Tag Archives: harbour seal

The Day After Blue Planet Day

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Winds started out very light from a northerly direction and eventually backed all the way through east, southeast and around to westerlies, 15 to 20 knots and gusting, in the afternoon. Although there were some clouds and showers it seemed to be a nice day, but when you look at cumulative solar radiation values they were less than half of yesterday’s values at just below 300 Langleys. The barometer fell gradually all day and levelled out near dusk ending up at ~100.5 HPa. The strong wind warning remains in effect and is forecast to be strongest in the afternoons for the next few days.

Whale watching boats were back today after the storm subsided and four were observed in the Ecological Reserve. They were meeting and exceeding the Marine Mammal Regulations and although a couple of the smaller cowboys did manage to get between Great Race and South Islands. They were going so slowly and cautiously that the sealions that didn’t even wake up as the boats passed by.

No sports fishers or other vessels were observed in the ER.

Black Turnstones in all their summer finery.

Black Turnstones in all their summer finery.

One branded Steller’s Sealion was noted hauled out on the South Islands. This female with brand # 120Y was born at St. George Reef, California in 2002.

Female Steller's (or Northern) Sealion # 120Y. This animal was born in northern California and will be 13 years old this summer.

Female Steller’s (or Northern) Sealion # 120Y. This animal was born in northern California and will be 13 years old this summer.

Today was animal census day and the results are as follows:

Northern Elephant Seals 34 (8 on Great Race)

Harbour Seals 44 (note 137 counted following day, less windy)

California Sea lions 11

Northern Sea lions 38

Sea Otter 1

Canada Geese 18

Harlequin Ducks 4

Pelagic Cormorants 4

Double Crested Cormorants 5

Bald Eagle 2 adults, 2 sub-adults

Killdeer 1

Black Oystercatchers 10

Black Turnstones 15

Surfbird 23

Dunlin 4

Pigeon Guillemots 383

Glaucous-winged Gulls 488 adults 18 sub-adults

Caspian Tern 1 (flying through)

Common Raven 1

Barn Swallows 2

Savannah Sparrow 6

There were no visitors today. Chores were routine.

 

 

A Stellar Day

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Calm seas, sunshine and light winds combined to make it a very pleasant day. The wind really didn’t do much and direction changed throughout the day from west to southeast and back again. There was enough sunshine  to power the solar panels, run the de-salinator  and build up the batteries. The barometer declined slowly all day after a high start and the forecast is for a mix of sun and cloud tomorrow with a strong westerly winds predicted.

Two whale watching boats used the Ecological Reserve today.   From where they were, I am guessing that they enjoyed the pinnipeds and sea otter as well as the birds. Several sports fishing boats transited through at high speed and one fished close to the boundary.

Female Steller’s or Northern Sealion #334R was photographed today. She was branded as a pup in July 2003 at Rogue Reef in  southern Oregon.

Northern or Steller's Sealions hauled out on South Islets, a female born in southern Oregon, branded with #334R is visible.

Steller’s Sealions hauled out on South Islets, a female born in southern Oregon in 2003, and branded with #334R is visible.

The Northern Elephant Seals continue to grace Great Race and I am getting used to them not reacting at all to my presence on the walkways.

Four Northern Elephant Seals like peas in a pod, next to the walkway to my house with their tails in the goose exclusion cage.

Four Northern Elephant Seals like peas in a pod, next to the walkway to the basement door.

The Glaucous-winged gulls are starting to mate and gather nesting materials. The Canada Geese are busy defending territory and brooding eggs. Black Oystercatchers are likewise busy when not foraging in the intertidal where limpets seem to be their favourite food.

Today was Animal Census Day and here are the results:

Northern Elephant Seals 26

Harbour Seals 147

California Sea lions 30

Steller’s Sea lions 36

Sea Otter 1

Canada Geese 18

Harlequin Ducks 3

Pelagic Cormorants 8

Double Crested Cormorants 7

Bald Eagle 2 adults, 5 sub-adults

Killdeer 1

Black Oystercatchers 10

Black Turnstones 9

Surfbirds 8

Pigeon Guillemots 164

Glaucous-winged Gulls 345

Northwestern Crow 6

Common Raven 1

There were no visitors today and maintenance chores were routine including running the fire pump to fill cistern.

 

Dramatic Weather

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Strong west-southwest winds blew all day with a continuous cycle of showers and dramatic clouds scudding through. Wind velocities ranged from 10 to over 30 knots, up the tower. A low snowline could be seen in the Olympic Mountains from time to time and the air was chilly. The barometer has been climbing steadily since last night and the forecast is for more of the same with a risk of thunderstorms.

No tour boats or fishers were observed in the Ecological Reserve and Rockfish Conservation Area today.

A Sea Otter was spotted in the main channel in front of the eco-guardians’ house again today. As the tide turned, it swam over to Turbine Rock and on arrival was surrounded by six or seven small Harbour Seals. The adult seals remained uninterested, asleep on the rock. Through the spotting scope, it looked like interspecies play with lots of exaggerated diving and washing up onto the rock and back out. This is one of the first times I have looked at a sea otter for any length of time when it was not eating, grooming or sleeping.

Sleepy head.

Sleepy head Mirounga angustirostrus.

Three Northern Elephant Seals moved right up onto Great Race today. When I did the water sample at six there was one individual lolling around by the jetty. I looked up mid-morning and three of them were doing the wave along the walkway. One stopped at the intersection, one went back closer to the boat shed and the third went right around the science house onto the rocks on the west side.  None of these individuals were tagged. Once settled, they slept soundly for the rest of the day.

Rear view of Norther Elephant Seal. You can see why they are unable to rotate those flippers forward to support their weight.

Rear view of Norther Elephant Seal. You can see why they are unable to rotate those flippers forward to support their weight.

Most of the Canada Geese are sitting on eggs already and the ganders are fearless defenders. I am trying to discourage one insistent pair of geese that haven’t laid yet (I think) from nesting right beside the path to the Energy Building but it seems to be a losing battle.  The area near the stone burial cairns has been seriously overgrazed by the geese and the earth around the biggest one is eroding around the edges. In that area the goose exclusion cages show up a large difference between grazed and un-grazed (caged). In other areas where crab-grass dominates there is little difference inside and out of the cages.

There were no visitors today.

Almost the end of March.

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Visiting student group from Pearson College departs leaving tin of Maple Syrup behind. Merci beaucoups. Back L to R Hana, me, Chloe, Michael, Sebia, front Malou (L) and Annabelle (photographer).

Visiting student group from Pearson College departs leaving tin of Maple Syrup behind. Merci beaucoups. Back L to R Hana, me, Chloe, Michael, Sibia, front Malou (L) and Annabelle (Chris Blondeau photographer).

 

Fog from overnight burned off in the late morning revealing a beautiful day. Although the barometric pressure continued its gradual decline from yesterday, the winds were less than 10km/hour at ground level until early evening when a gentle westerly started. As the sun is setting, clouds gather in the west making god rays and but no sailor’s delight colours. The forecast is calling for showers and possibly even thunder and lightening on Tuesday afternoon and near gale force winds are expected to the west.

There were eleven Elephant Seals visibly hauled out on Middle Rock today and over 115 Harbour Seals hauled out, scattered on all the islets and rocks. There are many birds on and around the Reserve right now and I look forward to next weeks census. I am trying to persuade the usual gaggle of geese to move on but they are pretty persistent and in some cases quite peevish. While looking for nests, I came across several goose wings so something has been eating them, probably either the otters or the eagles. A total of four tour boats came to the Ecological Reserve to searching for that sort real life adventure, and viewing wildlife in glorious, afternoon sunshine.

That sunshine powered solar panels and batteries so well that the generator run time today was 50% of the daily average over the last two weeks. As day length grows, this will become a continuing trend. The solar panels are a really important piece of the sustainability puzzle on Race Rocks. Over the years Pearson College has done really well in reducing its dependency on fossil fuels on the island and the solar panels are big part of that reduction. Going from eight large oil tanks to one is a big step and of course also helps mitigate spill risk.

The reduction in emissions is not only helpful in reducing greenhouse gas and improving air quality, it is also helpful to the ocean. Ocean acidification, a lowering of pH due to atmospheric carbon dioxide uptake is a serious issue that some people call “the other C02 problem”. Our very close neighbours to the south, in Washington State are taking the threat of ocean acidification very seriously and are mobilizing to address this threat. Their efforts were precipitated by the near collapse of their oyster industry due to ocean acidification. It would be great to add a good pH meter to the kit here in order to monitor that aspect of water quality as ocean water sweeps past Race Rocks and into the inland Salish Sea.

Chores today included seawater sampling, sorting, moving and stacking wood, sweeping walkways, rotating composters, and keeping an eye on activities. The underwater camera is back up and running due to a quick fix and I have started to get to know the computer and its myriad of files again. There were no visitors today and I missed the students who were here on the weekend.

 

March 26 – Census

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Sunny
Wind: 0-17 from varying directions throughout the day
Air Temperature: Low 9.2ºC, High 11.8ºC
Ocean Temperature: 9.0ºC

Today was spent preparing for the shift change. Anne Stewart will arriving tomorrow to take over as the Eco-Guardian.

There was one eco tour boat seen in the reserve today.

Here are the results of today’s megafauna census:
Steller Sea Lion: 58
California Sea Lion: 31
Harbour Seal: 79
Bald Eagle: 3
Cormorant: 16
Canada Goose: 24
Gull: 256
Crow: 2
Oystercatcher: 4
Pigeon Guillemot: 234
Surfbird: 8
Black Turnstone: 16
Savannah Sparrow: 1

March 24 – Sea Otter

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Sunny, patches of rain the afternoon
Wind: W 4-17 knots, calm in the late evening
Air Temperature: Low 7.7°C, High 10.7°C
Ocean Temperature: 8.9°C

This afternoon, a ring-necked california sea lion was observed on the South Islands. It had something tightly wrapped around its neck, which is digging into the flesh.

While observing the sea lions, a small creature appeared on the edge of the rock ten metres away from them. Much smaller than the sea lions, at about one metre long, it was eating the molluscs in the intertidal zone. To my great excitement, it was a sea otter (enhydra lutris). The sea otter ate, dove, rolled and swam around the South Islands for about two hours.

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

March 16 – Camera, Crane and Coruscating Sun

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Sunny
Wind: 5-16 knots from the SW and S in the early morning, NE until 17:00, SE for a few hours and calm after 20:00
Air Temperature: Low 6.6°C, High 10.3°C
Ocean Temperature: 8.9°C

The underwater camera is back up and running, after a few weeks offline. The power issue has been solved. Algae on the dome around the camera is partially obstructing the view, but it will be cleaned soon by divers from the college.

This afternoon, there were two low flying aircraft: a floatplane and a Search and Rescue Helicopter.

Three fishing boats passed through the ecological reserve today. One boat spent an hour fishing within the Rockfish Conservation Area, which is prohibited by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). The Rockfish Conservation Area is within the 40m depth contour of Great Race Rocks and Rosedale Reef, marked by the green buoy to the southeast of Great Race Rocks.

The crane needs to be run and serviced once a month. Today, it was used to lift a 12m log from the jetty beach to the boardwalk, where it will be chopped into firewood. In hindsight, it would have made it less challenging to cut the log in half while it was on the beach. Although, 6m sections wouldn’t have been as much fun to manoeuvre with the crane.

During the low tide in the afternoon, there was a large number of harbour seals and sea lions hauled out on the rocks. Two branded steller sea lions were seen on the South Islands. Both sea lions were branded as pups at Rogue Reef, Oregon. 524R was branded in 2007. 365Y was branded in 2013.

March 13 – Finding Nests and Making Water

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Cloudy with sunny breaks
Wind: 2-14 knots, NE in morning SE in afternoon
Air temperature: Low 8.7°C, High 11.3°C
Ocean temperature: 9.0°C

A bazaar of 27 pigeon guillemots spent the morning on the wharf, nearby rocks and occasionally gathering in the water to float through Middle Channel. They appeared to be checking out nesting sites on the rocks between the wharf and helicopter pad. They like nesting in the crevices and under the blasted rocks on the northwest side of Great Race.

The visiting students helped unroll the fire hoses to pump salt water into the cistern, which is underground between the lighthouse and the Ecoguardian’s house. The water from the cistern is pumped through the desalinator. This afternoon, the desalinator ran for eight hours, producing about 700 litres of fresh water.

There were three eco tour boats and two recreational boats in the ecological reserve today.

March 12 – Sunny Census Thursday

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Sunny
Wind: 0-13 knots SW in the morning, NE from mid morning to afternoon and SW in the evening
Air Temperature: Low 9.9°C, High 13.2°C
Ocean Temperature: 9.0°C

Three Pearson students came to Race Rocks this morning. Karen, Sunny and Hanne joined Martin, who has been here since Monday.

The students did some work this afternoon: sweeping all 99 steps of the lighthouse and continuing the process of stowing the chopped wood in all the nooks and crannies of the buildings, to be used next winter to heat the main house.

There was DND blasting happening in the morning and early afternoon on Bentinck Island, less than 1km away from the ecological reserve.

Today’s high temperature of 13.2°C, as measured at the ground weather station, was the highest recorded since 2006, when the weather station was installed. A high of 14°C was recorded by the instruments at the top of the lighthouse.

Three eco tour boats visited the reserve. One boat came very close to a group of sea lions swimming and others hauled out on the South Islands.

The low tide of 1.1m at 13:52, exposed lots of species from the low tide zone into the air. The shore and tidal pools were full of life: mussels, barnacles, limpets and lots of other flora and fauna of the sea. The oystercatchers and shore birds were having a feast.

There were no small birds perching birds seen today. There are usually a few fox, sparrows, savannah sparrows and occasionally juncos and robins zipping around the island.

Here are the results from today’s Megafauna Census:
Elephant Seal: 1
Steller Sea Lion: 54
California Sea Lion: 43
Harbour Seal: 52
Bald Eagle: 9
Great Blue Heron: 1
Crow: 1
Oystercatcher: 4
Double Crested Cormorant: 12
Brandt’s Cormorant: 21
Gull: 247
Canada Goose: 14
Pigeon Guillemot: 9
Harlequin Duck: 13
Surfbird: 3
Black Turnstone: 10
Rock Sandpiper: 2