Sunday Census

Posted on Sunday,February 16, 2020 by Nick Townley

Wind: yesterday 3-34 knots from N to W, today 19-33 knots from W
Sea State: yesterday rippled, today chop up to 1 m
Visibility: both days 10-15 NM
Sky: yesterday partly cloudy with rain in evening, today overcast then heavy rain late morning clearing in afternoon
Temperature: yesterday 6-9 °C, today 6-7 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 413.05 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

Census results from Sunday, February 16:
7 elephant seals (4 adult males, 2 female pups, 1 male pup)
68 california sea lions
21 steller sea lions
40 harbour seals
9 bald eagles (8 adults, 1 juvenile)
2 Canada geese
19 brandt’s cormorants
16 double-crested cormorants
30 pelagic cormorants
547 gulls (mostly thayer’s gulls)
2 black oystercatchers
8 harlequin ducks
10 black turnstones
1 song sparrow
1 snow bunting

Yesterday, I used the leaf blower in the boat house to clean out the thousands of dead flies left over from last summer. I laid out 76 m (250′) of fire hose to pump water from the jetty to the cistern. The fire pump ran for a couple hours to top up the seawater cistern used for the desalinator.

For the first time this winter, I saw about 20 pigeon guillemots in the water just north of the jetty yesterday morning. I haven’t seen any since.

There were 3 tour boats in the ecological reserve yesterday and no visitors on the island this weekend.

Photos from the past two days:

: The alpha male elephant seal stopped by to check the progress on filling the cistern with seawater.

: The two female elephant seal pups have been hanging out near each other for the past two days. Perhaps a friendship is forming.

: The daffodils are starting to open up.

: Soaring bald eagle

: Harbour seals on South Islands

: One of the male elephant seals is hauled out on the Middle Rocks. There are also sea lions, gulls and eagles.

Weekly Census

Posted on Saturday,February 8, 2020 by Nick Townley

Wind: yesterday 3-32 knots from NE to S to W, today 3-45 knots from W to S
Sea State: yesterday rippled with chop up to 1 m in evening, today chop up to 1 m, then rippled in afternoon
Visibility: yesterday 5-10 NM, today 10-15NM
Sky: yesterday overcast and rain, today clear
Temperature: yesterday 5-9 °C, today 7-9 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 414.11 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

Results of weekly megafauna and bird census from Saturday, February 8:
9 elephant seals (2 female adults, 4 male adults, 2 female pups, 1 male pup)
169 steller sea lions
202 california sea lions
29 harbour seals
41 bald eagles (37 adults, 4 juveniles)
1 raven
19 brandt’s cormorants
138 pelagic cormorants
65 double-crested cormorants
4 canada geese
412 gulls (most are thayer’s gulls)
20 black oystercatchers
2 surf scoters
20 harlequin ducks
35 surfbirds
26 black turnstones
1 snow bunting
1 fox sparrow

Yesterday in the morning, three members of the Coast Guard came in a helicopter to do a routine check on some equipment on the island. The pilot phoned ahead to confirm the best place to land to try to avoid disturbing the animals. They landed on the helicopter pad. Sometimes they land on the grass at the base of the lighthouse. The Coast Guard guys were excited to see the elephant seals, which they hadn’t seen before. Usually when they fly into the lightstations up the coast, they see a lot of sea lions.

In the afternoon yesterday, three visitors from Pearson College came to the island to have a tour.

The only other boats that were seen in the ecological reserve were two tour boats this afternoon.

See the photos below for some views from the last two days.

: Coast Guard helicopter taking off from the helicopter pad.

: The sleeping california sea lion on the right was damming the water that was draining down the ramp by the boat launch.

: Yesterday, the clouds parted at sunset after a brief blast of wind and rain in the late afternoon.

: Double-crested cormorants drying out their wings

: The elephant seal harem basks in the sun. The pup in the middle is the third pup, a female, which is the last one nursing. In a couple days, the mother will wean the pup and leave the island.

: The first pup lies by himself on the east side of the house. Gulls and sea lions are by the shore in the background

: Black turnstones sleeping in the sun on the rock ledge to the west of the jetty

: I took this photo to make a note of where the alpha male was lying. Later, after he moved to the grass, I measured from the places where his tail flippers and proboscis were. He is 4.4 m long or 14.5′.

: The smallest adult male elephant seal is on the path after coming in from the water. The scars on his back show that he gets in a lot of fights with the other males.

: Surf scoter

: The full moon rising in the background of the lighthouse at sunset this evening

Groundhog Day

Posted on Sunday,February 2, 2020 by Nick Townley

Wind: yesterday 0-52 knots from S to W, today 0-18 knots from W to NE
Sea State: yesterday rippled with waves up to 1 m in afternoon and evening, today rippled
Visibility: yesterday 5-10 NM, today 15 NM
Sky: yesterday rain then patches of sun, today clear
Temperature: yesterday 5-12 °C, today 3-5 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 414.49 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

This morning at sunrise, the elephant seals saw their shadows. As the lore goes for their fellow mammal the groundhog, that means six more weeks of winter. Hard to believe with the crocuses blooming and daffodils buds almost ready to burst. Although, there is snow in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow as the temperature drops to 0 °C.

There were no visitors to the island. Two eco tour boats were seen in the reserve this afternoon.

Here are the results for the weekly census, conducted in the afternoon of Sunday, February 2:
10 elephant seals (3 female adults, 4 male adults, 1 female pup, 1 male pup and 1 unknown gendered pup)
147 steller sea lions
288 california sea lions
104 harbour seals
10 bald eagles (5 adults, 5 juveniles)
1 raven
109 brandt’s cormorants
182 pelagic cormorants
49 double-crested cormorants
24 canada geese
931 gulls (most are thayer’s gulls)
18 black oystercatchers
1 whimbrel
1 surf scoter
8 harlequin ducks
16 black turnstones
1 snow bunting
1 fox sparrow

: The oldest elephant seal pup splashes in a puddle created by the heavy rain of Friday night. Perhaps he is practicing swimming skills before jumping into the deep end.

: The elephant seals saw their shadows this morning. Six more weeks of winter!

: A view from the southwest corner of the island at a daytime low tide.

: The intertidal zone with gooseneck barnacles, acorn barnacles, mussels, sea lettuce and lots more.

Weekly Census

Posted on Saturday,January 25, 2020 by Nick Townley

Wind: yesterday 0-15 knots from E to S, today 0-10 knots from E to N
Sea State: yesterday and today rippled
Visibility: yesterday and today between 10-15 NM
Sky: yesterday cloudy with periods of rain and sun, clear overnight, today cloudy with periods of sun
Temperature: both days 7-10 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 414.08 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

The five day old elephant seal pup died overnight. It was in rough shape yesterday, possibly from attacks by other elephant seals. In the morning yesterday, it had fresh blood on its face and the alpha male was lying on the pup. Ravens and black turnstones have been pecking at the seals face occasionally for the past day.

The first elephant seal pup, which is fending for itself now as a weaner, was lying on its back today and I could tell it was a male. See the photo below. I am not sure the sex of the other pups, as I haven’t had a good look at their abdomens.

There were four visitors to the island yesterday. Jeff brought out Greg, Alex and Ric to work on the power issues. They hooked up a backup generator to help power the island and top up the batteries. In the afternoon, Greg brought a diesel delivery. Now, the island has a full supply of fuel for when the main generator gets fixed within the next few days. In the past few days, there has a been some power generated by solar energy, which has helped keep the batteries charged. Thanks to some IT help from Dan at the college, now there is internet for the weather systems and monitoring the power.

Four eco tour boats were in the reserve over the past two days.

Results of weekly megafauna and bird census done on Saturday afternoon:
10 elephant seals (3 pups, 3 adult females, 4 adult males)
355 california sea lions
111 steller sea lions
6 harbour seals
36 bald eagles (29 adults, 7 juvenile)
2 ravens
312 pelagic cormorants
62 double-crested cormorants
51 brandt’s cormorants
972 gulls (the majority are thayer’s gulls)
2 canada geese
61 black oystercatchers
1 whimbrel
7 harlequin ducks
41 surfbirds
47 black turnstones
1 snow bunting
1 fox sparrow

: One of the adult male elephant seals has been resting here near the high rock point of the island for the past several days.

: The alpha male elephant seal is lying on the fourth pup.

: The body of the fourth elephant seal pup being pecked at by a raven, as seen through the spotting scope from the top of the tower.

: A small gourd is the most unusual thing that has washed ashore recently.

: The first born pup is a male. It was lying on its back, which gave me a chance to look at its abdomen. About two-thirds the way from its head to its tail flippers it has four features that form a diamond shape: a navel indentation, two nipples and a penile opening.

: The ship Sun Rise was seen heading west, a few kilometres south of Race Rocks. Last Saturday, it delivered the two newest hybrid electric BC Ferries to Victoria.

Weekly Census

Posted on Friday,January 17, 2020 by Nick Townley

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

: Three bald eagles perched on one of the South Islands

: Thayer’s gulls

: Two bald eagles on the highest point of land on the island, where camera 5 looks out

: Snow bunting

: Steller sea lions hauled out in a cuddle puddle on South Seal Rocks. In the background, a harbour seal lays on a rock in the intertidal zone.

: The newest elephant seal mother and pup

: Elephant seals mating while the oldest of the three pups barks.

: A male elephant seal lying on the helicopter pad facing out to the open Pacific. Of the three beta male elephant seals, this one has the most battle scars.

: This annotated satellite map shows the names of the different rocks as well as the sectors for marine biology studies.

Weekly Census

Posted on Thursday,January 9, 2020 by Nick Townley

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

: A seal lion surfs in a wave with a container ship in the background

: The group of elephant seals bask in their usual spot in the middle of the island.

: A closer view of the elephant seal pup and mother. The pup is growing fast, since its birth just 12 days ago.

: A raven is seen in its usual spot by the cannon at the base of the lighthouse.

: The desalinator system using reverse osmosis to turn seawater into freshwater.

First Weekly Census of the Decade

Posted on Friday,January 3, 2020 by Nick Townley

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

: The newly arrived adult female elephant seal

: Whimbrel

: Whimbrel

: Whimbrel and three gulls

: Harlequin ducks

: Nursing elephant seal pup

: Nursing elephant seal pup

: Snow bunting

: A silhouette of a raven with the backdrop of the Olympic Mountains and a bulk carrier ship.

: A view of the lighthouse from the porch of the ecoguardian’s house on a cloudy, moonlit night.

Annual Christmas Bird Count

Posted on Saturday,December 28, 2019 by Nick Townley

Wind: Yesterday 5-10 knots W; Today 5-20 knots NE
Sea State: up to 1 m chop
Visibility: 10 NM
Sky: overcast with rain this afternoon
Temperature: 7 C
Atmospheric CO2: 412.60 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

December 28 is the annual Christmas Bird Count, which happens in thousands of locations across North America. It has been happening for twenty-two years at Race Rocks. This morning with the northeast wind and dropping pressure, the planned visit by the local bird enthusiasts was called off. But fear not, citizen science provailed. For an hour and half this morning, I searched for birds of all feathers as I walked around the island and looked out from the top of the lighthouse. I used binoculars, a spotting scope and the zoom lens on the camera to check out the shoreline, water and the rocky islets of the ecological reserve. I was able to spot 12 species of birds, some of which were not present when I did the weekly census two days ago. Here are the results and photos of the bird count:

25 bald eagles (5 juvenile, 20 adults)
1 fox sparrow
4 canada geese
2 ravens
6 harlequin ducks
208 double-crested cormorants
59 pelagic cormorants
281 thayer’s gulls (on the rocks and in the water)
48 mew gulls (near Turbine Rock and North Rocks)
18 surfbirds
42 black turnstones
4 black oystercatchers

Photos of some of the birds seen today:

: Six of the 25 eagles seen in the reserve this morning

: Bald eagle on the high point of the island near camera 5

: Six harlequin ducks near the southwest corner of the island

: Fox sparrow in the middle of the island

: Double-crested and pelagic cormorants

: Three black oystercatchers on the south side of the island, near the energy building

: A colony of Thayer’s gulls on southeast side of the island

: Thayer’s gulls on the southwest corner of the island

: 18 surfbirds near the surge channel just west of the energy building

In the past two days, I have seen two entangled sea lions. Yesterday morning, I noticed a large steller sea lion with a small rope around its neck. The rope appeared to be cutting into the underside of the animal’s neck. A short while later, I noticed a california sea lion with a cut on its neck from what appears to be a plastic strap wrapped around it. The Marine Mammal Rescue Centre and Department of Fisheries and Oceans have been notified. If the sea lions remain at Race Rocks, it might be possible for a rescue to occur. Both animals were seen again today. See the entangled sea lion and marine mammal rescue tags for past occurrences that were written about in the Log. Two other california sea lions were seen that appear to have healing wounds from something that was previously wrapped around their necks. The animals don’t appear to have tags on their flippers to signify they have been rescued.

The Canadian flag was looking a bit tattered, so I replaced it today.

Just before sunset today, there were four eco tour boats in the reserve. The boats were all close to each other, which usually means something interesting is nearby. Sure enough, a pod of five or six orcas were passing westward. They travelled along the north side of the ecological reserve, just south of Bentinck Island and the Department of National Defence base.

Here are some photos from the past two days:

: An entangled steller sea lion with a small rope or plastic strap around its neck. It has been on the island for at least the past two days.

: The california sea lion in the middle of the photo has a plastic strap around its neck. It has been on the island for at least the past two days.

: A young steller sea lion nursing

: Newly raised Canadian flag

: The dorsal fins of three orca seen passing through the north side of the ecological reserve. Four eco tour boats were nearby.

Sea Lions, Boats, & Other Stuff

Posted on Thursday,November 10, 2016 by Riley Strother

Weather

Visibility: 15+ miles (Mt. Baker visible)
Wind: 5-10 knots West
Sky: overcast
Water: rippled

Ecological

Census day!
Two California sea lions with neck rings. Poor guys.
Two sea lions with brands.
California: X168
Steller: 678
Saw a few California sea lions with head injuries, as well as one Steller.

California Sea Lions: 678
Northern (Steller) Sea Lions: 533
Harbour Seals: 37
Elephant Seals: 5 on Great Race
Seagulls unspecified: 449
Thayer’s Gulls: 235
Glaucous-winged Gulls: 20
Cormorants unspecified: 357
Brandt’s Cormorants: 10
Pelagic Cormorants: 6
Double Crested Cormorants: 4
Black Turnstones: 20
Canada Geese: 5
Dunlin: 1
Savannah Sparrow: 1
Bald Eagle: 1 adult

: Neck Ring

: Neck Ring

: Injury

: X168

: Huge Stellers

: E-seal

Maintenance

Ran the saltwater pump into the cistern for 5 and a quarter hours.

Boats

A handful of eco-tours came by today. At least 5.
One of the boats caused a minor sea lion stampede on the east part of Great Race.
My photos only show the tail end of the stampede.
Much more happened between the “pre stampede” photo and my end shots.