged gulls

: California sea lions on the rocks by the jetty.

: A couple playing elephant seals

: Yawning elephant seal

: Glaucous winged gull

: Small vessel going by in the fog

: Pigeon Guillemots

: A pair of Oyster Catchers by their nest on the Northern point.

: Stellar sea lions out on middle rock before the DND blasting.

: 2 of the 3 crows that landed on the helicopter pad.

: 2 female and a male California sea lion.

: Canada Goose.

: Playing California sea lions

: Swimming steller sea lion

: The two largest of the steller sea lions having a territory dispute.

: Oyster catcher

: Spill response vessel going by to the north in the fog.

: young Elephant seal

: sub adult elephant seal

: Sunrise through the fog.

: Elephant Seals playing

: Female california sea lion

: Elephant seals playing

: sleepy oyster catcher

: Elephant seals in the front yard

: Oyster Catcher eggs.

: Fog rainbow and gulls.

: Harbor seal and a canada goose

: Female

Visitors:

Race Rocks Challenge participants
3 contractors installing and maintaining solar panels
44 Marine Science students visited to write their exam
4 Pearson College Second year students came for a visit before the school year ends.

Facility Work:

Fixed Compost
Taped off Oyster Catcher nests and made map
Cleaned house
Filled water in batteries
Emptied and cleaned composting toilet
Cleaned windows and solar panels
Mopped basement
Organized and cleaned tool drawers
Fixed and rebuilt sections of Electric fence
Cleaned lighthouse

** 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?

Animal Census with a couple quick Terns

Posted on Wednesday,May 10, 2023 by Jillian Brown

Birds

Harlequin duck 5
Bald eagle adult 2
Bald eagle juvenile 1
Ruddy Turnstone 1
Glaucous winged Gulls 685
Cormorants 72
Pigeon Guillemots 327
Oyster catcher 10
Savannah Sparrow 6
Canada Goose 14
Raven 2
Caspian Tern 2
Barn Swallow 2

Mammals

Steller sea lion 16
Harbour seal 79
California sea lion 32
Elephant seal sub adult male 2
Elephant seal adult female 3
Elephant seal pups 3

: 2 Caspian Terns

: Sub – adult elephant seals

: Sub- adult elephant seals

: young elephant seal in the water next to jeetty.

: Mix of california sea lions and steller sea lions in the morning light.

: Juvenile bald ealge

: oyster catcher

: savannah sparrow

: barn swallow

: barn swallow

: Canada Goose

: California sea lion

: Glaucous winged gull in front of the moon

: one of the many large flocks of Pigeon guillemots

: more pigeon guillemots

: Ruddy turnstone

: Harbor seals in the bull kelp

: Another of the large flocks of pigeon guillemots

: pigeon guillemots

: 2 adult bald eagles on the south rocks

: female harlequin duck

: male harlequin duck

: Glaucous winged gulls

: young elephant seal conversing

Visitors:

Mollie – future Ecoguardian

Facility Work:

Chopped and stacked remaining fire wood
Deep Cleaning of Kitchen and sorting through house hold items
3 coats Stained Kitchen table
Sharpened Axe
Mounted 2 large Elephant Seal winter coat sheds for future visitors and students to touch and see.
Set up Hose system from Science house up to solar panels so we no longer have to haul a 5 gallon bucket up a ladder
Cleaned solar panels
Addled Canada Goose Eggs and mapped out nests
Cleaned windows

** 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?

Peregrine Falcon During Animal Census

Posted on Thursday,May 4, 2023 by Jillian Brown

It was a very quick moment but a peregrine falcon flew by, low along the rocks of the east shore and swooped across the north by the crane and jetty. I lost sight of it quick and was unable to snap a photo, but I was a beautiful moment to witness.

Adult Bald Eagles were catching fish today and fighting over them in the sky.

Juvenile Bald Eagle sitting on the old crane.

Adult Bald Eagle perched atop our northern camera.

Adult Bald Eagle with a fresh catch.

Birds

Harlequin duck 4
Bald eagle adult 2
Bald eagle juvenile 2
Turnstones 1
Glaucous winged Gulls 527
Cormorants 36
Pigeon Guillemots 167
Oyster catcher 8
Fox Sparrow 8
Canada Goose 16
Raven 1
Peregrine Falcon 1

Mammals

Steller sea lion 35
Harbour seal 73
California sea lion 38
Elephant seal sub adult male 2
Elephant seal adult female 2
Elephant seal pups 2

: Young Elephant Seal

: Glaucous Winged Gulls

: 3 Elephant seals sleeping on the front lawn.

: The lone Black Turnstone.

: 3 Double crested Cormorants and a Brandts Cormorant.

: Pigeon Guillemots

: California sealions in the churning current.

: Group of Pigeon Guillemots on the West shore.

: A couple oyster catchers.

: Stellar sealions on middle rock.

: Canada Goose perched guarding a now empty nest.

: California sea lions mixed with a few stellar sea lions.

: Young male elephant seal, with a freshly molted face.

Coast Guard Zodiac going through Middle channel.

Visitors:

Sarah, a women who is also a marine biologist, battling cancer who will loose her sight came out to see the elephant seals before she does.

Facility Work:

Chopped drift wood
Cleaning and organizing house and tools

** 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?

The beginning of nesting season

Posted on Sunday,April 30, 2023 by Joan Rosenberg

I am here for four days to give Jillian Brown a chance to attend to her family. It is a special time for me because it is my birthday and the fourth time that I have been here on April 30 but only my second time in the capacity of eco-guardian. This is my third day here and I have updated the SOP to include the up to date log sign in details (Thank you Garry).

The weather is currently 15 knots west but over the past day has been as high as 30 knots, SW and NW. The sky was clear for 2 days and there was enough energy provided from the solar panels to take care of electrical needs.

Below is a picture of a tagged glaucous wing gull that I saw the May 22,2022 (see log entry that date) in the exact same place. Although this may not surprise you it made me feel like the animals here are familiar. It does seem like the geese nesting by the fuel shed are the same aggressive geese as last year and the ones under the keeper’s house stairs the same mellower geese but I just never had proof. This gave me a feeling of community.

There are 6 elephant seals here, females and immatures, including the tagged yearling. I haven’t seen this year’s pup for 24 hours so perhaps all the newborns are now gone.

Visitors

Yesterday (April 29) I was surprised when 6 kayaks pulled up the jetty. They were from Pearson College and had been given permission to land. Of course the sea lions stampeded on their arrival. Luckily not many kayakers do come this way as the sea lions usually get right in the water even though motor boats come much closer without scaring them. Perhaps they should turn some music on LOUD as they approach?

There were only 2 or 3 ecotourism boats over Friday and Saturday but today there have been 8 in every size, perhaps tied to the massive cruise ship recently docked in Victoria?

Maintenance:

I am working on the wood pile, chopping and stacking in the house.
Swept the lamp room and continued sweeping the light house stairs.
Filled the batteries with distilled water.
This is month end so sent the salinity and temp chart to Sebastien Donnet.
Also have almost completed the month end report but need to review a few details with Greg.
Sent the info of tagged bird info to appropriate source.

: Dunlin

: cowbirds

: Sunset over the Olympics

: Banded Glaucous-winged Gull

August 16 and 17

Posted on Wednesday,August 17, 2022 by Ann Nightingale

The compost rejuvenation project continues with 58 more buckets of aged compost removed from the first chamber to complete stage 1. Stage 2 involves moving the compost from the second chamber over to the first, turning and mixing it in the process.

Several branded sea lions are being seen. When their histories are obtained, updates will be posted.

It has been very quiet on the water the last two days both mammal and bird-wise.

Ecological Notes:

All three elephant seals were seen on August 16 and 17
Only passerines seen in the last two days were Brown-headed Cowbird.
26 Brown Pelicans circled Great Race before heading towards Esquimalt at dusk on Wednesday.
2 branded Steller’s sea lions (486Y and 304Y) and 1 branded California sea lion (X759) were seen during census on Wednesday. 304Y was branded at Rogue Reef, Oregon in July 2011, and has been resighted from California to BC.
Very quiet on the water over the last two days.
See photos below for more ecological sightings.

Census (Wednesday, August 17):

Mammals

Elephant seal: 3 (1 adult male, two juvenile females)
Steller sea lion: 129 (including branded 304Y and 486Y)
California sea lion: 115 (including branded X759)
Harbour seal: 131

Birds

Black oystercatcher: 9 (8 adults 1 chick )
Killdeer 1
Black Turnstone: 49
Surfbird: 11
Common Murre: 2
Pigeon Guillemot:60
Heermann’s Gull: 2
California Gulls: 500
Glaucous-winged Gulls: 448 adults 203 chicks (including 1 banded adult)
Pelagic Cormorant: 4
Brandt’s Cormorants: 19
Double-crested Cormorant: 4
Brown Pelican: 26
Bald Eagle: 1
Brown-headed Cowbird: 3

Weather:

Yesterday (Tuesday, August 16):
- Sky: Foggy most of the morning; sunny in the afternoon, with light cloud
- Wind: W/WSW 15-25 kts
- Sea: up to 2′ chop
- Temperature Low 13^oC, High 15^oC
Today (Wednesday, August 17):
- Sky: Clear and sunny
- Wind: variable calm to 22 kts
- Sea: calm to rippled
- Temperature Low 14^oC, High 25^oC

Facility Work:

Solar panels cleaned daily. Windows washed.
Fence east of lighthouse repaired
Compost renewal project continues.

Vessel Traffic:

Many Canadian ecotour boats have been nearby and heading through the waters of the ecological reserve. Cruise ships are going through daily.
Tours from Pearson College continued on Wednesday.

Here are photo highlights from the past two days. Click on the photos for larger views and captions.

Compost chamber emptied and ready to be refilled.

On to the next chamber!

Potatoes were growing in the compost. Unfortunately not fit for human consumption.

Elephant seals

Brown-headed Cowbirds

Fence in need of repair

Glaucous-winged Gulls circling the tower

Gulls have been particularly aggressive with each other this week.

Colour-banded Glaucous-winged Gull

California sea lion

These look as though there might have been scientific equipment attached. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/marine-mammal-protection/california-sea-lion-research

Adult male and juvenile female elephant seals.

Steller’s sea lions on alert

Possibly scar from previous entanglement. No rope or line was visible.

Pearson College tour.

Branded California sea lion

Brandt’s Cormorant (left) and Pelagic Cormorant (right) demonstrating size and shape differences.

Branded Steller’s sea lion

Brown Pelicans at dusk

Brown Pelicans

Flock of 26 Brown Pelicans

August 14 and 15

Posted on Monday,August 15, 2022 by Ann Nightingale

It was a short but great stay for Carl and Brady Hughes. They managed to see all of the expected mammals and got to know the Glaucous-winged Gull community quite well during their visit. Carl spotted the season’s first Sooty Shearwater on Saturday and attempted overnight audio recording that night. He will post his recordings to iNaturalist and eBird. The compost rejuvenation project continues with 48 more buckets of aged compost removed from the first chamber.

Ecological Notes:

All three elephant seals were seen on August 14 and 15.
Passerines seen in the last two days were Brown-headed Cowbird, Barn Swallow and Northern Rough-winged Swallow. A Northern Harrier flew north over Great Race on Saturday.
A juvenile Short-billed Dowitcher was wandering the paths in the fog on August 15.
The branded Steller’s sea lion sighted on August 12 has a history! Originally branded at Rogue Reef, Oregon in July 2003, he has been sighted at least 70 times. Previous sightings on Race Rocks include Dec 2007, May 2008, Sept 2009, Aug 2014, and Aug 2017. The most spectacular resighting, though, involved an escape from a pod of Orca in the San Juan Islands in 2020.
Humpbacks and Orca are being seen regularly, but generally at great distance.
See photos below for more ecological sightings.

Weather:

Yesterday (Sunday, August 14):
- Sky: Sunny with light cloud. Scattered fog patches
- Wind: W 8-23 kts
- Sea: up to 1′ chop
- Temperature Low 12 ^oC, High 16 ^oC
Today (Monday, August 15):
- Sky: Fog most of the morning, clearing to partially cloudy in the afternoon
- Wind: W/WSW 11-37 kts
- Sea: calm to 3′ chop
- Temperature Low 11 ^oC, High 17 ^oC

Facility Work:

Solar panels cleaned daily. Windows washed.
Battery electrolyte level topped up.
Compost renewal project continues.

Vessel Traffic:

Many Canadian ecotour boats have been nearby and heading through the waters of the ecological reserve. Cruise ship traffic is increasing.

Here are photo highlights from the past two days. Click on the photos for larger views and captions.

Second Nature taking visitors back to Pearson College.

Bonaparte’s Gull

Early morning fogbow

Almost empty!

Progress on the compost project

Young Pigeon Guillemot with adult

Elephant seal in the East Bay

Traffic jam on the ramp

California Gulls

Young Glaucous-winged gulls almost ready to fly

Male elephant seal

Sleeping Harlequin Duck

Brown-headed Cowbirds

Male elephant seal

Cruise ship traffic

Juvenile Short-billed Dowitcher

Juvenile Short-billed Dowitcher showing diagnostic markings in tertials

Brown-headed Cowbird

August 10 and 11

Posted on Thursday,August 11, 2022 by Ann Nightingale

Ecological Notes:

First sighting of Ollie the sea otter since I arrived. His new favourite location is in the kelp east of Great Race. I had seen him there on a boat trip on Aug 1.
First on-land passerines of my stay seen on Thursday, Aug 11: two juvenile Brown-headed Cowbirds. It is possible the bird I saw in the fog last week could have been one of these.
Sea lion numbers continue to climb.
Whale action must be in the Gulf Islands/San Juans, as fewer whale watching boats are coming this way.
Most of the young gulls are busy testing their wings, especially when the wind comes up.
Very low tides have revealed the eel grass beds and normally hidden intertidal zone.
See photos below for more ecological sightings.

Weekly Census observed on Wednesday, August 10:

Mammals

Elephant seals: 3 (1 adult male, two juvenile females)
Steller sea lions: 124
California sea lions: 40
Harbour seals: 186
Sea otter 1

Birds

Canada geese: 4
Harlequin ducks: 8
Black oystercatchers: 9 (8 adults 1 chick )
Killdeer 2 (only on island between dusk and dawn)
Black Turnstones: 194
Surfbirds: 17
Common Murres: 79
Pigeon Guillemots:183
Rhinoceros Auklets: 2
Heermann’s Gulls: 2
California Gulls: 353
Glaucous-winged Gulls: 341 adults 169 chicks (probably undercounted as wind caused a lot of chicks to seek cover)
Caspian Terns: 2
Pelagic Cormorants: 5
Brandt’s Cormorants: 12
Brown Pelican: 1

Weather:

Yesterday (Wednesday, August 10):
- Sky: Overcast, with a few sunny periods
- Wind: W 11-31 kts
- Sea: up to 3′ chop
- Temperature Low 12 ^oC, High 19 ^oC
Today (Thursday, August 11):
- Sky: Overcast until mid morning, then partly cloudy
- Wind: W 4-21 kts
- Sea: calm to rippled
- Temperature Low 14 ^oC, High 18 ^oC

Facility Work:

Solar panels cleaned daily. Some windows washed. Postponed on Wednesday due to brief electrical storm. North side of researcher building skipped on Thursday due to presence of large elephant seal.
Compost renewal project continues.

Vessel Traffic: