Tag Archives: tagged

First pup of the year

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 Miles
  • Wind: 10-25 NW
  • Sky: Mostly Sunny, some clouds
  • Water: A bit choppy out there today, waves didn’t look more than a metre high

Boats/Visitors

  • A few ecotours going by today, not many other vessels around

Maintenance

  • Just getting used to being more energy efficient and also using the woodstove more rather than the furnace

Ecological

  • The tagged female that showed up the had a pup at around 16:45 today, too early to tell the gender but I will get better photos tomorrow. I expect one more pup to be born soon, as the other large female on the island is looking quite large.
  • The tag on this female is pink and the numbers have rubbed off
  • The big guy who I think is chunk (need to get a closer look at the scars on his back) seems to be reacting well. He hasn’t shown aggression so far towards the pup.

Last post until the new year

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I am heading out tomorrow for winter break but both Jeff and Alex will be here.

Thought I would do one last count before I head out for a couple weeks, there seemed to be more Steller Sea Lions around today

Weather

  • Visibility: 15 Miles
  • Wind: From 0 – 15 NW but its supposed to blow pretty hard tomorrow
  • Sky: Overcast
  • Water: Pretty calm, can see some decently sized rollers out there

Boats/Visitors

  • A few ecotours going by today, it was relatively calm out

Maintenance

  • Getting the house ready for the next person, trying to fill up the fresh water tank as much as I can before I go as well

Ecological

  • Decided to do another count, seems to be the same amount of Californias but a few more stellers out there today
  • Another large male elephant seal showed up, the scars on his back resemble chunk which makes wonder if the one that has been here the past couple days is Bernard or Boss, will need more photos to compare
  • There are currently 3 female elephant seals, one of them is tagged, C887
  • a few surf scoters out there today
  • Noticed a neck banded sea lion on the jetty today, will let the next person know to keep an eye on him, if he sticks around maybe we can get some help for him

Census

  • California Sea Lions – 216
  • Steller Sea Lions – 265
  • Harbour Seal – 18
  • Elephant Seal – 5 male, 3 female
  • Cormorants – 120
  • Gulls – 224
  • Canada Geese – 18
  • Black Turnstones – 28
  • Eagle – 6
  • Raven – 1
  • Oyster Catchers – 8
  • Surf Scoter – 4

Bye-bye Race Rocks

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This is my last post as Ecoguardian for summer 2018 – I’m headed back later this afternoon and Laas will be returning to take over.

Weather

  • Visibility: 10 miles
  • Wind: 15-25 knts W
  • Sky: slightly hazy/partly cloudy
  • Water: Calm
  • Strong winds last night cleared part of the haze, and we have blue skies after a long period of grey.

Boats/Visitors/Sightings

  • Guy arrived yesterday to take away all the garbage and recycling from the island, so there would be less to take back today.
  • The increasing number of sea lions on the jetty have caused more and more boats to approach close to the dock – just a reminder that DFO guidelines set a 100m minimum for observing distance!
  • On Tuesday, a group of Pearson students from the SPELL group came for a short tour on the island.

Island maintenance

  • I raised a new Canadian flag yesterday after the old one was beginning to wear out.
  • The Ecoguardian house has been completely cleaned for the next Ecoguardian
  • Guy and I washed some of the pathways outside the science shed

Bird notes

  • The first of the juvenile seagulls have now taken full flight – they soar as high as the adults now and even fly above the ocean.
  • Saw one adult seagull with an injured leg and a juvenile with an injured leg as well. Not sure if this is just a coincidence or an attack tactic by other adult seagulls, but it immobilizes the injured bird almost completely.

Marine mammals

  • A tagged female elephant seal has arrived at the island. The tag number is C887. Apart from a few scratches on the back, the seal is in very good health.
  • The harbour seal pups seem to have grown quite a bit, gaining some weight and coming close to adult size
  • The sea lions have started settling around the helipad and the back of the guest house (near the tidal radar) – an electric fence will be needed soon to allow for movement space.

Turkey Vulture

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15 Miles
  • Wind: 10-40 NW
  • Sky: Partly Cloudy
  • Water: Choppy, under a metre

Boats/Visitors

  • a few ecotours went by today

Ecological

  • Another tagged female elephant seal showed up today with a tag on her but I couldn’t get a good look at the tag, just that it was green
  • A turkey vulture flew around a few times before leaving
  • a killdeer was running around

Christmas Bird Count at Race Rocks- Dec 28, 2017

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This year is our 20th year in assisting the local birders with the Rocky Point Bird Observatory in doing a count at Race Rocks. Given the time of year this has to occur, it is often thwarted by bad weather, but in the past counts, some very interesting species and population numbers have shown up.  See this index of past years Bird Counts. https://www.racerocks.ca/race-rocks-animals-plants/bird-observations-at-race-rocks-3/christmas-bird-counts-starting-in-1997/

Kim Beardmore same along to record the birds for the 2017 Christmas bird count. Here Kim on the left and the Ecoguardian Mikey Muscat check on one of the 5 male elephant seals.

Although we went to count birds, I found that the most impressive thing was that there were 5 large male elephant seals on the island and two juvenile females. When compared with other years this was quite unusual, and it could be interesting when the females come back in January to have pups. I predict there will be a lot of male aggression going on in mid-January.

These four species other than several gull species and bald eagles were part of the count  which we will add below .

Other observations around the island:

Romanzoffia tracyi

I took advantage of the few hours there to check on other aspects of the island from the ecological reserve warden point of view.  Especially noticeable this year were the massive fields of mud over most parts of the island where the california sea lions hauled out over the past few months. I was concerned about the erosion and rock disturbance that this has caused.   Most of the plants in many parts of the island have been obliterated. I did however find this one healthy patch of Romanzoffia tracyi behind the boathouse. Protected because of its location among  the rocks. I checked some of the other known locations of this rare plant but didn’t see any.

Black oystercatcher midden

 

One feature that was very evident with the lack of vegetation was the extensive beds of chiton shells which are evidence of black oystercatcher middens from last season.

 

 

 

Two immature or juvenile female elephant seals were on the island, one tagged ..green C887

The five males:

I have been watching the vegetation cover made up of the introduced species of Sedum or stonecrop which was on the top of the reservoir.. In my September photo the bed was quite dried and cracked. Now it  has partially recovered.. This is one place the sealions seem to avoid.

 

Because Pearson College could not provide boat transportation this year, and because I was determined to continue the 20 year tradition of this valuable baseline collection of bird population data, we rented a boat from Pedder Bay marina for the trip to Race Rocks.  A list of the birds observed by Kim Beardmore is  attached here.

 

Race Rocks,
Dec 28, 2017 9:05 AM – 11:37 AM
Protocol: Traveling
7.5 kilometer(s)
Comments:     CBC, Race Rocks
16 species (+1 other taxa)Harlequin Duck  10  (North and west Race Rocks)
Surf Scoter  55  (outer pedder bay)
Red-breasted Merganser  18 (mostly outer Pedder bay)
Common Loon  2
Horned Grebe  1
Brandt’s Cormorant  14
Pelagic Cormorant  18
Double-crested Cormorant  10
Bald Eagle  4
Black Oystercatcher  42
Black Turnstone  59
Common Murre  1  ( in outer Pedder bay)
Pigeon Guillemot  10
Mew Gull  14
Iceland Gull (Thayer’s)  8
Glaucous-winged Gull  69
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid)  2

green tag, C-586

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Weather: West wind, 30 knots reaching up to 40 knots. Visibility limited by rain.

Ecological: While doing the Christmas Bird count I came across a female elephant seal on the West side of Great Race.  She is flipper tagged, green, c-586 and appears to be moulting. She also appears to be stuck in between some rocks.  With an iron bar I was able to move a rock that was against her neck, this exposed a nasty wound where the rock had been embedded into her flesh.  With the impediment removed I left her to see if she would be able to move freely.  When I returned a few hours later she had only changed position by 90 degrees.  I could see signs of abrasion on her underside as well.  I took photos and sent a marine mammal injury report to the DFO and a veterinarian at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Centre.

Boats: 1 ecotour

Maintenance: continued firewood stacking, basement tidying.

christmas bird count and census

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Birds:

  • Turnstone: 12
  • Dunlin: 4
  • Bald Eagle: 13
  • Raven: 2
  • Harlequin Duck: 22

     

  • Black Oyster Catcher: 13

 

  • Cormorant (pelagic and double crested): 57
  • Gull: 67

Pinnipeds:

  • California Sea Lion: 106
  • Northern Sea Lion: 94
  • Elephant Seal: 2 male, 1 female green flipper tag c-586
  • Harbour Seal: 10 (probably more, West Rock)

 

 

Beautiful Day to Remember

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End of Shift.  Tomorrow Riley will arrive for his shift and we will be off. All the best, Riley, for your stay in this amazing hotspot of living activity and tidal rushes. The people of BC are lucky to have Race Rocks protected under BC Parks’ highest level of protection as an Ecological Reserve. It was a pleasure working with the classes of biology and marine science students this week and a treat to be in this special place.

Weather and Sea Conditions  Winds: Light and variable;  Sky: Morning low overcast slight mist cleared to sunny in afternoon;  Visibility: Mostly good ~10 – 15 nm;  The accumulated solar radiation today was 250 Langleys, the equivalent of a little over 2900 Watts per square meter. The UV Index was high at 7.4;  Barometer: 102.7 kPa and falling Sunday evening;  Forecast: Wind easterly 5 to 15 knots becoming light Monday afternoon then increasing to west 20 to 25 Monday evening. Strong wind warning in effect.

Vessels in Ecological Reserve   Whale watching vessels: 12 were observed working in Ecological Reserve (ER). All were professional, providing a good model for other boaters transiting the ER.

Sport fishing vessels: A total of 11 sport fishing vessels were observed in the ER today. Three were noted speeding in the ER and two vessels were observed fishing for hours, in the closed to fishing, Rockfish Conservation Area. Photos were taken, processed and filed. There were approximately 70 sports fishing vessels fishing to the west and then drifting by to the east, all but five appeared to follow rules.

Ecology  The first three Harlequin Ducks of the season were spotted today, one male and two females. They have returned from their alpine summer breeding habitat for a coastal winter. A Great Blue Heron was observed fishing, standing on a dense raft of Bull Kelp. A thorough search for the Sea Otter turned up nothing. Enormous mixed species feeding flocks were observed in Race Passage in the afternoon. There are fewer sea lions ashore during the day right now and there have been dietary shifts visible in their feces, which are hard to miss. One animal was observed feeding on what appeared to be a Coho close to a kelp bed on the west side of Great Race.

Visitors  None.

Sustainability  Although it was gray in the morning by 14:00 there was enough sunlight that we made fresh water with solar energy powering the de-salinator.

Maintenance and Operations  Regular chores and clean-up.

 

Brand X

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Weather and Sea Conditions

Winds: 5 – 15 knots, variable (North-northeast to South-southwest)

Sky: Partially overcast, scattered showers

Visibility: good, 10 to 15 nm

Barometer: 101.8 kPa rising Monday evening

Forecast: a few showers changing to chance of showers tonight and Tuesday morning.

Vessels in Ecological Reserve

Whale watching vessels: 12 observed working in Ecological Reserve

No other other commercial operators or sport fishing vessels, noted in Reserve today.

Ecology

First Bald Eagle, this shift noted today on West Rocks

California Gulls feeding on surface in Middle Channel

Large mixed species flocks feeding in Race Passage and near North Rock

Sea lion brands (see photos)

Sustainability

Downspout on energy building reinstalled (had been removed) with two 90 degree bends to facilitate bucket filling.

Visitors

None

Maintenance and Operations

Regular chores completed

Back of Eco-barrel shed scrubbed.

Shimmed energy-building ladder at upper attachment points to remove play.

Hasp fallen off – replaced loose screws on freshwater storage building door hasp with bolts.

Hinges ripped on one side of freshwater storage shed door. Plugged screw holes with wooden dowels and re-screwed.

Noted large bag of garbage in Science house basement and stack of used plumbing and old carpet from tank shed next to boat shed, to be removed.

 

 

Blog On.

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This blog covers three days, September 15, 16 and 17th; Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It will be replaced by a point form log for the rest of the stay.

Weather and Sea Conditions

Thursday was part of the last high pressure system with sunny afternoon westerlies of 10 – 15 knots. Friday was a transition day with heavy fog burning off by early afternoon and accompanied by westerlies of up to 25 knots. By dusk it had clouded over and showers continued overnight and into Saturday morning. This wet weather came with winds from the north. Morning fog patches continued Saturday and by early afternoon the wind switched from 10 – 15 knots north, to 25 -30 knots west partially cleared with sun between showers. The marine forecast for Central Juan de Fuca Strait includes a strong westerly wind warning. The wind is predicted to drop to westerly 10 to 15 early Sunday morning and showers are expected to end near midnight Saturday.

It appears that the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve weather station has not been operating since mid-June, so longer-term context is not possible other than anecdotal information recorded in recent logs.

Vessels in Ecological Reserve

Commercial whale-watching activity inside the Ecological Reserve boundaries is busy, with 20 commercial visits noted on the 16th and 14 visits on the 17th. The guidelines for vessel activity are not being observed by all operators and some of the commercial vessels are as close as 5 meters from the sea lions (and shore). Some very large vessels are going through shallow passages, making erratic turns in the current, travelling against the current and several vessels were seen speeding (> 7 knots within 400 m of Great Race). No other commercial activity was observed. Although several recreational vessels were seen passing through, there was no sports-fishing activity noted within the closed area.

Ecology

Seasonal shifts are apparent with the return of some ‘winter’ species and visits by fall migrants. There are only seven Glaucous-winged Gull chicks left on Great Race Island that are not fully fledged. The smallest, chick has a badly injured left leg. One other still has pinfeathers on its head and the rest are close to flying. There are notably fewer gull chick remains on the island this year perhaps indicating a lower mortality rate. There does not appear to be any data on the number of nests or their productivity this year so it may just reflect lower productivity. The logged death of the old River Otter may be related to the drop in chick carcass numbers.

Glaucous-winged Gulls are still the dominant gull species here on Great Race. California Gulls are abundant in the area but not roosting on Great Race yet. There are large (>1,000 birds), mixed species, feeding flocks adjacent to the Ecological Reserve in Race Passage and in the distance. California Gulls have been seen resting on thick mats of Bull Kelp in Middle Channel.

Black Turnstones and Surfbirds have returned from the Arctic where they nest in the summer. One Ruddy Turnstone was noted today feeding on flies, fuel for a migration that may extend as far south as South America. A single Sanderling was noted both Friday and Saturday and this is another species that nests in the Arctic and is widespread in the ‘winter’. Black Oystercatchers, which are much more site fidel, are roosting near the energy building in the evenings. At least one Kildeer was heard each evening just after dark.

Both Stellers (Northern) and California Sea Lions are moulting this time of year and are hauling out on Great Race, South Seal and South Islands as well as Middle Rocks and Turbine Rock. Photos were taken and processed, of branded, tagged and entangled sea lions.

Northern Elephant Seals are hauling on both Middle and Great Race and a total of six were noted Saturday. No big males. Harbour Seals are abundant and using these haul-out areas; West, Middle, Turbine, North and South Seal Rocks and South Islands.

A single Sea Otter was observed in the kelp just south of North Rocks Saturday morning.

One Humpback Whale was noted feeding near the Ecological Reserve.

Sustainability

Solar panels are maintaining power for the island in spite of intermittent cloud and showers. Without the weather station operational, sunlight levels are not being measured. The diesel generator is run for a couple of hours each evening to top up the batteries for the night.

Visitors

Kyle brought three visitors yesterday, two from Ocean Networks Canada and one from Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, for a site visit.

Maintenance and Operations

Regular chores included the 06:15 daily weather report for Pedder Bay Marina, daily solar panel maintenance, walkway cleaning, repairing and electrifying fences. The outside of the fuel barrel (eco-four) house was scrubbed, tops of fuel barrels stored outside were drained of water, and windows in the energy building were washed. The “science” house was inspected, an open window closed in the basement, exterior electrical box was noted broken from wall and conduit open at bottom (photo). Science house furnace was full on and the upstairs temperature was 22.0o C. Thermostat turned down. It was noted that diesel had been spilled in basement. Spill pads on the fuel drum are saturated and there was diesel on the entry bootscrubber/doormat. Looked at derrick dock woodpile and noted creosoted and pressure treated wood in woodpile, probably a health hazard to burn. Inspected chainsaw chain…just needs filing. Took VHF, charger and manual to top of tower to replace the one missing from there. Wheelbarrows were deployed for rainwater catchment. The conductivity meter’s line was marked with yellow electrical tape so that seawater sampling could be done at measured depth. In the energy building an attempt was made to align the indicator lights on the three Xantrax controllers with the holes. Two out of three can now be seen and the middle one can be seen plainly with the lights out. The flashing rate of these lights indicate the controller’s stage of operation and approximate battery voltage which is helpful to knowing how long to run the generator. Weather station troubleshooting will continue tomorrow.