TEMPERATURE: Max. 17.0 ºC »» Min. 9.9 ºC »» Reset 15.9 ºC
MARINE LIFE: several groups of 20 or so Cormorants are spending part of the day on North Rks. and the rocks on the southeast of Gr. Race. There are now about 60 Black Turnstones busy along the shoreline, you can often see them on camera # 3 hopping among the sealions foraging for sand fleas or beach hoppers.Most of the time though they are farther down on the beach where the food supply includes small crabs which they find by ‘turning over pebbles and small stones’ thus the name Turnstone.There was one identified transient Orca, a large bull known as Y1 through the reserve about 10 am. There were 4 or 5 other Orca with him including a calf. These transeints came in from the west between North Rks. and Gr. Race. They spent a while foraging about not far off the dock then circled Gr. Race rather slowly before moving off to the northwest. At about 11:15 heard a report from one of the Ecotour boats that there was a group of residents in the entrance of Pedder Bay, did see some tail slapping and breaching but too far away to identify any individuals.
HUMAN INTERACTION: Second Nature in with supplies this morning. While the Orca were in the reserve 4 boats followed them which is contrary to the guidelines. 3 of the boats were fishing charters ,Beasley, Adams and Island Outfitters. The 4th was an unidentified 5 or 6 metre open Lifetimer.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:12 PM
Tag Archives: Orca
Whales and sealions
TEMPERATURE: Max. 14.1 ºC »» Min. 9.6 ºC »» Reset 14.0 ºC
MARINE LIFE: The chatter on the marine radio reported sightings of some Minke whales and also a Humpback but not unfortunately close to us. We did see several Orca a mile or so beyond the MPA boundries.This morning we counted 172 California, 9 Northern Sea lions hauled out on West, Middle and North Rocks. The group hauled out at the dock and along the north shoreline of Gr. Race still numbers 13-15 California and 2 Northern.Most of the day they spend sleeping but through the night get quite vocal. Most of the young gulls have stopped returning to the nest areas and are usually chased off by the adults.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 37 Ecotour boats, 2 Charter dive boats and 7 pleasure craft through the reserve today.Station boat to Pedder Bay and back this morning.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:27 PM
a small group of Orca passed through
Tuesday, August 20, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 16.0 C Min. 10.3 C Reset 12.7 C
MARINE LIFE: There is plenty of fish around but many of the sealions have left and wonder if the high level of boat traffic is having an impact.Between noon and 13:00 a small group of Orca passed through between Gr. Race and North Rks. heading west.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 36 Ecotour boats through today also Second Nature in for two dives off the dock and one dive late afternoon at West Race.The station boat to Pedder Bay and back.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:14 PM
TEMPERATURE: Max. 16.0 C Min. 10.3 C Reset 12.7 C
MARINE LIFE: There is plenty of fish around but many of the sealions have left and wonder if the high level of boat traffic is having an impact.Between noon and 13:00 a small group of Orca passed through between Gr. Race and North Rks. heading west.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 36 Ecotour boats through today also Second Nature in for two dives off the dock and one dive late afternoon at West Race.The station boat to Pedder Bay and back.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:14 PM
practicing the art of landing
Tuesday, August 13, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 24.9 C Min. 11.5 C Reset 19.0 C
MARINE LIFE: The number of sea lions continues to increase,most seem to arrive in little groups during the night.This morning counted over 50 hauled out and several small groups floating about in the kelp. There were 6 Northern sea lions swimming along the south shore when the Orcas passed by just after 20:00.The whales were headed east after feeding near Beechey Head and surfaced only twice as they went through the reserve.The geese did not visit today, guess that is it for this year,miss them in a way but there are better places for geese! The young gulls are still spending a lot of time practicing the art of landing and there were a lot of close calls with several chicks getting quite a ‘roughing-up’ from some of the more aggressive adults.Saw 4 young with pecks on their heads that drew blood and some tail feathers pulled out. The adults fly out just off shore and call to the young but they are very reluctant to follow , so it gets quite noisy at times.One California sea lion hauled out for a couple of hours on the end of the dock, he had # 62 branded on his back.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 33 Ecotour boats and 9 pleasure craft through today, Hyaku did a tour through in the evening.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:33 PM
TEMPERATURE: Max. 24.9 C Min. 11.5 C Reset 19.0 C
MARINE LIFE: The number of sea lions continues to increase,most seem to arrive in little groups during the night.This morning counted over 50 hauled out and several small groups floating about in the kelp. There were 6 Northern sea lions swimming along the south shore when the Orcas passed by just after 20:00.The whales were headed east after feeding near Beechey Head and surfaced only twice as they went through the reserve.The geese did not visit today, guess that is it for this year,miss them in a way but there are better places for geese! The young gulls are still spending a lot of time practicing the art of landing and there were a lot of close calls with several chicks getting quite a ‘roughing-up’ from some of the more aggressive adults.Saw 4 young with pecks on their heads that drew blood and some tail feathers pulled out. The adults fly out just off shore and call to the young but they are very reluctant to follow , so it gets quite noisy at times.One California sea lion hauled out for a couple of hours on the end of the dock, he had # 62 branded on his back.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 33 Ecotour boats and 9 pleasure craft through today, Hyaku did a tour through in the evening.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:33 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear �� Vis 15 Miles �� Wind East 7 Knots �� Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:15 AM
WEATHER: Sky Clear �� Vis 15 Miles �� Wind East 7 Knots �� Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:15 AM
Ryan to the reserve for relief
Saturday, July 27, 2002
A beautiful day here on the rocks today. 5 orcas passed north of the reserve at 17:30, two whale watchers through the reserve after around 18:00. The Canadian Geese are back, didn’t see them fly in though. 1 mature bald eagle made a number of passes of the island today, but was unsuccessful. The cormorant was joined this afternoon by another one, and several more may be near the water on the southwest corner of the island.
posted by Ryan Murphy at 7:06 PM
posted by Ryan Murphy at 7:06 PM
The was a lot of boat traffic, mostly recreational fishers, in the area all day
Sunday, July 21, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 23.0 C Min. 10.3 C Reset 14.5 C
MARINE LIFE:The Orca were in the area again today and with the boat from Marine Mammal monitoring the whale watchers, things seemed well under control. Did hear some boat operators report sightings of a couple of Minke Whales but did not see anything in or near the reserve. A couple of transient Orcas passed through just on the southern boundary in the afternoon, they seemed to be moving fairly steady pace. The was a lot of boat traffic, mostly recreational fishers, in the area all day. One California and one Northern sealion hauled out on the south tip of the southeast rocks, unfortunately a rental boat from a marina moved in too close and sent them into the water. Ryan who had a group out for a tour in the Hyaku went along side and informed the sightseers of the guidelines. Feel sorry for the birds in this hot weather,they all sit around with their beaks open, panting – didn’t even get the evening westerly we look forward to cool things down.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 23 ecotour boats and 11 pleasure craft through today,also the Hyaku, M3 and station boat to Pedder Bay and Back
posted by Carol or Mike S at 8:17 PM
TEMPERATURE: Max. 23.0 C Min. 10.3 C Reset 14.5 C
MARINE LIFE:The Orca were in the area again today and with the boat from Marine Mammal monitoring the whale watchers, things seemed well under control. Did hear some boat operators report sightings of a couple of Minke Whales but did not see anything in or near the reserve. A couple of transient Orcas passed through just on the southern boundary in the afternoon, they seemed to be moving fairly steady pace. The was a lot of boat traffic, mostly recreational fishers, in the area all day. One California and one Northern sealion hauled out on the south tip of the southeast rocks, unfortunately a rental boat from a marina moved in too close and sent them into the water. Ryan who had a group out for a tour in the Hyaku went along side and informed the sightseers of the guidelines. Feel sorry for the birds in this hot weather,they all sit around with their beaks open, panting – didn’t even get the evening westerly we look forward to cool things down.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 23 ecotour boats and 11 pleasure craft through today,also the Hyaku, M3 and station boat to Pedder Bay and Back
posted by Carol or Mike S at 8:17 PM
WEATHER: Sky Clear �� Vis. 15 Miles �� Wind North East 8 Knots �� Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 4:59 AM
posted by Carol or Mike S at 4:59 AM
37 ecotour boats through the reserve
Friday, July 19, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 17.1 C Min. 11.2 C Reset 13.5
MARINE LIFE: There are a fair number of gull chicks surviving inspite of the relentless attempts to hunt by the eagles during the day and the otter which continues to make the nightly tour of the island.The young geese are doing a lot of wing flapping, building the muscles they will need to fly off, soon we hope, as the food situation is not the best for them now.The Orcas were in the area again today but did not come through the reserve, they were heading west and spent some time in the mouth of Pedder Bay, feeding in the kelp beds there although it was hard to tell as the wind was blowing 20-25 knts. and the sea quite choppy. There was the usual flotilla following along, included in the group was the inflatable from the Marine Mammal Monitoring program which had to stop one pleasure craft and advise them of the whale watching guidelines.The pleasure craft was traveling in the path of the whales either unaware or in spite of the presence of the mammals.
HUMAN INTERACTION: there were 37 ecotour boats through the reserve and 5 pleasure craft. The station boat made a trip to Pedder Bay and back.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 10:02 PM
TEMPERATURE: Max. 17.1 C Min. 11.2 C Reset 13.5
MARINE LIFE: There are a fair number of gull chicks surviving inspite of the relentless attempts to hunt by the eagles during the day and the otter which continues to make the nightly tour of the island.The young geese are doing a lot of wing flapping, building the muscles they will need to fly off, soon we hope, as the food situation is not the best for them now.The Orcas were in the area again today but did not come through the reserve, they were heading west and spent some time in the mouth of Pedder Bay, feeding in the kelp beds there although it was hard to tell as the wind was blowing 20-25 knts. and the sea quite choppy. There was the usual flotilla following along, included in the group was the inflatable from the Marine Mammal Monitoring program which had to stop one pleasure craft and advise them of the whale watching guidelines.The pleasure craft was traveling in the path of the whales either unaware or in spite of the presence of the mammals.
HUMAN INTERACTION: there were 37 ecotour boats through the reserve and 5 pleasure craft. The station boat made a trip to Pedder Bay and back.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 10:02 PM
fog rolled in this morning
Saturday, July 20, 2002 Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 14.1 C Min. 10.2 C Reset 12.3 C
MARINE LIFE: The fog rolled in this morning and really didn’t disperse until after 17:00 when the afternoon westerly got the air moving, so mostly only able to hear what was going on around us.There were no eagles today, the birds were fairly quiet. The chatter on the VHF radio alerted us to the Orca passing by again but they were traveling outside the reserve and because of the fog didn’t even see any of the whale watching boats- did hear a few – there were a few times that the fog lifted a bit, counted 5 Ecotour boats and later in the day there were 2 pleasure craft through the reserve.The past few nights the moon has been especially beautiful, because it is so low in the sky this time of year it looks unusually large.It is also very orange, I wonder if the smoke from all the forrest fires has anything to do with the colouring.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:15 PM
MARINE LIFE: The fog rolled in this morning and really didn’t disperse until after 17:00 when the afternoon westerly got the air moving, so mostly only able to hear what was going on around us.There were no eagles today, the birds were fairly quiet. The chatter on the VHF radio alerted us to the Orca passing by again but they were traveling outside the reserve and because of the fog didn’t even see any of the whale watching boats- did hear a few – there were a few times that the fog lifted a bit, counted 5 Ecotour boats and later in the day there were 2 pleasure craft through the reserve.The past few nights the moon has been especially beautiful, because it is so low in the sky this time of year it looks unusually large.It is also very orange, I wonder if the smoke from all the forrest fires has anything to do with the colouring.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:15 PM
Have seen 8 seal pups,
Monday, July 08, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 16.0 C Min. 10.8 C Reset 12.5 C Rain 3.9 mm
MARINE LIFE: A cool and breezy start to the day, remnants of a very active weather system that roared in about 12:20 a.m. The rain was very heavy for about 25 mins, almost 4 mm, at least it cleaned the roofs somewhat and the air is much fresher. I watched very carefully for the gulls bringing food to the chicks and it’s not too encouraging- no abundance of silvery fresh fish so far. A few nests are empty of chicks and eggs -I suspect the otter. Have seen 8 seal pups,the females tend to stay fairly close to shore for the first week or so then when not hauled out to sleep and nurse the pups, they spend a lot of time in the kelp beds. The female is still with the dead pup and tonight as it floated in the rising tide she pushed it along with her in the water by the boat dock. Earlier this morning I went down to see and she was hauled out about 1metre from the pup, as I approached closer she moved up to the pup, patted it a couple of times with her front flipper then nuzzled it’s face with her nose.While she was doing this she periodically looked up at me with those big, sad, dark eyes.I’m sure even seals feel loss and grieve, It affects me at any rate. The Orca were through the reserve on their way east.Saw about 7 pass by between Gr. Race and North Rocks. They moved along at a fair pace but saw some breaching and tail slapping. The tour boats were quite spread out and except for the 2 boats that were in the reserve ahead of the whales none followed them through.
HUMAN INTERACTION: there were 17 tour boats and 3 pleasure craft through the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:23 PM
TEMPERATURE: Max. 16.0 C Min. 10.8 C Reset 12.5 C Rain 3.9 mm
MARINE LIFE: A cool and breezy start to the day, remnants of a very active weather system that roared in about 12:20 a.m. The rain was very heavy for about 25 mins, almost 4 mm, at least it cleaned the roofs somewhat and the air is much fresher. I watched very carefully for the gulls bringing food to the chicks and it’s not too encouraging- no abundance of silvery fresh fish so far. A few nests are empty of chicks and eggs -I suspect the otter. Have seen 8 seal pups,the females tend to stay fairly close to shore for the first week or so then when not hauled out to sleep and nurse the pups, they spend a lot of time in the kelp beds. The female is still with the dead pup and tonight as it floated in the rising tide she pushed it along with her in the water by the boat dock. Earlier this morning I went down to see and she was hauled out about 1metre from the pup, as I approached closer she moved up to the pup, patted it a couple of times with her front flipper then nuzzled it’s face with her nose.While she was doing this she periodically looked up at me with those big, sad, dark eyes.I’m sure even seals feel loss and grieve, It affects me at any rate. The Orca were through the reserve on their way east.Saw about 7 pass by between Gr. Race and North Rocks. They moved along at a fair pace but saw some breaching and tail slapping. The tour boats were quite spread out and except for the 2 boats that were in the reserve ahead of the whales none followed them through.
HUMAN INTERACTION: there were 17 tour boats and 3 pleasure craft through the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:23 PM
Good MorningWEATHER: Sky Cloudy Vis. 15 Miles Wind West 30 Knots Sea 4 Foot Moderate
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:13 AM
The otter’s nocturnal work.
Thursday, July 04, 2002
MARINE LIFE: 7 orcas (one calf) passed north of the MPA this morning at 9:30, several breached repeatedly sending huge waves into the air on their way west. Two whale watchers came speeding west from Victoria, though skirted the reserve and mostly obeyed the no-wake zone. As a pleasant change, the boats stayed away from the whales and went south to open waters. The whales themselves turned south at Church Point and disappeared west of Great Race.
The otter left a bloody gull sacrum in front of the tank room as the small touch tank was being cleaned. A bloody mass near the high tide mark near the docks is more evidence of the otter’s nocturnal work.
HUMAN INTERACTION:24 tour boats and two pleasure craft through the reserve today. Second Nature dropped off relief for Mike and Carol today before 9 this morning.
posted by Ryan Murphy at 2:49 PM
The otter left a bloody gull sacrum in front of the tank room as the small touch tank was being cleaned. A bloody mass near the high tide mark near the docks is more evidence of the otter’s nocturnal work.
HUMAN INTERACTION:24 tour boats and two pleasure craft through the reserve today. Second Nature dropped off relief for Mike and Carol today before 9 this morning.
posted by Ryan Murphy at 2:49 PM