Tag Archives: sealion

Mega-fauna Draw

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It was another north-northeasterly day on Race Rocks. There was even some sunshine during the late morning and early afternoon but it clouded over for the latter part of the day. The barometer is dropping again and the forecast is for windy, cloudy and wet.

The weather did not deter the hardy whale watchers and nine tour vessels were observed in the Ecological Reserve.

Meno and WW

Killer Whales, Humpback Whales, Steller and California Sealions, Northern Elephant Seals and Harbour Seals were also observed from the Ecological Reserve creating the draw for tourists.

Sealions lounging

Most of my day was tied up with supporting the water technician’s visit to repair the desalinator, briefing fending off Elephant Seals, stowing fire hoses and entering/organizing data. During my tower trip I was able to see all of these species and noted three new brands on Steller’s Sealions on MiddleRock.

Mian boat ramp

Sealions from west of 140W at Race Rocks.

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It was another day of mixed weather at Race Rocks. Gentle breezes less than five knots, tended north to northeast all day. While the sea surface appeared calm, there was a big sea running that caused spectacular waves on the west side of the islands. The barometer rose until noon and then started to slip back down. Although it looks like rain coming on the horizon now, it was a fairly dry day while apparently pouring down over on the American side.

In spite of many Humpback Whales in sight from Great Race, the season must be winding down, as there were only five whale-watching boats observed within the Ecological Reserve and only one sports fisher stopped by for a look at the seals and sealions.

The interesting, new (to me), Steller’s Sealion brand of the day comes from almost as far away as yesterday’s George Island animal whose branding location was indicated by the ‘Y.’ Today’s ‘T’ stands for Marmot Island which is just off the southeast end of Kodiak Island. So both of these animals are from the western Alaskan Stellers Sealion population, west of 140 degrees west. The western population is considered to be endangered due to its inexplicably, declining numbers. How interesting that these guys are hanging out here, where there is a lots of food right now, far from home.

This branded Stellers Sealion was born on Marmot Island just off Kodiak Island, Alaska. He was branded as a pup, July 4, 2010.

This branded Stellers Sealion was born on Marmot Island just off Kodiak Island, Alaska. He was branded as a pup, July 4, 2010.

Second Nature, with Courtney at the helm, brought out the chimney specialists who cleaned and inspected the chimneys in both houses. A young Frenchman from Lille who is volunteering at Pearson College came along as well. I did some more trouble-shooting with the desalinator and called an expert for help. I strung the fire-hoses and fired up the Briggs & Stratton and pumped seawater into the cistern. The hoses are getting a nice fresh water rinse over-night.

Spot the Mian.

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Weather was happening all around Race Rocks today but it was pretty nice here. There was a significant swell, which is nice to watch, unless you want to launch a boat. Across the Strait, on the American side, it was really pouring on the Olympic Peninsula especially in the Elwah Valley. Here, clouds came and went, it rained a little, it shone a bit and the barometer was actually up and steady after yesterday’s low. Forecast is for more of the same.

There were only two whale-watching boats observed in the Ecological Reserve today and one was a “new” catamaran vessel that I have not seen before, called “4-Ever Wild”.

Juan de Fuca Warrior spent the day with a crew diving in the Ecological Reserve most of the day again today. I forgot to mention that yesterday there were three happy kayakers enjoying a paddle in the Ecological Reserve and unwittingly getting a little too close to the sealions.

happy kayakers
Kayakers disturb sealions too

Some of the photos of sealions taken from the tower actually show Elephant Seals too. Can you spot the Elephant Seals in these two photos?
spot the Mian
spot the Mian2

I spent quite a bit of time troubleshooting web-cams, “watertight boxes”, power and ethernet lines, not very successfully, but maybe tomorrow. I changed both of the cartridge filters on the desalinator today. I worked on further organization of the brand, tag and entanglement data for both species of sealion and got some new photos of brands.
Zaca U255 Oct 20

The Steller Sealion in the background Euju 299Y was I believe, tagged on St. George Island in the Bering Sea. The Y refers to that location which is close to 5,000 kilometers away from Race Rocks. Looking for confirmation of this amazing voyage.

The Steller Sealion in the background Euju 299Y was I believe, tagged on St. George Island in the Bering Sea. The Y refers to that location which is close to 5,000 kilometers away from Race Rocks. Looking for confirmation of this amazing voyage.

The Tie That Binds

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It was another northeast day, with really not much happening weather wise. It blew NE about ten knots, was mostly overcast in the morning, with some sun in the afternoon. The barometer rose gradually all morning and then started to slowly slide after noon. It is expected that tomorrow’s southeast will bring rain, starting late tonight.

The whale watching boats were busy in the afternoon with Humpback Whales to the southeast of Race Rocks and more activity out to the west. A total of eight tour boats were seen in the Ecological Reserve.

Today was mega-fauna census day and these are the results:
Steller Sealion 298
California Sealion 508
Harbour Seal 79
Northern Elephant Seal 9
River Otter 2
Canada Goose 22
Greater White-fronted Goose 1
Harlequin Duck 5
Double-crested Cormorant 61
Pelagic Cormorant 15
Black Turnstone 9
Surfbird 5
Black Oystercatcher 38
Glaucous-winged Gull 145
Thayer’s Gull 1482
California Gull 3
Western Gull 7
Heermann’s Gull 35
Gull sp. 52
Common Murre 1
Common Raven 2
Fox Sparrow 2
Savannah Sparrow 15

Here are a couple of shots of Surfbirds, alone and with Black Turnstones.

Surfbirds resting in the Jetty Bay.

Surfbirds resting in the Jetty Bay.

Subi & Bltu
The census was challenging due to the numbers and species of gulls and the fact that both Steller Sealion and Harbour Seal numbers were lower than expected during the morning count, so they were re-counted in the early evening. I generally like to count Harbour Seals on the morning low tide but the tide wasn’t really doing much today. The evening counts were higher for both the Steller and the Harbour Seals. Two new Elephant Seals arrived today. They are both moulting, the smaller one hung out with the dual tagged three year-old, which appears to be staying on. The bigger animals may have gone back to Middle Rock as there were still six animals visible there.

Ring-necked animals as well as tagged and branded animals were also re-surveyed today. I am still working on the branding data from a month ago. Two of the ring-necked Steller Sealions that have been observed since August are still here and languishing as the plastic straps cut into the backs of their necks. I am putting out an appeal to the disentanglement crew again.
Euju plastic_strap Oct16
Euju oct 16 close-up
The second ring-necked animal ‘highlighted’ here is also branded on its’ left side 946R. I believe that it was branded at its’ natal colony which from the R should be Rogue Reef in southern Oregon. From the number it was branded after 2009 but I will find out more.

If it is not lying on its' left side this ring-necked Steller's Sealion is easy to tell apart from the others.

If it is not lying on its’ left side this ring-necked Steller’s Sealion is easy to tell apart from the others.

Like the other Steller it has plastic strapping, which is visible on the ventral surface.

Like the other Steller it has plastic strapping, which is visible on the ventral surface.

This is a bit gory but I hope it will inspire the disentanglement team to come to Race Rocks.

This is a bit gory but I hope it will inspire the disentanglement team to come to Race Rocks.

The Atlin Post passed by Race Rocks today but did not slow. Must have been in a hurry.

The Atlin Post passed by Race Rocks today but did not slow. Must have been in a hurry.

Did not do much maintenance today other than the basic cleaning, making water with the desalinator and electricity with the generator.

Pea Soup

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It was socked in with fog as thick as pea soup today. It cleared off this evening just before six and well in time for a fantastic sunset and my realization that it was probably a beautiful day, just about everywhere else in the region.

California Sea Lions silhouetted by setting sun.

California Sea Lions silhouetted by setting sun.

There was not much wind today, the high was 5 knots out of the east-northeast and everything is damp almost as if it had rained. Most of the day the flag hung limp and a bit sodden. The barometer continued yesterday’s gradual rise until about noon when it started to slowly decline, ending up at about the same place it started. The forecast looks like rain for at least a week but it probably just means showers. I keep forgetting that rain here and rain in Bamfield are just not the same thing.

There were no whale-watching boats observed although one commercial sports fishing boat stopped by to have a look at the sea lions.

The results of this weeks’ large animal census follows:

Steller’s Sea Lion 173
California Sea Lion 412
Harbour Seal 136
Elephant Seal 12
River Otter 1
Canada Goose 20
Greater White-fronted Goose 5
Harlequin Ducks 8
Double-crested Cormorant46
Pelagic Cormorant 5
Black Oystercatchers 20
Black Turnstones 6
Killdeer 4
Glaucous-winged Gull 88
Glaucous-winged x Western Gull Hybrid
Thayer’s Gull 303
Heerman’s Gull 17
California Gull 12
Western Gull 2
Ring-billed Gull 2
Gull sp, 260
Bald Eagle (adult) 1
Fox Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 17

Most of the sea lions have moved over to the west side of the island and are hauling out on Middle Island and some of the smaller rocks. They are seem to be spending much more time in the water instead of sleeping on land and salmon kills are visible all over the Ecological Reserve when the visibility is good enough to see.

Wall-to-wall California Sea Lions catch a nap in a pile.

Wall-to-wall California Sea Lions catch a nap in a pile.

Thayer’s Gulls are the dominant gull now in terms of numbers and they seem to spend a lot of their day resting and grooming. All the gulls seem to take advantage of the sea lion feeding events as bits of salmon are flying. I double-checked my Thayer’s Gull identification with Dick Cannings and his super-birder son, Russell and they concur that this is a Thayer’s Gull.

Race Rocks is an important resting, roosting and feeding place for Thayer's Gulls recovering from a busy summer in the Arctic.

Race Rocks is an important resting, roosting and feeding place for Thayer’s Gulls recovering from a busy summer in the high Arctic.

My biggest task today was attempting to muck out the roof of the energy building where the solar panels are installed. It reminded me of a stable job I had when I was a kid. I actually used a snow shovel to scoop out the organic crud that had built up under the last of the panels to be raised by the electrician yesterday. The rest of the day’s maintenance-type activities were the regular jobs entailed in living here; making fresh water, topping up the batteries with the generator (even the solar panels had a hard time keeping up in the thick fog), doing the seawater sampling and sweeping a few walkways.

Last Blast of Summer

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Tomorrow is the equinox and it was a glorious last day of summer today on Race Rocks. In the morning, outflow northeasterly winds soon gave way to westerlies, which gained momentum creating whitecaps and active seas in the afternoon. Both yesterday and today there was also an ocean swell, indicating a storm out at sea. Some of the surges created large, standing waves in the tidal flows. The barometer continued slide today and a change is on the way with showers forecast to start by tomorrow evening.

There were only a few whale-watching boats today, four observed in total. The Ogden Point Dive Centre’s charter boat ran a dive right off the jetty today. A few recreational boats stopped to watch the sea lions and three were speeding in the reserve, as they came into and left the area. A Pedder Bay, Oak Bay Marine Group rental boat didn’t bother to slow at all and sped through the area packed with sea lions.

After picking up calipers at the floating lab, I was able to almost complete meristic data collection for the Glaucous-wing Gull mortality study. Measurements were made of over 50 gulls in order to determine the age range and location at death. It has been so dry for so long, that the birds were basically mummified, not nearly as gross as standing up-wind of the living sea lions.

Several opportunistic brand photos were taken today and census photos were taken to validate against the more traditional census technique.

Sometimes the brands are easier to read with binoculars than in the photo. This one is 1032.

Sometimes the brands are easier to read with binoculars than in the photo. This one is 1032.

It seems that more Steller’s Sea Lions, Thayer’s Gulls and Double-crested Cormorants are arriving daily As you can see from this photograph of one the main California Sea Lion sleeping areas they are packed in tightly and not strictly segregated by species.

Sea lions pack into sleeping areas. This big Steller's Sea Lion caused a ruckus by walking over the Californians.

Sea lions pack into sleeping areas. This big Steller’s Sea Lion caused a ruckus by walking over the Californians.

The more mundane tasks of washing the solar panels, building up the compost, washing windows and mending the fences were done in the morning and it was actually hot, hmmm, just like summer. The seawater data was collected in the afternoon as the sunshine powered the solar panels which in turn powered the desalinator to make fresh water out of salt water. As the sun set south of Cape Flattery now, the classic Lister generator topped up the batteries for the overnight period.

Blustery

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It was a blustery day dominated by the west wind today and with the wind came some cloud cover and cooler maritime air. The barometer rose slightly and then started to drop late in the day. It is likely that we will get both fog and showers tomorrow.

I saw Killer Whales off to the southwest, early, but only had glimpses and wasn’t able to identify them. Whale watching was down to a dull roar with only seven commercial whale-watching boats noted in the reserve today. There was no illegal fishing activity and only one recreational boat that came in to watch the sea lions.

These young Steller's Sea Lions have been wrestling for hours and are taking a break here without either conceding defeat.

These young Steller’s Sea Lions have been wrestling for hours and are taking a break here without either conceding defeat.

The bigger, young, male Steller’s Sea Lions spend hours each day practicing their sparring skills as they try to grab the other by the throat or hold the head of their opponent down through brute force. This activity usually happens in the shallow water next to the haul-out, so they are actually moving around on the rocks underneath them but in the water. It appears to be all in good fun and involves a lot of lunging, avoidance, feints, attacks and parrying. All good practice for when they are big enough to haul out on the breeding grounds and fight with more grim determination to hold their ground and pass their genes on to the next generation.

Brown Pelicans blown in by the westerly winds.

One of the Brown Pelicans blown in by the westerly winds and a young gull.

The west wind blew in four Brown Pelicans today and their arrival seemed to herald a change of season. They were buffeted by the heavy winds and didn’t stay for long.

Other visitors today included the electrician and his assistant/daughter(?) and her friend, who would like to be an eco-guardian some day. The electrician was tilting up the last row of the flat solar panels and inspecting the solar-powered system.

Solar panels provide much of the electricity used on the island and the generator is just used to top-up the batteries. The plan is to add wind generation, which would further enhance sustainable, off-grid, power generation. There is certainly enough wind.

Thunder and Lightning

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It was a dramatic day weather-wise with near-gale westerlies and a heavy downpour that dropped almost one centimetre of much needed rain. Just before the sun went down there were intense rainbows. The barometer continued its slide but a nice sunset and the westerly wind warning, mean sunshine for tomorrow.

With no killer whales in sight, the whale watching boat numbers dropped to three. There were no recreational boaters fishing in the closed Conservation Area today. There were some big blasts from the military site today late morning and early afternoon. They had a vessel standing off to the northwest of the reserve talking to boaters. Although there were no visitors ashore, Second Nature came within a stone’s throw of the jetty and I waved to Courtney and the Pearson College students aboard.

This morning when I got up there were no sea lions on the jetty for the first time so I will continue my territorial patrols. I scanned for brands/tags from the top of the tower again today, and added more to the growing list. Eventually I will put a finders’ curve together to see if I am approaching the asymptote.

I was a bit grossed out to see the GW Gulls and Black Turnstones foraging in the Sea Lion messes this morning. I wonder what their parasite load is mmm? At least one of the sea lions had evidently been eating krill.

All but one of the young gulls are flying now and it was fun to watch them ‘getting a flying lesson’ from the raven this morning. Okay, I know that is way too anthropomorphic. They were all following raven who seemed to be playing the trickster, (maybe hoping they would crash for breakfast). Ravens are so good at doing aerial flips and such but young gulls are still a bit wobbly. There are still two Pigeon Guillemots carrying food to nest sites. they bring a variety of benthic fish: so far I have seen little flatfish, large gunnels a variety of sculpins and maybe a prickleback.

Other than the routine chores, more window cleaning and moving heavy concrete blocks today, I did some trouble-shooting on the computer and deleted over 11,000 items from the trash which sped things up. I started to read the camera manual with camera in hand. Yesterday’s passing Killer Whales inspired me to learn how to use the camera with the big lens.

Recovery of species and spaces at risk.

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Another glorious day at Race Rocks with westerly flow, basically a repeat of yesterday weather-wise. The barometer has dropped a bit over the evening and the wind has shifted to the southwest. Here is a graph of the atmospheric pressure that can be pulled up on the racerocks.com website. Tomorrow looks similar, windy with a chance of showers.

barometer

There were 33 tour boats today including a few that may not have been commercial. Some of the tour boats are really enormous and barely fit in the passage. There were at least 17 recreational fishers, again with some jigging by the rentals in the closed conservation area. Amazingly, a DFO patrol boat passed by and did nothing while these folks were slaying bottom fish in the reserve. I was up in the tower and couldn’t get the K-numbers as they are only painted on one side of the boat.

I did record another four sea lion brands in between chores and spotting killer whales travelling and feeding from the southwest to the southeast. There was one large bull, one little one with (probably) its mother and at least two others. I wasn’t close enough to identify them but if they were southern residents they are very endangered.

I was thinking about their chances of recovery when I noticed they were perfectly lined up with the Elwha River valley across the Strait in Olympic National Park. It reminded me of that Margaret Mead quote “Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” The recovery of the Elwha ecosystem is a remarkable story.

Not so remarkable, was the rest of my day; cleaning windows, killing flies, trying to learn how to use the camera, attempting to “train” the sea lions to get off the jetty and pursuing the regular drill of fighting entropy.

Fog and sunshine

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There was a tiny bit of rain with fog early today and then it switched back to near gale westerlies with heavy fog interspersed with sunshine. It is a beautiful starlight evening and the westerly continues to drop. The barometer held fairly steady today with a slight increase this evening. Environment Canada says that a strong westerly wind warning stays in effect for Sunday with a chance of showers.

There were ten whale watching boats in the Reserve today and they were all well behaved. A dive charter boat with eleven divers aboard came through the reserve but I am not sure where they dove.

Two male kayakers , one in a green kayak and the other in a reddish-brown kayak came through the passage on the south side of Great Race in the early afternoon and caused a sea lion stampede. They then proceeded to fish right in the closed conservation area. There were also two recreational boats fishing in the marine protected area.

A few more sea lion brands were observed today including one seven year-old female Steller’s Sea Lion that was branded as a pup in 2007 at Rogue Reef , near Gold Beach in southern Oregon.

This was my first day to not see Elephant Seals and California Sea Lions have taken over the jetty and marine railway. Some of them are a bit scary looking and do not want to move so that I can do seawater data collection.

Three River Otters were out and about in daylight today. Usually you don’t see them and just guess that they are around in the evening as all the gulls lift off and call. There were two young, very healthy-looking animals with an adult. Maybe that it why there are so many Glaucous-winged gull chick mortalities here? (Just a guess.)

Alex was quite excited to see some of the old lighthouse artifacts including parts of an old Fairbanks-Morris engine. He also pointed out where the old granite light-keepers house had been removed from its attachment to the base of the light tower.

The tasks today were the basic, regular tasks of  cleaning the solar panels, running the generator, launching and bringing the boat back up in order to drop off Alex, repairing the jetty fence (twice) and taking the salinity measurement. Tomorrow is month-end report time.