Tag Archives: Sea Otter

August 1 Census

Posted on by

Census Results:

Mammals:

  • Elephant seal: 2 (female and male)
  • Steller sea lion: 34
  • California sea lion: 11
  • Sea otter: 1
  • Harbour seal: 78

Birds:

  • Bald eagle: 1
  • Canada goose: 3
  • Cormorant: 33
  • Gull: 584
  • Black oystercatcher: 20
  • Pigeon guillemot: 131
  • Whimbrel: 1
  • Surfbird: 28
  • Black turnstone: 137
  • Song sparrow: 2
  • Least sandpiper: 1

Facility work:

  • Reacquaint myself with the standard operating procedures and various systems on the island
  • Check boat electronics, safety equipment, and winch
  • Clean solar panels
  • Sample seawater

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 23
  •  Private: 5

Weather:

  • Sea: Rippled
  • Sky: Clear in morning, then partly cloudy
  • Wind: Variable light winds overnight until sunrise ~06:00, when wind switched to easterlies varying from 3-14 knots throughout the rest of the day
  • Daytime air temperature: low 13 C, high 24 C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 10.6 C

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

Farewell! (For Now)

Posted on by

Well, just like that it’s been 6 weeks and it’s time for me to return to the mainland. The wind is gusting 65km/hour right now, giving me one final storm before my departure. The animals are all hidden away, protecting themselves from the weather. All except the male elephant seal who is still harassing the gulls.

I thought I’d wrap up my final blog post with my favourite photos and moments from this trip. I hope you enjoy as much as I did!

Pinnipeds:

Cetaceans:

Ollie the Sea Otter: 

Birds:

Northern Lights:

Sunsets:

That’s all from me for now, but I’ll be back! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

June 5th Census

Posted on by

Happy census day! See below for this week’s creatures.

Mammals:

California sea lions: 30
Elephant seals: 1 (male)
Harbour seals: 143
Sea otter: 1 (Ollie)
Steller sea lions: 8

Birds:

Bald eagle (adult): 2
Bald eagle (juvenile): 4
Barn swallows: 1
Canadian geese: 4
Cormorants: 62
Gulls: 358
Oyster catchers: 8
Pigeon guillemots: 103

Facility work:

  • Chopped wood
  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Cleaned windows of both houses
  • Finished weed whacking pathways

Vessels:

  • Ecotourism: 10 vessels
  • Private: 1 vessel

Weather:

  • Sky: Blue sky and sun
  • Wind: Low of 2 knots, High of 10 knots
  • Sea: Calm
  • Temperature: Low 7•C, High 16•C

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

May 30th Animal Census

Posted on by

Today is animal census day! I swear all of the sea lions hide when it comes time to count them, but our big male elephant seal is still here. Upon a closer inspection (him lying directly out my front door) I actually think this is a different animal than the one that was here in March. At first I thought he had just gained weight back post moult but I think it’s just an older/larger male. It’s great to have him here either way!

May 30th Animal Census:

Mammals:

California sea lions: 20
Elephant seals: 3 (1 male, 2 females)
Harbour seals: 108
Sea otter: 1 (Ollie)
Steller sea lions: 6

Birds:

Bald eagle (adult): 3
Bald eagle (juvenile): 2
Barn swallows: 2
Canadian geese: 10
Cormorants: 23
Gulls: 336
Harlequin ducks: 10
Oyster catchers: 9
Pigeon guillemots: 75
Ravens: 1

Looks like the gull count will be going up soon!

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

Sunday Update

Posted on by

There were about 50 sea lions on the rocks out front when I went to sleep last night, and I think all 50 of them decided to be particularly chatty from 4am onward. Needless to say, today ended up being an early morning start for me be but I’m glad it was! I opened my bedroom curtains to find about 15 brown pelicans resting on the rocks outside my window. I crept outside with my camera being careful not to disturb them and then sat on the back porch in the mist and watched them preen and dry their wings. I think I could stare at pelicans forever, they’re such funny looking creatures.

 

The Swiftsure International Yacht Race continued throughout the day with all boats on their way back to Victoria. Unfortunately the wind was at 0 knots and the ebb was strong so some of them appeared to be going backwards. Slowly I watched boat by boat as they admitted defeat, bringing their sails down and starting their engines. A few persevered but the same boat I saw at 7am was still bobbing outside the reserve at 1pm, trying its best to get past the currents.

Back to the animals —we are down to two elephant seals now, just one big and one small female. The gulls have officially started laying eggs which I know because one was dropped outside my front door this morning. They haven’t shown any aggressive behaviour towards me yet but I imagine I’ll be ducking for cover any day now. Ollie is still doing his best to blend in with the harbour seals, his bed of kelp and seaweed looking especially cozy today.

The weather today stayed windless with dark clouds and on/off rain. Quite a few ecotourism vessels passed by today, this time they did not bring the whales with them. Also noted a couple private vessels and one kayaker, all respecting the rules.

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

Killer Whales Everywhere!

Posted on by

What a killer day!

I think the rainy days might be my favourite so far. This morning it poured with rain as I drank my coffee, the mist hung low around the reserve and I could see the steamy breath of the sea lions as they yelled and yawned.

The ocean surface was glassy, and Ollie casually floated in the water around South Seal Rocks. Sometimes I think that otter has spent so little time around other otters and so much time around pinnipeds that he thinks he is a seal. The seals are completely unbothered by him, just giving him the occasional side eye.

I completed most of my to do list in the rain, which makes the cleaning tasks far easier. Around noon I headed inside to eat and just as I was about to sit down I noticed a few slow moving ecotourism boats in the distance. I ended up eating my lunch with one hand and holding the binoculars in the other to try and figure out what was coming my way. After a few minutes I saw at least 5-6 transients heading towards me so I ran out with my camera. As per usual they stuck to the outside of the reserve, although this time they passed by slightly closer. No hunting today, they were on the move with an adorable baby in tow. Each time it came up for a breath it basically flung it’s entire body out of the water. As I watched them I looked up and a flock of 19 brown pelicans flew over my head, I think the rainy days might be the best for spotting animals!

After that amazing experience, I went back inside to try and sit down yet again. I had barely taken off my shoes when I saw 2 more boats heading my way from the same direction as the previous ones. I pulled the binoculars back out only to find ANOTHER family of 5-6 transients following the same route as the others. These ones came closer and actually cut into the reserve, but not too close, sticking a couple hundred meters behind the South Islands. This family had an even smaller baby with them which was exciting to see. No hunting for these guys either, another quick pass by but I was grateful that it was the closest I’ve seen yet!

At this point I gave up on taking a break for the day. I continued on with my to do list and just as I went down to the jetty to take the salinity and temperature readings, 2 large killer whales popped up 100m in front of me. Of course I didn’t have my camera with me but I’ve never seen orca so close from land before, it was incredible. By the time I sprinted back inside to get my camera they were almost at the outskirts of the reserve. The current was strong so they came up that one time in front of me and by the time they surfaced again they were already out near Turbine Rock where they took another dive and I wasn’t able to spot them again.

Today was unbelievable, I am truly living the dream out here!

Facility Work:

  • Topped up battery electrolytes
  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Cleaned outside windows of both houses
  • Chopped wood and kindling
  • Scrubbed algae off of outer lighthouse stairs
  • Swept/cleaned deasal bunker floor

Vessels:

  • Ecotourism: 15
  • Private: 1

Weather:

  • Sky: Clouds and rain
  • Wind: Low of 1 knot, High of 7 knots
  • Sea: Flat
  • Temperature: Low 8•C, High 13•C

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

Wednesday’s Animal Census

Posted on by

It’s Wednesday which means it’s time to count the animals in the reserve! I find when I do this each week that I get competitive with myself and always want to spot more species than the week prior. Today was a win because I think it’s the most variety I’ve seen in one day so far!

Mammals:

California sea lions: 24
Elephant seals: 3 (females)
Harbour seals: 96
Sea otter: 1 (Ollie)
Steller sea lion: 7
Not quite in the reserve, but honourable mentions: 1 killer whale and 3 humpbacks

Birds:

Bald eagle (adult): 3
Bald eagle (juvenile): 3
Barn swallows: 3
Canadian geese: 10
Cormorants: 102
Gulls: 369
Harlequin ducks: 8
Oyster catchers: 8
Pigeon guillemots: 64
Ravens: 2
Whimbrel: 1 

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

Animal Census

Posted on by

Another week, another animal census! The wind has finally dropped enough that being outside is enjoyable again which made today a perfect day for counting animals!

Mammals:
California sea lions: 19
Steller sea lions: 11 (1 branded 304Y)
Harbour seals: 87
Elephant seals (female): 4
Sea otter: 1

Birds:
Canadian geese: 8
Bald eagles: 4
Gulls: 318
Pigeon guillemot: 100
Cormorants: 35
Oyster catchers: 7
Savannah sparrows: 4
Shorebirds: 6
Harlequin ducks: 10
Raven: 1

Other:

While not a bird nor a mammal (but close in size), I’d like to include an honourable mention to the wolf spider that has taken up residence in the lighthouse tower. It is so large and fuzzy that I figured it deserves to be included in this week’s animal census.

On a totally unrelated note…I will not entering the lighthouse tower for the foreseeable future.

Additional info:

Ecotourism vessels: 1

Facility work:

  • Cleaned windows of both houses
  • Chopped wood and kindling
  • Deep cleaned kitchen in main house

Weather:

  • Sky: Blue skies and sunny
  • Wind: High of 18 knots, Low of 9 knots
  • Sea: Started calm ,whitcaps in the afternoon
  • Temperature: Low 8•C, High 14 •C

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

Another Windy Day

Posted on by

Today was another blustery day and the weather couldn’t seem to make up its mind. The wind remained around 30knots throughout the day but the rest was a mix of blue sky and sun to dark clouds and pouring rain, and everything in between.

The sea lions don’t seem to mind the wind and looked as cozy as ever on their rocks. The gulls hunkered down with their heads tucked under their wings, the rest of the birds seemed to continue as normal. That includes the one goose that hangs out near the crane and stalks me whenever I walk in that general vicinity despite not having a visible nest (or mate) nearby. I also watched the same goose chase an elephant seal this morning but she seemed rather unbothered by it. I am still learning about birds and their behaviours but this particular goose seems to be holding a grudge!!

I didn’t expect to see Ollie today. With the wind and current being as strong as it is, I assumed he’d be tucked somewhere sheltered or asleep in a bed of mussels. Nope! I spotted him in the most exposed area possible, snoozing in a kelp bed – dead centre in the middle of the channel. I could barely see him between waves but he was completely unbothered by the weather. 

Despite the poor weather I did count 4 ecotourism vessels within the reserve today.

Nothing else to note today! 

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

Sea Otter Facts and Facility Work

Posted on by

Today was a cloudy and drizzly day but I managed to get a good chunk of work done, all while hanging out with Ollie the sea otter. I think that’s one of the things that makes this place so special is that you can be scrubbing bird poop off solar panels in the rain and look down and see this fuzzy little otter staring up at you. I’ve spent a lot of time working on and around the ocean and never have I experienced wildlife like this.

Since Ollie has been around so much lately I figured I’d make this post a sea otter specific one (since you might find that more interesting than hearing about the fire hoses I rolled).

Sea otters are a keystone species, meaning that other species within the ecosystem largely depend on them and without sea otters there would be drastic changes to those ecosystems. Sea otters predate on sea urchins who graze one kelp. The sea otter’s urchin heavy diet keeps the kelp forests from being decimated by urchins, and as a result kelp forests flourish in the presence of sea otters.

A new otter (not Ollie) with a large red urchin.

 

Ollie wrapped up in the kelp he helps protect

Urchin’s aren’t the only thing sea otters eat, you’ll also find them munching on clams, crabs, mussels, and other marine invertebrates. Adult sea otters need to eat a quarter of their weight in food a day. To put that into perspective – if you weigh 150 pounds, you’d have to eat almost 40 pounds of food PER DAY!

Picking out his next snack

Sea otters do not have blubber like other marine mammals do, instead they have the densest fur of any mammal, with up to one million hairs per square inch! If they aren’t busy eating, then they are busy grooming. That much fur takes a lot of upkeep and is their only source of insulation. The constant grooming traps air and heat next to the skin, preventing the skin from getting wet and keeping them warm in the process.

Ollie grooming his hind flippers

Ollie, Race Rock’s resident sea otter, is one of few sea otters seen this far south in BC. He is easily recognized by his light blonde head and by the pink scar on his nose. He’s adored by many, and any day I encounter him I consider to be a great day!

Now onto the less adorable items…

Facility Work:

  • Filled cistern, fresh water flushed the pump, rolled and stored fire hoses
  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Cleaned windows of both houses
  • Chopped firewood
  • Ran an equalization charge of the batteries
  • Mopped basement floor

Vessel Traffic:

  • 1 ecotourism vessel
  • 3 private vessels

Infractions:

  • 1 rental boat fishing within the reserve despite multiple communication attempts. Informed the local marina and reported to DFO

Weather:

    • Sky: Overcast, on/off rain
    • Wind: High of 4 knots, Low of 19 knots
    • Sea: Calm
    • Temperature: Low 9, High  11oC

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