Tag Archives: seagulls

First Days Back

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We are happy to be back on Race Rocks surrounded by the animals again. A big thanks to Nick for leaving things in excellent shape!

Weather:

  • Visibility: 10+ NM (Victoria Clear)
  • Wind: 10-15 knots NW
  • Water calm
  • Sky overcast

Visitors/Boats:

  • No visitors to the island since we arrived on Wednesday
  • One whale watching vessel yesterday with three people on board
  • Three jet skis passed through on Thursday evening

Ecological:

  • There are 10 elephant seals resting outside of the house this morning
  • One is the last remaining pup, as pointed out by Nick
  • The map of Goose nests that Nick left for us remains accurate, but there are many new eggs.
  • The seagulls are beginning to arrive and fight over nesting spots. We have observed them beginning to pull up tufts of grass and lay them down for nesting.
  • Yesterday evening we noticed an entangled sea lion from the jetty. It appears to have a plastic packing strap wrapped around its neck, similar to the one that we saw last year.
  • There are two mature eagles that have been periodically swooping over the reserve, causing quite a stir.
  • There are at least two pairs of oyster catchers preparing to nest. Yesterday we saw the pair which nested near the guest house last year defending the same rocky area.

Suspicious Seagull Suppers, A Busy Few Days

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Weather: 

  • Sky partially overcast, some light showers throughout the week
  • Visibility 15 miles this morning, consistent throughout the day, some heavy fog a few days ago
  • Wind 10-15 knots W
  • Water ranging from calm to choppy with waves up to 1.5m over the last few days

Boats/Visitors: 

  • There’s been a lot going on over the past few days! Our apologies for the lapse in updates.
  • On Monday, after a few weeks of planning, the Marine Mammal Rescue team from the Vancouver Aquarium came out to RR with support from DFO, to attempt disentanglement of the troubled sea lions we’ve been spotting. Stay tuned for an in-depth post detailing the days events with many photos and videos! 
  • We have been having minor trouble with the water supply/storage for our house here, but with a little investigation and some extra water deliveries it seems to be changing for the better!
  • With water deliveries, there have been a handful of guests, notably including a guest speaker visiting the college to address students. It’s always nice to see some friendly faces!

Ecological: 

  • The sea lions continue to haul out in larger numbers, but it seems to be tapering off. Our electric fence lines are holding better as they learn (through trial and error) not to push through them.
  • Young seagulls are naive to the danger sea lions pose – we have observed juvenile birds being trampled to death by a sea lion simply moving quickly to a different area of the rock. The birds who learn quickly live to fish another day…
  • Over our time on Race Rocks we have been finding plastic/general garbage across the island compressed into a similar size and shape. After observing a seagull regurgitate a condiment packet (ex: rectangular, fast food style ketchup package), we believe this plastic to be consumed by seagulls on land or at sea, and then carried back to Race Rocks when the birds come to feed their young or rest. Regurgitating the foreign waste, perhaps to feed their offspring or out of discomfort, they deposit this human trash here.
  • Here are some picture showing the plastic/garbage described above:

  • On the note of seagull diet, here are some picture of sea life remains found around RR which would seem to be left overs (and examples of what they should be eating) –  talk about sea food from the source!

Rooftop Renovations

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Weather: 

  • Sky partially overcast
  • Visibility 15+ miles
  • Wind 10-15 knots SW
  • Water rippled

Boats/Visitors: 

  • Lots of things going on over the last days!
  • A work crew came out and replaced the roof on the boat house, tank shed, and crane control room.
  • The old shingles and tar paper are heavy! Removing them is messy work – but headway has been made. I think one more load taken away in Second Nature would deal with the leftovers.
  • Today Mara returned, catching a ride with a water delivery.

Ecological: 

  • Sea lions are taking over! Their numbers continue increasing.
  • I’ve seen young seagulls land in the shallow water by the jetty, only to have a sea lion come up under it and eat it whole.
  • The adult seagulls have started to chase and peck at their own young. I think this is probably to encourage their independence.

Soon, The Electric Fence?

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Weather: 

  • Sky partially overcast
  • Visibility 10+ miles
  • Wind 10 knots SW
  • Water rippled

Boats/Visitors: 

  • No visitors over the last few days.
  • The weekend was quiet, and Monday has been the same.

Ecological: 

  • The sea lions continue their advances on the island! I think that the electric fence will soon need to be deployed.
  • Seagulls continue to develop, see in the picture a family of three young (grouped) and one adult (foreground). The shorter chick hatched roughly 5 days later than its siblings and struggles to keep up in growth. Hopefully there’s lots more growing in it’s future, we named the little one Bonsai!

A Nice Weekend

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Weather: 

  • Sky mostly clear
  • Visibility 20+ miles
  • Wind 10-20 knots W
  • Calm water

Boats/Visitors: 

  • Lots of recreational boaters out fishing this weekend, with many coming for a cruise through the reserve. For the most part, they keep a good distance.
  • Second Nature came out twice today, first to deliver water and second to bring out a tour group.

Ecological: 

  • While some seagull young are growing up fast, others struggle. I’ve seen numerous problems ranging from broken wings to missing eyes!

A Busy Day On The Water

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Weather: 

  • Blue skies, some clouds
  • Visibility 20+ miles
  • Wind 5-10 knots W
  • Water rippled

Boats/Visitors: 

  • Many whale watching vessels today. With the increasing number of sea lions hauling out on great race rock, these eco tourism boats contrast sharply (in relatively close quarters) against the wildlife looking to rest on the rocks.
  • The high traffic in conjunction with the sea lions provides a great opportunity to display the proximity of these vessels from the wildlife. See the videos and photos below:

 

Ecological: 

  • An increasing number of sea lions hauling out on all rocks.
  • Young seagulls can be seen strengthening their wings, flapping and hopping 3 feet in the air. They play games with sticks and other debris, aggressively keeping the objects from their siblings looks to be practice for protecting precious food in the future.
  • Mentioned in a previous post, I was able to get a picture of the sea lion with the identifying gash in its side.

Sea lion with a cut (centre of photo)

Census:

  • 350 – 400 seagulls
  • 24 harbour seals
  • 68 sea lions
  • A handful of oystercatchers and cormorants (roughly 5-10 of each)

Getting Your Feet Wet

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Weather: 

  • Sky partially overcast
  • Visibility 15+ miles in the afternoon, heavy fog in the morning
  • Wind 15 knots W
  • Calm water

Boats/Visitors: 

  • This afternoon I (Kai) dropped Mara off on land, she will be away for a few days – I have the rock to myself!
  • Pearson vessel Second Nature has been doing water tours around Race Rocks

Ecological: 

  • The sea lions double in number every day, and you smell them before you see them… Many can be seen with open wounds, 3-6″ long bloody cuts in their sides and back.
  • Beside the jetty, I spotted a young seagull getting its feet wet in the protected waters. This is the first time we’ve seen them enter the sea.

Sunny Skies, Census

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Weather: 

  • Blue skies, no clouds
  • Visibility 15+ miles
  • Wind 10-20 knots W
  • Water calm

Boats/Visitors: 

  • Greg came by yesterday with some fresh water for our main tank.
  • Quite a few tour vessels
  • Greg and Pearson Alumni are touring the reserve over the next few days as part of their reunion, but they will not be coming on land.

Ecological: 

  • There are quite a few more sea lions this week than last. They have started to haul out on Great Race Rock in addition to West and Middle Rock.

Census:

  • 51 sea lions
  • 40 seals (including 3-5 pups)
  • 3 Cormorants
  • 2 families of geese (from the spring nesting season)
  • 2 elephant seals (moulting males)
  • 300 + seagulls

A Quiet Week

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Weather: 

  • Sky blue, a few clouds
  • Visibility 15+ miles (less fog lately)
  • Wind 20-30 knots W
  • Water choppy, waves to .5 m, whitecaps

Boats/Visitors:

  • No visitors to the island since Greg delivered water on Monday. We were happy to have a few guests of the college also stop in for a visit at the same time.
  • Lately there have been quite a few eco-tourism vessels (20+ each day). The noise from the vessels is continuous and can be felt as a low vibration even inside the house. We have seen the odd private pleasure craft as well but they are typically smaller and move more slowly.

Ecological: 

  • The seagulls are growing more and more! The chicks have started to flap their wings into the wind, and wading into the water near the jetty. The adults seem to be attacking the young less frequently as they get bigger, but we still spot the odd deceased chick. Today we saw an adult gull swallow an unlucky chick whole.
  • The oyster catcher chicks have begun flying! They are able to cross the short distance between the jetty and the nearby rocks.
  • There are only two moulting male elephant seals on the island now. They look like they will likely leave soon, as their peeling of skin and fur is nearly done.
  • Earlier this week we saw orcas in the reserve, making twice in the past week and a half.
  • There have been a handful of seal pups and their moms resting in the shallower intertidal on the SE side of the island (also many seals on rosedale rock)
  • There has been a slow increase in sea lions hauling out onto west and middle rock. They occasionally stop on the jetty at a higher tide, or the rocks nearby.

 

Feels Like Summer

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Weather: 

  • Clear sunny skies, a few small clouds
  • 15+ miles visibility
  • Wind 20-30 knots SW
  • White caps and waves up to .5 m

Boats/Visitors:

  • A steady stream of whale watching boats today, but not too busy (15 or so). We were pleased to note that they seemed to be keeping mostly to the centre of the channel.
  • Quite a few small pleasure crafts just outside of the reserve, but only a few entered.

Ecological:

  • The seagull chicks are getting bigger every day and are beginning to wander more adventurously. This is making it harder for us to move around the island as they are unpredictable and often stray onto the paths. The adult seagulls are more aggressive than ever and have started to dive at our heads.
  • We noticed that the lack of wind yesterday and clear sunny day was causing the seagulls to pant like dogs. Apparently this is a way for them to shed excess heat through their mouth lining.