Tag Archives: Steller Sea lion

Steaming Up the Strait?

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After an overcast and partially foggy start to the day, the sky cleared in the early afternoon. Winds were less than 10 knots all day from the west-southwest turning to east in the evening. The barometer rose slowly all day and reached ~ 2022h PA. The forecast is for light winds becoming easterly 10 to 15 knots early Wednesday morning. It is expected to clear in the morning and be nice on Thursday.

Only four whale watching vessels were observed in the protected area today. They all treated the protected area with respect and drove slowly and carefully. Several pleasure craft went through, one at high speed, right through the area where there were 50 to 100 sea lions in the water. The other sports fishers were much more careful.

A couple of miles to the south of Great Race, a Canadian sub was observed heading out to sea and then a few minutes later, literally steaming back to shore.

I had the opportunity to work with one of Catrin Brown’s first year biology students today. They have just finished studying ecology, so came well armed with vocabulary and concepts and were keen to soak up knowledge gained firsthand on this little biological hot-spot.

We saw evidence of food chains and food webs everywhere from Canada Geese grazing on the grass, to evidence of predation on gulls and predation by gulls. We observed the thick climax kelp forest that rings the islands and reefs and saw evidence of intertidal grazers like chitons and phytoplankton feeders like clams and mussels. We didn’t spot the sea otter that is usually here but had plenty of other marine mammals and evidence of their dining and moulting habits in the form of fish bones, fish otoliths and hair, fur and pelage (from the spring moult of the Northern Elephant Seals).

We talked about the trophic level of different types of Killer Whales and the need for protection of critical habitat for recovering species at risk. The southern Resident Killer whales are of course highly endangered and are really dependent on strong Chinook Salmon runs while Biggs Killer Whales feed one trophic level up and eat marine mammals like seals and sea lions that in turn eat salmon.

We talked about the timing of births, mating, nursing and parental care in different species and about different symbioses including parasitism ( nice worms present in seal poop) and mutualism. We talked about phenology and seasons being dominated by different types of fish and about migrations.

We even touched on the great detritivore and decomposition loops. The carbon sink that is mediated by the microbial pump that transfers carbon to deep sediments. It was an ecologist’s kind of an afternoon, a living show and tell, a time for discovery and questioning which will hopefully on reflection, lead to some deep learning.

Chores were routine and it is great to have company.

Plastic No No Band

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Thanksgiving Monday was a wet day dominated by light north-northeast winds in the morning and a moderate westerly in the afternoon. Wind speed was 10 or less knots until it turned to west. By early evening it had risen to 15 – 20 knots. The barometer fell early and has been climbing since late morning boding better weather tomorrow. The wind is forecast to drop after midnight and switch to light easterlies for Tuesday. Forecasters expect a mix of sun and cloud with fog patches dissipating in the morning. A brighter day expected.

Seven whale watching vessels visited in the morning and none in the afternoon and the three pleasure craft that passed through were also in the morning.

On wet days, it seems as if the sea lions spend more time in the water although there are pockets of Californians (on the cairns, for example) that stayed put, hauled out all day. The rock-climbers also stayed where they were (up by the heli-pad), some for a couple of days. I did see one “new” (to me) brand today, California Sea Lion ‘U755’ from the Columbia River area. There was also a “necklaced Stellers Sea Lion on the rocks by the energy building today. That rock is quite popular with Stellers which surprising due to its proximity to the activity.

Six young Northern Elephant Seals were ‘hanging out’, tussling in the water by the jetty all day today.

Salmon continue to pass through, as observed in sea lion kills throughout the area. The Glaucous-winged Gulls and Thayers Gulls continue to scavenge at the surface during the kills and in the mixed species feeding flocks where diving birds force forage fish balls up to the surface. Humpback Whales continue to forage adjacent to the protected area. The Humpback out by Rosedale Reef today is an extremely large one (probably a female). It spends very little time at the surface with dive times averaging greater than 10 minutes

California Sea Lion with brand U755. The U is also a C and indicates the animal was branded as a weaner near the Columbia River.

California Sea Lion with brand U755. The U is also a C and indicates the animal was branded as a weaner near the Columbia River.

and sometimes only one or two blows. They are tremendously high, straight blows.

More and more Double Crested Cormorants arrive daily raising the total number of cormorants using the protected area to forage and roost. The adult Bald Eagle returns each morning and worries the gulls and cormorants.
Chores are routine and it is really great to have company.

Giving Thanks.

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The morning was calm and mostly clear with very light winds (<5 knots) from the southeast. The wind picked up a little in the afternoon and switched to north-northeast by evening. The barometer peaked at 1020 hPA mid-day after rising quickly from yesterday’s low of almost 995. As the sun sets, the barometer is falling almost as fast as it rose and the forecast has a strong wind warning in effect. The forecast also calls for clouds and periods of rain on Monday along with the wind.

Five whale watching vessels were observed in the protected area. There may have been more when I went ashore for a few hours. Four pleasure craft were observed in reserve. One rental boat was observed speeding in reserve on the south side but stopped just after they were spotted and left the area slowly and carefully. There was one over-flight observed, it looked like a fisheries patrol vessel and they were high, probably one thousand feet.

One very large Humpback Whale was blowing near Rosedale Reef in the morning and there was some whale activity near West Rock in the afternoon, but unable to identify the species. Whale watching vessels were aggregating there.

The adult Bald Eagle was back on North Rock today and I counted 95 cormorants in the water just after a flock of gulls flew past alerting the presence of the eagle. As the salmon rivers start to be less busy there will be more and more eagles.

Processing some of the photos taken earlier in the fall brought to light a few showing a very young (still black) Stellers Sea Lion on Middle Rock. That might be a new record.

Red-winged Blackbirds moved through Great Race today and as in the spring they landed on the tower before heading south. There were seven on them and they may have come down to ground but I was busy and didn’t see them.

My husband is here for Thanksgiving and I am thankful

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Twofold Foggy: Friday – Saturday

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Friday started with fog again and light southeast winds, from 5 to 10 knots. By late morning there were glimmers of clearing and by mid-day the sun was shining. The wind stayed calm and it stayed fairly clear, with clouds rolling by as the wind turned to west, in the late afternoon. By evening it was still and the sky mostly clear but that must have changed as the was fresh rainwater in the morning. The barometer bottomed out Friday morning at 1007 hPA before rising briefly. It started to drop again mid-day falling until mid-Saturday. The gale warning for Saturday, came true after another very foggy morning and light easterly winds. The turn to westerly was rapid, the fog was blown off and ominous clouds with a black line on the water to the west, foretold of what was to come. It blew up fast, reaching 40 knots and then settled back down to the up and down of 20 – 35 knots. There is gale warning is still in effect and the wind is forecast to lighten overnight, then become easterly 5 to 15 near noon Sunday. (I am collecting rainwater for laundry, bonus.)

Only two whale watching vessels were observed in the protected area Friday. Two sports fishing vessels also passed through. Saturday was a little busier with five whale watching vessels noted in reserve but there were no pleasure craft, they were probably seeking shelter. It is quite possible that I missed traffic both days due to thick fog reducing visibility.

Thursday was too foggy to do the animal census so it is cobbled together from the brief time slots when visibility permitted on Friday. It is interesting to note that the gull population plummeted after the arrival of the first Bald Eagle to be seen here, since I arrived at the end of August. Not sure if that is coincidental or not.

I only noticed the eagle because of the hundreds and hundreds of gulls moving en masse, from North Rock over to Great Race. When I peeked through the spotting scope, all the cormorants were in the water, the gulls were gone and there sat an adult Bald Eagle. Only the Harbour Seals seemed to ignore its presence.

There was no sign of the eagle today and the gull numbers are perhaps even lower. Glaucous-winged juveniles and adults continue to mill around summer territories. Some young ones are still practising picking things up, flying up and dropping them. Most of the adults are fully into their alternate plumage now. Their faces recovering from the physical aspects of feeding young.

The sea lions are spending more time in the water now that their favourite haul-out spots are worse than pig pens. Some of them have turned to rock climbing and I saw the first scouts up on the heli-pad today.

Animal Census

Steller Sea Lion 317

California Sea Lion 428

Harbour Seal             156

Northern Elephant Seal 6

Sea Otter 1

Southern Resident Killer Whale ( observed within one mile of ER during count week, (Race Passage, east, west and south of RR)

Biggs Killer Whale (Transients) ( during count week Race Passage & southwest)

Humpback Whale 2 (1 observed within ER west side during count week)

Minke Whale 1 ( observed within one mile of ER during count week just east of North Rock)

Canada Goose 4

Harlequin Duck 7

Surf Scoters 73 (flying through to east)

Double-crested Cormorant 35

Brandt’s Cormorants 29

Pelagic Cormorant 9

Bald Eagle 1 adult

Black Oystercatcher 23

Black Turnstone 6

Kildeer 2

Glaucous-winged Gull 258

California Gull 41

Thayer’s Gulls 874

Herring Gull 0

Ring-billed Gull 0

Western Gull 2

Heerman’s Gull 20

Mew Gull 18

Unidentified gulls 361

Total gull count 1574

Common Raven 2

Savannah Sparrow 19

Fox Sparrow 1

Junco 1

Golden-crown Kinglet 1

American Pipet 1

 

Starting the countdown on my last week on the rock for this shift. I may be back for a bit at the end of October, if extra training is needed for the new folks.

Sun-Monday Log: Double Billing Blog

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Two more, lovely, sunny days squeezed in with the barometer down at ~ 1010 hPA and dropping. Light southeast wind today and yesterday will switch to variable and east on Thursday and the forecast looks like a change towards showers and southeasters towards the end of the week.

Ten visits by whale-watching vessels were observed in the Ecological Reserve each of the two days being reported. A handful of pleasure craft came through as well and everyone except the same guys who are always in a hurry and one boatful of lucky fishermen, were well behaved. The fishermen were lucky as they must have lost power and were swept over the little reef by Turbine Rock. One was ready with a paddle and the youngest one got the kicker going which got them out of there (eventually). That was exciting, especially for them. Eight kayaks came through the reserve yesterday. The paddlers at the front came through without disturbing any of the animals hauled out. The weakest paddler came by on her own, last. The tide pushed her a bit too close the Middle Rock and the sea lions stampeded. Sometimes it doesn’t take much.

Humpback Whales are feeding close if not in the reserve just about every day now. The individual spotted by the Marine Science students is feeding downstream just to the west of Middle Channel, during ebbing currents. I am curious if it goes down and just orients itself into the flow and filters away. There is a lot of food in the area and large multi-species feeding flocks driven by diving birds such as Common Murres and all three species of cormorants. The gulls, and there are a lot of them, roost on Race Rocks and then rush out to the feeding frenzies which I am assume are either small schooling fish like herring, sand lance or anchovies and/or large zooplankton like krill. These crustaceans are also known as Euphasiids and they look a bit like tiny shrimp with really big eyes. Those are the same sort of treats that Humpback whales like to feed on with their baleen and they use their really big fore flippers that are white on the underside, to herd krill and forage fish.

I have come to realize that the Glaucous-winged Gulls are still sitting around on the territories. Something I didn’t notice or understand last year until the spring shift and then I thought that they had just come back from somewhere. The juveniles that were raised here are mostly out foraging but also sometimes ‘hang-out’ where they were raised and also do a fait bit of begging from their parents. This week a lot of them have been practicing picking objects in their bills, flying with them and dropping them. Not sure if they are working on their aim but have noticed rocks, chunks of wood and bark and clumps of vegetation on the walkways. Yesterday morning I found a rock on the roof of the energy building and when I looked around saw the damage done to one of the solar panels.

Other birds seem a lot more refined. It is so nice to see the Harlequin Ducks back again, they are a favourite of mine. More and more Surf Scoters are flying through from west to east and it seems that fall is in the air.

 

Chores were routine both days and there were no visitors.

 

 

Hotel California

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It was a glorious October day with sunshine and light southeast winds. The barometer slid down to almost 1015 hPA but the forecast looks good with more light winds and sunshine.

Only two whale watching tour boats were observed visiting the Ecological Reserve today. Several ‘pleasure’ craft came through and only one speeder was observed, two young men in a rental boat.

There are more and more California Sea Lions and they are damaging the burial cairns and the area above the boat shed where the rare plants used to live. Where ever they haul-out for more than a few days becomes quickly burnt looking and devoid of vegetation. Today they knocked down a big boulder from above the boat house onto the walkway. The Canada Geese have returned as well and are stubborn about staying so it feels like an invasion. The Stellers Sea Lion numbers are staying steady and individually they seem much wiser and wilder than the California party lions. The Northern Elephant Seals sleep amongst the Californians and are much less reactive than either of the two sea lion species.

Chores were all about fighting entropy today. The sunshine was a bonus for power generation and making fresh water. There were no visitors.

Gathering of the Gulls

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Today started fairly clear, then clouded over. In the afternoon it was sunny for a few hours and eventually the sky darkened and at dusk the rain started. The barometer rose to almost 1019 hPA mid-day and then fell. The forecast is for clearing and light east winds with sunshine on the horizon.

Twelve commercial whale-watching vessels were observed working in the Ecological Reserve. They were in the area watching a Humpback feeding very close to the western reserve boundary, transient orcas to the southwest and southern resident killer whales to the northeast.

Today was census day due to thick fog yesterday.

Animal Census

Steller Sea Lion 338

California Sea Lion 908

Harbour Seal             178

Northern Elephant Seal 5

Sea Otter 1

Southern Resident Killer Whale (26 observed within one mile of ER during count week, (Race Passage, east, west and south of RR)

Biggs Killer Whale (Transients) (9 during count week Race Passage & southwest)

Humpback Whale (3 observed within one mile of ER during count week)

Minke Whale (1 observed within one mile of ER during count week just east of North Rock)

Canada Goose 20 attempting to be full time

Harlequin Duck 5

Surf Scoters 30 (flying through to east)

Double-crested Cormorant 12

Brandt’s Cormorants 27

Pelagic Cormorant 5

Black Oystercatcher 5

Black Turnstone 7

Surfbirds 13

Kildeer 2

Total gull count 2469

Estimated numbers

Glaucous-winged Gull 350

California Gull 50

Thayer’s Gulls 1500

Herring Gull 1

Ring-billed Gull 1

Western Gull 1

Heerman’s Gull 15

Mew Gull 20

~531 unidentified gulls

Common Raven 2

Savannah Sparrow 10

Fox Sparrow 2

Song Sparrow 2

Junco 3

Pacific Wren 1

 

Other chores were routine. There were no visitors.

 

In the Fog.

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The sky was mostly clear in the morning but fog moved in and dominated the rest of the day. The wind switched from east northeast around to west in advance of the fog and then blew fairly steadily west at 20 – 25 knots. The barometer held its own today at and around 1014 hPA. There is a strong wind warning in effect expecting west 20 – 30 this evening and again late afternoon, evening on Friday. There is a chance of showers on Friday and then it is supposed to clear again.

In spite of the thick fog in the afternoon, eight whale watching vessels were observed working in the Ecological Reserve today. Two “pleasure” craft were also observed, and one almost ended up on Middle Rock. The ebb tide was sweeping swept out to sea as they tracked across from North Rocks and they were pushed into the kelp bed just before Middle Rock before they adjusted course and powered out. They were lucky to not have been stalled by kelp in the wheel.

Ecological observations were limited by visibility today. I could hear the whale watchers talking about a Humpback Whale in the vicinity but did not observe it. The animal census will have to wait until there is visibility. The Canada Geese are arriving after dark now and taking up other stealth tactics to stay on Great Race.

Fog remained thick at the end of the day. Chores were largely Sisyphean in nature as keeping the California Sea Lions away from the houses and buildings becomes a more and more Herculean task given the resources. There were no visitors.

 

Sumo-sized Sea Lions

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It was a copycat kind of day, weather wise, the same as yesterday and the day before. Calm, very light winds and clears skies. The barometer continued the drop started on Sunday and is now below 1012 hPa again. The forecast is calling for a switch to light winds west 10 -1 5 and a mix of sun and cloud until Friday when showers are expected..

Whale watching traffic in the Ecological Reserve was fairly light with only eight observed visits. All the operators did really well today. They slowed on entry, went with the current, drove in a responsible way that respected the protected area and saved speeding up until they were clear of the reserve. This is the sort of cooperative behavior that is the norm for sustainable operations in reserve. Observations were made of “sports” fishers hauling in lingcod and rockfish in the Race Rocks Rockfish Conservation area.

Although there may have been more elsewhere, there was no lack of whale action around Race Rocks today. Three Biggs Killer Whales were spotted travelling from east to west through Race Passage in the morning and a Humpback Whale went the other way, in the afternoon, spending some time feeding close to North Rocks. There large multi-species feeding flocks in the same area. Perhaps there are balls of forage fish there.

I saw a large kelp raft, first of the season, sweeping out to sea with the ebbing tide today. This annual kelp becomes more and more prevalent in the tidelines as autumn progresses and the winter storms will remove most of it before spring. It is a great carbon sink that fixes large amounts of carbon, which will eventually become entombed on the bottom. Not all of it goes out to sea and sinks though. Kelp that lands on shore is a key part of near shore food webs relying on this large volume of rotting biomass to fuel new generations of shore spawners and out going young salmon.

Chores were routine again and the sunshine is allowing for recovery of freshwater lost earlier in the month. The level is almost back up to where it was on September 5th. There were no visitors.

 

Vibrissae to Vibrissae They Faced Each Other.

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Sunrise saw the big moon ‘dropping’ in the west this morning and clear sunny skies reigned supreme all day. The falling barometer continued its descent today but the forecast looks good with today’s light easterly winds continuing tomorrow.

Fifteen whale watching vessel visits to the protected area, were observed today. Speed on arrival and departure continues to be an issue with a few operators however the large majority of operators are driving at a slow, respectful and careful speed. A couple of the larger vessels with shallow draught are acting more and more as though they are little speed boats weaving in and out of the rocky islets, in areas which are, by agreement with the industry, off-limits. The agreement was established by consensus, to ensure sustainable whale watching operations within the protected area. Just in case institutional (or other) memory has been lost: travel is supposed to be confined to Middle Channel, going with the current. All of the companies using the Ecological Reserve for profit should be thinking about the example they are setting for pleasure craft and the sustainability image of their company (not to mention their marine insurers who would probably not be too happy about the risks being taken by the few).

Minke, Humpback and Biggs Killer Whales brought the whale watchers to the area today and the seals, sea lions and sea otter brought them into the Ecological Reserve. At low tide the sea otter can be seen in the kelp bed on the southeast corner of the reserve but I am not sure where he goes at high tide. He has moved back there after merciless whale watching traffic as close as was physically possible. While it did not appear to ‘bother” him having large powered vessels lurching over him, decks crowded with people gawking and taking photos, I can certainly understand the move.  The Bigg’s Killer Whales travelled west past Race Rocks today again using the shallow Eemdyk Passage behind Bentinck Island, which is directly across Race Passage from Race Rocks. Quite a few Harbour Seals haul out in there. There was a Humpback Whale feeding next to Church Rock in the morning and a Minke Whale travelling to the east was observed just east of North Rocks. There were Southern Resident Killer Whales in the area according to the VHF radio but I did not have a chance to spot them.

I did have the opportunity to observe some Stellers Sea Lions and take a few photos of two younger ones playing together and an older “couple” that seemed quite wise. I know that may sound anthropomorphic but what I observed was the animal on the left licking the neck of the big old bull and then the two muzzling each other gently lip to lip. It was the gaze of the big old male that seemed to tell a story about a long life. I can’t really explain it so here is a quote from Carl Safina who is very articulate about animal’s inner lives.

“We have no trouble saying that an animal who’s vigorously eating is hungry, and one resting after exertion is tired; yet we can hardly force ourselves to acknowledge that when they’re playing they’re having fun, or that when they’re acting affectionate they’re feeling the bond,” Safina said. “Why? Because denying them all experience reinforces our favorite story: that we are so very special.”

From Beyond Words: What Animals Feel and Think by Carl Safina, 2015

On the sustainability front, today was a great day for solar power and I made lots of fresh water with solar power using the desalinator. Chores were routine and there were no visitors.