Tag Archives: sea kayaker

August 19

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Wildlife Notes:

  • As I was doing my breakfast dishes, I was delighted to see two humpbacks on the south side of the ecological reserve. I watched them from the back porch and witnessed two breaches, but I was too slow on the camera.

Facility work:

  • The generator ran automatically for 7 hours due to not getting a full charge yesterday.
  • Checked the battery fluid levels and topped up distilled water.
  • Cleaned the windows.
  • Topped up the diesel tanks in the energy building.

Visitors:

  • Two visitors, Michael and Andrew, arrived in kayaks this morning to have a tour of the island. I have known them for many years through the outdoor industry. Andrew taught me how to sea kayak in 2006 when I worked at MEC Victoria. A couple years ago, Michael taught a sea kayak instructor course to me and my outdoor education colleagues. I enjoyed catching up and showing them around this amazing island.

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 20
  •  Private: 8 (including two kayaks)

Weather:

  • Sky: partly cloudy
  • Wind: variable 2-20 knots
  • Sea: rippled
  • Air temperature: low 13 °C, high 18 °C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 11.5 °C

Photos from today:

6*All wildlife photos are taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail.

August 11

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Wildlife Notes:

The sea lions are spreading out more on the main island. So far they are resting on the shoreline rocks and staying off the jetty and paths. If only the gulls would be as open to sharing the space. There are a few gulls that are for some reason getting even more territorial near the intersection of the paths in the centre of the island. Maybe they are getting tired of protecting their chicks for so long. Unlike the eagles that fly over the island and cause panic, I come in peace. I am still holding a broomstick over my head as I walk on the paths, so the gulls have a harder time dive bombing me. Perhaps the broomstick does not show peace to them.

Facility work:

  • Swept the rest of the stairs in the lighthouse. The thick stone walls make it a cool place to be in the afternoon heat.
  • Maintained the electric fence around the jetty to dissuade the California sea lions from taking it over.

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 15
  •  Private: 7 (including 3 sea kayakers)

Weather:

  • Sky: clear
  • Wind: variable 4-15 knots
  • Sea: rippled
  • Air temperature: low 14 °C, high 30 °C (And I thought yesterday’s monthly high of 21 °C was hot!)
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 11.9 °C

Photos from today:

t*All wildlife photos are taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail.

July 9 and 10

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Ecological Notes:

  • On Saturday afternoon, a southern resident orca pod went through Race Passage, just north of the ecological reserve. Someone was warning boats over the VHF radio to reduce their speed, as they were “in the path of endangered southern resident killer whales.” All boats appeared to oblige. For a while, the very large pod was spread out from the Bentinck Island, at the west side of the mouth of Pedder Bay to well past William Head to the east, at least 4km or 2NM. I watched the pod for a while through binoculars and saw an orca fully breach out of the water. I did not get a photo of the breach, but it was spectacular. Then the pod travelled south to the east of Race Rocks, based on the group of ecotour boats I could see watching the pod from a safe distance.
  • The gull chicks are still popping out, with many nests having one to three chicks. There are still some gulls tending to eggs.
  • See the photo gallery below for more ecological happenings from the past two days.

Weather:

  • Yesterday (July 9):
    • Sky: Overcast, then cloudy throughout rest of day
    • Wind: W 15-30 kts
    • Sea: rippled, 1′ chop in evening
    • Temperature Low 13oC, High 16oC
  • Today (July 10):
    • Sky: Part cloudy
    • Wind: W 3-24 kts
    • Sea: rippled, 1′ chop in afternoon
    • Temperature Low 14oC, High 17oC

Visitors:

  • No visitors.

Facility Work:

  • Scrubbed and squeegeed solar panels, topped up water in battery bank, routine tidying and checking infrastructure around the island.

Vessel Traffic:

  • Many Canadian and American ecotour boats have been nearby and heading through the waters of the ecological reserve.

Here are photo highlights from the past two days. Click on the photos for larger views and captions.

August 29

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Wind: W 1-26 knots
Sea State: calm in morning, rippled  in afternoon
Visibility: 10-15 NM
Sky: clear
Temperature: 13-16 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 411.60 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

Many eco tourism boats passed through the ecological reserve, observing the sea lions and harbour seals.

Here are some sights from around the island today:

August 20 – Two Pods of Transient Orcas!

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Wind: W at the beginning and end of day, NE mid morning to early afternoon, 4-18 knots
Sea State: calm
Visibility: 0-10 NM
Sky: fog in morning, clear in the middle of the day, overcast in afternoon, rain in evening
Temperature: 12-17 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 412.15 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

There was a lot marine mammal activity today. At 11:00, two pods of Bigg’s transient killer whales were in the ecological reserve. One pod appeared to have about six whales. The other pod appeared to have three. Both pods spent a lot of time around the South Islands. A nearby whale watching boat captain mentioned on the VHF radio that the orcas were two families most likely having some social time. They were probably having a good meal too. I didn’t see any hunting happening on the surface. Transients eat marine mammals like seals. I did see a lot of harbour seals not taking any chances, huddled together on nearby rocks and around the east bay beach, looking towards the areas where the orcas were swimming. The transients stayed around until at least 3:30.

See the photos below for views of the orcas and other sights from today: