Tag Archives: sealion

swells

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Wednesday, November 21, 2001
Good evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 10.0ºC — Min. 8.1ºC — Reset 8.3ºC — Rain 6.4 mm getting close to the 100mm for the month
MARINE LIFE:Although the wind was fairly light most of the day (E 06),there was a low easterly swell until just before dark when the wind picked up to 28-31 knts.Another noisy night as the swells have now also begun to build high enough to roll the logs around on the shore. We counted 87 Northern,and 44 California Sea Lions hauled out on Middle Rock with another 30 Northern on Gr.Race.One of the Northern Sea Lions,a very large fellow hauled out in the small east bay,has an open wound approximately 30cmX40cm on his lower chest.Looks like a raw red patch with the fur completely gone. The edges of the wound are quite smooth. One of the 5 California Sea Lions that spent most of the day on the dock has a yellow tag on his right flipper with the #791.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:15 PM
Good morning
WEATHER: Sky overcast — Vis. 15 mils — Light rain — Wind south 3 knots — Sea rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:21 AM

seagull prey

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Tuesday, November 20, 2001
Good evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.0ºC — Min. 8.7ºC — Reset 9.3ºC — Rain 5.4 mm
MARINE LIFE:the wind abated somewhat this morning but the 1-2 metre swells were still coming in from the east and the Sea Lions favoured the relative calm of the kelp beds on the south side just below the engine room.Through out the day there were several large groups rafting in that area until approximately 15:30 when the wind increased to 30knts.and the swells to 3-4 metres.5 Bald Eagles(3 mature) visited today but stayed only 21/2 hours.One adult gull was caught and eaten(by one of the mature eagles) just in front of the learning centre.One of the juvenile Eagles looked very thin and shaggy.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:16 PM
Good morning
WEATHER: Sky overcast with occasional brake — Vis. 15 mile — Wind south east 12 knots — Sea 1 foot chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:26 AM

Large swells

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Monday, November 19, 2001
Good evening
TEMPERATURE: Max 11.0ºC — Min. 7.1ºC — Reset 10.0ºC — Rain 10.2
MARINE LIFE: Except for a few Sea Lions most of the marine mammals preferred to stay in the water yesterday and today.The familiar growls and barks have been replaced by the roar of the 4-5 metre swells crashing along the shore.Some of the swells bring large logs that make quite a bit of noise as they grind against the rocks and when the tide is high the waves even move boulders around -definitely not boating weather!
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:09 PM
Good morning
WEATHER: Sky overcast — Vis. 10 rain — Wind north 23 G 30 knots — Sea 5 foot moderate – moderate north east swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:28 AM

Rafting sea lions

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Saturday, November 17, 2001
Good evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 9.0ºC — Min 4.7ºC — Reset 7.5ºC — Rain 0.2 mm
MARINE LIFE:Today half the Sea Lion population spent most of the afternoon ‘rafting’ about in the kelp bed on the East side of Gr. Race.What at first glance looks like driftwood and tangles of kelp floating by are actually groups of from three to eight or nine Sea Lions floating just below the surface with their flippers sticking up like little sails.This behavior is evidently associated with heat transfer from their hairless flippers.
HUMAN INTERACTION:1 Dive charter boat with 6 divers -West Race -10:00–14:30
3 Tour boats approx. 39 passengers
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:11 PM
Good morning
WEATHER: Sky clear — Vis. 15 miles — Wind north east 7 knots — Sea rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:28 AM

Branded sealion

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Friday, November 16, 2001
Good evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 10.0ºC — Min 7.9ºC — Reset 8.5ºC — Rain 3.4mm
MARINE LIFE: The Sea Lions have moved higher along the shore as the higher tides and sea swells cover their usual rocky haul-outs.Just before nightfall there were 34 Northern and 16 California Sea Lions in the East Bay area,one group of 7 Northern and 2 California on a grassy area 3 metres from the house and about 5 metres from the shore.Another gathering of 27 Northern,21 California and 2 juvenile Northern Elephant Seals have hauled out on the south side of Gr. Race on a flat area by the fog horn tower about 5 metres above sea level.One California Sea Lion has a brand on it’s rump which is difficult to read -first 2 numbers 73 are clear,the last number could be 1
HUMAN INTERACTION:there were 2 Pleasure craft through the M.P.A. today
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:12 PM
Good morning
WEATHER: Sky cloudy — Vis. 15 miles — Wind west 7 knots — Sea rippled with a low north east swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:42 AM

Seabirds feeding in large numbers

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Tuesday, November 13, 2001
Good evening

Max. 10.5ºC — Min. 8.3ºC — Reset 9.4ºC — Rain 7.6 mm
WEATHER:The day started off fairly calm but by 14:00 there were 3-4metre swells pounding the eastern shore-this sea condition due to the 40-45knot winds from the weather system 15kms to the east.Our wind never rose above E 22 and then it lasted only 30minutes.
MARINE LIFE: 1500-1800 sea birds,mostly gulls and cormorants,spent the morning feeding in the large kelp bed on the east side of Gr.Race but when the large swells started rolling in and breaking, most came ashore and settled along the ridges on the south side.The 2 Northern,13 California and 3 Northern Elephant Seals hauled out in the small east bay went into the water after 15 minutes or so of rollers breaking over them. Maybe the 35-40 Harbour Seals that frequent this small area will ‘reclaim’ their their spot!
The Sea Lions and Seals do often share haul-out areas but since it is a very small bay I think the smaller seals feel intimidated as the number of Sea Lions gets past 4 or 5.Several years ago one of the Harbour Seals was crushed to death when 30 or so Sea Lions ‘stampeded’ into the water because of a boat passing too close to shore.
An immature Bald Eagle caught an immature gull in the SE rocks area a little after 11:00, spent 15-20 minutes eating and putting the run on 7 crows trying to share in it’s good fortune. Finished eating, the eagle circled the island once then headed towards Whirl Bay.
As the swells roll through the kelp beds much of it is breaking away and floating by in big clumps-a sure sign of winter on it’s way!
HUMAN INTERACTIONS: U.Vic Lifetimer boat with students again today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:21 PM
Good morning
Sky overcast — Vis. 12 miles — Light rain showers — Wind north 13 knots — Sea 1’chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:35 AM

Harlequin Ducks return

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Wednesday, November 07, 2001

MARINE LIFE: Over 150 Northern Sea Lions were on Middle Rocks in the mid afternoon, another 15 on North Rocks. Harbour seals are scattered in several little pockets an various islands usually no more than 8 in one area. Many of the Californian Sea Lions have moved to the rocky beach just South of the Tower. I also saw for the first time this fall, the flock of 20 Black Oyster Catchers high on the Rocky shore, to the sw of the engine room.
posted by Garry Fletcher at 9:53 PM
WEATHER: The day was part cloudy and windy with max. temp of 9.3 ºC and min. temp. of 7.1 ºC .
MARINE LIFE: Five Harlequin Ducks have arrived back for the winter. We were filming them as they patrolled through the kelp beds around the edge of Great Race Rocks.
PC STUDENTS: Our fourth day at Race Rocks has just ended. Today, we managed to finish off refilling the oil tanks and this should take us until April. Garry came over to deliver the G3 Powerbook for a webcast later this evening.
HUMAN INTERACTION: One boat with eight people passed by Race Rocks.
posted by Michael Kiprop at 6:43 PM

Seabird feeding frenzy

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Thursday, November 01, 2001
WEATHER: We had calm seas for most of the day although the wind has increased to over 24knts in the past 1/2 hour.
MARINE LIFE: Fishing was good for the birds and sea lions today! Just after 10a.m. the sky was filled with hundreds and hundreds of sea birds,gulls,cormorants and common murres streaming across the islands southward to a tideline about 1/2 km. away.Looking with the telescope I estimated 3500-4000 sea birds feeding—-by 13:30 most had dispersed. In a space of three hours we saw 5 Steller(northern)sea lions catch salmon (-that looked to be 5-8lbs) in the kelp bed between North Rocks and Gr. Race. The birds,especially gulls rush over to get any bits of fish that break away as the sea lion thrashes the fish back and forth at the surface.The two juvenile elephant seals that were hauled out in the little bay with a group of about 20 harbour seals, swam out into the large kelp bed along the east side of Gr. Race just before 14:00 and had not returned before dark.Have not seen the large bull elephant seal that spends a good portion of the year stretched out atop West Rock.Did a boat tour around all the islands today and counted 97 California and 27 Steller sea lions. Also counted over 800 Cormorants.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 10:03 PM
Good evening
Max. 10.0ºC — Min. 8.1ºC — Reset 9.7ºC — Rain 1.6 mm
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:04 PM
Good morning
Sky overcast — Vis. 13 miles — Rain showers — Wind north east 5 knots Sea rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:12 AM

Orca visit

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Wednesday, October 31, 2001


WEATHER: Max 10.1ºC — Min 8.1ºC — Reset 8.9ºC Rain 14.6mm
Total Rain fall 108.1mm for the month of October 2001- Mean high temp. 11.5ºC — Mean low temp. 8.1ºC
MARINE LIFE: A blustery start to the day again but the weather did not seem to bother the mature Bald Eagle that arrived shortly after 9:00 and stayed for over two hours.We noticed the second visitor at 12:50 just west of Gr. Race,a lone transient bull Orca. He ‘cruised’ along the shore of North Rocks and Gr. Race and then into the kelp bed on the east side of Gr. Race.The Harbour seals were very agitated,crowded together close to shore, bobbing up and down to watch for the whale. Interestingly several groups of sea lions(steller&california) followed along about 200′ behind the Orca. Watched through the telescope one group of 10-12 sea lions follow the Orca about a mile east when we lost sight of them.

 

 

Early Eagle Appearance

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Tuesday, October 30, 2001
Good evening
WEATHER: Max. 9.0ºC — Min. 6.7ºC — Reset 8.9ºC — Rain 3.6 mm
Although the wind got up to 20-22 knots late morning, by 14:00 the cool northerly eased off to a dull rainy afternoon.
MARINE LIFE: There are fewer than 100 Sea Lions hauled out but we have over 500 gulls,Glaucous-winged,Western and a few Herring gulls. We counted 190 Cormorants,mostly on North Rocks.The immature Bald Eagle that spent most of the day on the high point of the rocks just SE of Gr. Race Saturday and again Sunday has not been back – maybe the immature gull it caught and ate was enough gull for a while, their preferred food is fish. We do not usually see many Eagles out here this time of the year as they congregate at the rivers like Goldstream which are full of salmon returning to spawn.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:03 PM