Tag Archives: humpback whale

Storm Season

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Ecological Notes:

  • 1 expecting female Elephant Seal … coming and going, still only coming as high as the ramp/ boat shed area
  • Very small female Elephant Seal , green tag number L334 visiting occasionally … very skittish and nervous, especially when the sea lions are moved off the ramp
  • In addition to a few Humpback Whales still in viewing distance, one did a rise only 5 meters off the jetty
  • Removal of dead bird carcasses (mostly gulls)

Visitors:

  • 1 supply drop off by the waterfront team
  • High tides, winds, and swells have prevented the work crews from coming out

Facility Work:

  • Fuel transfers, ensuring extra in the generator room as storms are coming again
  • Topped up battery levels
  • Daily fencing repairs. I got some new ribbon joiners that seem to be working well
  • Combination of high tides and swells has kept the jetty pretty much awash most of the daytime hours
  • Took advantage of rainy squalls to clean windows and solar panels

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Although they are less frequent, still some Ecotourism vessels in the park daily

Weather Events:

  • Thursday, November 14:
    • Sky: High cloud, with occasional clear periods
    • Wind: WSW 20 – 25 kts
    • Sea: Swells from the west to 1.5 metres
    • Temperature Low 8oC, High 11oC
  • Friday, November 15:
    • Sky: mostly clear, high cloud and light mist in the distance
    • Wind:  Mostly N 5 kts
    • Sea: overall flat with a slight swell…residual wrap around swell in the pier area is very high though, swamping the entire pier on each swell
    • Temperature Low 1oC (during the early morning N winds), High 8oC
  • Saturday, November 16:
    • Sky: High overcast, full visibility at water level. Light rain starting mid afternoon
    • Wind: ENE rising to 20kts in the early morning, veering to N and 10 – 20kts
    • Sea:  morning, calm with low underlying swell
    • Temperature Low 4oC, High 8oC
  • Sunday, November 17:
    • Sky: Overcast, Heavy morning rain squalls
    • Wind: Westerly night winds, peaking at 40kts… dropping to 15 – 20 kts by morning
    • Sea:  morning, calm with low underlying swell
    • Temperature Low 4oC, High 8oC

 

 

** 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?

Last Day!

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I don’t think my time here has ever flown quite this fast! 

Between visitors, rescue work, whales, and beautiful weather, the past month has gone by in the blink of an eye. It has been incredible and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to be able to work out here. 

I know I’ll be back, but until then – here are a few of my favourite moments from October. 

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

Whales and Sunshine

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Well, I think the beautiful weather is about to change – with rain warnings all weekend long!!

Today was pretty perfect, nearly no wind and blue, sunny skies. The sea lions didn’t destruct the fence over night (a true miracle) but I’m sure I’ll pay for it tomorrow in the rain.

After getting some work done in the morning I spent the afternoon watching killer whales and humpbacks feeding and bothering each other off the South side of the island!

Pretty perfect day all around.

Sea Lion VS Fence

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The never ending battle of sea lions vs electric fence continues!

They behaved themselves overnight with only a couple posts knocked over which in their defence…could have been the wind.

However today was not remotely windy and every time I went outside the fence needed some level of repair. Down by the jetty was jam packed with California sea lions, a few stellers, and even two elephant seals. Throughout the day they continued to rip down lines and tear out the screws, but I managed to keep up with it (or so I thought).

I had just come inside and sat down with a cup of tea when I looked out my window to see a giant steller lounging on the jetty with the electric fence resting on his back….a good indicator that it was grounding out somewhere.

Something tells me the fence isn’t very hot…

Back outside I went and found the source of the problem – a piece of fence so frayed it was hanging on for dear life and it was clear that no current could run through that. I fixed the fence with fresh fencing material and adjusted the other area around the jetty so that nothing was touching the cement.

Fixed!

I plugged the fence back in and crossed my fingers. No one was back on the jetty by the time it got dark so we’ll see how the night goes!

As per usual, whales everywhere today!

Facility Work:

  • Topped up battery electrolytes
  • Repaired electric fence

Vessels:

  • Ecotourism: 7
  • Private: 0

Weather:

  • Sky: Cloudy
  • Wind: Low of 1 knot, high of 7 knots
  • Sea: Mostly calm
  • Temperature: Low 9•C, High 15•C

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

Moody Monday

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Not much to report today! Rainy and grey all day with the wind picking up in the afternoon and still going strong as I write this.

The sea lions took a toll on the fence over night as they usually do but it still managed to keep them out, except for one lone Cali who was happy to head back over.

The humpbacks were EVERYWHERE today. Every direction I looked I either saw a breach, a tail slap, or a blow and it certainly made the moody weather a little brighter.

Facility Work:

  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Repaired electric fence

Vessels:

  • Ecotourism: 7
  • Private: 0

Weather:

  • Sky: Cloudy/rainy
  • Wind: Low of 0 knots, high of 16 knots
  • Sea: Whitecaps
  • Temperature: Low 10•C, High 17•C

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

Northern Lights at Race Rocks

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Last night’s northern lights were as incredible as I could’ve hoped for! This is the second time now that I have been lucky enough to witness them from Race Rocks.

This morning the sky was still colourful – this time with a beautiful sunrise accompanied by a logging humpback just off the south side of the island. It slept there as I completed my morning fence repairs, surfacing for a big breath every few minutes.

The sea lions had a hay day with the fence over night, and I’m sure there will be just as many repairs needed tomorrow. Good thing I love them anyway!

Both female elephant seals are still here which always makes my day, they aren’t big fans of the sea lions but manage to tolerate them.

Greg brought 3 loads of water over today – topping the fresh water tank up  4000L which means its now full!

I filled the generator up with diesel and we brought the small tank up as well so I won’t have to try and move it on my own any time soon. I spent the afternoon topping up battery electrolytes and rolling fire hoses before moving inside to get some work done.

Another beautiful day out here, sure doesn’t seem like October!

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

Census Day!

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It’s census day! 

This is my first time doing the census since June when we only had about 20 sea lions so this count required some focus.

Mammals:
California sea lions: 731
Steller sea lions: 422
Harbour seals: 72
Elephant seals: 2
Cetaceans: more humpback whales than I could keep track of! At least 30+

Birds:
Gulls: 579
Cormorants: 195
Canadian geese: 16
Turnstones: 12
Whimbrel: 1
Savannah sparrow: 1

Today was beautiful out, a perfect sunny Sunday!

Vessels:

  • Ecotourism: 10
  • Private: 13 + 2 jet skis

Weather:

  • Sky: Blue sky and sun
  • Wind: NONE
  • Sea: Glassy
  • Temperature: Low 9•C, High 18•C

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

Wild Weather

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Today felt like fall. I woke up to pouring rain and otherwise quiet morning. It seems as though the sea lions would rather be in the ocean than lay in the rain because about half of them were gone this morning.

The most vibrant rainbow I’ve ever seen!

The fence required minimal repairs which meant I could spend longer inside with my coffee. I did find one intruder – a California sea lion on the wrong side of the fence who thankfully meandered back over with a little encouragement. The contractors arrived by 8:30 to continue work on the student building, lucky for them most of their work was inside today.

The rain stopped briefly so I was able to tackle my to do list before it started up again. By mid afternoon the sun was out but the wind picked up rather fiercely.

The weather didn’t stop the humpbacks from breaching just outside the reserve, as usual there seemed to be one in every direction. I spent my evening watching them from the kitchen window as I did some baking and started a fire – truly the perfect evening!

The whales in question

The baking in question

Facility Work:

  • Took specific gravity readings and topped up batteries
  • Fence repair
  • Topped up generator
  • Solar panels (the rain really helped with this one)

Vessels:

  • Ecotourism: 9

Weather:

  • Sky: Cloudy/Rainy, turned to blue sky in the afternoon
  • Wind: Low of 8 knots, High of 15 knots
  • Sea: Calm morning, whitecaps in afternoon
  • Temperature: Low 9•C, High 15•C

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

 

Golden Hour

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Today was jam packed!

My morning started the same way it will start every day for the next month – fixing the fence. I also moved the sea lions off the boat launch so its clear yet I swear the SECOND I turn my back they just pile right back up. 

Not a bad view to start the day!

The windows on the student building are being replaced so the contractors were out bright and early to get started. Throughout the day we had 2 groups of Pearson students come out which is always fun because I love to show off this little island. They also never seem to mind when I talk about marine mammals which is more than I can for most people in my life who have to listen to my yap about them!

There were humpbacks in every direction, big blows in the distance, pectoral fins in the air, and splashy breaches on the outskirts of the reserve. I felt even luckier when a massive killer whale passed by!

Humpback at sunset

A second female elephant showed up today, she had some trouble getting past the sea lions but finally made it to the grass outside the house. The Calis don’t seem to mind her but the Stellers don’t like her at all.

I don’t think she likes the Stellers either

I finished the day off outside watching the sun set as the sea lions basked in the final rays.

Facility Work:

  • Topped up battery electrolytes for those that were low
  • Repaired electric fence (about 50 times over)

DND:

3 blasts today all with varying reactions, only the initial blast caused some sea lions to flush into the water.

Water Woes

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Friday, September 27, 2024

Unfortunately for us, the levels of water in the massive cistern beside the house are low, so we have not been running the desalinator lately, and despite our best water saving efforts we need more …

Until the sea lions (and the massive amounts of poop that comes with them) clear out we aren’t able to fill the cistern with seawater. So…  today, Greg came out with a massive tank of freshwater on the back of the Second Nature to top up our reservoir.

This was a bit of a production as we had to lay out ~ 75m of fire hose from the reservoir to the dock, but we did it, and now we won’t be leaving the next eco-guardian in a lurch.

On another note, we have a returning Elephant Seal. This lady is untagged, and definitely knows her way around the island. We first saw her at 11 am on the jetty, and by 2 pm she was in the grass by the main path to the house.

I hope she sticks around for the weekend!

Weather: Sunny all day, Wind at around 16knts SW all day.

Whale Watching Vessels: 15

Private Vessels: 0

**Loads of Humpbacks close to the Island today 😊