Tag Archives: nest

Swiftsure-a ‘driftsure’ this year!

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Saturday, May 25, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 15.2 C  Min. 8.5 C  Reset 11.9 C  Rain 2.2 mm
MARINE LIFE: 2 mature Bald Eagles today. The gulls were very busy this afternoon gathering nesting material,there are always some early nesters then a large group all at once, then there are the stragglers that seem to leave things to the last minute.There are some very fussy nest builders and then others that have nests that are quite sparse and somewhat messy.Last night there were at least 2 elephant seals just off shore snorting and bellowing so loud it woke me up about 2 a.m. expected to see them hauled out on the boat dock in the morning but they were back over by Middle rock floating about, quietly! Angus reported 2 or 3 Orca in Race Passage as he was coming across from the college just after 09:00.
HUMAN INTERACTION: Hyaku in from the College -Angus and group to do the live webcast for the Swiftsure-a ‘driftsure’ this year! A little rain this morning and no wind to speak of, a beautiful day on the water for all but the racers.Hyaku to Victoria and back with mechanic and parts-engine repaired and ‘purring’ nicely again.The Swiftsure boats started coming through the passage quite late but with a lot of spinnakers was a colourful sight.A couple of race boats came through between North Rocks and Gr. Race, one was very close going between West Race and Gr. Race and used great skill and energy to manoeuvre through the reefs and tide.In addition to the sailboats there were 47 Ecotour boats and 26 pleasure craft through the reserve.Took pamphlets out to 2 pleasure craft fishing off the east shore of Gr. Race. 1 Dive boat dove the West Race in the morning then returned for an afternoon dive north shore of Gr. Race.The weather forecast is not too encouraging as far as wind is concerned, light in the a.m. but some hope with possible westerly 10-15 knts. in the afternoon.Should be a colourful spinnaker run to the finish line, that is if there are any boats left in the race! Last I heard over 100 boats had pulled out of the race.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:37 PM

 

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast  Vis 10 Miles Light Rain  Wind West 6 Knots Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:45 AM

Pigeon Guillemots seek out ‘tunnels’ in the rock piles

Posted on by
Wednesday, May 08, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max.11.0 C  Min. 5.5 C  Reset 9.0 C
MARINE LIFE: 2 mature bald eagles today-still 3 geese.The gulls and Oyster Catchers kept the eagles on the move, every time the big birds approached Gr. Race they were ‘herded’ away and so spent most of the day on North Rocks.Although it is not as warm as it usually is for May, the sun is so welcome -it has been a strange spring. The birds are pretty well all paired off now except of course for the 3rd goose! The Pigeon Guillemots seek out ‘tunnels’ in the rock piles to lay their eggs and will sit for quite a while guarding the entrances, they are however so striking with the white wing patch and bright red feet that it is easy to find the nests.It is interesting to note the differences of bird behavior as far as protection of the eggs. The Gulls stay with the eggs and fend off intruders while the Oyster Catchers use the ‘distraction’ method of flying some distance away all the while chirping frantically. Have not seen any chicks yet but the oystercatcher eggs in the east bay area should soon hatch,will check the nest in the morning.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 4 pleasure craft and 13 ecotour boats through the reserve today,station boat round trip to Pedder Bay.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:45 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy  Vis. 15 Miles Wind West 9 Knots  Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:54 AM

one nest of Black Oyster Catcher eggs.

Posted on by
Thursday, April 25, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.9 ºC »» Min. 4.7 ºC »» Reset 9.0 ºC
MARINE LIFE: 3 Bald Eagles -1 juvenile.The eagles left the reserve just after 17:00. We are back to 3 geese again,I’m surprised they haven’t all left for ‘greener pastures’ now that the puddles they enjoyed so much have dried up but for a few slimy inches.Still only the one nest of Black Oyster Catcher eggs.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 5 Ecotour boats, 4 Pleasure craft. 2 of the pleasure craft were fishing in the reserve just after 13:00 but moved on with apologies after being advised of the MPA status. Picked up a drifting commercial crab trap off the east shore of Gr. Race and brought it in for disposal. This afternoon 2 College boats were in with Garry,Laura and students for a dive also Angus with Guests.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:22 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind North 3 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:26 AM

2 Black Oyster Catcher nests,

Posted on by
Tuesday, April 23, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.0 ºC »» Min. 7.1 ºC »» Reset 8.8 ºC »» Rain 0.4 mm
MARINE LIFE: 1 mature Bald Eagle. The gulls kept the big bird moving from rock to rock. Every time the eagle settled down the gulls, in groups of 5 or 6 heckled it until it flew off to another spot.Finally just after 14:00 the eagle took off towards Whirl Bay. Still 3 Geese, the loner follows the pair all around the island but if he gets any closer than 5 metres or so is driven back with much honking and neck waving.Checking the area just above the high tide line turned up 2 Black Oyster Catcher nests, which are really just depressions lined with pebbles and bits of shells and are about 20 cm across. The nest by the East Bay has 3 eggs but the nest on the north side just east of the winch house is empty -will check again tomorrow.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 5 Ecotour boats and 1 Pleasure craft through the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:15 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind West 9 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:21 AM

Gordon Odlum and Jean, Lightkeepers -1952 to 1961

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Gordon Odlum and his wife Jean were resident at Race Rocks from Oct 1,
1952 – July 31, 1961, So far we have very little information on them
except one special entry in a research paper : The British Columbia Nest Records Scheme Author(s): M. T. Myres, I. McT. Cowan, M. D. F. Udvardy  Source: The Condor, Vol. 59, No. 5 (Sep. – Oct.,1957), pp. 308-310 Published by: University of California Press on behalf
of the Cooper Ornithological Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1364966
I have quoted the part referring to Gordon below: “The purpose of the scheme is to collect information on birds’ nests that ornithologists and bird-watchers find, but which would otherwise go unrecorded or are recorded but left idle in personal field notebooks or diaries. The main items of avian biology that can be analyzed by this scheme are as follows:
1. The timing of the breeding season, the succession of clutches in species which lay more than one, and the variations in laying time from place to place and from year to year.

2. The size of the clutch and how this varies with latitude, altitude and climate.

3. The degree of success that birds have in hatching and rearing their young.

4. The essentials of habitat preference and variation in habitat throughout the range of a
species; these data are provide

In 1956, 1003 cards were returned and these covered 1606 nests or broods.
Particular mention should be made of the 120 nests of Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens) which Mr. Gordon C. Odlum watched on Race Rocks, off the southern
end of Vancouver Island. He was able to study them from the pre-egg stage through to hatching, and his observations are an example of the most valuable types of nest-record returns. It is seldom that sufficient nests are watched right through from the start until they either fail or their young fledge successfully .

SUMMARY A
A Cooperative scheme for the assembling of data on the breeding biology of birds was organized in British Columbia in 1955. The aims of this scheme are outlined, and it is suggested that observers over the whole Pacific coastal region might eventually cooperate in the scheme. Already 1600 cards covering 2700 nests or broods of 139 species have been collected and are available for consultation Department of Zoology, University of
British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, February 8, 1957.

From  http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=1436

Gordon Odlum grew up in Vancouver and during an outing one day he hiked to Point Atkinson Lighthouse, where Keeper Thomas Grafton kindly gave him a tour. Odlum was captivated by the life of a lighthouse keeper, and after frequent visits out to Capilano Lighthouse, he decided to become a keeper himself. After brief assignments at numerous lighthouses, Odlum was transferred to Triple Islands Lighthouse in November 1942. He seemed to made for the work, as a year later, he wrote home, “I think I can truthfully say that I haven’t felt at all lonesome, partly I guess because I’m built this way…”
He must have felt at least a bit lonesome as he decided to bake a tiny loaf of bread and send it to an attractive girl that worked at the Glass Bakery in downtown Vancouver. Not having her home address, he sent the package to the bakery and then eagerly waited a reply. A response arrived in December 1943, a true Christmas gift, and Odlum wasted no time in writing back. “It was sweet of you to remember little old shabby lightkeeping me. It seems such a long time since I had the pleasure of going into Glass Bakery and saying ‘Hello. Two whites please’ to your sunny smile. Fifteen months it has been since I have been ashore. I wonder if you might be married and have four children by now?”
A seven-month-long courtship by mail followed, and the couple married on September 20, 1944 in Vancouver. After a short honeymoon, the Odlums headed north to Triple Islands. While Gordon was gradually introduced to the remote lifestyle of a lightkeeper, eighteen-year-old Jean was plucked from Vancouver and planted on the most remote and confining station in British Columbia. Many a sailor bet the pretty, young girl wouldn’t last a year on “the Rock,” but she did, and it wasn’t until eight years later, in 1952, that the couple was transferred to a station a bit closer to humanity – Race Rocks. After nearly a decade there, Keeper Odlum lucked out and got Point Atkinson, where he was first introduced to lighthouse keeping, and stayed there from 1961-1974.

See the Lightkeepers of Race Rocks Index