Tag Archives: river otter

Last Week at the Race

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The day started with a red sunrise even though it was overcast and blowing east-northeast 15knots.

Red sky in the morning.

Red sky in the morning.

That wind continued all day, as the barometer fell and now as I write this blog, I see that there is a strong wind warning in effect for central Juan de Fuca Strait. I will find out what sort of sounds this vibrahome makes in the east wind. No autumn leaves here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igbpx26YE3k

Yes, there were whale watchers today and three were observed in the Ecological Reserve. The humpbacks are still around and of course, the pinnipeds here on Race Rocks. I was glad to see the sailing vessel Jack Mathews heading for the safety of Pedder Bay, as the last whale watchers sped off towards Constance Bank. Those students are on a sailing project week and came quite close to Race Rocks during their morning sail.

The last whale watching boat of the day taken through the front window.

The last whale watching boat of the day taken through the front window.

There are now 16 Northern Elephant Seals on the ramp and sealion numbers and distribution are similar to the last few days.

Northern Elephant Seals are the champion divers of the Pinniped world. We have a lot to learn from them when it comes to navigation, diving and fasting. Fascinating animals.

Northern Elephant Seals are the champion divers of the Pinniped world. We have a lot to learn from them when it comes to navigation, diving and fasting. Fascinating animals.

I have been keeping an eye out for the Steller Sealion disentanglement candidates and saw two of them about 20 meters away from the science house today.

Disentanglement candidate lying just outside science-house living room window.

Disentanglement candidate lying just outside science-house living room window.

Another ring-necked Steller Sealion hanging out beside the science-house.

Another ring-necked Steller Sealion hanging out beside the science-house.

A different view of the same animal resting above.

A different view of the same animal resting above.

A third ring-necked Steller Sealion, one that was branded as a pup at Rogue Reef, Oregon (#946R) was over on Middle Rock today and when I went to look for it I saw a beautiful young Peregrine Falcon.

It was amazing to watch this young Peregrine Falcon flying with such incredible expertise.

It was amazing to watch this young Peregrine Falcon flying with such incredible expertise.

 

The Peregrine Falcon killed an adult California Gull and the ravens, who probably follow the Peregrine around, managed to eat most of it.

Gull killed by Peregrine Falcon and eaten by ravens. Spooky Halloween stuff.

Gull killed by Peregrine Falcon and eaten by ravens. Spooky Halloween stuff.

The gull kill was very different from the other gull mortalities on the island. I photo documented over fifty gull mortalities when I first arrived. Today’s gull was partially plucked, while the other birds were not plucked and often had their heads pulled inside out (like taking off a turtleneck). I am quite convinced that the latter is the also spooky, handiwork of the river otters.

Although it is only Monday and I don’t leave until Friday, I am cleaning up for the next eco-guardian and packing up some of the recycling left here by what seems like, generations of eco-guardians (probably not). I finished going through all the photos and completed the first draft of my sealion brand spreadsheets. I had no idea when I started how much work it was going to be. The usual chores of washing the solar panels, taking the seawater samples and running the generator make a nice break from the computer work.

 

 

The Tie That Binds

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It was another northeast day, with really not much happening weather wise. It blew NE about ten knots, was mostly overcast in the morning, with some sun in the afternoon. The barometer rose gradually all morning and then started to slowly slide after noon. It is expected that tomorrow’s southeast will bring rain, starting late tonight.

The whale watching boats were busy in the afternoon with Humpback Whales to the southeast of Race Rocks and more activity out to the west. A total of eight tour boats were seen in the Ecological Reserve.

Today was mega-fauna census day and these are the results:
Steller Sealion 298
California Sealion 508
Harbour Seal 79
Northern Elephant Seal 9
River Otter 2
Canada Goose 22
Greater White-fronted Goose 1
Harlequin Duck 5
Double-crested Cormorant 61
Pelagic Cormorant 15
Black Turnstone 9
Surfbird 5
Black Oystercatcher 38
Glaucous-winged Gull 145
Thayer’s Gull 1482
California Gull 3
Western Gull 7
Heermann’s Gull 35
Gull sp. 52
Common Murre 1
Common Raven 2
Fox Sparrow 2
Savannah Sparrow 15

Here are a couple of shots of Surfbirds, alone and with Black Turnstones.

Surfbirds resting in the Jetty Bay.

Surfbirds resting in the Jetty Bay.

Subi & Bltu
The census was challenging due to the numbers and species of gulls and the fact that both Steller Sealion and Harbour Seal numbers were lower than expected during the morning count, so they were re-counted in the early evening. I generally like to count Harbour Seals on the morning low tide but the tide wasn’t really doing much today. The evening counts were higher for both the Steller and the Harbour Seals. Two new Elephant Seals arrived today. They are both moulting, the smaller one hung out with the dual tagged three year-old, which appears to be staying on. The bigger animals may have gone back to Middle Rock as there were still six animals visible there.

Ring-necked animals as well as tagged and branded animals were also re-surveyed today. I am still working on the branding data from a month ago. Two of the ring-necked Steller Sealions that have been observed since August are still here and languishing as the plastic straps cut into the backs of their necks. I am putting out an appeal to the disentanglement crew again.
Euju plastic_strap Oct16
Euju oct 16 close-up
The second ring-necked animal ‘highlighted’ here is also branded on its’ left side 946R. I believe that it was branded at its’ natal colony which from the R should be Rogue Reef in southern Oregon. From the number it was branded after 2009 but I will find out more.

If it is not lying on its' left side this ring-necked Steller's Sealion is easy to tell apart from the others.

If it is not lying on its’ left side this ring-necked Steller’s Sealion is easy to tell apart from the others.

Like the other Steller it has plastic strapping, which is visible on the ventral surface.

Like the other Steller it has plastic strapping, which is visible on the ventral surface.

This is a bit gory but I hope it will inspire the disentanglement team to come to Race Rocks.

This is a bit gory but I hope it will inspire the disentanglement team to come to Race Rocks.

The Atlin Post passed by Race Rocks today but did not slow. Must have been in a hurry.

The Atlin Post passed by Race Rocks today but did not slow. Must have been in a hurry.

Did not do much maintenance today other than the basic cleaning, making water with the desalinator and electricity with the generator.

Pea Soup

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It was socked in with fog as thick as pea soup today. It cleared off this evening just before six and well in time for a fantastic sunset and my realization that it was probably a beautiful day, just about everywhere else in the region.

California Sea Lions silhouetted by setting sun.

California Sea Lions silhouetted by setting sun.

There was not much wind today, the high was 5 knots out of the east-northeast and everything is damp almost as if it had rained. Most of the day the flag hung limp and a bit sodden. The barometer continued yesterday’s gradual rise until about noon when it started to slowly decline, ending up at about the same place it started. The forecast looks like rain for at least a week but it probably just means showers. I keep forgetting that rain here and rain in Bamfield are just not the same thing.

There were no whale-watching boats observed although one commercial sports fishing boat stopped by to have a look at the sea lions.

The results of this weeks’ large animal census follows:

Steller’s Sea Lion 173
California Sea Lion 412
Harbour Seal 136
Elephant Seal 12
River Otter 1
Canada Goose 20
Greater White-fronted Goose 5
Harlequin Ducks 8
Double-crested Cormorant46
Pelagic Cormorant 5
Black Oystercatchers 20
Black Turnstones 6
Killdeer 4
Glaucous-winged Gull 88
Glaucous-winged x Western Gull Hybrid
Thayer’s Gull 303
Heerman’s Gull 17
California Gull 12
Western Gull 2
Ring-billed Gull 2
Gull sp, 260
Bald Eagle (adult) 1
Fox Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 17

Most of the sea lions have moved over to the west side of the island and are hauling out on Middle Island and some of the smaller rocks. They are seem to be spending much more time in the water instead of sleeping on land and salmon kills are visible all over the Ecological Reserve when the visibility is good enough to see.

Wall-to-wall California Sea Lions catch a nap in a pile.

Wall-to-wall California Sea Lions catch a nap in a pile.

Thayer’s Gulls are the dominant gull now in terms of numbers and they seem to spend a lot of their day resting and grooming. All the gulls seem to take advantage of the sea lion feeding events as bits of salmon are flying. I double-checked my Thayer’s Gull identification with Dick Cannings and his super-birder son, Russell and they concur that this is a Thayer’s Gull.

Race Rocks is an important resting, roosting and feeding place for Thayer's Gulls recovering from a busy summer in the Arctic.

Race Rocks is an important resting, roosting and feeding place for Thayer’s Gulls recovering from a busy summer in the high Arctic.

My biggest task today was attempting to muck out the roof of the energy building where the solar panels are installed. It reminded me of a stable job I had when I was a kid. I actually used a snow shovel to scoop out the organic crud that had built up under the last of the panels to be raised by the electrician yesterday. The rest of the day’s maintenance-type activities were the regular jobs entailed in living here; making fresh water, topping up the batteries with the generator (even the solar panels had a hard time keeping up in the thick fog), doing the seawater sampling and sweeping a few walkways.

Fog and sunshine

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There was a tiny bit of rain with fog early today and then it switched back to near gale westerlies with heavy fog interspersed with sunshine. It is a beautiful starlight evening and the westerly continues to drop. The barometer held fairly steady today with a slight increase this evening. Environment Canada says that a strong westerly wind warning stays in effect for Sunday with a chance of showers.

There were ten whale watching boats in the Reserve today and they were all well behaved. A dive charter boat with eleven divers aboard came through the reserve but I am not sure where they dove.

Two male kayakers , one in a green kayak and the other in a reddish-brown kayak came through the passage on the south side of Great Race in the early afternoon and caused a sea lion stampede. They then proceeded to fish right in the closed conservation area. There were also two recreational boats fishing in the marine protected area.

A few more sea lion brands were observed today including one seven year-old female Steller’s Sea Lion that was branded as a pup in 2007 at Rogue Reef , near Gold Beach in southern Oregon.

This was my first day to not see Elephant Seals and California Sea Lions have taken over the jetty and marine railway. Some of them are a bit scary looking and do not want to move so that I can do seawater data collection.

Three River Otters were out and about in daylight today. Usually you don’t see them and just guess that they are around in the evening as all the gulls lift off and call. There were two young, very healthy-looking animals with an adult. Maybe that it why there are so many Glaucous-winged gull chick mortalities here? (Just a guess.)

Alex was quite excited to see some of the old lighthouse artifacts including parts of an old Fairbanks-Morris engine. He also pointed out where the old granite light-keepers house had been removed from its attachment to the base of the light tower.

The tasks today were the basic, regular tasks of  cleaning the solar panels, running the generator, launching and bringing the boat back up in order to drop off Alex, repairing the jetty fence (twice) and taking the salinity measurement. Tomorrow is month-end report time.

 

 

Animal Census

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Fog all day. Northwest winds 5-15 knots all day. Barometric pressure from peaking at 1810.0 midday but only dropping to 1610.0 hPa. 15-20 knot winds predicted for tomorrow with fog.

Animal Census:
161 Gulls
47 Guillemots
3 Elephant seals
537 Sea lions (Steller and California)
3 River otters
4 Double-crested cormorants
120 Harbour seals
15 Black oystercatchers

13 whale watching boats

5 recreational boats

Second Nature also came out for two visits today with some alumni that are here for the ten year reunion, although they did not dock. Still having hot water and desalinator issues. Prepped for shift change.

Animal Census

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Northwest winds dipping down to 10 knots midday and back up to 15 knots in the afternoon. Barometric pressure climbing since late Thursday. Forecasted fog for tomorrow and winds from 10 to 25 knots in the afternoon.

Animal Census:
272 Gulls
32 Guillemots
4 Elephant seals
381 Sea lions (Steller and California)
3 River otters
2 Double-crested cormorants
273 Harbour seals
13 Black oystercatchers

The otters appeared in the early evening again, taking at least two gull chicks. The sea lions, both Steller and California, have started making their way onto the main island. The electric fence is set up to deter them from the jetty, the winch pad (and hydraulic pipes) and the main residence.

We’ve had issues with one of the inverters in the generator room this week which have meant limited power, internet and phone access.

 

 

Animal Census

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Fog on and off since yesterday. West winds rising since the morning from 10 knots to over forty. More fog forecasted for tomorrow and 20-25 knot winds.

4 whale watching boats this morning

Animal Census:

710 Gulls*
15 Pigeon guillemots
4 Elephant seals
142 Steller sea lions
421 Harbour seals
8 Black oystercatchers
6 Canada geese
There are a large number of gulls because of the California gulls which make a large majority (~550). There seems to be a much lower number of Glaucous-winged gulls this year from last. I notice there are a lot more dead chicks, be it the evening visits from the otters or the bald eagles that visit several times daily. There has been no sight of Chunk since Sunday night. Currently there are two young males, a female, a stubborn seal that refuses to lie on its back. This stubborn seal was bleeding from its mouth pretty badly leaving a small pool of blood on the ramp yesterday evening. This morning there was still blood on its face though it seemed to be a bit better. Because the bleeding was perpetual I assume it is more than a simple abrasion but I cannot see the wound well enough to be sure.
Several blasts have gone off on DND land this morning and yesterday.
Some sea lions have started using the jetty as a resting spot so I started putting up the electric fence.

 

Another juvenile elephant seal

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Winds decreasing all day to almost zero. Forecast calling for showers after midnight tonight. Barometric pressure still on the rise since Saturday night.

5 whale watching boats

3 recreational fishing boats

Another juvenile elephant seal arrived on the island today, bringing the total number to three. All three made their way down to the jetty this afternoon and the two juveniles were sparring for an hour or so. The adult river otter also made its way from Camera 5 to the winch deck again today. Great bioluminescence tonight!

Continued cleaning the boat shed.

Animal Census and more…

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Winds have been on a downward trend since Monday but since noon today have picked up to 35-40 knots. Barometric power dipped to a low of 1010 hPa Wednesday evening. We’ve had heavy fog until yesterday and today.

Few boats in the reserve this week (I suspect due to fog).

Two whale watchers today and 2 recreational fishing boats passed through the reserve today.

Animal Census (for Wednesday, 16 July):

256 Gulls
9 Pigeon guillemots*
2 Elephant seals
13 Steller sea lions
1 Double-breasted cormorant
9 Black oystercatchers
6 Canada geese
38 Black turnstones (Arenaria melanocephala)
2 Ruddy turnstones (Arenaria interpres)

*I only saw nine guillemots on Wednesday, 5 of which were flying away from the island. I don’t know the reason for the low number but Thursday I counted over 80 again.

I have not seen Cheeky since Tuesday, however, a new (very plump) female elephant seal arrived Wednesday afternoon. After female was on the jetty at ~1800h but seems to have swam away again. Chunk is still here. The river otters made another appearance tonight. Running in the same direction the adult led the two young otters with a gull chick in its mouth. Before going under the diesel holding tank the two juveniles started away at the chick. the Canada geese arrived Monday afternoon. Until today, there was a group of 5 that moved around together and an additional single goose that was seemed on its own. Today I counted seven and they were all together.

Monday morning I lost ethernet connection in the main residence. Jonathan came out Tuesday to have a look and he returned with two electricians on Thursday to fix the issue. Filled the batteries yesterday while they were here and got a tutorial on the Nikon camera.

River Otter visit this morning

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Clear day (despite forecast for a thunderstorm). Low winds below 15 knots today, dropping to zero midday. Strong wind warning in effect for tomorrow.

Several cargo ships passed through the strait today, a well as a few military ships.

Left the island this afternoon to pick up groceries and a visitor (which is why there are not exact numbers for passing watercraft).

This morning a river otter was running along the deck from the crane to the jetty. A juvenile bald eagle was sitting on the west side of the main island for a few hours this morning.