Tag Archives: Steller Sea lion

Weekly Census

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Wind: yesterday 8-33 knots S to W, today 2-24 knots W to NE
Sea State: rippled
Visibility: 10-15 NM
Sky: both days mixture of sun and clouds
Temperature: yesterday 3 to 8 °C, today 2 to 4 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 412.63 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

The snow is melting quickly, bringing puddles and mud.

The one day old elephant seal pup appears to be doing well and nursing a lot. It’s moving around and wiggling more than the other two did in their first couple days. The alpha male has been mating numerous times with the mother of the oldest pup.

In the early afternoon, I wandered around the island and peered out from the top of the tower to count the mammals and birds. There were some notable omissions in this fourth week of conducting the census. I didn’t see any geese today. The only sign of the honking birds was a lot of poop and tracks in the snow. I also did not see any black oystercatchers. It is possible the birds were scared off by the loud explosions. The Armed Forces were blasting yesterday and today at the Department of National Defence land-based demolition range on Bentinck Island, the closest land to Race Rocks. Directly after each blast, I witnessed sea lions stampeding into the water and birds taking flight. According to a 2017 article On the firing line with the navy, in the Victoria newspaper Times Colonist, the detonation range is used for training members of the Canadian Navy on how to use explosives. The navy has apparently made efforts to lessen the effects on marine life.

Results of the weekly megafauna and bird census:
10 elephant seals (4 females, 4 males, 2 pups)
200 steller sea lions
242 california sea lions
107 harbour seals
8 bald eagles (7 adult, 1 juvenile)
56 brandt’s cormorants
124 pelagic cormorants
43 double-crested cormorants
178 Thayer’s gulls
12 harlequin ducks
9 black turnstones
1 snow bunting

Weekly Census

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Wind: yesterday 15-46 knots W, today 3-14 knots W shifting clockwise around to S
Sea State: yesterday up to 2 m waves, today rippled water
Visibility: 10 NM
Sky: yesterday overcast, today mainly sunny
Temperature: yesterday 6-7 °C, today 3-5 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 413.56 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

The last two days were spent doing some tasks around the island like running the desalinator, topping up the batteries with the generator and cleaning. Today, the sun in the morning and early afternoon was taken advantage of to get a great view of all the species for the weekly census and do a solar powered load of laundry.

The only visitor was Greg, who came out from the college this afternoon for an hour to show me how to use some equipment and remove a load garbage from the island. No other boats were seen in the ecological reserve.

I am glad to hear the Race Rocks live video cameras are being used by the grade 10 students in the Trek Outdoor Education Program, in Vancouver.

Weekly megafauna and bird census results:
7 elephant seals (1 pup, 3 adult females, 3 adult males)
262 steller sea lions
413 california sea lions
45 harbour seals
9 bald eagles (7 adults, 2 juveniles)
1 raven
59 pelagic cormorants
17 brandt’s cormorants
8 double-crested cormorants
663 thayer’s gulls
5 surf scoters
41 black oystercatchers
8 harlequin ducks
1 whimbrel
12 surfbirds
30 black turnstones
1 snow bunting

 

Stormy Sunday

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Wind: 3-52 knots swinging around from SW yesterday in every direction to NW this evening
Sea State: up to 4 m waves
Visibility: 5-15 NM
Sky: overcast with rain and some sunny patches
Temperature: 5-8 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 413.65 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

It has continued be very windy over the past two days, whipping up big waves from the west. Today, the wind reached a top speed of 54 knots or 100 km/h, which on the Beaufort Wind Scale is force 10, corresponding to a storm. The two higher forces on the scale are 11 (56-62 knots violent storm) and 12 (64-71 knots hurricane). See the photos and videos below for some windy and wavy views.

The wind cleared off the South Seal Rocks of its usual inhabitants of steller sea lions. They were floating in sea lion rafts and surfing the waves for most of the day. When the wind died down a bit in the late afternoon, I walked in the intertidal zone which at low tide connects the main island with the closest of the South Seal Rocks. I hadn’t been able to walk around there in the past two weeks I have been here, due to the hauled out sea lions. It was great to see the main island from the perspective of a sea lion. On my walk around, I found some intertidal trash, some of which has been there for a while. See the photos below for some of my finds.

On Monday, there is a planned visit from some electricians and technicians to do some work on the desalinator and energy system. These will be the first visitors in a week and a half. If all goes according to plan, the desalinator will be operational by early afternoon and pumping water into the tank.

During my time here in the past two weeks, I have used 800 L of water, according to the gauge on the water tank as well as the three consumed drinking water jugs. While I’m conscious of my water use, I still do all the normal tasks like cooking, drinking lots of tea, washing dishes, showering and doing laundry. As a comparison, the 2018 average day per capita water use in Vancouver, BC was 444 L. I’m doing all right!

Video: A panoramic view of the whole island and waves as seen from helicopter pad. The sound is quite loud due to the strong wind.

Video: Watching hail on the window from the comfort of inside the house, while the elephant seal neighbours brave the elements outside. It hailed three times today.

First Weekly Census of the Decade

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Wind: 5-21 knots N-NE
Sea State: up to 3 m waves
Visibility: 10 NM
Sky: overcast with rain
Temperature:5-11 C
Atmospheric CO2: 412.64 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

The weekly census was done today, because the rain yesterday created poor visibility. This morning, it was overcast but not raining, so there was a good birds-eye view from the top of the lighthouse. Some species that were not last week are a whimbrel, snow bunting and another female elephant seal. The new seal looks pregnant, so there might be another pup very soon. She has moved into a spot on the grass between the desalinator building and the flagpole. That’s a great place for me to watch from the house, which is just 20m away. Last year, the three pups were born between January 4 and January 20.

I heard back from a sea lion researcher about the branded sea lions that were seen on Race Rocks a two days ago. Bryan, from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, let me know about some of the places where the sea lions have been:
California X282: branded at Astoria (Oregon) on Feb 25, 2016 and resighted in Oregon and at San Miguel Island, CA in 2016-2017.
California X392: branded at Astoria on March 8, 2016 and resighted in Oregon and at San Miguel Island in 2016.
California X501: branded at Astoria on May 24, 2016 and resighted in Oregon fall of 2016.
California 1-59: braded at Bonneville Dam (near Portland, Oregon on the Columbia River)on May 19, 2015 and resighted at Astoria and Bonneville through 2017.

The only boats seen in the ecological reserve were two eco tour boats and two kayakers.

January 3 census results:

6 elephant seals (2 females, 3 males, 1 pup)
223 steller sea lions
291 california sea lions
30 harbour seals
21 bald eagles (13 adults and 8 juveniles)
1 raven
103 brandt’s cormorants
16 double-crested cormorants
17 pelagic cormorants
264 gulls (most of them appeared to be thayer’s gulls)
36 black oystercatchers
18 harlequin ducks
1 whimbrel
15 surfbirds
28 black turnstones
1 snow bunting

Blowing a Hooley

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Wind: Yesterday 5-35 knots N to W; Today 25-35 knots W with gust of 44 knots
Sea State: up to 2.5 m waves
Visibility: 5-10 NM
Sky: overcast with clear patches today
Temperature: 7-12 C
Atmospheric CO2: 413.20 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

The forecasted gale warning materialized right on time on Tuesday evening. Overnight and throughout today, the westerly winds were between 25 to 35 knots with gusts as strong as 44 knots. There are lots of whistles and creaks in the 1960’s house. The storm also showed a few leaks in the various outbuildings. The strong winds brought clear skies and slightly warmer temperatures. For most of the day, rainbows were visible to the north, between Rocky Point and Victoria.

Yesterday, even though it was stormy, several hours were spent working outside on various maintenance and month end tasks around the island, which was made easier due to the animals and birds being less spread out as they hunkered down out of the wind.

Today, four branded sea lions were recorded and reported to researchers, who study sea lion ranges and lifespans.

The island’s population of elephant seals is currently at seven. One recently came back from a solo retreat on the West Rocks. The four non dominant males appear to be keeping their distance from each other at cardinal points of the island. The alpha male is hanging out in the middle of the island with the mother and pup. This morning, two of the beta males had fresh wounds on their backs, suggesting a possible disagreement with each other overnight. The elephant seal pup is continuing to nurse. Pups gain a whopping 4.5 kg per day from their 35 kg birth weight. Between all those pounds the pup is packing on and the rain, no wonder its coat is looking less wrinkled.

One Day Old Elephant Seal Pup

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Wind: Yesterday 5-15 knots W to N; Today 0-18 knots SW to E
Sea State: up to 1 m chop
Visibility: 10-15 NM
Sky: overcast with light rain this evening
Temperature: 8-9 C
Atmospheric CO2: 412.75 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

The one day old elephant seal pup is doing well. It seems to have got the hang of nursing. The alpha male elephant seal, who in the past has been referred to as Bernard, interacted with the pup and mother several times today.

I heard from elephant seal researchers in California that the new mother is T562, who also had a pup on January 4, 2019 on Race Rocks. She was born in the 2010-2011 breeding season on SE Farallon Island, near San Francisco. Until the beginning of 2019, she hadn’t been recorded anywhere since her birth. See Garry Fletcher’s post from February 9th about the elephant seal cow.

Last breeding season, three elephant seal births occurred between January 4 to 20. I will keep a look out for more elephant seal arrivals. Usually, they haul out and then give birth a few days later. Although, the new mother T562 was here for a couple weeks before she gave birth.

The entangled california sea lion is still present on the rocks near the winch and jetty. There has been no sign for the past two days of the entangled steller sea lion.

A previously rescued california sea lion was spotted today and appears to be doing well. More can be read about the care given to that sea lion during the visit by the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre, as detailed in Laas’ post from November 9.

Several eco tour boats have been in the reserve each evening. Yesterday, SCUBA divers were in the water near the North Rocks.

Here is a video of the new elephant seal family:

Boxing Day Megafauna Census

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Wind: 0-25 knots NE
Sea State: up to 1 m chop
Visibility: 15 NM
Sky: overcast with sunny patches throughout the days
Temperature: between 6 to 7 C
Atmospheric CO2: 412.28 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

This morning, I heard a ruckus outside the west side of the house, where the a few of the elephant seals have been hanging out. The largest male appeared to be fighting the small juvenile male, while the female watched. The adult was slamming its head down onto the juvenile and biting it. This lasted for a few minutes before the juvenile and female fled to the north side of the path.

While I was doing the census in the middle of the day, there were three people snorkelling off the southwest of Great Race Rock Island. They took turns snorkelling in pairs, while one person stayed in the boat. Six other pleasure craft and eco tour boats were seen in the reserve over the past two days.

Weekly Megafauna Census for December 26:
5 elephant seals (1 juvenile male, 1 female, 3 adult males)
18 harbour seals
175 california sea lions
207 steller/northern sea lions
Birds:
8 harlequin ducks
9 surf scoters
4 canada geese
12 black turnstones
21 black oystercatchers
1 fox sparrow
15 bald eagles
107 cormorants (pelagic and double-crested)
224 gulls (a variety of species)

 

Shift Changeover

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Wind: 0-20 knots NE
Sea State: 0.5 m chop
Visibility: 15+ NM
Sky: overcast clearing to sun in the late morning
Temperature: 8 C
Atmospheric CO2: 412.73 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

Yesterday, Laas’ shift ended after being on Race Rocks for the past two and half months and a big chunk of the past two and a half years. I came out to the island at noon on Second Nature with Guy, Corey, two students, a family visiting the college and a friend of Laas. It was great to share in the excitement of all on the boat. I also appreciated their help carrying my many bins of food. I always get excited when the boat rounds the corner out of Pedder Bay and the lighthouse comes into view. The cacuphony of seal lion barks and belches was overwhelming when the boat pulled up to the jetty. Thanks for the great welcome home, my pinniped pals. I had a run through of the energy systems with Laas, Guy and Corey, as the equipment has changed completely since I was here almost five years ago. It’s great to be back on the Rock. Thank you Laas for leaving the place so tidy. Best of luck on your new adventures.

After the group left, I climbed the 99 steps inside the lighthouse to get a bird’s-eye view of the island. I spend the rest of the day reacquainting myself with the place and unpacking. I welcomed the slow down, as I settled into the island that I will call home for the season, watching the changes as the days become longer. I will be here for all of winter and depart soon after the vernal equinox.

Today, I continued to check out more places and do the regular tasks like monitor the energy levels, wash the solar panels, turn the composting toilet and sample the salinity and temperature of the water at high tide. On one trip up the lighthouse, I counted 336 sea lions on the rocks. There are also six elephant seals on the main island: three large males spaced apart from each other, one pregnant looking female in the centre of the island and two juvenile males.

Approaching Race Rocks

Waving goodbye

Lighthouse and elephant seals

Climbing to the top of the lighthouse

A bird’s-eye view

Solar Panels charging the batteries on a sunny day

Elephant seals

Sunset from halfway up the lighthouse

Sunset over the Olympic Peninsula

 

Little Steller

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Weather: 

  • Visibility: 15+ miles
  • Sky: overcast
  • Wind: 15-20 kn NW
  • Water: Little choppy under 1 foot

Visitors/Boats: 

  • Since I got back on Tuesday there have been approximately 15 boats per day, the number varies a bit each day
  • On tuesday and thursday we had visitors from the eagle wing crew come for a tour on Race Rocks. It was so nice for them to be able to come check out what Race Rocks looks like from the land after seeing it from the water so many times
  • Greg and Guy are coming by today so we can do a more in depth orientation on the projects and maintenance going on around the island

Ecological

  • After my walk around I noticed a couple interesting things, first there was a young steller, not a baby but he was still nursing.
  • Then an elephant seal, which was so nice to see and it had a green tag on it. Unfortunately by the time I got my camera it was already gone.
  • There have also been humpbacks nearby lately, the past two days there have been 4. Yesterday when the eagle wing crew was here was saw a fishing boat getting way to close to the whales, the whales were clearly upset and one jumped right out of the water because of it. Luckily we saw one of the whale watching boats from BC tours and got a hold of them and they let us know they had a word with the fishing boat about keeping its distance from the animals.

Maintenance

  • The fence still needs to be repaired twice a day but the sea lions are starting to stay away from the entrance to the generator room with regular clearing which will also start happening around the burial cairns between the student house and the helicopter pad. The sea lions have started shifting the stones around a lot and we want to preserve this important historic area.

Marine Science and possible blind sea lion

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 Miles
  • Wind: 5-15 SE
  • Sky: Partly Cloudy
  • Water: Flat

Boats/Visitors

  • A couple visitors on island observing the elephant seal molt also Laura’s marine science class are doing transect studies in the intertidal zone, yesterday and today

Maintenance

  • Solar has been great lately so I haven’t had to run the generator too much and I have been able to run the desalinator periodically on solar power, still waiting for the new desalinator and once that is up running I would love to pressure wash all of the buildings, they have quite a build up of algae on them.

Ecological

  • A young stellar sea lion was acting strangely on the jetty yesterday, it wasn’t opening its eyes and it was the last one off the jetty, instead of diving off it carefully backed off the jetty tail first, it didn’t appear frail or injured but it was acting very strange which led me to think it was blind, it is branded so I am going to look for it to see if I can get a clear picture of the brand and maybe identify this sea lion and get it help if it needs it.
  • three goose nests were not able to be addled this year, so we will have some goslings running around, but the rest of the nests have been successfully addled
  • still 13 elephant seals, a few young males and mostly older females plus the male pup is still here, he seems to be doing pretty well although he does go swimming I’m not sure if he has started hunting yet