Tag Archives: Green Winged Teal

Green-winged Teal

Posted on by

Weather

  • Visibility: 10-15 Miles
  • Wind: 15-25 NE
  • Sky: Cloudy
  • Water: Choppy about 1 metre

Boats/Visitors

  • a couple ecotours went by today

Ecological

  • The 4 day old pup is doing well
  • The largest male was on the other side of the lighthouse today but came “running” when he heard the mother yelling at one of the juveniles getting too close, the big guy came and chased him off so Springtide ecotours got a bit of show today
  • Also some Green-winged Teals today along with harlequins, oystercatchers and eagles

Second large female e-seal

Posted on by

Ecological:

  • Wind SE 25-30 knots becoming light in the evening.
  • 16 Green Winged Teals were in the mud flats NE of main house.
  • An unusual bald eagle with a damaged beak was on and around the island throughout the day, quite close to the main house at first.
  • Before dusk a second large, pregnant looking female elephant seal was near the jetty and had hauled out up beside boat house just after dark.

Vessels

  • 3 ecotour

Maintenance

  • Cleared ramp
  • Sharpened chainsaw, cut and chopped firewood.

Teals return again

Posted on by

Rain throughout the day, wind 15-20 knots most of the day, started North then shifted to West. West wind picked up in the evening gusting over 35 knots.  Barometer reached a high of over 1025 hPa on Monday and has been falling today towards 1010 hPa.

One eco tour vessel in the reserve

Chunk has been on the main island all day until the evening.  There is a second large male elephant seal on west rock, visible on camera 1, that I haven’t seen on the main island yet.

With the rain came the Green Winged Teals (3) again to the muddy flats on the NE side of the island.

Cleared some logs out of the jetty bay with the pike pole and chopped fire wood.

census

Posted on by
DSC_7738

morning light on the olympic peninsula, Washington.

Wind light in the morning, below 10 knots, but large swells rolling in throughout the day. At Trial and Discovery the wind was clocking at 30 knots SE, gusting over 40, which was creating the waves.  In the evening the wind changed direction and was gusting over 35 knots West.

The high tide combined with NE swell meant the jetty was practically submerged a good part of the day.  Some logs and debris were thrown up and piled at the top of the jetty walkway.  I got the boat ramp cleared but will have wood to deal with tomorrow, the big log is about 26 feet long.

20141220_161216

debris left from the high tide and waves

Sealions were clinging to the small amount of rocks that were left with the tide and swells. Chunk came onto the main island, I couldnt see the other elephant seals anywhere, waves were washing over the West rocks where they had been resting.

DSC_7779

DSC_7838

sealions on the South rocks

 

Census today: There was a higher than usual number of Black Oyster Catchers on the south side of the island.

California Sea lions: 8

Northern Sea Lions: 133

Harbour Seals: 2

Elephant Seals: 1

Cormorants: 79

Canada Geese: 2

Gulls: 300

Bald Eagle: 5

Harlequin Ducks: 4

Black Turnstone: 18

Dunlin: 4

Sparrow: 2

Green Winged Teals: 7

Black Oyster Catchers: 116

Surfbirds: 7

 

Kingfisher, teals, surf, chunk

Posted on by

Lots of rain today. The barometer continued to fall this morning reaching a low of 985 hPa this afternoon. It was windy overnight and a west wind picked up this evening briefly gusting over 35 knots.   There have been swells coming in on both the NE and W sides of the island today along with high tides all morning that combined to submerge the jetty with waves and provide good surfing conditions for sea lions.

I spotted a infrequent visitor, a belted kingfisher perched on the crane.  There were also three green winged teals in the mud flats on the NE side of the island, I only ever see them when it rains a lot and there are fresh water puddles.

Sealions had good surfing conditions most of the day.  The images were taken off the south side of the island, reef break.

Before dusk Chunk (Zeke) came up the boat ramp onto the island, the first time he has come on the main island during my shift.  He has grown since last winter and has a stronger vocalization.

Rain and wind

Posted on by

It started raining in the evening and continued throughout the day.  This was the first significant rain here in a few weeks.  The wind picked up late in the day and was gusting over 45 NMPH West in the evening.

1 ecotour and 1 recreational vessel were in the reserve.  A coast guard helicopter flew over coming from the West.

There were 3 small ducks in the NE puddle, I believe they were Green Winged Teals.  I counted 15 canada geese on the island today, the most I have seen lately.

-worked on month end report
-entered salinity data into spreadsheet and submitted to DFO
-checked on drainage from roofs and downspouts around basements
-collected drift wood
-contacted wood stove contractor

Census Jan 8

Posted on by

Black Oystercatchers (over 100–a record for RR)  and gulls with westerly swells.

Green Winged Teals

The SGBs (Small Grey Birds). Not only do they all look very similar but they hide their beaks! There was a mix of Black Turnstone, Surfbirds and Rock Sandpipers in the NE bay.

On January 7 an 8th there was a W wind 30-35 knots.  The Green Winged Teals returned to the island with slightly higher numbers than last time, they spent their time in the pools on the NE side and picking through the mud with their beaks.  I  have not seen any Pelicans in about a week and there have not been any Canada Geese here for about two weeks.  Karen Benzel from International Bird Rescue contacted us recently to report that Pelican R36 that was seen here in November has been taken in for rehabilitation at Wild Arc in Metchosin.

Census January 8, 2013:

75 Cormorants

7 Harlequin ducks

4 Bald Eagles

1 Mallard

81 Black Oyster Catchers

120 Gulls

17 Green Winged Teals

20 Black Turnstone

10 Surfbirds

10 Rock Sandpipers

1 Kildeer

1 River Otter

20 Harbour Seals

100 Northern sea lions

10 Elephant Seals: 8 female, 2 male

Dec 24th

Posted on by

Have had some really nice weather out here since the storm. Pelicans are still stopping in and flying through the reserve, mostly in pairs or singles.  Bald Eagles have been quite active in the mornings hunting.

 

On top of the crane, the eagle had just finished eating what looked like some part of a seagull.  In this picture the eagle’s nictitating membrane is covering the eye.  According to Baldeagleinfo.com, “every three or four seconds, the nictitating membrane slides across the eye from front to back, wiping dirt and dust from the cornea. Because the membrane is translucent, the eagle can see even while it is over the eye.”

A few nights ago Zeke got some fresh wounds on his back from Misery, it was not as bad as the the last time.  Him and Misery have been on the main island for several days now. I have not been seeing as many female elephant seals since the storm.  

On Dec 19 there were 15 Green Winged Teals in a pool on the NE side of the island.  This  is the first recorded sighting of this bird in the reserve.

 

 

There has also been a Mallard duck in the reserve for over a week.  Pam Birley first sighted it around Dec 18th, it was also the first recorded sighting of this bird in the reserve.

 

 

 

Yesterday after sunset a lone adult orca passed through the reserve going over Rosedale Reef.

 

Anas carolinensis: Green-winged Teal: The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Posted on by
Green-winged teals: Photo by Alex Fletcher

Green-winged teals: Photo by Alex Fletcher, Dec 12, 2014. Alex noted that they seem to come after the heavy rains as they did last year.

Below  is the first set of image taken of Anas carolinensis, the green-winged Teal at Race Rocks.

greenwingedteal1The male plumage shows up in this picture .

Ecoguardian Alex Fletcher took this first set of images of green-winged teal ducks at Race Rocks in December 2012. 

 

These ducks are common over on Vancouver Island but we have never recorded them out here before.

 

greenwingedteal2

Duck scratch

greenwingedteal4female-1

I suspect it was because there were many freshwater ponds on the lawns with the heavy rains recently on the island.

Classification:
Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum :Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus Anas
Species caroliniensis
Common Name: Green-winged teal.

 

 

 

 

 

On January 13, 2018 Ecoguardian Laas Parnell records  an new sighting in her log.

 

 

 

 

Return to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image Gallery Index:

This file is provided as part of a collaborative effort by the students, faculty, staff and volunteers of Lester B. Pearson College and website viewers on our remote cameras on the internet. Dec. 18, 2012– Alex Fletcher