Tag Archives: students

Spontaneous Whale Watching!

Posted on by

Weather

  • Visibility: 15+ miles
  • Mt. Baker visible at times today.
  • Wind: 10-15 knots West
  • Sky: clear and sunny!
  • Water: calm

Ecological

  • We spied three eagles on Turbine Rock this morning.
  • 14 elephant seals on Great Race today, including both Chunk and Chuckles.
  • As Second Nature was departing Race Rocks sometime after 9:00, Kyle spied several whale watching boats following a pod of orcas outside the reserve.
  • I hopped aboard (sans camera) and we went off to join the fleet.
  • Over the next half hour or so, we watched 5 or 6 orcas as they repeatedly surfaced on their southerly course.
  • Christine (Guy’s wife) took several photographs; perhaps she will share them with us soon.
  • Pam Birley discovered a Black Oystercatcher nest today via webcam. That makes 3 known nests.
  • As Pam noted, it is “not a good spot to nest because the Otter likes to sunbathe in that spot on the rocks.”

Maintenance

  • I did some yellow paint touch up on the jetty.
  • Sprayed more algicide on the students’ house.
  • Shut-down the students’ house.

Boats

  • Second Nature arrived around 9:00, and properly departed around 10:00 after our unexpected whale watching trip!
  • Many eco-tours came by today.
  • A few of them appeared to be too close to the sea lions.

Visitors

  • Kyle, Guy, Christine, and their daughter arrived at 9:00.
  • Guy and Christine were dropping off some gear for their upcoming shift.
  • Maya, Tazi, and Ali departed on Second Nature.

Tazi, Maya, Ali

Ali, Maya, Tazi, Mt. Baker

Kayak Symposium Visitors

Posted on by

Weather

  • Visibility: 15+ miles
  • Wind: 20-25 knots West
  • Sky: clear and sunshine!
  • Water: 1′ chop
  • What a wonderful last full day on the island for the students!

Ecological

  • The elephant seals put on a show for our visitors.

DSC_6467

DSC_6466

Maintenance

  • The four of us ran the derrick to make sure the thing is still operating smoothly.
  • Tazi and Maya cleaned the solar panels.
  • I did some algae removal.

Boats

  • Kyle came out in Second Nature with two groups of kayak people.
  • Several sailboats were still returning past Race Rocks this morning and even into the afternoon.
  • Apparently they were participating in the 73rd annual Swiftsure International Yacht Race. What a wonderful activity!
  • The distance of the race is 159 miles, and as of right now (Sunday evening) there are still a few boats making their way back towards Race Rocks.

Visitors

  • Two groups of folks from the kayak symposium came out to Race Rocks (about 16 in total).
  • Maya played us some guitar from the roof of the desalinator bunker.

The Grand Sailboat Regatta

Posted on by

Weather

  • Visibility: 8 miles in the early morning, 15 later on
  • Wind: 15-20 knots East, then North, then West
  • Sky: foggy and overcast, then sunny, then overcast
  • Scattered raindrops throughout the day
  • Water: mostly calm, with swells in the afternoon

DSC_6437

Ecological

  • Maya and Tazi conducted 4 intertidal transects today.
  • Studying an intertidal transect involves measuring out a certain distance from a peg, and then documenting the different species found every 0.5 metre.
  • In some transects the 0.5 metres are measured by water elevation; in others simply by distance.
  • By comparing the species found in every zone of the transect with transect data from previous decades, you can see the change in intertidal ecosystems due to climate change.
  • We saw a California Sea Lion with the brand U374 and another with a tracker.
  • While most of the gull eggs all look the same, one particular egg is quite different.

Maintenance

  • Maya and I ran the fire pump in the morning.
  • This added a few inches to the cistern.
  • We removed the old Canadian flag and hoisted a fresh one.
  • Tazi and I removed some algae.
  • Ali whacked away at the thistles.
  • We cleaned the solar panels.

Boats

  • Over 150 sailboats from Victoria passed by Race Rocks in the late morning on their way towards the Western horizon.
  • Some of them started to return as late as 22:30.
  • The colours of their sales included: red, blue, white, fluorescent yellow, green, purple, black, orange, and many combinations of all of the above.
  • Some standouts included the Miles Davis sail and the Union Jack.
  • I couldn’t stop taking photos and ended up with dozens. Below is a selection of the best.
  • One coastguard zodiac and a search and rescue boat appeared to be accompanying the sailboats.
  • Several eco-tours came by, including one Eagle Wings tour that drove through the South Channel.
  • Passing through the South Channel is prohibited as the width is too narrow.

Proficient Pearson Painters

Posted on by

Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 20-25 knots West
  • Sky: overcast, then sunny, then overcast
  • Water: 2′ chop

Ecological

  • Much frenetic elephant seal activity throughout the island and surrounding waters.
  • The speed with which they go from slow motion sparring to sleeping side by side is adorable.
  • One seal was even snoozing on the ramp with his head under water.
  • Between 11 and 15 elephant seals on Great Race.
  • We discovered several seagull nests with eggs in them. First ones of the year!

Maintenance

  • The four of us engaged in much painting.
  • The boathouse floor was finished, along with the derrick room floor, and the yellow on the jetty.
  • In the afternoon we used the shorefront pressure washer to remove algae from several walls.
  • As is customary out here, we cleaned off the solar panels.

Boats

  • Kyle and Guy brought out the pressure washer and various other items at 8:10.
  • One rental boat was caught fishing illegally within the reserve.
  • I called Pedder Bay Marina to inform them.
  • One coast guard boat passed through the reserve today.
  • Also a few eco-tours.

Visitors

  • Kyle and Guy briefly to drop off items.
  • In the late afternoon, Maya, Tazi, and Ali came over to the eco-guardians house for tea, cookies, and the American version of Rubber Soul.

Marine Sciences Field Exam

Posted on by

Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 5-10 knots West, in the evening up to 20.
  • Sky: clear
  • Water: calm

Ecological

  • The 15 elephant seals were slower down to the water today, perhaps due to the influx of students.
  • One California Sea Lion spent most of the exam at the end of the jetty, unfazed by all the activity going on. Quite unusual for a sea lion!
  • All manner of barnacle, shell creatures, and algae plant things were examined today by the Pearson College students.

Visitors!

  • Approximately 30 folk from Pearson College made their way out to Race Rocks today.
  • This included Laura Verhegge who was running the Marine Sciences field exam, Johanna who was observing Pearson’s instruction techniques, one 2nd year student, one alumni, Chris, and 25 or so students.
  • The first group arrived at 8:15, the final group left at about 12:15.

Maintenance/Chores

  • Weed whacking.
  • Algicide application. Photo shows before scrubbing.
  • Safety observation and hosting of students during exam.
  • Ran the desalinator.

Algae before

Boats

  • The Ocean River Kayak Discovery Shuttle and Haiaku each took two trips of students to and from Race Rocks.
  • On the return voyage the tide was very low, and the sea lions were in the way, so the shuttle boat “docked” against the rocks on the NE part of Great Race.
  • At least 4 eco-tours came by the reserve today.
  • Saw a nice red sailed sailboat to the north of the reserve.
  • One boat spent much of the day fishing on the edge of the reserve.

Beulah Rolls Over

Posted on by

Winds were light and variable today under cloudy skies with occasional showers. Tomorrow has a similar forecast, partly cloudy, 40% chance of showers with the strong west wind warning continued. The barometric pressure reached 1020 hPa in the early hours of the morning and then dropped to 1012 by dusk. The wind materialized with rain after dark, gusting over 30 from the west.

Only two whale-watching vessels were seen today and neither was in the reserve. To the northeast of Victoria, J-pod (Resident Killer Whales), a Minke Whale and Transients (Bigg’s Killer Whales) were a draw for the whale watching fleet.  Two sports fishing vessels cruised through slowly.

Nothing to much report ecologically today other than spring is progressing rapidly. The female Northern Elephant Seal (Beulah) made the huge effort of rolling over today. That was it for activity there. Bald Eagles continue to fish and hunt birds in the reserve. The River Otter showed himself again today, near the derrick and within a meter of a small gaggle of geese. The River Otter was busy rubbing his scent gIands all over the grass there and then went into the sea and swam off in the direction of North Rock. From the scat, it looks like a fish diet, lots of scales and medium sized fish bones. I continue efforts to persuade the geese to nest on Vancouver Island. Seals, sea lions and cormorants rest, roost and dry out on the rocks. Glaucous-winged gulls, Black Oystercatchers and Pigeon Guillemots all make preparations for parenthood.

Pearson College divers, under the supervision of Laura Verhegge, visited this afternoon in Second Nature. They did a dive with three groups of divers, during the flood, in the back eddy by the jetty. Some of the students were ‘over the moon’ about their experience and really enjoyed the colours and rich sea life. They wanted to continue exploring even when it was time to go. Others were in ‘a little over their head’ and glad to be back on board. Great leadership and teamwork brought out the best in everyone. A very small sea lion appeared to enjoy having students to investigate and some of the students noticed.

No photos today, sorry, technical problems with camera.

 

Student Power

Posted on by

The morning was quiet, overcast and uneventful, weather-wise. Light variable winds continued and the wind did not rise above 15 knots until mid afternoon when the wind became more definitely north by northeast. There is a wind warning in effect calling for south winds of 20 knots near the west entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca tonight. The barometer continued yesterday’s gradual fall and reached ~1003 hPa when this log was posted at 18:00. The forecast is calling for a 60% chance of showers with variable light winds becoming southwest 10 to 20 Monday evening.

Only one whale-watching vessel was observed today. They moved slowly and carefully while watching the sea lions and eagles on South Rock. The sea lions didn’t even look up.

Ecologically there was nothing outstanding to report. Spring steadily approaches and will soon be here. There were a few more shorebirds resting, grooming, bathing, feeding and sleeping on Great Race, before the next part of their journeys. Black Oystercatchers are definitely staking out territories in pairs at all the same places that were used last year and the year before. Eagles continue to be busy on all of the islets but particularly Great Race South and West. The sea lions seem truly exhausted and during the day sleep together in huddles with the two species mixed together. One new brand was noted but light levels were too low to verify the number.

Sunlight levels were surprisingly low today. This is good for a low UV index but is not so great in terms of generating solar power. Students Aziz and Sam helped by cleaning most of the solar panels, which helped us capture more of the available energy. Kyle and Keneshka helped move empty propane tanks and other outgoing gear to the end of the jetty for pick-up. Together the four students made a good team and cleaned up the student house after using it for the weekend. Sam also helped launch and retrieve the whaler in time for a test drive to check a couple of things before Chris arrived in Second Nature. That all went well.

Chris arrived for pick-up, with a guest, a naval doctor who seemed to enjoy visiting Race Rocks. He felt very lucky to have grown up beside the sea in Wales. Race Rocks reminded him of larger, more isolated seabird islands that he had visited in Wales.

Malou, a student from Greenland continued her training on Second Nature today and did very well demonstrating her ability. She made a good landing and managed to launch back out into the stream, away from the concrete jetty with no damage, a feat in itself. My limited experience driving Second Nature was that it was a tricky boat to drive, so kudos to Malou.

Visitors

Posted on by

The northeast wind blew 25 – 30 knots, all day under mostly clear skies. Most of the day, visibility was excellent with Mount Baker visible to the east and Bahokas Peak to the west. Much closer, the snowy peaks and ridges above the Elwha River were also clear and magnificent. High cloud started forming in the afternoon and sun dogs were visible late in the day. The high cloud eventually thickened and lowered and the sunset was devoid of the usual colour. The barometer dropped slowly all day but remained above 1010 hPa at dark. The forecast calls for more cloud, a 30% chance of showers and lighter east winds.

Four whale watching vessels were observed working in the Protected Area today. The first boat through, looked very small as it clawed its way through the standing waves of Race Passage. I don’t know what chance they would have if anything went wrong in that perilous time and place. All the whale watching vessels went around to see the sea lions on South Rock and one vessel took the passage between Great Race and South Rock. It was good to see S.V. Amatuana out in the Strait with wind in her sails. She stayed well away from the rocks.

A few of the breeding pairs of Glaucous-winged Gulls were observed starting nest building behaviour today and there was more pre-breeding behaviour observed. Oystercatchers also seemed to be staking out territories and spending more time in pairs.

Visitors came today, the first group this month. They arrived in Second Nature skippered by Chris Blondeau. Chris always makes landing look much easier than it is. He brought four Pearson College students to spend the weekend at Race Rocks and six of the Jeane Suavé scholars who have been visiting Pearson College. Chris gave the scholars a tour while the four students settled in. A fifth student came along for the ride and returned to the college with Chris and the scholars

.

 

 

 

CBC Visits Race Rocks

Posted on by

It was an absolutely stunning day at Race Rocks, with light winds (<5kts) from the southeast and a clear sky until dusk (it has now clouded over). The barometer fell further today, to ~1010hPA. The forecast is for increasing westerly winds (10 to 20 knots near midnight) then light by Saturday morning, with a chance of rain.

It was a busy day in the reserve, with nine whale watching boats stopping by. One of the operators was even flying a drone around the island. No doubt, collecting promotional footage. Seven pleasure craft passed through going slowly, mostly. It is important to remember the speed limit in the reserve is <7kts.

We continued our training today. Learning more about the systems that keep this place running as sustainably as practicable. Don dropped Anne and Alex off at Pearson College in the afternoon, while Nina showed a CBC film crew the lighthouse. Students came out to the island at lunch for a field trip, and another group went diving off the jetty later in the day.

Killer Whales Late for Class

Posted on by

It was a clear day from glorious sunrise to subdued sunset. The wind was 5 to 15 knots in the west – southwest quadrant and solar radiation was high, though not quite as high as yesterday; 400 Langleys today and just over that on Monday. As I write the  Log blog, clouds are creeping in and blanketing the mountains on the American side and the barometer is falling again. Forecasts call for a switch to southeast winds, which usually brings wet weather. Wednesday is supposed to be increasingly cloudy and rain is supposed to follow.

Only eight commercial whale watching vessels were noted in the Ecological Reserve boundaries today and five of those were in the afternoon associated with Biggs (Transient) Killer Whales on the other side of Race Passage. The Killer Whales were on the Vancouver Island side of the passage and spent several hours in and around Bentick Island and Emdyck Passage and William Head. Several pleasure craft passed through the reserve today, all without speeding or fishing in reserve. There was one overflight during the first class field trip: a small fixed-wing aircraft that passed over west to east and then returned passing over a second time. Although one red flag was up all day at the military site there were no obvious explosions.

Pearson College students spent part of the day here today. Two of Laura Vehegge’s classes of marine science students came for their first field trip of the year to Great Race Island. I was hoping they would have a chance to see the Sea Otter, at least one pod of Killer Whales and maybe a couple of Humpback Whales, but no. After all they have just started a species list that they will be adding to for the next two years, so they will have other opportunities.

Today the students were also working on journal entries about their marine animal observations. They were lucky enough to see California and Stellers Sea Lions, Northern Elephant and Harbour Seals and lots of Glaucous-winged Gulls. There were also Mew Gulls, California Gulls and if they were sharp-eyed, Heerman’s Gulls. Those were the ubiquitous species, but for me, the more interesting and unusual species were two new, avian visitors that showed up today; a male and female Horned Lark. I send a shout out to Victoria Natural History Society on Twitter for helping with the identification. A flock of 24 Canada Geese landed and were on the island for a very short visit.

Laura’s classes witnessed the down-side of plastic in the ocean today. Is there an up-side? They had the ‘opportunity’ to observe three neck-laced sea lions. Those two California Sea Lions and one Steller Sea Lion with plastic straps around their necks will likely not survive long unless they get the specialized attention of Vancouver Aquarium veterinarian, Dr. Martin Haulena. Dr. Haulena has worked extensively with sea lions and is one of the few people able to do this sort of animal welfare work. This is another good reminder for all of us to avoid plastic if possible, recycle it and just in case it “gets away” cut all possible entanglers before disposing of it. There are a lot of really good efforts towards reducing plastic in our seas and there is a real need.

The Killer Whales mentioned above showed up late in the afternoon and missed both classes.

It was good to see Courtney with Year 20 volunteer Jasper, as a deck-hand on Second Nature. He had quickly graduated to skipper in training by the third run to Race Rocks.