Tag Archives: pup

Newly Arrived Elephant Seals

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Wind: yesterday W 7-31 knots, today W 6-26 knots
Sea State: both days calm in morning, 1′ chop in afternoon
Visibility: both days 8-15 NM
Sky: yesterday clear, today rain overnight then partly cloudy with rain in evening
Temperature: yesterday 6-8 °C, today 6-7 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 414.34 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

The population of elephant seals is increasing on Race Rocks. The boat ramp, their preferred haul out spot, is getting a lot of traffic. Yesterday morning, an adult female arrived and quickly made her way up to the centre of the island. She could be one of the females who left in January or February, based on her size and scars on her back from mating.

I realized this morning the adult female elephant seal I have been seeing on and off for the past three weeks was in fact the first mother of this winter. In the month the seal and I were both here on this island from December 21 to January 21, I never realized she had two flipper tags. I only ever saw the ones marked T562 on both sides of one of her flippers. This morning I saw two sets of different tags, one on each flipper. Perhaps the mud and snow of the early winter concealed the tags. I also did not have as many opportunities to read the tags when the mother was spending most of here time either nursing her pup or mating with the alpha male.

Now that I know she’s the mother of the male pup, it could explains why that pup came towards her when she first arrived on March 3. The other pups moved away from her. Although, I haven’t seen the male pup interact closely or vocalize with its mother.

A juvenile elephant seal arrived this morning with two green tags, E103 and E135. There is something about today that made all the tags very visible. The seal looks to be very well fed for the upcoming moulting. This seal was here in the fall. She was born and tagged in Ano Nuevo, on the coast of California between San Francisco and Santa Cruz. I haven’t been able to figure when she was born. See the log post from September 30, 2019 for ecoguardian Mara and Kai’s details of the seal they called Eric. A few weeks later, Ecoguardian Laas revealed this seal was a female and named her Erica in the log post from October 11, 2019. Naming the seals can get confusing.

While not all elephant seals are tagged, some are studied for all kinds of factors from movements to genetics to bioaccumulation and generally understanding more about this fascinating species. I am realizing as the seals move around Race Rocks, how difficult it is to tell them apart. The pups are starting to look more alike as they lose the last of their pup fur. It’s a fun game as I try to track their movements as best I can, while I move around the island doing my daily routine.

With the arrivals of seals, there was also a departure today. The youngest seal pup was outside the house last night when I went to turn off the generator and desalinator, but nowhere to be seen this morning. Perhaps she ventured out a little to far from the shallow end of the jetty bay where she has been practicing her swimming. I am curious if she will return, as two months old is a bit young to leave for good. The other two pups are still here.

There were no boats seen in the ecological reserve over the past two days. I heard a solo kayaker by the name of Travis paddled around the islands yesterday.

Here are some photos from the past two days:

Spring Census and Swimming Seal Pups

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Wind: yesterday W 0-30 knots, today mostly W, SE in early afternoon 1-28 knots
Sea State: both days calm in morning, rippled in afternoon
Visibility: both days 10-15 NM
Sky: both days clear
Temperature: yesterday 6-8 °C, today 6-11 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 414.34 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

All three elephant seal pups were swimming near the boat ramp both yesterday and this morning. The middle aged pup has taken to a napping spot on the concrete between the boat ramp and the rocks.

When I did the census observations today, I was surprised there were only 84 pigeon guillemots. I counted twice to make sure. The little black and white birds with bright red feet appear to be everywhere around the shoreline and in the water around the main island. They are constantly moving about and making their high-pitched whistling call.

I had a great view of a sea otter this afternoon. While out in the boat taking a photo of the main island, I heard what sounded like a slapping sound on the water. I turned around to see the sea otter about 20 m from the boat crack open clamshells on its chest. The otter had a few clams lined up. I turned off the engine and watched the otter quickly eat a few clams, then repeatedly dive down and eat more.

Today, there were nine pleasure crafts, one sailboat and the Race Rocks station boat in the ecological reserve, the most boats of any day this year. A pleasure boat with five people stopped at the jetty this evening. Three people walked along the jetty to get a closer look at the elephant seal pup napping beside the boat ramp. I approached and drew their attention to the large sign that explains the purpose of the ecological reserve and that permission is needed to come ashore. They were very nice and asked a few questions about the marine mammals before they left. No boats were in the ecological reserve yesterday.

Census results from today:
4 elephant seals (1 adult female, 2 female pups, 1 male pup)
10 steller sea lions
82 california sea lions
1 sea otter
50 harbour seals
8 bald eagles (3 adults, 5 juveniles)
11 brandt’s cormorants
6 double-crested cormorants
19 pelagic cormorants
9 Canada geese
251 gulls (mostly thayer’s gulls)
8 black oystercatchers
1 whimbrel
26 harlequin ducks
84 pigeon guillemots
4 surfbirds
12 black turnstones

Here are some photos from the past two days:

Two short videos of the youngest elephant seal pup learning to swim in the shallow water. In the first clip, she appears to be playing with a little bull kelp. In the second clip, she is blowing bubbles. The sounds of many species can be heard: california sea lions, thayer’s gulls, black turnstones and pigeon guillemots.

Vernal Equinox

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Wind: yesterday W 0-25 knots, today mostly W 1-22 knots
Sea State: both days calm
Visibility: yesterday 15 NM, today 10-15 NM
Sky: both days clear
Temperature: yesterday 5-8 °C, today 6-10 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 414.58 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

Today marks the official start of spring at Race Rocks and the rest of the northern hemisphere. The days will keep getting longer until summer solstice, on June 20.

Two of the elephant seal pups marked the occasion by going for a swim this morning. When the sun rose, they were all on the boardwalk near the crane. When I went out to check the salinity and temperature of the water at the 9:09 high tide, the oldest and youngest pups were at the edge of the water on the boat ramp. The other pup was still up on the boardwalk. The youngest pup stayed at the water’s edge for about two hours. The all spent the rest of the day on the grass, basking in the sun.

Yesterday, the boats in the ecological reserve were three pleasure crafts, two tour boats and the Pearson College boat Second Nature to drop off food. Today, four pleasure crafts were in the area. Greg and Lawrence from Pearson came in Second Nature to drop off new solar panels to be added to the array. They also helped clean out the gutters on the Science House.

Here are photos of some views from the past two days:

March 16 and 17

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Wind: yesterday variable 3-13 knots, today mostly E 0-13 knots
Sea State: both days calm
Visibility: both days 15 NM
Sky: both days clear
Temperature: yesterday 3-11 °C, today 4-9 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 414.35 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

It’s still officially winter, although it’s looking a lot more springlike. The ground is drying out, after lots of sun and little moisture lately. The elephant seal pups are now fending for themselves, as there are no signs of adults around. The female, tagged T563, hasn’t been seen for three days.

Today marked the first day this winter with more than 12 hours of daylight. The sunrise was at 7:21. The sunset was at 19:23. Each day adds three and a half minutes of light.

The pressure washing continues, in an effort to clean algae off the exterior walls of the buildings. Other maintenance tasks are happening like cleaning the solar panels, chopping wood, keeping the paths clear and running the desalinator. There is still lots of time leftover for watching the seal pups, eagles, pigeon guillemots and learning about this amazing place.

Yesterday, there were two tour boats in the ecological reserve. Today, Pearson College’s boat Second Nature and captain Greg came to deliver fuel for the generator. This afternoon, there was a pleasure craft touring, quite quickly at times,  around the islands. With lots of marine mammals in the water and along the shore, it’s important for people to drive at a slow speed in the ecological reserve.

Shoreline Debris

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Wind: yesterday N-NE 25-53 knots, today NE-S 9-45 knots
Sea State: both days rough with waves up to 2 m
Visibility: both days 10-15 NM
Sky: both days clear
Temperature: yesterday 0-3 °C, today 1-6 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 414.33 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

The wind was strong all day yesterday until mid afternoon today, when it began to die down. The cool temperatures and winds blasted some of the plants that were exposed on the north side. The high pressure and clear skies were great for the solar power. For the first time this winter, the batteries recharged themselves today, reaching full charge just after 4:00 this afternoon. Normally, I top the batteries up with the generator for a few hours each evening. Hopefully the voltage of the batteries will remain at a good level until the sun rises at 7:24 and begins to feed the solar panels soon after.

For the past two and a half months, I have been combing the shoreline, picking up all the trash that washes ashore. I picked up a lot of pieces of plastic, rope, foam, fishing gear, buckets and other things that floated their way here. There are only three small beaches on the island that collect garbage: the boat ramp, east bay and the tombolo, which at low tide connects the south side of the island with the south seal rocks. There must be a massive amount of trash that floats by Race Rocks and doesn’t get captured by the shoreline. On the south side of the island, I found a lot of metal and pieces of ceramic that were mostly from the days when the old things and buildings on the island were disposed of by pushing them into the water. A few of the items I found are going to be reused: dog toys, floats and rope. The rest will be either recycled or sent to the landfill.

There were two tour boats in the ecological reserve this weekend, both today.

Other photos from around the island over the past two days:

Weekly Census

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Wind: yesterday variable 4-22 knots, today NE-N 1-36 knots
Sea State: yesterday rippled, today chop up to 1 m
Visibility: both days 10-15 NM
Sky: both days partly cloudy
Temperature: yesterday 5-7 °C, today 4-5 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 414.11 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

Here are the weekly census results observed today:
4 elephant seals (1 female adult, 2 female pups, 1 male pup)
24 steller sea lions
33 california sea lions
58 harbour seals
7  bald eagles (2 adults, 5 juveniles)
13 Canada geese
7 brandt’s cormorants
4 double-crested cormorants
29 pelagic cormorants
48 gulls (mostly thayer’s)
24 black oystercatchers
29 harlequin ducks
3 surfbirds
12 black turnstones
1 snow bunting
1 song sparrow
1 fox sparrow

Yesterday, there was one tour boat, one pleasure craft and the Pearson College boat Second Nature in the ecological reserve. Greg and Silke, dropped off some supplies from Pearson College. No boats were around today.

The elephant seal pups lounging on the boardwalk by the jetty. They all still have patches of their pup fur. The two month old female pup is on the left. The two and a half month old male pup is in the middle. The youngest female pup, almost two months old, is on the right.

 

Sea Otter and Logs

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Wind: yesterday 0-11 knots from N to NE, today 17-36 knots from W
Sea State: yesterday rippled, today chop up to 1 m
Visibility: yesterday 5-15 NM, today 10-15 NM
Sky: yesterday overcast and rain, today clear
Temperature: yesterday 5-8 °C, today 7-8 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 413.78 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

In the middle of the day yesterday, a sea otter floated and swam near the south islands. It looked small in comparison to the nearby blimp like harbour seals.

The alpha male elephant seal left the island at some point last night. As of the sunset this evening, he hadn’t returned. The elephant seal pups have spread out from where they spent the past few days, near the bushes in the middle of the island. For most of the day, the three pups were sunning themselves on the grass between the science house and the lighthouse.

The gulls and Canada geese are acting more aggressive. The number of gulls is still fairly low, but they are spread out around the islands. I often see them pulling at each other’s wings. Perhaps they are trying to claim the preferred spot. The Canada geese frequently honk and charge at each other with their necks horizontal.

Many of the daily tasks involve keeping the human life sustaining systems running. I spent a couple hours each of the past two days preparing firewood for next winter. All winter, I have been collecting logs that wash ashore on the boat ramp. I rebuilt the chainsaw cutting jig, got suited up in the chainsaw safety gear and bucked up a lot of logs. The salt will get rinsed off the wood some more in the rain, as the wood waits to be split and stacked in various indoor spaces over the coming months.

Yesterday, four tour boats were in the ecological reserve. Today, there was one tour boat.

Elephant Seal Pup Posse and Orcas

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Wind: yesterday 2-7 knots from NW to SE, today 0-15 knots from N to E
Sea State: both days calm
Visibility: both days 15 NM
Sky: both days clear
Temperature: both days 3-7 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 414.30 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

The wind has been relatively calm over the past two days. Along with clear skies, it’s been very delightful here. This morning, the three elephant seal pups began hanging out all together for the first time. I saw their slide marks coming from different directions across the frosty grass towards the bushes in the middle of the island.

This morning at 8:45, I was at the kitchen sink doing dishes and looking out the window, I spotted a pod of orcas splashing just south of the island. When I went out to get a closer look, it appeared the pod of five to seven orcas were hunting a harbour seal or sea lion. The orcas were swimming in circles and splashing around. A few sea lions were looking on from nearby shallower water. The orcas are most likely transient or bigg’s, which hunt marine mammals.

Five visitors from Pearson College were on the island today to remove 16 old batteries and three empty diesel drums. They each weigh 250 lbs, so two trips were made to keep the boat seaworthy. Thanks for the great work Corey, Giovanny, Greg, Jake and Lawrence.

Other than the Pearson boat, there were four boats in the ecological reserve over the past two days. Yesterday, three tour boats stopped by for a look. Today one pleasure craft went through Middle Channel.

See the photos of some views from the past two days:

A short video of the orca pod just south of the island today. I was standing by the surge channel near the Science House. The bird that flies across the frame is a juvenile bald eagle. You can see the sea lions on the left side looking on. The orcas might be hunting a sea lions or seals. I will provide an update if the pod is identified.

Weekly Census

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Wind: yesterday 0-19 knots from W then E, today 2-19 knots from N then W
Sea State: yesterday calm, today calm in am and rippled in pm
Visibility: yesterday 10-15 NM, today 15 NM
Sky: both days clear with cloudy patches throughout day
Temperature: yesterday 5-8 °C, today 4-6 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 414.23 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

Six visitors briefly came to the island yesterday morning. Lawrence installed the new deck hatch he made for the station boat. Everyone helped transport and load eight of the old batteries onto the college boat to be taken back to the shore for recycling.

I ran the water pump for five hours to fill up the cistern with cleaner seawater.

Three tour boats were in the ecological reserve yesterday. Today, a dive boat had several divers in the water just north of North Rocks at slack tide in the mid morning.

There was a lot biodiversity in the ecological reserve today. Here are the results from the weekly census:
6 elephant seals (1 adult female, 2 adult males, 2 female pups, 1 male pup)
57 steller sea lions (all on Middle Rock)
50 california sea lions (19 on Great Race, 31 on Middle Rock)
52 harbour seals
1 sea otter
6 bald eagles (4 juveniles, 2 adults)
8 Canada geese
18 brandt’s cormorants
16 double-crested cormorants
35 pelagic cormorants
2 ravens
141 gulls (mostly thayer’s gulls)
14 black oystercatchers
1 whimbrel
86 pigeon guillemots
16 harlequin ducks
10 surfbirds
28 black turnstones
1 snow bunting
1 song sparrow
1 fox sparrow

March 4 and 5

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Wind: yesterday 2-42 knots variable directions, today 0-31 knots from N in am and W in pm
Sea State: yesterday chop up to 1 m, today rippled then up to 1 m chop in afternoon
Visibility: yesterday 10 NM, today 5-15 NM
Sky: yesterday clear, today partly cloudy and rain in afternoon
Temperature: yesterday 5-10 °C, today 5-9 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 413.05 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

The tide has been getting low in the evenings over the past two days, revealing lots of neat intertidal creatures. With no sea lions hanging out on the east side of the island, I was able to explore the rocky shoreline to see feather duster worms, sea stars, barnacles, surf grass, many types of seaweeds and long ago discarded metal pieces from former buildings and equipment at the lightstation that only reveal themselves at low tide.

There are six very stationary elephant seals on the island: one adult female, two adult males, two female pups and one male pup.

Today, I drained the cistern which stores the seawater before it gets treated by the desalinator. The cistern is a large concrete box located between the lighthouse and the main residence. It measures 12 m long by 8 m wide by 3 m deep. It holds a lot of water. The water was slightly turbid and causing the desalinator pre-filters to work harder than needed. The water pump ran for four hours to drain the many thousands of litres of water back into the ocean. I used a long pressure washing wand to reach in to clean the rocks on the bottom and concrete walls, at least the parts I could reach. Tomorrow, I will refill the cistern when the tide is higher and the intake hose can be put off the end of the jetty.

Yesterday morning, six visitors came to the island: Travis, Hilary, Antoine, Hannah, Val and Greg. There was one tour boat that passed by. Today, two tour boats were in the ecological reserve in the morning.