Tag Archives: sea lion

The Sun is Shining

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The wind dissipated over night. After 8:00am, the wind was calm, only blowing 3 to 5 knots from the southwest. The barometer rose to a high of 1030 hPa at noon, then slowly fell to about 1027 hPa. The temperature reached a high of 12.6oC

There were five visitors that came from Pearson College, on the boat Second Nature. Courtney brought two folks from Cullen Water to install the repaired desalinator pump. Tristan and Robin, volunteers from Wales, helped carry the many boxes that contain the new composting toilets. Each house will have the toilets installed soon.

There were two whale watching boats in the reserve this afternoon. Four halibut fishing boats were spotted to the west of the reserve for most of the afternoon. Many large boats passed within a few kilometres of the southern boundary of the reserve, including a submarine, tankers and HMCS Edmonton.

The harbour seals were difficult to spot for the census yesterday. With the sun and warm weather today, they were hauled out on the rocks to catch some rays. 32 were seen today, compared with only 7 yesterday.

Three branded sea lions were seen on South Seal Rocks, just south of the engine room. I have let Pat Gearin at NOAA know about the sightings and he will let me know where else they have been.

There are updates about the two branded sea lions spotted yesterday.

Pat Gearin wrote to me with the details about the Steller that was branded 966R as a pup at Rogue Reef, Oregon in July 2011.  It is a male and so far we have 9 resights from this individual, all from BC.  In 2011, he was sighted at Pachena Point once, and in 2012 he was sighted at Carmanah 8 times.

Matthew Tennis wrote that U596 was branded on August 15, 2014 in Astoria. At that time he weighed ~193 kg. He was seen in Astoria for a few days following the branding and again in the middle of October. This is the first resight for this animal outside of Astoria. They have high site fidelity and being a relatively young animal, it is very possible he will be seen at Race Rocks for years to come.

Maintenance tasks were performed today: moving propane tanks, pressure washing the algae and bird poop off the exterior of the houses, dismantling the old toilets, picking up garbage that has washed ashore and running generator and new and improved desalinator.

Getting Ready for the Census

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The northeasterly wind picked up to 23 knots in the middle of day, producing a choppy swell with frequent whitecaps.  Mixed with the inflowing tide, the standing waves off the end of the jetty became quite large.  The barometer dropped steadily.  There was a low cloud cover with a few scattered showers.

The Juan De Fuca Warrior from Ogden Point visited twice with two groups of four divers.

I prepared for tomorrow’s census by practicing my species identification and counting.  The numbers will be double checked tomorrow and revealed on the log.  The sea lions are proving difficult to count, due to their large cuddle puddles.  Where does one sea lion begin and the other end?

I checked the underwater camera twice today.  Both times there was a sea lion swimming across the screen just as it loaded, but I wasn’t fast enough to click the button to save the image.

Up on land, the california sea lion that was camped out by the desalinator bunker for the past two and a half days decided to move this evening.  It must have got tired of waiting for the new desalinator pump.  Don’t worry, it should be here by Friday.  Just before sunset, the sea lion waddled on all four flippers eastward over the salt water cistern and down the rocks to the water.  Taking many breaks along the 50m overland journey, it collapsed and exhaled large lungfuls of steamy breath.

Desalinator lion

Desalinator sea lion

These steller and california sea lions don't make it easy to count them.

The steller and california sea lion cuddle puddles don’t make it easy to count them.

A self loading self dumping log barge is towed towards the west past the reserve. Where is this floating forest from? Where is it going?

A self loading self dumping log barge is towed towards the west past the reserve. Where is this floating forest from? Where is it going?

Sea Lion Thermoregulation

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The barometer rose steadily throughout the day as a moderate westerly breeze whipped across the reserve. The clouds parted mid morning to bring an afternoon of sun and a high of 13.1 oC.

The solar panels weren’t the only things soaking up the sun’s rays. Sea lions were floating in small groups with one or all four flippers exposed to the air, using thermoregulation to their advantage. The sun warms the seal’s flippers, which are poorly insulated, then the warmed blood is pumped throughout their body.

One whale watching boat was seen in the reserve, after they spotted humpback whales surfacing a few kilometres to the east of the Race Rocks.

Courtney visited on the Second Nature to give a quick lesson on some of the mechanical systems on the island.

Maintenance tasks were performed today: running the generator, cleaning the solar panels, tracking down equipment and parts, figuring out how to use the equipment, vacuuming, flag care, and sweeping the paths.

Sea lions thermoregulating by sticking a fin out of the water.

Sea lions sticking flippers out of the water for thermoregulation.

Pinnipeds galore

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There was a moderate breeze for most of the day.  The barometer dropped slightly throughout the day. There was a low cloud cover and occasional light rain.

There was only one whale watching boat seen in the reserve today.

Two juvenile bald eagles took the rocky perch on the South Islands that was occupied by the adult bald yesterday morning.  Occasionally one of the eagles would assert its authority over the gulls by flying around Great Race and sending the thousands of gulls skyward into a panic.

The pinnipeds are still occupying the reserve in large numbers.  Perhaps wanting solitude from the cacophony of sea lion barking, a lone california sea lion parked itself in the middle of the island for the whole day.

This afternoon, a group of five harlequin ducks were hanging out by the kelp beds to the west of the jetty.

It looks like I'm not the only one excited about the arrival of the new desalinator pump. This California sea lion spent the whole day in the middle of the island.

It looks like someone else is also excited about the arrival of the new desalinator pump. This california sea lion spent the whole day in the middle of the island near the desalinator bunker.

A male elephant seal making a splash.

A male elephant seal making a splash.

Flake, the elephant seal, flaking out on the ramp near the tank room.

Flake, the elephant seal, flaking out on the ramp near the tank room with the lighthouse in the background.

A cuddle puddle of elephant seals. Notice the two tags on the seal in the foreground: 7688 and 7625.

A cuddle puddle of elephant seals on the boat ramp. Notice the two tags on the seal in the foreground: 7688 and 7625.

A Good Day for the Birds

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As the sun rose, the wind and sea were calm. The wind picked up throughout the morning to become a moderate breeze with light rain and choppy seas during the afternoon. The barometer rose during the morning and dropped slightly in the afternoon, levelling out at 1014 hPa in the evening.

Eight boats were seen visiting the ecological reserve: 4 whale watching boats, 1 pleasure craft, 2 visits from SCUBA divers at Ogden Point Dive Centre and one boat from Pearson College to pick up Rikka, a student who was visiting for the last four days.

Maintenance tasks were performed today: chopping driftwood for the fire, daily seawater salinity test, running the generator and cleaning the houses.

Two crows were making their rounds on the reserve throughout the day. A juvenile bald eagle flew around Great Race at 0800, landing on Turbine Rock. An adult bald eagle landed on the high point of the South Islands at 1345 and took watch for an hour.

A bald eagle and sea lions on South Islands

A bald eagle and sea lions on South Islands

Clear Skies

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As the daylight broke, the fog began to burn off near the entrance of Pedder Bay and to the west of Race Rocks. The wind rose slightly throughout the day to a medium breeze of 11 knots in the evening. Clear skies prevailed through the day as the barometer rose slightly.

Maintenance tasks were performed throughout the day, giving me a chance to spend lots of time outside: painting, tidying, sweeping, cleaning the solar panels, and topping up the batteries with the generator.

There were ten boats in the seen in the reserve. Several whale watching boats passed by. The Juan De Fuce Warrior from Ogden Point Dive Centre spent a few hours with two groups of divers. Two boats from Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue (RCMSAR) Station in Sooke passed through Middle Channel at noon. A sailboat went against the current through Middle Channel at 15:30.

Divers from Ogden Point Dive Centre with curious California Sea Lions looking on

Divers from Ogden Point Dive Centre with curious sea lions looking on

sailors

A sailboat heads northeast by Middle Rock

Elephant seal

Flag at half mast with the sunset in the background

Weather Day

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A series of squalls and thunder showers turned Race Rocks into an emerald isle today.

A series of squalls and thunder showers turned Race Rocks into an emerald isle today.

Today was a weather day; we had all kinds. The morning fog was thick but lifted early and a westerly wind blew in squall after squall with dramatic downpours interspersed with glorious sunshine. The island had several good fresh water rinses, much needed after a long dry season.

Gulls lifted after the heavy rain and flew above the Davis Weather station drying their wings.

Gulls lifted after the heavy rain and flew above the Davis Weather station drying their wings.

There were dramatic cloud towers with thunder rumbles in the distance. Late afternoon the west wind simmered down to a steady 20 knots and the sky cleared. The barometer rose all day as it became nicer and nicer. A strong wind warning remains in effect for central Juan de Fuca and the outlook is for west winds, showers and increasing cloudiness Sunday and then a shift to southeasterly winds and rain on Monday.

Some of the whale watching boats seemed to be in a hurry today. The speed limit within 400 meters of the islets is 7 knots.

Some of the whale watching boats seemed to be in a hurry today. The speed limit within 400 meters of the islets is 7 knots.

It was a busy day for whale watching boats visiting the Ecological Reserve. A total of eleven boats were noted watching pinnipeds and more passed just outside the boundaries following the lags and watching Humpbacks just to the south and east of Race Rocks. Several of whale watching boats were pushing the boundaries of speeding in the reserve.

In a hurry? King Salmon of Great Pacific Adventures rushing through the Ecological Reserve at Race Rocks.

In a hurry? King Salmon of Great Pacific Adventures rushing through the Ecological Reserve at Race Rocks.

The usual dive boat spent most of the day in the Ecological Reserve doing multiple dives to the north of Great Race and finishing their last dive just off the jetty.

The Steller's Sea Lion would be a good candidate for disentanglement. He is robust and the strapping is not cutting into the back of his neck, yet.

The Steller’s Sea Lion would be a good candidate for disentanglement. He is robust and the strapping is not cutting into the back of his neck, yet.

Ecological observations were made throughout the day as opportunities arose.
I spotted a new (to me), entangled, Steller’s Sea Lion. It looked as though the culprit was plastic strapping again and there is a tiny glimmer of hope for the animal because, although the plastic had cut into the flesh of its throat, there was a bit of it unraveling and maybe there will be more. Again this would be a good candidate for disentangling because the plastic strap could easily be cut on the back where it was not embedded and because the individual is (for now) otherwise healthy-looking and robust enough to get into several scraps just finding a place to sleep.

If it wasn't so anthropomorphic, I might be tempted to suggest that these two are both saying do something, please.

If it wasn’t so anthropomorphic, I might be tempted to suggest that these two are both saying, ‘do something, please’.

 

You can see the extent of the injury being caused by the plastic cutting into this animals' neck.

You can see the extent of the injury being caused by the plastic cutting into this animals’ neck.

Alex and I took advantage of the downpours to collect rainwater in the wheelbarrow and wash outside windows. Alex made a sturdy, long handle for the squeegee and we worked as a team to clean and squeegee the exterior of the windows on both houses. The science house windows were still covered from gull breeding season, dive bombings and will benefit from a few more downpours which are on the horizon now. We tried to trouble-shoot the wind direction problems (again) with the Davis Weather system. Holding the vane at ninety degrees did not affect the reading on the console display. The usual chores regarding power, water and seawater sampling were also completed.

Out of the Fog

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I returned to Race Rocks today after attending the Trans-Atlantic workshop on Ocean Literacy and the European Marine Science Educator’s conference last week, in Gothenburg, Sweden. I am refreshed and inspired to finish off my shift at Race Rocks.
It was warm and sunny when Courtney and I left Pearson College in Pedder Bay this morning but as we drove southeast towards Race Rocks, we were soon enveloped in the cool, damp fog. As the sunny peaks of the Olympic Mountains slid out of view, obscured by fog, the dark shape of North Islet emerged and behind it came Great Race and the light-tower, out of the fog. It is great to be back and was just as great for Jeff, who was filling in, to leave.
It was foggy on and off all day with a few periods of sunshine with visibility of over a nautical mile. Throughout the day, the foghorn blew and I could hear ships signaling as they navigated the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the fog. There was no wind for most of the day but it has been consistently blowing about ten knots out of the west for the past several hours and the fog is thickening.
The fog did not deter the whale watching boats as there were Humpback Whales feeding in the area today and the last cruise ship of the season in port. One smaller Humpback was diving and presumably feeding right in the Ecological Reserve diving against the flooding tide. I wonder if they can use the flow to their advantage in feeding more efficiently with less effort? Natural history speculation aside, the count of observed whale watching boats from 11:00 to 19:00 (dusk) was thirteen with some vessels visiting more than once.
The Chum Salmon run started in earnest while I was away and there appears to be fewer sea lions hauled out than there were before. There are many in the water however. Sea lions of both species are very busy eating Chum Salmon with most of the kills I observed, happening right in or at the edge of the tidal flows. They thrash the fish and rip it apart at the surface and swallow large chunks tail last at the surface as well. This source of scraps, of course attracts gulls. Several species of gull were seen in these sea lion driven feeding flocks today; Glaucous-winged, Hermann’s, Thayer’s and Ring-billed Gulls. There were three or four fairly hefty Elephant Seals hanging around the marine railway today. They have such huge eyes and such clean looking pink mouths. Many of the Sea Lions have serious tooth decay and oral disease.

While I was away there were several a visits to the island. The Victoria Natural History Society made it part of their birding trip on September 27, sixteen friends of the Royal BC Museum made a visit October 4th and a family visit was made by by Mike and Carol Slater, one of their daughters and several grand-children. Mike and Carol were the last light-keepers at Race Rocks and the first Eco-Guardians. They survived some epic storms and I am sure they have some great stories to tell. If you are interested in the “contemporary” history of Race Rocks, there is a lot of information on this web-site, including ancient videos, images and even historic weather events.

My main tasks today were to get moved back into the house, to do the seawater sampling, fix the pier fence and run the generator for a few hours in order to top up the batteries. There is new clean oil in the Lister gen-set and new filters etc. thanks to Jeff. The old Lister seems to run better than ever tonight a I finish my last task, posting this blog..

Real Rain

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There was measurable rain last night and this morning for the first time in a long time, followed by fairly thick fog. Eventually the fog burned off and the northeast wind chased it out of the Strait. Although it is now blue sky above, it seems to be the donut hole with clouds all around, so expect more showers and outflow winds. The barometer started climbing out of the hole early this morning and kept climbing most of the day, until leveling off late afternoon. On the satellite, it looks like the first pineapple express of the season and we are in the lee of the Olympic Mountains.

Rain, sunshine and fog, with god-rays for good measure.

Rain, sunshine and fog, with god-rays for good measure.

There was only one whale watching boat today ‘Gold Wing’, one recreational boat and a couple of commercial charter vessels.

The second of three first year Marine Science classes came for a field trip today. Their quest was similar to yesterday’s class; to make first-hand observations and enter their notes and drawings into their field journals and to add to their species lists. I added consumption of warm fruit crumble, with very Canadian maple syrup to their to do list and the students seemed to enjoy the whole process.

Students making discoveries.

Students making discoveries.

Canadian student observing from the top of the tower.

Canadian student observing from the top of the tower.

Journal and camera at the ready for marine science observations.

Journal and camera at the ready for marine science observations.

Hang on to that journal. You will need to keep track of it for two years.

Hang on to that journal. You will need to keep track of it for two years.

Class meeting at the ecoguardian house.

Class meeting at the ecoguardian house.

The crew

Second Nature departing with Courtney at the helm.

Second Nature departing with Courtney at the helm.

The California Sea Lions seem to be disturbed by the rain and spent the night making a lot of noise. In the morning most of them moved into the water when the rain started again. Could it be that there hasn’t been much rain where they have been? So far we have brands from the Channel Islands, Rogue Reef in southern Oregon and the Columbia River in northern Oregon.

We had some new arrivals today in the form of a flock of very tired Surfbirds. They slept most of the day. Their breeding grounds are in the mountains of the Yukon and in Alaska and they winter here on the coast.

Surfbirds arrived today and rested.

Surfbirds arrived today and rested.

There were also a couple of Western Sandpipers flitting about today. They breed in western Alaska and are heading south, just passing through here. If they are looking for biofilm, Race Rocks is covered in it, even though with its’ high current and rocky substrate, it is the opposite of a mudflat, it has such a massive concentration of life that there is food for eveyone. I saw more Black Oystercatchers today than I have in a couple of weeks. They are one of my favourite birds.

Black Oystercatchers are very jazzy birds. They have the most spartan nests imaginable. The adult pairs are quite site fidel.

Black Oystercatchers are very jazzy birds. They have the most spartan nests imaginable. The adult pairs are quite site fidel.

I am preparing to attend an international workshop on ocean literacy, followed by the European Marine Science Educator’s Conference. Also trying to trouble-shoot the Davis wind direction data, which is reading greater than 360o. All the normal, potential problems seem fine, so it is still a mystery. Regular tasks like making power, making water, testing the seawater, taking photos of branded animals and generally fighting entropy, continue. Here is another photo for Garry of sea lions in the foreground and shipping in the not too distant background.

Race Rocks Ecological Reserve is located adjacent to a very busy shipping lane.

Race Rocks Ecological Reserve is located adjacent to a very busy shipping lane.

Cut and Recycle Plastic Straps

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Beautiful weather continues and today’s lack of fog and strong winds made it a really perfect summer day. The barometer rose steadily all day and the outlook is for more of the same.

Thirty-five whale-watching boats were noted in the reserve today and some may have been missed as I made a mad dash to “civilization” during the late afternoon slack tide. It is quite a process getting the boat launched and then back up into the boat shed but the good coffee I picked up made it all worthwhile. Back on the rock now with 600 sea lions and one Elephant Seal.

Killer Whales were within sight today, out in Juan de Fuca Strait, but not in the reserve and that was why there was high traffic by the boats, stopping by to see the sea lions.

I spent an hour this morning in the tower, photographing the tagged/branded animals that I have been recording. It is really nice to have a birds’ eye view of the rookery. Speaking of rooks, there were two ravens this morning. Until today I have only seen solo ravens. The evening bird continues to be a mystery to me, I can only describe the call as being high pitched and saying something like chee bedee be dee be dee. From the few glimpses I have had of it in the dark (not very good glimpses) I would say that it flew like a shorebird. (turned out to be a killdeer)

Common Murres and Rhinoceros Auklets are feeding in deeper water around the reserve now and today saw an influx of California Gulls into the reserve. The Heerman’s Gulls continue to join mixed-species, feeding flocks and forage on their own but I have not seen any landing on Great Race. There are more and more Canada Geese landing every day and they are eating every new little green thing that is not a thistle. Can they be classified as pest-like?

Another reason to both cut and recycle plastic straps. Three ring-necks observed today.

Another reason to both cut and recycle plastic straps. Three ring-necks observed today.

I photo-documented more entangled sea lions today to follow up on work being done by Wendy Szaniszlo, the Vancouver Aquarium and others. I observed two California Sea Lions ring necked, one is doing very poorly with an open wound and liquid coming out of it. It looks like a white plastic strap. The other may have already been treated as it looks and acts healthy. As I was coming into to land at the jetty in the tidal race, I noticed a Steller’s Sea Lion that was ring-necked. I did not get a chance to photograph it as landing here is already exciting enough by myself. I will look for it after chores in the morning.

Chores were basic today, cleaning and organizing, sharpening tools and almost completing the new fence.