Tag Archives: Orca

a pod of 5 Orcas spotted about 1-2km south of Race Rocks.

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Sunday, June 02, 2002
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear  Vis. 15 Miles  Wind West 15 Knots Sea 1 Foot Chop
Good Evening TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.5C  Min. 8.5C  Reset 12.0
MARINE LIFE: We were treated to a brilliant spectacle today with a pod of 5 Orcas spotted about 1-2km south of Race Rocks. The Sea lions were either unconcerned or unaware of their presence. The Divers found a large bed of sea anemones, urchins and coral while diving amongst the Bull Kelp in front of the docks. The Oystercatchers were quite agressively chasing the Crows away from their nests in what looked like an aerial dogfight.
HUMAN ACTIVITY: Again, we had fishermen within the reserve, using lures just off West Race. They moved off only after a repeated radio announcement notifying their breach of MPA regulations. The Orcas brought out a large number of eco-tourism boats, 10 moved throughout the reserve during the day. 5 recreational boats also cruised through the park, often not adhering to the no wake rule through Race Passage
posted by at 5:41 AM

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

BC Parks out

Posted on by
Friday, May 10, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.9 C Min. 6.1 C Reset 10.5 C
MARINE LIFE: 2 mature Bald Eagles -kept away from Gr. Race by the ever vigilant gulls and Oyster Catchers.Have found 6 Oyster Catcher nests with eggs. This morning there was a lone female Mallard in the garden but did not stay long -flew over towards Bentinck Island.Garry reports that there are 10 or more Elephant Seals on Middle Rock, mostly females.About 10:40 a small group of Transient Orca came into the reserve from the west. Looked like 5 plus 1 calf.They are very stealthy and did not spend much time on the surface so cannot be positive in indentification.The whales did not seem to be hunting or in any hurry and spent about 45 minutes in the small bay area off the east side of Gr. Race.There was only one boat in the area but as the whales moved east, there were quite a number of tour boats reporting the whales and even a kill of a porpoise.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 2 ectour boats,1 pleasure craft. The Second Nature in with Garry and Don from Parks B.C. –
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:39 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear  Vis. 15 Miles  Wind West 9 Knots  Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:55 AM

gulls are getting territorial and aggressive towards the eagles

Posted on by
Saturday, April 27, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 12.1 ºC »» Min. 5.9 ºC »» Reset 10.1 ºC »» Rain 0.8 mm
MARINE LIFE: 3 mature and 2 juvenile bald eagles today which were kept moving by the gulls and Oyster Catchers.Now that nesting season is getting closer the gulls are getting territorial and aggressive towards the eagles.One of the mature eagles landed by the chopper pad and was immediately the target of 20 or so gulls and a pair of very daring Oyster Catchers.The big bird ducked and snapped it’s beak as the smaller birds dove at it time and time again,finally the eagle flew off to West Race followed by 10 or so gulls which circled the eagle a couple of times then returned to Gr. Race and things settled down until another eagles flew overhead.No other eagles landed as they were headed off as soon as they flew near.
HUMAN INTERACTION: we had 29 ecotour boats and 5 pleasure craft through the reserve today. There was a small pod of Orcas reported in the area of Albert Head and William Head and although it is too far to see the whales one could not miss the myriad of boats which accompanied, followed, pursued these whales for hours.The great, gleaming white cruise ship we could see docked in Victoria no doubt carried many tourists who enjoyed a ‘whale watching tour,evidently this was the first of 21 visits by the liner- the season is just beginning but I am not ready for it.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:03 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind North West 3 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:07 AM

Orca through the reserve.

Posted on by
Thursday, February 21, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 8.0C Min. 5.1C  Reset 8.0C  Rain 42.2 mm
MARINE LIFE: 2 mature 1 immature Bald Eagles, 2 pairs of Geese
-The Pearson College Divers, on their way to Church Island, passed 6 Orca moving Eastward through Race Passage. One bull, one female , several immature, one smaller calf: all moving slowly, shallow dives, no whale watching boats in site! (recorded by Garry)
WEATHER: as you see it was a wet one out here today. the wind was up in the morning North 17 by 10:00 it was very light
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:17 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast  Vis. 10 Miles Moderate Rain  Wind North 17 Knots  Sea 3-4 Foot Moderate with Low North East Swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:57 AM

Students out from College for a webcast

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Thursday, February 14, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 7.9C  Min. 3.9C  Reset 6.0C
MARINE LIFE: 13 mature, 2 immature Bald Eagles. The Geese spent the day in the Northeast quadrant of Gr. Race, then just after dark we heard them move around to the grass area by the tower, maybe to spend the night out of the wind.
HUMAN INTERACTION: College boats out with Angus, Garry, Chris and students about 9:30 to do a live webcast,not the best weather wind wise – a cold 13 knts. from the north but at least it was sunny! Everyone was rewarded on the trip back to campus with an unexpected ‘ interlude’ with an Orca – most likely transient- just outside the entrance to Pedder Bay. The lone bull was moving westward not too far off shore and although we had to watch him through the telescope it is always exciting to get even a glimpse.Garry and students returned for a dive at 3p.m. Left for the campus about 4:45 p.m. 2 Pleasure craft through the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:06 PM

Clear view of Mt. Baker

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Wednesday, December 26, 2001
TEMPERATURE:Max 6.9 —Min 3.7 c — Reset 5.0
MARINE LIFE: Today we enjoyed the sunshine, the view of Mt. Baker was outstanding. We had 3 Bald Eagles all immatures, spending about two hours sitting on the south east rocks, no prey taken. Just after 11am, 3 Orcas came into the area from the south west, they traveled through the kelp to the south and east of Gr. Race but stayed no longer than 30 minutes. A large bull Elephant Seal is hauled out on the closest of the south east rocks, tucked in just below the ridge, somewhat protected from the very chilly north east wind.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 3:18 AM

Orca predation and gulls

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-2001-12-20′, ’16:58:23′, ‘With the relatively calm sea today the hauled out Sea Lions slept the time away.The most action came from a few Northern Sealions on Southeast Rks. that went into the water to investigate the Orcas that came in from the West at 1:20pm.There was one bull,3 that could be females or juveniles and one fairly small one.It was really hard to get a good look as they didn”t stay on the surface very long.The whales made their way along the south shore of Gr. Race then veered out towards the Rosedale light buoy where they spent until 3:40 swimming back and forth with frequent tail slapping,breaching and slapping of flippers. 200+ gulls and 30 or so Cormorants stayed with whales I would guess feeding on any scraps floating about on the surface.Since the Orcas stayed well off shore,were quite ”noisy” and did not seem interested in the seals and sealions my guess is that they were residents. The last we saw of them they were headed SW. ‘, ‘Carol or Mike S’, ’16:08:56 ,

Orca Feeding

Posted on by
Thursday, December 20, 2001
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 5.7C — Min. 3.9C — Reset 4.2C — Rain 0.4 mm
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:05 PM
 MARINE LIFE: With the relatively calm sea today the hauled out Sea Lions slept the time away.The most action came from a few Northern Sealions on Southeast Rks. that went into the water to investigate the Orcas that came in from the West at 1:20pm.There was one bull,3 that could be females or juveniles and one fairly small one.It was really hard to get a good look as they didn’t stay on the surface very long.The whales made their way along the south shore of Gr. Race then veered out towards the Rosedale light buoy where they spent until 3:40 swimming back and forth with frequent tail slapping,breaching and slapping of flippers. 200+ gulls and 30 or so Cormorants stayed with whales I would guess feeding on any scraps floating about on the surface.Since the Orcas stayed well off shore,were quite ‘noisy’ and did not seem interested in the seals and sealions my guess is that they were residents. The last we saw of them they were headed SW.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 4:58
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast — Vis. 15 Miles — Wind North North East 21 Knots — Sea 3′ Moderate — Low North East Swell — Occasional light Rain showers
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:33 AM

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-2001-12-16′, ’00:00:22′, ‘4 Bald Eagles visited the Reserve today,3 immatures and one mature.The first one -mature) arrived just after 9:30 this morning with it”s breakfast-an unidentified fish -grasped in it”s talons. The big bird set down on the NW bluff just above the boat house to eat. As the eagle tore off pieces of fish the 5 crows danced around it, wary, but anxious to get any bits that scattered.After only 5 or 6 minutes the eagle flew off leaving the crows to scour the rocks for any scraps however tiny! I did not see anything that would have scared the eagle,certainly not the crows! Just after 10 a.m. a lone California Sea Lion came ashore just east of the boat dock and proceeded to lumber across the island stopping every 3 metres or so to roll and rub on the grass.The reason we took note of the poor fellow is that he has a terrible scar around his neck -garbage in the sea or maybe some type of discarded fishing gear.Sea Lions with this type of wound, unfortunately are not that rare.We could not get close enough to see if it was just a scar or whether something was still in the wound.About noon 3 immature Bald Eagles landed on the ridge of West Race.They sat there for about 10 minutes until a boat approached -divers) and they flew over to N Rocks.After 1/2 hour or so they flew over to SE rocks where they stayed except for a couple of flights around the islands, unsuccessful attempts at getting a bird dinner.Two of these birds looked somewhat bedraggled with the mottled appearance of the head and tail feathers.The distinctive white plumage gradually appears with each molt over 4 or 5 years. Just before 1:30 I noticed two Orcas northeast of North Rks. They were being followed by several groups of Sea Lions at about 100 metres. The whales surfaced 4 or 5 times as they made their way south just at the edge of the east side kelp bed.The last we saw they were in front of the engine room 200-300 metres off shore.As we watched for the whales to come back a 3-4 metre bull Elephant Seal drifted by and came into the small east bay.I did get some video as he floated around with just his head and unmistakable nose above the surface.He stayed in the bay only 12-15 minutes,arched his back,flared his great nostrils,dove into a wave and was gone! We often hear the elephant Seals vocalizing at night, it sounds like a calf bellowing in a tin can, but not lately, and from the sound of the roaring 45+ knt. not tonight either!’, ‘Carol or Mike S’,