Daniel Donnecke has contributed his images and counts from a visit to race Rocks on October 30 to ebird.org
https://ebird.org/checklist/S61055064
Tag Archives: surfbird
Very Windy
Weather
- Visibility: 15 Miles
- Wind: 20-30 NE throughout the day
- Sky: cloudy all day
- Water: very wavy at least a metre waves
Boats/Visitors
- Saw one ecotour boat braving the elements today
Ecological
- sea lions in the front yard still
- also snow buntings
Windy Day
Weather
- Visibility:15 Miles
- Wind: 20-30 NW today
- Sky: cloudy today with bits of sunshine
- Water: choppy at least a metre at one point
Boats/Visitors
- Some ecotours braved the ind and came around today
Ecological
- plenty of sea lions around and a bird I have not identified yet but included photos
Notes
- Very windy today and even a little bit rain but not as much as we would’ve liked
Sun and Fog
Weather
- Visibility: 0 Miles this morning, the fog horn was going off for a good portion of the morning but I am getting a very clear and beautiful sunset now
- Wind: 10-15 SW which went up and down slightly throughout the day but around 10ish knots
- Sky: thick fog for a bit and then it cleared right up in the afternoon
- Water: pretty flat
Boats/Visitors
- Quite a few ecotours came by today
Ecological
- The unspecified birds are still around and I have determined them to be black turnstones, however it is weird to see such a high number of them at once so it is possible there are some other species of surfbird mixed in there too
Notes
- Had some power issues today, hopefully get everything fixed tomorrow and the dryer won’t die on me halfway through drying my laundry
A Windy Census
Weather
- Visibility: 15 miles
- Wind: 20-30 knots West all day
- Sky: mostly clear.
- Water: 1′ chop
Ecological
- Census day!
- Saw a Steller sea lion branded 365Y.
- Saw a California sea lion branded U949
- I’m pretty sure the high winds were responsible for some of the lower bird counts.
- Harbour Seals: 114
- Steller (Northern) Sea Lions: 65
- California Sea Lions: 63
- Elephant Seals: 11 (8 on Great Race, 3 on Middle Rock)
- Seagulls unspecified: 251
- Pigeon Guillemots: 68
- Cormorants unspecified: 22
- Canada Geese: 17
- Black Turnstones: 16
- Surfbirds: 5
- Harlequin Ducks: 5 (2 males and 3 females)
- Black Oystercatchers: 4
- Savannah Sparrows: 4
- Bald Eagles: 2 (2 adults, 0 immature)
- Crows: 2
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- Steller: 365Y
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- California: U949
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- Odd white water line
Other
- I spent a good portion of the day ill in bed.
Census and Students
Weather
- Visibility: 15 miles
- Wind: 0-5 knots South.
- From 17:00 onwards, 15-20 knots West.
- Sky: clear and sunny most of the day.
- From 17:00 onwards, some clouds and rain.
- Water: calm
Ecological
- Census day!
- One sea lion was branded U958.
- Colour wise it looks like a Steller, but if you look at the head I think it was a California.
- Laura and her class found a sculpin (type of fish) head.
- Four of what I suspect to be Short-billed Dowitchers today. Fun to watch!
- Didn’t see the killdeer today, which is unusual.
- Steller (Northern) Sea Lions: 66
- Harbour Seals: 60
- California Sea Lions: 57
- Elephant Seals: 13 (4 on Great Race, 9 on Middle Rock)
- Pigeon Guillemots: 269
- Seagulls unspecified: 154
- Surfbirds: 57
- Canada Geese: 17
- Black Turnstones: 17
- Cormorants unspecified: 14
- Harlequin Ducks: 9 (5 males and 4 females)
- Black Oystercatchers: 6
- Savannah Sparrows: 6
- Short-billed Dowitchers: 4..https://www.racerocks.ca/short-billed-dowitcher/
- Bald Eagles: 2 (2 adults, 0 immature)
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- Short billed Dowitchers
Boats
- A couple of eco-tours came by.
- Second Nature came out multiple times, delivering 4 groups of students.
- On her second last return, she had overheating issues, so Kyle had to come out in Haiku for the last trip.
Visitors
- Kyle, James, Laura, and 26 students came out to Race Rocks today.
- The students were doing a walk about with Laura, discussing marine biology for their upcoming final exam.
- James did some work on the Davis Weather station and got most of it working again.
Other
- Four DND blasts today.
- 10:05, 10:07, 11:24, and 11:26.
The Return of Otter
Weather
- Visibility: 15 miles
- Wind: 5-10 knots North East, then from 15:00 onwards 15-25 knots West
- Sky: mostly overcast
- Water: rippled
Ecological
- Census day!
- This morning at about 7:00 I spied the Otter wandering along the wooden deck.
- Later in the early evening I spied him again and got two photos!
- Saw one branded California Sea Lion: X[?]60
- Watched fascinated as two crows boldly flew up to two eagles and scampered about next to them!
- Saw some seagulls muck about in a goose nest. I think they were eating the eggs.
- Harbour Seals: 70
- California Sea Lions: 70
- Steller (Northern) Sea Lions: 53
- Elephant Seals: 9 (2 on Great Race, 7 on Middle Rock)
- River Otter: 1
- Seagulls unspecified: 172
- Pigeon Guillemots: 138
- Surfbirds: 88
- Cormorants unspecified: 49 (all on Middle Rocks)
- Canada Geese: 19
- Black Turnstones: 14
- Harlequin Ducks: 9 (5 males and 4 females)
- Black Oystercatchers: 6
- Bald Eagles: 2 (2 adults, 0 immature)
- Savannah Sparrow: 2
- Crows: 2
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- Crow!
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- Middle Rock e-seals
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- H-seals
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- Branded X[?]60
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- WOW!
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- Savannah Sparrows?
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- Otter!
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- Rummaging in Goose Nest
Maintenance
- Lots of intense goose work.
- Pumped one 55 gallon barrel of diesel into the tidy tank.
Boats
- A couple of eco-tours came by, as well as pleasure craft.
- In the late morning, several kayakers entered the reserve.
- Most of them stayed over by the North Rocks, but a few wandered down to South Rocks.
- Some of them had difficulty dealing with the strong ebb tidal current, and had to renegotiate their route to rejoin the others.
- Stay safe out there!
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- too fast?
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- too fast?
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- fighting the current
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- woah!
The Seals Touch Down
Weather
- Visibility: 15 miles
- Wind: 20-25 knots NE, later 0-10 NE
- Sky: overcast
- Water: 1′ chop
Ecological
- Census day!
- In the morning there were 2 e-seals on Great Race, and 6 on Middle Rock.
- In the afternoon there were 3 e-seals on Great Race, and 4 on Middle Rock.
- As far as I am aware, there were only 2 e-seals in the reserve yesterday.
- Most of the addled eggs in the Canada goose nest near the Students’ House were cracked open and strewn about today around noon.
- I suspect a crow to be the culprit, having seen one hanging around that nest yesterday.
- Saw one branded California Sea Lion, but I couldn’t make out all the marks. U89[?]
- Four young bald eagles were unsuccessfully hunting the seagulls all morning.
- Harbour Seals: 92
- California Sea Lions: 69
- Steller (Northern) Sea Lions: 43
- Elephant Seals: 8 (2 on Great Race, 6 on Middle Rock)
- Seagulls unspecified: 352
- Pigeon Guillemots: 111
- Cormorants unspecified: 26
- Brandt’s Cormorants: 16
- Pelagic Cormorants: 12
- Double Crested Cormorant: 7
- Surfbirds: 50
- Black Turnstones: 30
- Canada Geese: 18
- Harlequin Ducks: 11 (6 males and 5 females)
- Rock Sandpipers: 6
- Bald Eagles: 6 (2 adults, 4 immature)
- Black Oystercatchers: 6
- Savannah Sparrow: 1
- Unidentified Hawk: 1
- Killdeer: 1
- Crow: 1?
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- e-seal watching…
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- …the seagulls
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- Bald eagles in…
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- …formation, worry…
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- …the seagulls
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- cormorants
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- Middle Rock
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- weaner!
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- U89[?]
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- Steller’s sea lions
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- New goose nest
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- Egg by crow?
Maintenance
- Transferred diesel from the Students’ House tank into the Tidy Tank.
- Some goose work.
Windy Day for a Census
Weather
- Visibility: 15 miles
- Wind: a steady 20-25 knots West
- Sky: mostly sunny
- Water: 1′ chop
Ecological
- Census day!
- The weaner was lounging by the house all day.
- Discovered my first Canada Goose nests with eggs in them.
- Harbour Seals: 143
- California Sea Lions: 66
- Steller (Northern) Sea Lions: 42
- Elephant Seals: 1 weaner
- Seagulls unspecified: 221
- Surfbirds: 62
- Cormorants unspecified: 27
- Double Crested Cormorant: 4
- Black Turnstones: 29
- Canada Geese: 21
- Rock Sandpipers: 11
- Harlequin Ducks: 7 (5 males and 2 females)
- Bald Eagles: 7 (2 adults, 5 immature)
- Black Oystercatchers: 2
- Killdeer: 1
Maintenance
- Ran the desalinator.
Boats
- At least one eco-tour came by today.
The Weaner Returns
Weather
- Visibility: 15 miles
- Wind: 10-15 knots North, later NW
- Sky: mostly clear
- Water: 1′ chop
Ecological
- The weaner was back on Great Race today, over by the base of the tower.
- The other male is still here too.
- I saw some rock sandpipers today. Perhaps I failed to pick them out from the surfbirds yesterday.
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- Rock sandpiper and Surfbirds
Maintenance
- Hand pumped more diesel into the day tank.
Boats
- A few eco-tours.
Other
- Lots of DND blasting today.
- Big blasts at the following times:
- 9:48, 9:50, 10:06, 10:22, 12:00, and 12:02.
- Bigger bangs at the following times:
- 14:09 and 14:12.
