Tag Archives: seagull nest

Otter Observations, Seagull Takeover!

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Today’s Weather:

  • Sky Clear, blue (very foggy in morning and evening)
  • Visibility 10+ NM (less than 1 during fog)
  • Wind 10-20 knots W
  • Sea state: calm, slightly rippled

Marine Traffic/Visitors:

  • Yesterday Greg visited to drop off some supplies, as well as on Thursday
  • Less than 10 whale watching boats per day recently
  • Minimal pleasure craft activity and the regular stream of fishing vessels, and larger ships

Ecological Observations: 

Due to amount of nesting birds and chicks, we’ve been going outside only when necessary as our presence seems to bother them quite a bit. Some of the windows facing the action have been getting, ahm… ‘fogged’ despite our efforts to collect rain water and scrub them when we can!

  • One of the two elephant seals molting has left the island, and the last pieces of skin are falling off in big dry pieces for the one remaining.
  • Seagull season is getting a bit violent: there are many deceased and dismembered seagull chicks around the island. We don’t usually see it happen, but we think that they are being killed by other adult seagulls protecting their territory and chicks.
  • While walking over the rocky area near the jetty to recover a significant amount of plastic that floated in, we noticed some pigeon guillemot eggs hidden in a rocky crevice! This is the first time that we have spotted a confirmed nest, although we had suspicions as we have been seeing them with fish and waiting for us to leave (before they carry it into their nest).
  • We found a pigeon guillemot near the jetty under camera five- it appeared to have been eaten by a bird of prey or perhaps an otter. It had been partially plucked of its feathers and eviscerated.
  • We’ve been noticing more harbour seal pups! We’re not sure if this is due to there being a increase in the total pups around, or we are seeing them closer than usual due to the low tides this week. We spot the pups with their mothers taking shelter from heavy currents in the more sheltered area between us and rosedale rock.
  • Yesterday we noticed that there were quite a few dead seagull chicks dragged underneath a diesel tank waiting for removal near the jetty/crane shed. We looked under the walkway where we often see the river otter duck through the rocks, and there were quite a few there as well. This explains the cacophony we sometimes hear at night!
  • We were contacted by an eco-tourism company who shared with us that they had spotted “ollie” the sea otter holding the body of a river otter. It sounds like he has been noted as particularly territorial before, so this is not a surprise, although this is the first time we have heard this during our time on Race Rocks.

We’ve been saving the fresh water that drains from the firehoses after pumping from Second Nature’s tank, and using it to fill the pressure washer tank. We can use this to mist the panels and scrub them by hand to remove the seagull waste that builds up so quickly this time of year. Every little bit of sun counts!

The Animals Have Been Busy

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Weather:

  • Sky clear, blue
  • Visibility 15+ NM
  • Wind 20-25 knots W
  • Sea state: rippled, whitecaps, small waves breaking at .5 m

A fun link! Our weather station data can be publicly viewed Here.

Marine Traffic/Visitors:

  • On Friday Greg and a plumber visited
  • It has been quite windy but we have continued to see 5-10 whale watching boats per day on average
  • Quite a few fishing pleasure crafts outside of the reserve closer to Pedder bay, but no issues with fishing in the reserve this week so far.

Ecological Observations: 

  • This week we noticed a pigeon guillemot carry fish into a crevice in the rock wall outside our back door. We are excited to keep an eye on it and see if it is nesting! We have continued to notice breeding pairs copulating and flying into/out of crevices around the island.
  • This week there are large amounts of shorebirds visiting.We have seen ruddy and black turnstones daily as well as the occasional sandpiper. The turnstones are particularly elusive and fly away before we notice them quite often.
  • An appreciated bird ID correction from Daniel: The bird which we photographed on June 20 was in fact a whimbrel and not a short billed dowitcher.
  • This week we have seen quite a few harbor seals with their pups swimming or resting on rocks. We haven’t seen any nursing, but they are still quite small (and cute!).
  • The goslings and two parents haven’t returned since we saw them leave by water last Thursday. There seem to be two more adult geese gone today. We wonder if the goose family left for the main island, as the seagulls have become very territorial and aggressive, or perhaps the geese are naturally beginning to leave as they do seasonally.
  • A steady increase of sea lions in the reserve this week. There are now both california and stellar sea lions, and a few younger ones mixed in with the huge stellars that appeared last week.

 

 

Secret Island Residents

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Today’s Weather: 

  • Sky overcast with light fog
  • Visibility 10 NM
  • Wind 5-10 knots SE
  • Calm sea for the most part

Marine Traffic/Visitors: 

  • Whale watching vessels over the past week: As Covid19 restriction ease, we’re seeing an gradual increase in commercial traffic through the area, the highest volume being 10 vessels counted in one day.
  • We have noticed once every couple of days, low flying planes that look to be Coast Guard or perhaps military.
  • A handful of private vessels/pleasure craft: Pleasure craft presence in the reserve has been sparse, 1-3 boats daily.
  • Greg visited today with water.

Ecological Observations:

  • The seagull chicks are growing quickly, the adult birds fight among themselves frequently and continue to become more aggressive towards human presence.
  • The goslings are growing quickly: ‘fluff and all’, they are closing in on a small seagull size! The three continue to stay close to their parents and spend dawn to dusk foraging in the plants and grasses. We noticed that all of the geese seem to be surviving by drinking the non-salty ‘grey water’ that comes from our house and filters through a septic field.
  • We discovered river otters with young living under our fuel shed yesterday evening, just next to the jetty. We noticed an adult running under the connecting boardwalk/pathway, and discovered that they have gotten under the building by pushing past some plywood that should close off access. They smell bad, but sure are cute! We’ll wait for them to leave on their own time, and then make sure they can’t get back in and cause damage. We suspect that they are the reason for the nightly seagull disturbances we have been hearing.
  • Many small birds present in the reserve this week: sandpipers, turnstones, and the barn swallows have been flying around frequently.

Biodiversity Aplenty + Sunday Census

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Weather:

  • Sky overcast
  • Visibility 15+ NM
  • Wind 20-25 knots W
  • Sea state: chop, whitecaps breaking at .5 m

Visitors/Marine Traffic:

  • On Thursday an electrician came to work and Greg brought us some supplies- Thanks Greg!
  • Also on Thursday, Daniel came to do a bird count and take recordings of bird calls. He was able to spot and identify many more species than we are able to, and it was fantastic to learn more about what is here! He also found owl pellets near where we heard an owl in April, and we are excited to see what information can be concluded from them.
  • On Friday Greg delivered water
  • Also on Friday, there were many RCMP boats just outside of the reserve.
  • There have been a few pleasure crafts, some fishing within the reserve boundaries.
  • One whale watching vessel today, which approached the animals and the jetty very closely

Ecological: 

  • Daniel also spotted two new observations: a fern growing out of a crack on the lighthouse, and some beautiful harvest brodiaea.
  • There is now only one elephant seal, the large male.
  • There is one goose still sitting on a nest underneath camera 5. She’s been there for a long time and we are wondering if the eggs will still hatch since it is so late in the season. There are no goslings currently, but still a constant 16 adult geese total.
  • In the past two weeks we have been observing many jellyfish in the water, including sea nettles, fried egg jellyfish, and the occasional water jelly still.
  • On Thursday morning we watched as two eagles chased one seagull into the water and continuously took turns diving at it. They dove at it until it was completely wet and unable to fly away. At this point, one of the eagles swooped down and carried the seagull away by its neck.

Census: 

  • 280 Seagulls
  • 12 Adult oystercatchers
  • 2 Oystercatcher chicks
  • 157 Harbor seals
  • 1 Adult male elephant seal
  • 16 Adult Canada geese
  • 11 California sealions
  • 3 Stellar sealions
  • 9 Pigeon Guillemots
  • 2 Adult bald eagles
  • 1 Barn swallow

Otter, Caspian Terns, Goslings (!) & Sunday Census

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Weather:

  • Sky clear, a few clouds
  • Visibility 15+ NM
  • Wind: 30-35 knots W
  • Sea state: fast moving, white caps breaking at .5 m

Visitors:

  • Greg visited with a water delivery on Friday
  • One eco-tourism boat in the reserve yesterday evening.
  • One vessel fishing within the reserve on Friday afternoon. They approached the sea lions around the jetty very closely and their dog on board barked loudly at the animals. They approached the animals within a stones throw and hovered for roughly 20 minutes. The animals appeared distressed and fought with each other as they tried to move away from the boat (it was too close for them to enter the water).

Ecological: 

  • On Thursday evening a river otter came onto land near the jetty. We wonder if it was trying to steal seagull eggs.
  • On Friday afternoon two caspian terns flew overhead. The seagulls were not happy to see them and chased them out of the reserve.
  • Related to the post linked above, we spotted an oyster catcher nest on the west side of the island. We think it could be the same one that Mike spotted in 2012!
  • There are five goslings total, one family with two and one with three. The family of three has been joined intermittently by the other two. The two chicks seem confused as to which geese are their parents, and they’ve even managed to sneak under a wing with the rest for shelter. The parents continuously try to separate them from their own three chicks and the parents of the two follow closely behind.
  • We have observed the geese moving around the island trying to find fresh water. When it rains it is easier for them to come near the structures and drink the water from our roofs. When it is dry, they are limited to what they are able to find in the pools high on the rocks, usually full of algae and very dirty. We have been learning about their adaptations to drink salt water here.
  • The two oyster catcher chicks that we spotted earlier in the week have maintained their elusive nature. We haven’t been able to spot them again, as they are hidden by their parents among rocks where the seagulls are not able to attack.
  • This week has brought an influx of stellar sea lions, particularly smaller youngsters.

Census:

  • 2 Elephant seals (1 male, 1 female)
  • 46 Harbour seals
  • 326 Seagulls
  • 10 Stellar sea lions
  • 17 California sea lions
  • 10 Black Oystercatchers(adult)
  • 2 Oystercatcher chicks
  • 16 Canada Geese (adult)
  • 5 Goslings
  • 2 Pigeon Guillemots