Tag Archives: sea lion

Fresh Flag Flies

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The day started with fog to the south and west and it soon crept onto Race Rocks. Sun quickly prevailed over fog and it was a beautiful day with high overcast forming late in the day. The wind didn’t do much more than 5 – 10 knots from the WSW in the morning and then turned blew gently from the south before dying off altogether mid-afternoon. It rose again from the southwest as I wrote the blog. The barometer remains over 1020 hPA after climbing slowly for a week. The forecast is calling for showers beginning late this evening, but the larger picture is much sunnier after tomorrow and there is a strong wind warning for westerlies which often bring good weather.

It was much quieter here today with only four whale watching tour vessels visiting the reserve while I was here. Five sports fishing boats transited. All stopped to look at the sea lions and no one was observed speeding in the Rockfish Conservation Area today. There were two vessels that appeared to be fishing in reserve and observations, photographs and data were collected for the enforcement team. Race Rocks is closed to fishing and is part of a DFO-enforced Rockfish Conservation Area. The islets and the sea-floor are protected by the province of BC through BC Parks.

The sea lion moult continues to be the big ecological event on shore but the timing of their visit and choice of haul-out location is no coincidence to what is going on at sea. Most of sea lions are also off foraging for part of the day and the Race Rocks haul-out is in a biological hot spot, which becomes a fish funnel for incoming migratory fish at this time of year. All six species of Pacific Salmon pass right by the front door right and there is a plethora of other species to choose from the rest of the year. Race Rocks is not a breeding haul-out nor is it a true winter haul-out as the sea lions start to arrive in earnest in July and stay into winter and early spring. There are actually some animals here all year but late summer and autumn is the busiest leading up to the peak during the chum salmon run at end of October.

GwGu juv FTThere are still some Glaucous-winged Gulls that have not left the roost but most of them are flying now and there are fewer here every day. That is probably a good thing for them as the predator that is picking them off is taking at least one per day. They are out foraging in groups trying to figure out how to feed themselves.

I went ashore for a couple of hours today and was otherwise busy with routine tasks. There are a lot of chores here and one of the challenges of living at Race Rocks is living sustainably and minimizing our ecological footprint. To do that we are very frugal with electricity and water, compost all organics, even using a composting toilet because when you make your own water by desalination it doesn’t make sense to just flush it away. Both have their chores too. Most of the electricity is generated with solar panels, which brings another set of activities to keep things going. We also pack everything out and are slowly removing unsustainable legacy items left by the light keepers over the years. A favorite chore is putting up a fresh new flag and there is one flying today.

Fresh flag today.

Fresh flag today.

Cool and Wet

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The cool, wet weather these last couple of days at Race Rocks was a long time coming and the ceiling is still thick enough so that peak solar radiation levels are about half the norm for this month. The little bit of soil is sucking up the moisture and there is already some visible return of green, a colour almost defeated by the drought. The wind didn’t do much until late afternoon today and there was no wind most of the morning. By early afternoon it was up to 10 knots southeast, only to fall off again as it swung to a feeble southwest in the evening. The barometer continues to crawl out of the hole created by Saturday’s storm and it is almost back up to 1010hPa. From the forecast, it looks like periods of rain will continue as the cold front moves southward over the next few days and then we will be back into the summer pattern of westerly winds and possibly sunshine, if not fog.

There was quite a bit of whale watching activity in the area today. There were 18 visits made by commercial boats operating inside the Ecological Reserve and more outside. All but two vessels abided by the rules, taking it slow, being respectful and courteous to each other and mindful of the large concentration of animals in this protected area. From the radio chat and observations, I was able to ascertain that there were both Biggs’ and Southern Resident Killer Whales in the vicinity. Both pods passed just outside the reserve heading west about a half mile to the south. There was also a humpback feeding just east towards Victoria.

One, large, whale watching speeder may have taken his cue from the only “sports”-fishing boat that came into the reserve today. A Grady-White-type boat with halibut gear, came inside behind a line-up of whale watchers and then roared off from inside Middle Channel as if his urgency trumped the wildlife values in this congested area. Later one of the well respected companies had a large vessel observed taking off at speed after a visit to the sea lions, closer than 100m. I hope the animals in the water were able to get out of his way.

There were a number of sea lions with major wounds noted today and I will try to photo-document them on a drier day. Of note were fresh, severe gashes on at least three Steller Sea Lions and what appeared to be propeller marks on two Californians. Most of the sea lions spend their time sleeping when they are not off foraging or tussling with each other. The Californians that are awake though, are always barking.

I tried to document three branded California Sea Lions today but only succeeded in recording one full number without question, # 8228 on the left side. I got one partial # U_05 on the rump and another partial #U14__. I didn’t see any branded Steller’s yet.

The pre-summer cast of avian characters, is back and it is really a privilege to be here again to witness Race Rocks as the change to autumn happens. I saw at least 95 Black Turnstones busy foraging all over the island today. They roost together on the south shore in the evening, making it easier to get a good count . They are back from a summer away at nesting sites along the western Alaskan shores of the Bering and Chukchi Seas. Cormorants probably didn’t go far but the Double-Crested Cormorants I saw today definitely do not nest in the reserve.

Most of the Glaucous-winged Gull chicks have fledged and left the island but there are still a few slow pokes who are busy begging from worn-out looking parents for food. Amazingly some adults are feeding three big chicks that appear larger than the adult. There is evidence of fresh predation on these young gulls and River Otter is the prime suspect as it seems to be nocturnal or crepuscular activity and one of the remains was dragged right in to the otter den entranceway. As was noted last year, it appears that the head of the gull is enveloped in its neck skin as if the skin was torn and pulled up like a turtle-necked sweater coming off inside out.

A newly fledged Glaucous-winged Gull with handsome new feathers.

A newly fledged Glaucous-winged Gull still not confident enough to fly away on a new adventure.

The Northern Elephant Seals surprised me. I knew there was one here on the marine railway ramp on Great Race because Guy and Christine had mentioned it and it hauled out just before they left yesterday. It is a really well fed young one, completely plumped out since I last saw them after their horrendous moulting fasts of the late spring. Another five Northern Elephant Seals are visible with the scope from the top of the tower, on Middle Rocks amidst the sea lions. Of the five, one appeared to be very small, perhaps young of the year and the other four were larger juveniles perhaps including a small adult female. I will try to get a better handle on this in the days to come.

There were no visitors today as I got back into routine chores and was constantly reminded of the incredible natural setting that makes this place so special.

National Aboriginal Day at Race Rocks Heritage Site

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The wind was slow and relaxed most of today at Race Rocks. In the morning, it blew 5 – 10 knots east and in the afternoon it turned to south/southeast and blew just enough to make the flag look good. The outflow wind pushed out the fog that had formed early to the west. Eventually the wind backed around through south, southwest and over to west. At the end of the day it was blowing west 20 to 25 knots and a strong wind warning is part of the forecast along with a mix of sun and cloud, mostly cloudy with fog banks in the morning.

The sky was clear all day today and with the clarity, cloud formation on the Cascade and Olympic Mountains ranges was visible. Mount Baker stood like an eastern sentinel and Bahokas Peak was visible, low, like a distant lookout, at the far southwestern entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

 

Mt. Baker to the east.

Mt. Baker to the east.

Today, the barometer continued the slide it started on Friday and ended up just above 1010 hPA. in the late afternoon. With the still wind and intense sunshine came higher temperatures. The high today of 18o C is a big jump up from the week’s average of 13.9 o C to Saturday and from the overnight low of 10.5 o C. That was sea surface temperature yesterday 10.5 o C.

Outside air temperature at Race Rocks for last week.

Outside air temperature at Race Rocks for last week.

There was very little whale watching activity today with only one vessel observed working in the Ecological Reserve. There were quite a few sports fishing vessels in reserve including rentals, charters and individual fishers. Two boats were observed fishing for rockfish in the closed Rockfish Conservation Area, within in the Ecological Reserve. Most people respect the closure and this is how the area has a chance to rebuild and start to contribute juvenile fish to adjacent areas.

Today is national aboriginal day and I would like to honour the First Nations within whose territories Race Rocks lies today. I would also like to draw attention to the stone cairns on the island, which date back to ~500AD. These cairns are a testament to a long and storied history that has been too often down-played or downright ignored, by Euro-Canadian historians. https://www.racerocks.ca/history-of-race-rocks/first-nations-burial-cairns-at-great-race-rocks/

Ecologically we are moving into summer and these lovely long days are important markers of biological activity. Most of nesting gulls are incubating and almost all the nests I have had a peek at, have three eggs. This island is an ideal location for nesting studies as the light tower offers an incomparable 360-degree view. Observational activity from that height does not disturb the nesting birds.

Seasonal timing is important and gull and oystercatcher chicks should start hatching out in a couple of weeks. It is trickiernow to pinpoint what is going on with the Pigeon Guillemots and easier later, once they start to carry fish to their chicks. The early nesters (Canada Geese) have young almost full size now and their numbers have dropped again. There are only two pairs of adults left; one pair with five goslings and the other with three. An adult Bald Eagle was hunting here today.

In the water around Race Rocks, at least three species of salmon are passing by (Chinook, Coho and Sockeye) and halibut have moved into the relatively shallow waters outside the reserve. At the surface, mixed species, feeding flocks are starting to form, driven from below by diving birds such as Rhinoceros Auklets. That is where the juvenile gulls seem to be feeding. The sea lions have all gone now and pregnant Harbour Seals are starting to look very round. Just Chunk and Floyd remain in the elephant seal department and they were both sleeping up against the back of the science house most of the day.

I went ashore briefly today and was back by breakfast. There were no visitors and chores were routine today.

 

All About the Wind.

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The west wind blew all night and by daylight, the 30 to 35 knot winds had sucked in low cloud, rain and rough seas from offshore. Winds increased to 35 gusting to 40 knots in the late morning and continued unabated all afternoon. Air temperature was close to yesterday’s sea surface temperature of 9.7 o C and with the wind chill was hovering around 4oC. Light levels were the lowest of the last week and not even 60% of yesterday. The barometer bottomed out just before midnight last night and has been slowly creeping up and out of its hole today. Gale warnings remain in effect for tomorrow with the wind predicted to turn southeast Thursday.

The only thing not affected by the wind today was the stone tower.

Standing firm after 155 years.

Standing firm after 155 years.

There were no whale-watching tour boats in the Ecological Reserve today. Sea conditions were not conducive.

The ecological focus today was to observe how the mega-fauna behaved in the wind. Only a few sealions hauled out, the remainder rested in the water near the haul-out where it was probably quite a bit warmer without the wind chill factor.

This is a day when having blubber really makes sense.

This is a day when having blubber really makes sense.

The Northern Elephant Seals made a huddle and “took turns” being in the coveted central, heating position. One female slept off by herself, maybe not quite as warm but definitely more peaceful. Only #5850 went for daily ablutions, the others stayed dry, even if a bit mucky.

Female Northern Elephant Seal huddles up to sidewalk.

Northern Elephant Seal huddles up to sidewalk.

Glaucous-winged Gulls hunkered down with heads under wings, keeping a low profile and perhaps holding on with their toenails, as they seemed to totter and grimace during the big gusts. The geese with nests were on them with ganders close by guarding and staying low. The three pairs that are still trying to set up nests were observed chasing gulls . The Bald Eagles, so ubiquitous every other day for the last 25 days, were nowhere to be seen, nor were oystercatchers, turnstones, nor guillemots.

GwGu in wind

Two marine science classes were supposed to visit today but the weather just didn’t cooperate and Courtney wisely cancelled the trips. Thus there were no visitors and chores were basic routine.

 

 

March 26 – Census

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Sunny
Wind: 0-17 from varying directions throughout the day
Air Temperature: Low 9.2ºC, High 11.8ºC
Ocean Temperature: 9.0ºC

Today was spent preparing for the shift change. Anne Stewart will arriving tomorrow to take over as the Eco-Guardian.

There was one eco tour boat seen in the reserve today.

Here are the results of today’s megafauna census:
Steller Sea Lion: 58
California Sea Lion: 31
Harbour Seal: 79
Bald Eagle: 3
Cormorant: 16
Canada Goose: 24
Gull: 256
Crow: 2
Oystercatcher: 4
Pigeon Guillemot: 234
Surfbird: 8
Black Turnstone: 16
Savannah Sparrow: 1

March 24 – Sea Otter

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Sunny, patches of rain the afternoon
Wind: W 4-17 knots, calm in the late evening
Air Temperature: Low 7.7°C, High 10.7°C
Ocean Temperature: 8.9°C

This afternoon, a ring-necked california sea lion was observed on the South Islands. It had something tightly wrapped around its neck, which is digging into the flesh.

While observing the sea lions, a small creature appeared on the edge of the rock ten metres away from them. Much smaller than the sea lions, at about one metre long, it was eating the molluscs in the intertidal zone. To my great excitement, it was a sea otter (enhydra lutris). The sea otter ate, dove, rolled and swam around the South Islands for about two hours.

March 23 – Ships and Sea Lions

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Overcast and light rain, sun breaks in the evening
Wind: NE 3-14 knots, switching to W 5-11 in the evening
Air Temperature: Low 7.2°C, High 9.4°C
Ocean Temperature: 8.8°C

Today was filled with the usual chores of cleaning rust of things, collecting wood, stacking firewood, running the generator, creating fresh water with the desalinator, measuring the salinity and temperature of the ocean water and looking out for the species of the ecological reserve.

This afternoon, a large aircraft carrier passed within 4km of the ecological reserve. The USS John C Stennis is a nuclear powered super carrier, the largest type of aircraft carrier, measuring 333mx77m and weighing over 100,000 tonnes.

See the photos below of the ships that passed to the south of Race Rocks, close to where the sea lions swim, hunt and haul out.

Upon looking at the photo of the aircraft carrier, I noticed a sea lion in the foreground that is branded 26Y. This steller sea lion was born at Rogue Reef, Oregon in 2002.

March 17

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Sunny, light rain in the late afternoon
Wind: 3-9 knots NE in the morning, 1-6 knots SE in the afternoon, calm at 18:00, 9-15 W in the evening
Air Temperature: Low 7.6°C, High 10.7°C
Ocean Temperature: 8.9°C

The morning was filled with chores: collecting garbage, tidying, cleaning the solar panels and mistaking a swimming seal for a sea otter (three times). The sea otter, which visited the ecological reserve during the winter hasn’t been seen within the past few weeks.

I was off the reserve for a few hours in the afternoon to drop off garbage and pick up gas, groceries, deionized water for the batteries and cleaning supplies. It happened to coincide with Elizabeth May giving a talk at the college.

The sea lions were very active and vocal leading up to the sunset at 19:21.

There were no boats seen in the reserve today.

March 16 – Camera, Crane and Coruscating Sun

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Sunny
Wind: 5-16 knots from the SW and S in the early morning, NE until 17:00, SE for a few hours and calm after 20:00
Air Temperature: Low 6.6°C, High 10.3°C
Ocean Temperature: 8.9°C

The underwater camera is back up and running, after a few weeks offline. The power issue has been solved. Algae on the dome around the camera is partially obstructing the view, but it will be cleaned soon by divers from the college.

This afternoon, there were two low flying aircraft: a floatplane and a Search and Rescue Helicopter.

Three fishing boats passed through the ecological reserve today. One boat spent an hour fishing within the Rockfish Conservation Area, which is prohibited by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). The Rockfish Conservation Area is within the 40m depth contour of Great Race Rocks and Rosedale Reef, marked by the green buoy to the southeast of Great Race Rocks.

The crane needs to be run and serviced once a month. Today, it was used to lift a 12m log from the jetty beach to the boardwalk, where it will be chopped into firewood. In hindsight, it would have made it less challenging to cut the log in half while it was on the beach. Although, 6m sections wouldn’t have been as much fun to manoeuvre with the crane.

During the low tide in the afternoon, there was a large number of harbour seals and sea lions hauled out on the rocks. Two branded steller sea lions were seen on the South Islands. Both sea lions were branded as pups at Rogue Reef, Oregon. 524R was branded in 2007. 365Y was branded in 2013.

March 14 – West Wind and Waves

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Overcast and rain in the morning, sunny in afternoon
Wind: 1-11 knots from the W and N in the morning, 22-46 knots from the W from the late morning onwards
Air Temperature: Low 9.3°C, High 11.3°C
Ocean Temperature: 9.2°C

A gale warning in the afternoon, with winds gusts up to 46 knots, remained in effect for the rest of the day. The gulls had a hard time sitting and claiming their nesting sites when the wind gusts reached 46 knots. Due to the winds, the afternoon was filled with indoor tasks like cleaning, organizing the basement and drinking tea. The winds diminished in the evening.

Hanne Christensen, one of the visiting Pearson students, took some photos around the island yesterday and today. They are included in the gallery below.