Can hear the Harbour seals ‘growling’

Posted on Wednesday,May 15, 2002 by Carol and Mike Slater

Wednesday, May 15, 2002

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.9 C Min. 7.0 C Reset 9.1 C
MARINE LIFE: 2 Mature Bald Eagles today. Can hear the Harbour seals ‘growling’ usually they are so quiet but this time of the year, close to pupping they seem to get somewhat irritable- don’t like other seals to get too close-definitely not in the ‘ sharing the haul-out spot” mood.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 2 pleasure craft; 1 dive charter with approx.22 divers off the ‘Nautilus Explorer’ which anchored south side Bentinck Island for the day. The Second Nature in with Garry and guests late afternoon.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:15 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy Vis. 15 Miles Wind West 11 Knots Sea 1 – 2 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:57 AM

enviro-systems field lab exam.

Posted on Monday,May 13, 2002 by Carol and Mike Slater

Monday, May 13, 2002

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 15.1 C Min. 7.9 C Reset 7.9 C Rain 1.0 mm
MARINE LIFE: 2 mature Bald Eagles -they moved from North Rocks to the Southeast Rocks ever ‘escorted’ by a group of gulls and often a couple of Black Oyster Catchers.There are still no hatched Oyster Catchers, maybe tomorrow. The 3 geese continue to graze the island often the the pair lets the loner within a couple of metres.A group of about 30 harbour seals are spending the day in the east bay area- they like diving into the swells.We see quite a few seals with scrapes that they get moving around on the rocks at low tide.The rocks are covered with thousands of barnacles, these flesh ‘gashing’ animals have very sharp shells – can’t imagine how the seals can get ‘comfortable’ stretched out on top of them but they do!
HUMAN INTERACTION:The Second Nature in ‘bright and early’. Unfortunately the weather was quite nasty this morning -not the greatest of conditions for the students to do their enviro-systems field lab exam.Usually this time of year the exam is a pleasant change from the classroom exams – even some time to relax in the sunshine and eat lunch,even a little socializing but not today strictly ‘business’ ! Late afternoon 3 ecotour boats- not a great day for boating!
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:09 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy Vis 12 Miles Wind West 27 Gusting 37 Sea 4 Foot Moderate — With Low South West Swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:49 AM

Coast Guard helicopter landed one person to do some repairs in the tower

Posted on Wednesday,April 17, 2002 by Carol and Mike Slater

Wednesday, April 17, 2002

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.0 º C »» Min. 4.9 ºC »» Reset 10.0 ºC »» Rain o.4 mm
MARINE LIFE: 1 immature bald eagle arrived at first light but flew off toward Whirl Bay just after 10:00.A little after 14:00, 1 mature Eagle flew overhead,landed on the most easterly point of the southeast rocks and is still there, no doubt near sunset it will make it’s ’rounds’ of Gr. Race and get the gulls agitated.The Harbour seals are gradually being floated off their haul-out spots as the tide rises.Most of them have been hauled out all day,and with dry fur, look like sun bleached logs scattered about the islands.Today was one of those spring days that you hate to see the sun go down,even with a colourful sunset!
HUMAN INTERACTION: 2 pleasure craft and 2 ecotour boats today. At 08:30 The Coast Guard helicopter landed one person to do some repairs in the tower ( fixing the rubber seal around the fog detector) The chopper returned 11:30 or so to return worker to Victoria Base. The 2nd Nature was in this morning with teachers and students for Bio. class.Finally, a nice day for an outdoor class.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:29 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy »» Vis 15 Miles »» Wind South West 5 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:00 AM

D.N.D.started their blasting exercises

Posted on Thursday,March 21, 2002 by Carol and Mike Slater

Thursday, March 21, 2002

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 5.1 C Min. – 1.1 C Reset 4.9 C Snow 2.2 cm Total Precipitation 2.2mm
MARINE LIFE: Although the wind did not really ease off until late afternoon the temperature started to moderate by noon and 35-40 gulls soon made an appearance along with the Oyster catchers and 2 geese. A little after 15:30 a second pair of geese flew in from the direction of Bentinck Island.The only marine mammals around were small groups of Harbour Seals hauled out on the southeast rocks and middle rock, did see several small groups of sea lions swimming between West Race and North Rocks.
HUMAN INTERACTION: Today the D.N.D.started their blasting exercises at 11:36 and finished up with the last 3 blast series at 13.:14. The Harbour seals lifted their heads at the first blast,then on the second blast 5 seals hauled out on the southeast rocks and 8 on middle rock, went into the water. There were 2 ecotour boats through the M.P.A. this afternoon -would have been an invigorating trip to say the least!
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:17 PM

Good MorningWEATHER:Sky Overcast Vis. 15 Miles Wind North East 30 – 37 Knots Sea 5 Foot Moderate } } Moderate East Swell

posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:21 AM

Elephant seal behaviour

Posted on Sunday,March 10, 2002 by Garry Fletcher

1 immature Bald Eagle today and only 1 pair of Geese.A very interesting morning! Although it is a policy not to interfere with the wildlife, today we did step in and avert what we thought would have been death to a small Elephant Seal. There was a great ruckus out in front of the boat house,looking out I could see the largest Elephant Seal moving the upper part of his body back and forth with what seemed determined force. Since I could see him only when he reared up, had to go out to see what all the fuss was about.At first it appeared we were witnessing an amorous encounter ! however it did not take long to realize such was not the case. This great creature had the smallest elephant seal pinned down on the concrete against the step and was pummeling it for all it”s worth totally unconcerned with it”s squeals and efforts to get away. Our first instinct was to jump up and down, wave and shout, which we did, unfortuately and somewhat predictably all we managed to do was further antagonize the big fellow and he lunged towards us, luckily we ”encouraged” him to back off by waving a couple of towels from the tank room as close to his head as we dared.I”m sure I read more into the relief that seemed to show in the big watery eyes of the now rescued seal but it moved toward us and we were able to inspect the bloody scrapes which looked superficial, I was more concerned that there might be internal injuries.We kept an eye on the little fellow and by nightfall it had moved up to the grass just below the front porch. I would have let it in the basement to re-couperate…but that would be rediculous… right.’, ‘Carol or Mike S’, ’15:56:14 ,

Sealions disturbed by DND blasting

Posted on Thursday,January 24, 2002 by Carol and Mike Slater

Thursday, January 24, 2002

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 8.9C Min. 5.9C Reset 5.9C Rain 8.2 mm
MARINE LIFE: Today we monitored the scheduled detonations at the D.N.D. site on Bentinck Island. There were three sets of blasts,each consisting of two detonations separated by about 2 minutes.The first blast at 10:54 sent the gulls,cormorants into the air and alerted the sealions hauled out on the middle rock.About 20 animals moved towards the water then the second blast went off and caused a stampede of all the hauled out sealions. The birds as usual settled back down in a minute or two. Very gradually a few at a time, 10-15 sealions returned to the haul out areas.The Elephant Seals raised their heads and looked around but did not move away.The Second set of blasts at 11:53 and 11:55 cleared Middle Rock of sealions and also sent 40-45 Harbour Seals hauled out on the western slopes of the Southeast Rocks scrambling into the water. The Last 2 blasts( 12:48 and 12:50 ) sent the 5 sealions that hauled out again about 20 minutes after the 11:55, back into the water. Do not know the size of the detonations but they shook the cameras and most of the pictures on the walls.There are more blasts scheduled for tomorrow.There were 7 Bald Eagles – 4 mature.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:21 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast �� Vis. 15 Miles �� Wind South West 17 Knots �� Sea 2 Foot Chop – Low West Swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 8:13 AM

Eagles Fishing

Posted on Friday,January 11, 2002 by Carol and Mike Slater

Sunday, January 13, 2002

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 7.7C Min. 3.9C Reset 5.7C Rain 0.6 mm
MARINE LIFE: With calm seas the tidelines were very active with feeding birds.We saw a lot of fish taken by the 11( 5 mature ) Bald Eagles.Most of them chose to eat their catch sitting on the ridge of the Southeast Rocks. There was one eagle -immature- with very pale, buff mottled colouring all over except for dark brown tail and head.This colouring is probably not that rare,we have just never seen it before and it stood out so much amongst the rest of the immatures.The Harbour seals seem to favour the southeast rocks for haul out the past few days, counted 167 just before dark.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 3 Pleasure craft through the M.P.A. today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:16 PM

Good Morning

WEATHER: Sky Cloudy Vis. 15 Miles Wind North West 2 Knots Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:01 AM

Saturday, January 12, 2002

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 9.1C Min. 6.7C Reset 7.0C Rain 13.8 mm
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy Vis 6 – 10 Miles in Rain Showers + Fog Wind has been West 35 G 45 Knots all day Sea 7 Foot Rough with Moderate Swells
MARINE LIFE: 2 mature Bald Eagles today but they spent less than an hour in the area before flying over towards Bentinck Island.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:08 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast Vis. 6 Miles Fog + Rain Showers Wind South West 35 Gust 47 Knots Sea 6 Foot Moderate With Low – Mod. West Swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:19 AM

4500-5000 seabirds!

Posted on Friday,January 4, 2002 by Garry Fletcher

‘From about 9:45 this morning until just after 2 pm there were thousands of sea birds feeding,a few small groups just inside the reserve around North Rocks,but mostly south and east of Gr. Race and Rosedale buoy.Guessing, but there must have been 4500-5000 Birds. Gulls,Cormorants,Common Murres and Bald Eagles were the obvious ones,unfortunately even with the telescope could not identify many other small dark plumaged birds.Once the feeding frenzy was over 6 of the 9 Bald Eagles left the area, 2 flew over to North Rocks and the 1 mature Eagle to visit today settled on the high point on the Southeast Rocks where he has stayed except for a couple of circles over several small groups of gulls. As it starts to get dark there are approx. 230 gulls,beaks into the 16 knt.North wind, along the North East ridge on Gr. Race -another 200 gulls along the Southwest shore.The Harbour seals have hauled out for the night on the ebbing tide,some singly but mostly in groups of 10-20.The Bald Eagle is still on the South East ridge. ‘, ‘Mike or Carol’, ’15:58:25 ,

Feeding Frenzy at sea

Posted on Friday,January 4, 2002 by Carol and Mike Slater

Friday, January 04, 2002

Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 8.5C — Min. 5.7C — Reset 7.9C — Rain 0.4mm
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:05 PM

MARINE LIFE: From about 9:45 this morning until just after 2 pm there were thousands of sea birds feeding,a few small groups just inside the reserve around North Rocks,but mostly south and east of Gr. Race and Rosedale buoy. Guessing, but there must have been 4500-5000 Birds. Gulls,Cormorants,Common Murres and Bald Eagles were the obvious ones,unfortunately even with the telescope could not identify many other small dark plumaged birds.Once the feeding frenzy was over 6 of the 9 Bald Eagles left the area, 2 flew over to North Rocks and the 1 mature Eagle to visit today settled on the high point on the Southeast Rocks where he has stayed except for a couple of circles over several small groups of gulls. As it starts to get dark there are approx. 230 gulls,beaks into the 16 knt.North wind, along the North East ridge on Gr. Race -another 200 gulls along the Southwest shore.The Harbour seals have hauled out for the night on the ebbing tide,some singly but mostly in groups of 10-20.The Bald Eagle is still on the South East ridge.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 1 Charter Boat ( Discovery Launch )
posted by Carol or Mike S at 4:46 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast — Vis. 15 Miles — Wind North East 9 Knots — Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:14 AM

Phoca vitulina: Harbour Seal –The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Posted on Saturday,December 15, 2001 by Garry Fletcher

The total harbour seal population in the eastern north Pacific is estimated to be 330,000, and in California the estimated population was 40,000 in 1997. They usually are found in small groups, but sometimes occur in numbers of up to 500.

RANGE/HABITAT: Harbour seals are found across the Northern Hemisphere in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In the Northeast Pacific, they range from Alaska to Baja California, in Mexico. They favor near-shore coastal waters and frequent sandy beaches, mudflats, bays, and estuaries.

See the most recent posts on harbour seals by the Ecoguardians at Race Rocks

Harbour seal photo by Ryan Murphy 2002

Harbour seals spend about half their time on land and half in water, and they sometimes sleep in water. They can dive to 1,500 feet (457 m) for up to 40 minutes, although their average dive lasts 3 to 7 minutes. They are opportunistic feeders and hunt for sole, flounder, sculpin, hake, cod, herring, octopus, and squid.They will also take fairly large salmon.

This image of a mother an baby harbour seal was taken by Ryan Murphy when he was the Ecoguardian at Race Rocks 2009-2011 See this and many more excellent shots on his Flickr album of Race Rocks Seals here.

” Ryan and I were doing a live webcast from West Race Rocks, when we came across this harbour seal. It kept returning for a view of our activities so we were able to take several video shots while it hovered nearby. We noticed how it seemed to like returning to this rock pinnacle which was covered with kelp and the plumose anemone. When the lights of the camera get in at close range on the stalks or stipes of the kelp, you can see the brightly colored brooding anemone.” Andras Rozmer, (PC year 26)

Birthing location. Mother and and baby harbour seal. A few scenes taken in June at the time of the harbour seals giving birth. Note membranes still attached to the mother in the swimming scenes near the end.

Harbour seals are year-round residents of Race Rocks. Their numbers increase to over 400 in June and July at the peak of the pupping season. This video shows a quiet scene with seals hauled out on the shore on the west side of Race Rocks.

Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Clade: Pinnipedia
Family: Phocidae
Genus : Phoca
Species : vitulina

Phoca vitulina (Linnaeus, 1758 )

COMMON NAME: Harbour Seal

In the summer, the South East bay is often populated by harbour seals. In this view taken in July, 2005 from the tower, you can count at least 25 seals.	This shot is from the tower of the south bay by PB, Sept. 14 2007, the seals can be seen swimming underwater.
Harbour seals on the south intertidal island, Sept. 2007	A panorama of the seals on South Islands in June.. photo: GF
The cause of death of this seal is unknown.It could have been hit by a boat.	It had been providing food for an eagle several days before this picture was taken: see video:

At Race Rocks,the Harbour seals are year round residents, although their numbers peak in mid summer to over 400. They have pups on the island from March to July. This file shows what happens if boat traffic is too fast in the ecological reserve or around any seal haulout area,

Damion Wilson PC Year 27.
Other Members of the Class Mammalia at Race Rocks.