Tag Archives: sealions

Hopefully the ‘spring’ is just around the corner!

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Wednesday, March 20, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE:Max. 4.1 C  Min. – 1.9 C  Reset 0.0 C  Rain 5.6mm } } Snow 4.0cm  Total Precipitation 9.6mm
MARINE LIFE: Very little animal activity today and definitely not typical weather for the first day of spring for Race Rocks.Counted 6 gulls just below the northeast ridge, huddled against the really bitter wind. Although the temperatures don’t seem all that cold they are taken in an enclosure protected from the wind,so no wind chill is factored in to give a real feel of how cold it is for the birds, especially.The 7 Northern Sealions that started out the day hauled out on the southeast rocks soon took to the water which at about 7 degrees would be the warmer choice.No Elephant seals hauled out on the ramp today which is good as the 6-7 foot swells toss all sorts of debris including large logs as far as the boat house door. Hopefully the ‘spring’ is just around the corner!
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:20 PM

Good Morning

WEATHER: Sky Overcast  Vis. 1 Miles Snow Wind 29 North North East Gust 37 Knots Sea 5 – 6 Foot Moderate Low East Swell
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:12 AM

Blasting continues

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Friday, January 18, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 5.7C  Min. 3.8C  Reset 4.7C  Rain 3.6 mm
MARINE LIFE: At 8:30 there were only 75-80 sealions hauled out on middle rock, not all the animals have returned since the blasting yesterday.The first blast at 9:58 alerted all the sealions and 20-25 went into the water,the second blast 2-3 minutes later sent all but 6 animals scrambling into the sea.The last blast at approx. 10:25 sent 12 of the 20 sealions that had hauled out after the 10:01 blast, back into the water.There will be blasting exercises again next week on the 24th and 25th.There were 11 (7 mature ) Bald Eagles today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:03 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER : Sky Overcast Vis. 15 Miles Very Light Rain Wind North 8 Knots Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 8:07 AM

Blasting disturbs birds and sealions

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Thursday, January 17, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 6.1C  Min. 2.7C Reset 4.7C
MARINE LIFE:At 8:30 there were 150-170 Sealions, 2 large bull and 1 smaller Elephant Seals on Middle rock. With the first blast at 11:10 the gulls and cormorants took flight, most of the sealions were alerted and some went into the water. When the second blast went off 2 minutes after the first, the sealions scrambled over each other in a rush to get to the water.The elephant seals although alerted (raised their heads and looked around ) did not move off their spots. With each blast the eagles,gulls and cormorants all took flight but within 1 or 2 minutes settled back down. During the hour between blast series 10 to 15 sealions hauled out again but appeared to be somewhat ‘edgy’ and were much quicker to move into the water when the blasting occured again.There were 14-7 mature Bald Eagles in the M.P.A. today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:11 PM
The smoke, some of it coloured that can be seen at times in camera one is coming from the D.N.D. property,there may at times be blasting sounds. These exercises will continue until friday afternoon.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 9:53 AM

Eagles and Sea lions

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Wednesday, December 19, 2001
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 8.1C — Min 3.7C — Reset 4.9C — Rain 0.8 mm
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:17 PM
MARINE LIFE:The Sea Lions seen on cameras 1 and 2 show about 1/2 the population presently hauled out, the other half are spread out along the east and south shores of Gr. Race and on the Southeast Rks.There are quite a few young Northern Sea Lions this year maybe an indication of a healthy population growth? The Northern Sea Lions presently hauled out, out number the California Sea Lions approximately 8-1,there being approx. 325 Northern Sea Lions hauled out this afternoon.
5 immmature Bald Eagles visited the area today but stayed only 50 minutes,arriving and leaving within minutes of each other,three sat over on the southeast rocks and the other two on the highest point on West Race. Was nice to have a day with light winds and even enjoyed a few glimpses of the sun!
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:21 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy — Vis. 15 Miles — Wind South East 5 knots — Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:23 AM

Rosedale Breakers!

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Tuesday, December 04, 2001

 Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 6.9C — Min 2.9C — Reset 4.8C — Rain 5.6 mm no Snow
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:19 PM
HUMAN IMPACT: The racerocks.com group went to the island today to drop off a Sony camera with Carol and Mike. Carol and Mike have been requested by Fisheries (DFO) to record the ecological impact of the DND blasting that is to occur tomorrow at Rocky Point. Often, by the third blast, the sealions are scared off the rocks, possibly resulting in injury. Many of the sealions on Race Rocks have quite large scars on their undersides. Sealions are also scared by boats passing too close to the rocks.
ENVIRONMENT: We were treated to the rare sight of two Rosedale breakers. These breaking waves are the result of long, high energy waves, generated in the Pacific Ocean. When the waves reach Rosedale Reef, the most shallow point in the area, the pent up energy causes the wave to break. Refer to http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/data/data.htmto get a link to NOAA/NCEP Wavewatch for more information.We can see that the snow is building up on the Olympic Mountains with the snow line moving down almost daily. At this time of year the clearcuts are quite visible.
posted by Damien Guihen at 5:19 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast — Vis 15 Miles — Wind West South West 15 Knots — Sea 2 – 3 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:22 AM

Release of Entangled Sea lion- DFO and Vancouver Aquarium

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On December 13, 2009, Ryan Murphy reported to DFO that a sea lion on Middle Island was entangled in ropes. (See Ryan’s comments below) The ropes were snagged so it could not leave the rock. A rescue was mounted by DFO and the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre of the Vancouver Aquarium on December 16. This was the first time a sea lion had been successfully released from such an entanglement.

 

Further comments from resident marine scientist and ecoguardian at Race Rocks Ryan Murphy
: December 21 2009

Ryan was interviewed for this article in the Goldstream Gazette: Daring Sealion Rescue at Race Rocks

“Normally, neither DFO or the Vancouver Aquarium will intervene with entangled pinnipeds (seals and sea lions), but this case was special for a number of reasons.
1.  The sea lion was actually tethered to the rocks.  These animals are really tough and can often survive for years with their entanglements.  If tranquilized, these animals would take to the water and most likely drown before a rescue team could get to it.  This wasn’t the case here and so a rescue operation was a viable option.
2.  Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) like this one are listed as a species of special concern under SARA and as such are afforded a higher priority than other more abundant species like harbour seals and california sea lions.
3.  This animal was most likely spotted within 24 hours of its entanglement and was still in relatively good health.  Mike Demarchi of LGL who was on the island monitoring DND activity on nearby Bentinck Island and Rocky Point first spotted it on the morning of the 13th and his team and I were able to keep a very close eye on it during the daylight hours.  It was reported to DFO’s Observe, Record, Report (ORR) line (1-800-465-4336) and the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rehabilitation Centre (at 604-258-SEAL (7325) or via the emergency phone at 604-862-1647).  A case like this on an offshore haul out would most likely have resulted in death by starvation, hypothermia, or drowning long before it was sighted.  In the 3 days between the first sighting (first photograph) and its successful rescue, this animal had further tangled its tether from about 10m to 3m and exacerbated the wound to its flipper.  The gale yesterday would have drowned it had it not been rescued.”

 

military blasting

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winds in Northeast 25 kn.

14:30– a large blast from military on then on Bentinck island  shook the house and 200 birds took flight. 14:31 – – another blast approximately 100 sea lions went into the water.   14:32 – – blast, approximately 30 more sea lions went into water. 14:56 blast cleared rocks of gulls and cormorants, seals and sea lions were inserted but did not enter the water.

14  bald eagles including nine mature, five immature, on Great Race. total sea lions in the reserve: 350,  including 150 Steller’s.