Sky clear changing to some cloud cover later in the day
Wind 10-20 knots W
Sea state: waves up to .5 m
We had an interesting ‘burst’ of fog around 1700hrs: while outside we noticed the wind picking up quickly and a fog front moved over us such that we could see the edge of it pass overhead – the fog horn went off for maybe 5 minutes, and then the fog disappeared as fast as it came!
Marine Traffic/Island Visitors:
Greg visited today
There have been some eco-tourism boats, about 5 so far day.
Some private vessels: mostly staying outside of the area and fishing, a couple of them came through and looked around.
Ecological Observations:
We noticed a pair of pigeon guillemots mating on the rocks above the jetty today, this is the first time we have observed this.
Also near the jetty, the oyster catcher chick living in and above the intertidal area is growing quickly – it moves fast and sometimes strays away from its parents but cannot fly yet. It is still relying on the adults for food.
Census:
13 geese
12 oyster catchers
3 oyster catcher chicks
142 harbour seals
2 elephant seals
442 seagulls
2 sea lions
Roughly 40-50 pigeon guillemots – these are hard to count!
One pleasure craft fishing within the reserve today. They did not have a visible number so we were unable to report to DFO.
Yesterday Greg brought water which we pumped into our storage tank
Ecological:
Today a large male elephant seal arrived! He is huge!
The smaller female elephant seal has returned for a bit more R&R
There are now goslings! There was one nest behind the boat shed which we did not see before. This morning we noticed two little fluffy goslings peeking out. Adorable!
The oyster catchers have begun to lay eggs
The seagulls are also laying eggs in full force. The nests are becoming fully established all over the island. They have become more defensive of their areas, which means we need to cover up! One of their favorite defense tactics is flying above us and trying to hit us with their droppings.
Yesterday we spotted a group of kayakers who had emailed to let us know they were coming: We tried to wave, but you were too far away to see us- hope you had a good paddle!
Ecological:
The seagull population has skyrocketed this week, but still no fully constructed nests
The elephant seals have left now, aside from one. We anticipate that we may see a few large males in a month or so.
Census:
16 Geese
8 Oystercatchers
39 Sea Lions
40 Harbor Seals
1 Elephant Seal
1 Bald Eagle
580 Seagulls
42 Pigeon Guillemots
Lots of greenery filling in
Sunset from lighthouse
Some wider shots to break up the closer ones we typically post (guest house)
It has been very windy this week. Most days the wind has hovered around 30 knots, sometimes as much as 35+ knots! It has been overcast intermittently, and we did receive some rainfall.
Visitors/Marine Traffic:
Greg visited today with some supplies. Thanks Greg!
Since it has been so windy, there has been very little boat traffic. Yesterday we saw one small pleasure craft playing in the waves near Pedder Bay, and one coastguard ship passed by earlier today. A few small vessels and fishing boats passed by but no vessels entered the reserve.
Ecological:
Animal activity has been very quiet due to our stormy weather
The geese seem to be moving on now- there are fewer every day.
There are not many more seagull nests beginning but the seagulls have chosen their nesting locations and are defending them from other breeding pairs.
There is one sea lion who has been coming onto the jetty and does not move away from us as the others do. We believe this is the same one that we observed last year who seemed to have a propeller injury on his head. It’s interesting that he has been able to survive with seemingly quite a bit of behavioral impact due to the head trauma.
Coastguard ship passing by Rocky Point DND land
This little one is a new arrival. We look foward to learning more.
A trickle of pleasure crafts outside of the reserve, 4 inside of the reserve
Yesterday a very small vessel came to the reserve with 3 people aboard. They approached each outcropping very closely, scaring the animals into the water.
This evening a boat with 6 passengers sped through the reserve. They passed the resting sea lions very closely, and sped through the passage where many were swimming and fishing.
On Friday Greg visited to work on the generator, and Nick came too
There have been large commercial barges steadily passing through the straight. Since the weather has been so calm we can hear them inside the house, even though they are nearly 8 km away.
Ecological:
The elephant seals have been taking daily soaks in the shallow water surrounding the jetty in this warm weather.
In the shallow and warm waters this week we have been spotting schools of small fish. The larger animals in the water seem to ignore them completely.
There have been blooms of jellyfish passing by in the currents, mostly water jellies and the small “sea gooseberries” which seem to glitter in the light due to the the tiny hairs (cilia) that pulsate to move them through the water.
A few harlequin ducks spent the evening in the reserve on Friday
Census:
16 Canada Geese
8 Oyster Catchers
4 Crows
8 Elephant Seals
300 Seagulls
2 Cormorants
2 Bald Eagles
48 Sea Lions
9 Harbour Seals
The elephant seal flippers move in extraordinarily human ways.
Coastguard defense vessel
Harlequin Ducks
Fish in the shallow jetty waters
A foil helium balloon floating in the current
Seagull nest with urchin shell
Seagull eating a stolen goose egg- they roll them down the hill to crack them open on our sidewalk!
Yesterday we saw the HMCS Calgary and HMCS Regina (both Halifax-Class frigate vessels). They passed by in the early evening.
One or two fishing vessels hanging around the border of the reserve
Ecological:
Today we found three newly established goose nests. So far they each have 2-3 eggs.
The young seal pup has officially flown the coop! We haven’t seen her in a few days.
There are quite a few seagull nests beginning to take form. They are becoming more defensive of their established areas and make quite a ruckus when we walk through.
We finally caught a photograph of the wandering tattlers that we have been observing!
Sea lions on outcropping rocks
Trash gathered around the island: Litter that birds have accidentally ingested, plastics that wash ashore, and old construction materials.
Goose nest with plastic tape fragments, styrofoam, and other trash collected from the intertidal and other animal activity.
A new goose nest near the house: One of these things is not like the other!
This little one is beginning her moult.
The flag is back: We lowered it during the high winds to prevent plastic material shedding.
This smoke has been rising since this morning near Port Angeles
This jumping spider paid us a visit yesterday
Featherduster tube worm “tubes” at low tide
The seagull takeover is on the horizon
Gumboot Chiton spotted in the intertidal
HMCS Regina
HMCS Calgary
We have been seeing this boat every few days.
Olympic Mountains over the power building
Pigeon Guillemots perching
The elephants seals took advantage of the good weather to get a good soak.
Visibility 10 NM this morning, 15+ NM this afternoon
Sky overcast in morning but clear this afternoon
Wind 20-30 knots NW-NE
Sea state: white caps (.25m), fast moving ripples
Visitors/Boats:
Greg and Nick on Monday
Greg and Nick on Tuesday
Greg and a technician for generator maintenance on Wednesday
Greg and Nick this afternoon (Thursday)
Aside from this there have been very few vessels aside from commercial/shipping traffic. Today a couple of sailboats passed by despite the astounding wind gusts (all a fair distance away).
Ecological:
There have been 4 eagles in the reserve daily on average, both juvenile and adult. They typically perch on Rosedale Rock to our SE, but we have been spotting them on the webcam tower, crane, and diesel tank near the power building. The juvenile eagles seem to be more interested in Great Race Rock, while the adults tend to stick to the outcroppings. Occasionally they swoop over the reserve, prompting the seagulls to rise into the air to avoid becoming lunch!
The geese continue to protect their nests but no new eggs have been observed.
The elephant seals have settled to complete their moult, all in various stages. The remaining pup is still here, and spends most of its time on the jetty away from the others.
There is a sea lion with a significant head/neck wound that we have been seeing daily. It looks like it has been tagged by the Vancouver Aquarium, so we are wondering if it has been disentangled and tagged at the same time.
Yesterday we spotted a killdeer, a type of plover. We’ve never seen one here before!
Repairs/Maintenance:
We filled the underground cistern with sea water to be desalinated (pumped using the fire pump and fire hoses).
To maximize our solar intake we have been keeping the solar panels as clean as possible (when they are covered in bird waste they create much less power).
Wind: yesterday W-S 0-32 knots, today W-SE 2-17 knots Sea State: both days calm Visibility: yesterday 10-15 NM, today 15 NM Sky: yesterday partly cloudy then clear from mid morning, today clear Temperature: yesterday 8-14 °C, today 7-14 °C Atmospheric CO2: 416.33 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)
The lawn in front of the house got busier this morning with nine elephant seals, two more than yesterday. A tenth seal, the pup, was near the jetty. The two new arrivals have green tags on their tail flippers. One is a male tagged C887. The other is a juvenile tagged G512 on the right flipper and E779 on the right. I will update the information on age and past sightings when I hear back from the researchers. The green tags signify the elephant seals were tagged at Año Nuevo, south of San Francisco.
[UPDATED April 13: I heard back from Dr. Patrick Robinson, the researcher from Año Nuevo Reserve. The elephant seal with green tags E779 and G512 was tagged as a pup in February 2019, where he was born at Año Nuevo. This is the first time the male juvenile has been spotted outside of Año Nuevo, where he was last seen as a weaner in March, 2019. The elephant seal with the green tag C887 is a juvenile male that was born at Año Nuevo in February 2017. He has been seen at Race Rocks in the month of December in 2017, 2018 and 2019.]
There was one boat seen in the ecological reserve on each of the past two days, a pleasure boat yesterday and a sailboat today.
Census results observed this afternoon at low tide: 10 elephant seals (1 female pup, 1 female juvenile, 1 juvenile, 2 sub adult males, 5 female adults) 16 steller sea lions 91 california sea lions 1 sea otter 72 harbour seals 5 bald eagles (2 juveniles, 3 adults) 16 Canada geese 1 black brant goose 99 gulls (mostly thayer’s) 17 pelagic cormorants 4 brandt’s cormorants 5 double-crested cormorants 6 black oystercatchers 24 pigeon guillemots 7 harlequin ducks 2 surfbirds 5 black turnstones
Two eagles on Turbine Rock and a colourful sailboat passing through Race Passage.
Newly arrived juvenile elephant seal tagged G512 and E779
Green tags G512 and E779 on the juvenile elephant seal.
Newly arrived sub adult male elephant seal tagged C887
Green tag C887 on the sub adult male elephant seal
Black brant goose
Four elephant seals waiting for the water to come to them
Newly arrived juvenile seal exploring the boardwalk
A view from the top of the lighthouse this afternoon of the clear water of the east bay. A group of sea lions can be seen on the rocks.
Wind: yesterday W 15-40 knots, today variable 2-17 knotsSea State: yesterday up to 0.5m chop, today up to 1 m chopVisibility: both days 10-15 NMSky: both days partly cloudyTemperature: both days 4-7 °CAtmospheric CO2: 415.60 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii) … Continue reading →
Wind: yesterday mostly from W 4-22 knots, today N-NE 2-9 knots
Sea State: yesterday calm in morning 0.5m chop in afternoon, today calm
Visibility: both days 5-15 NM
Sky: yesterday overcast with patches of rain and sun, today partly cloudy
Temperature: both days 6-8 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 415.43 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)
There were no boats in the ecological reserve over the past two days.
The youngest elephant seal pup practicing her water skills in the shallow water by the boat ramp and jetty.
Recently, the harbour seals have been hauling out around the shoreline of main island and nearby shoals. In the winter, they only hauled out on the outer islands away from the boisterous sea lions.
More harbour seals
A Canada goose sitting on a nest made of grass and feathers. She lay seven eggs about the size of tennis balls.
The older of the two female pups likes daffodils.
The adult female elephant seals are showing more signs of moulting. This one on the left has shed some of her whiskers as well as fur around her eyes, nose and mouth. The white stuff is snot.
A view from the tower of a sea otter grooming itself on the intertidal rock near three harbour seals.
A sea otter napping in the water. Can you see the camouflaged harbour seal on the left?
Another view from ground level of the sea otter grooming itself on a rock with a harbour seal looking on.
A song sparrow perched on a rock ledge on the south side of the house. The succulent plant growing around the rocks is called sedum anglicum or English stonecrop, an introduced species from a lightkeeper in the 1980’s.
