Tag Archives: wind

Salt Air

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Weather and Sea Conditions

It was another day dominated by the west wind, starting in thick fog and then partially clearing. Wind strength was significant, ranging from 20 – 25 knots in the morning then rising to gale strength with strong gusts over 42 knots by mid-afternoon. It was still blowing 35 – 40 knots at 18:30. Sea conditions were rough with breaking waves, dense streaks of foam and lots of salt spray in the air.

It turned out to be fairly sunny and the UV index was moderate, reaching 4 by mid-afternoon. Barometric pressure dropped slowly to 1008 hPa by early evening. The forecast calls for moderate easterly breezes by tomorrow morning, rising again to west 10 – 15 by Saturday evening.

Vessel Observations in the Protected Area

Two whale-watching vessels were observed working in the protected area today. I took a photo of the first one to show it as being exemplary in not approaching the South Rocks haul-outs closer than 100m but the exemplary part was completely blown out of the water when the operator sped off diagonally across the reserve.

I felt sorry for the passengers, it was an open boat and the people in the bow looked miserable, were soaked and had their heads down before he started speeding into the wind and seas. Gusts were over 42 knots at the time, the current was running against them at four knots and they were doing about 20 knots in the boat. Add those speeds together and it converts into their passengers taking salty slaps in the face at well over 100 km/hour. I took a few more photos through the window to keep the salt spray off this camera, document the alleged infraction and give the company, Orca Spirit Adventure an opportunity to change its ways. It says it is a green company, so no doubt it will take this seriously.

It is worth noting that many of the pinnipeds normally hauled-out ashore, were in the water today due to the high winds. I hope the speeding vessel didn’t strike any of them with this reckless driving. I know that visibility in that sort of wind and spray warrants slower travel, not faster. From a safety perspective, add log hazards into the mix they should consider themselves lucky to come back healthy and whole. Last seen heading west.

There was one low overflight this morning but it was moving quickly and I did not get an image.

Ecological and General Observations

Two young male Northern Elephant Seals came ashore after the females left yesterday and they returned this morning with two more. They have been asleep, lounging in the garden all day. The few birds left on the island today were hunkered down trying to not be blown away by the furious westerly. (I have included some photos from yesterday in today’s gallery in order to save the camera.)

Sustainability, Chores, Visitors

Sunlight levels were high enough to generate lots of electricity, in spite of morning fog and afternoon high overcast.

Chores were routine. There were no visitors.

 

 

 

 

Lighthouse Garden Heritage

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Weather and Sea Conditions

At Race Rocks today, winds were light and variable from the south and southeast, at first under overcast skies and eventually under brilliant sunshine. The barometric pressure was still high (1025hPa at 18:30), but dropping now and there is a strong wind warning in effect. Light winds are predicted to increase to east 15 knots early this evening, build to east 15 to 25 after midnight and drop again Thursday evening. Thursday will be sunny and warm with a moderate UV index of 5. Except for the usual races, tidal currents, rips, standing waves and over falls, sea conditions were calm today.

Vessel Observations

This may be a better position for viewing, although still very close and there are animals in the water, near the boat, which has propellors turning to maintain position.

This may be a better position for viewing animals on South Rocks, although still very close and there are animals in the water, near the boat, which has propellors turning to maintain position.

Only two whale watching vessels were observed working in the protected area today and neither of them passed between Great Race and South Rocks. Several sports fishing vessels passed through, and there was no fishing observed in the protected area. One small inflatable was observed speeding in the protected area. This vessel came to the jetty later and they were informed about the speed limits and restrictions on going ashore.

Ecological and General Observations

Nothing really new to report here other than two more female Northern Elephant Seals arrived ashore today and several more were visible on Middle Rock. These animals will be starting their moult soon and building bone density for important winter haul-out activities of giving birth, nursing and mating. Remembering last year’s elephant seal plant crushing activities, motivated me to take photos of some of the lighthouse heritage garden plants on the island.

There are photographs below of the river otter den mentioned yesterday. Tomorrow will be animal census day.

Most chores were routine today. There were no visitors.

 

Wild Goose Chase

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Weather & Sea Conditions

At dawn, the west wind was already blowing 30 knots and gusting. Although it dropped to 20 – 25 knots at times, the west wind continued to bring dramatic clouds and showers along with brief glimpses of sunshine and rainbows, throughout the day. The marine forecasters call for the wind to back to southwest and they estimate that the SW wind will diminish to 10 -15 knots, late overnight and drop to light, early Tuesday morning. Showers and the mix of sun and cloud are predicted to continue. Seas were rough today to the west and out in the Strait, while the entrance to Pedder Bay and the eastern horizon remained a little calmer in the lee.

Vessels

No vessels were observed in the protected area or passing nearby, today.

Ecological and General Observations

Canada Geese are more and more insistent that they belong on Great Race and two pairs are actively nesting now. Even if the eco-guardian were to spend 24/7 chasing off geese, it would be ineffective as they are incredibly persistent, very strong and have a certain goose cunning that harkens back beyond the etymology of ‘wild goose chase’. Without the large numbers of geese that were present last year and the crushing effects of dozens elephant seal dozers, the grass does appear to remain a little longer, but then it has been a wet spring.

Beulah, the large female Norther Elephant Seal staying in the garden, went for a dip this morning and on her return she seemed to enjoy ‘frolicking’ in the long grass, head down undulating through the greenery. She also found a clean place to sleep, next to an old, lighthouse heritage, rockery bed. After watching the elephant seals purposefully destroy the tulips last year, I picked a bouquet when she moved into that part of the garden and they are brightening my world on the little desk in the house.

More and more adult male California Sea Lions are hauling out on Great Race, This afternoon there were ~50 on the south side and a dozen more on the west side. Younger animals and Steller’s continue to haul on South Rocks. Yesterday evening, I discovered a new (to me) den for the old, male River Otter. I knew that there was an otter spot nearby due to the telltale ‘calling cards’ left outside the den area but it took a while to find it. He is barely visible and very protected, sleeping under one of the big boulders just northeast of the compost.

The Bald Eagles continue to spend the day in the Ecological Reserve; most active early and late, chasing gulls. There is a lot of evidence of piscivory on the island, but some of the remnants are hard to pin on any particular predator. The gulls here eat a lot of small forage fish like herring and marine invertebrates like chitons but there are also remains that look more like either River Otter or Bald Eagle leftovers (see images).

A Turkey Vulture stopped and rested near camera 5 today. I was hooked up to a staff meeting by conference call or I would have gone outside to photograph it. I did get a photo through the window, before it was swept away by the west wind. Black Turnstones continue to be present in high numbers, resting and fattening up before their northward migration.

Chores & Visitors

Chores today were routine and there were no visitors.

Conservation Message

If you are a commercial boater or if you use docks and harbours, you may be interested in two really excellent booklets on Green Boating and Displacement Hull Fuel Efficiency put together by the T. Buck Suzuki Environmental Foundation. Their Green Boating Guide covers good marine practices in seven main areas: wildlife protection, habitat protection, waste discharge, fluid handling, solid waste, fuel efficiency, and cleaners. The Fuel Efficiency Guide covers ways to reduce fuel consumption through both operational and design measures. Another way to look at savings on fuel is that it also reduces carbon dioxide pollution to the atmosphere. CO2 is not only a greenhouse gas, ~ 40% of it ends up in the ocean causing the shift in basic chemistry which is called ocean acidification, global warming’s evil twin.

There is a real shift in attitude happening amongst boaters of all types, as more and more people realize that we have to profoundly change our basic routines and behaviours in order to have a sustainable ‘blue’ future. I call it investing in green and keeping it clean for a blue economy. If you use social media please use the hashtag #green4blue to connect with other people going green for a blue future. Check out the booklets here for great ideas on how you can make a positive difference on the water.

http://www.bucksuzuki.org/images/uploads/docs/GBGweb2012.pdf

http://www.bucksuzuki.org/images/uploads/docs/FEGweb2012.pdf

Aussi disponible en français http://www.bucksuzuki.org/publications/

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Lantern Fish Found

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Weather and Sea Conditions

The day started with a beautiful sunrise and then quickly clouded over, clouds pushed in by light, southeast winds. Late afternoon, the wind veered through southwest to a light westerly.  The barometric pressure, which started at 1017hPa dropped all day and was below 1010 hPa by 19:30.

Light levels were the low today and the accumulated solar radiation for the day was just over 250 Ly, measured in Langleys. That was about half of yesterday’s sunshine. Although it was calm today, the forecast has a gale warning in effect and the west wind is expected to pick up to 35 knots tonight. Monday is expected to be windy, mainly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers.

Vessels

Victoria’s first cruise ship of the season, went past last night and today regular whale-watching vessels including Five-Stars and Pacific Explorer were back working in the protected area after an absence of at least a month and maybe more. The more regular visiting catamaran, 4-Ever Wild, cruised through carefully and respectfully. Several sports fishers passed through the reserve slowly, today and all fishing activity observed, was outside of the conservation area. There were many vessels in the vicinity, anchored and fishing for halibut, stretching out from Beechey Head to Constance Bank.

Ecological

Several branded sea lions were photographed and included in the gallery here. The two California Sea Lions were X279 (brand still very pink) and X 10_ , where _ represents a number not yet identified. U390, from the Columbia River region was also photographed. The branded Steller’s Sea Lion noted was 524R a migrant from southern Oregon. Beulah, the large female Northern Elephant Seal was back on Great Race, adorning the lawn at first light and seven other elephant seals can be seen on Middle Rock.

At least 200 Pigeon Guillemots were in and around Great Race in the morning, but gone by early afternoon. The eagles continue to chase gulls on Great Race as well as perching on North Rock, West Rock, South Rock, Middle Rock and Turbine. The geese do not seem to be bothered by the eagles and sometimes land right beside them. There were also over 30 Surfbirds resting here today, even though none were seen during the last census. They were in a mixed flock with Rock Sandpipers and Black Turnstone on the boulder area to the east of the main house.

I found an unusual little (~2.5 cm. long) fish on the marine railway this morning. It was very fresh looking, but dead and undamaged. It looks like a member of the myctophid family.

Also known as a lantern fish, this little myctophid has a typical upturned jaw and rows of fluorescent blue photophores along its abdomen and on its sides. The photophores are packed with bioluminescent bacteria and allow the fish to communicate with light signals in the dark. The eyes are very large (relatively) because these fish are usually in very low, light conditions. Myctophids are very common fish in the ocean, but are not commonly seen, as they usually live deep, in the twilight zone and only come up during their nightly, vertical migration. I am not sure how it ended up on the ramp but currents here could have played a part.

Chores/Visitors

I went off-island briefly this morning and everything worked smoothly. Chores were routine today and there were no visitors.

 

See Otter

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Last night the westerly rose to 40 knots with stronger gusts, after dark. In the morning, it settled to a steady 25 to 30 knots and maintained that early evening when it rose again. The west wind and sunshine dominated the weather here today. The barometer stayed high between 1017 and 1019 hPa until early evening when it started to fall. There is a strong wind warning in effect and westerlies of 20 to 30 knots are expected to diminish to west 5 to 15 late overnight then become light near noon Sunday. The UV index climbed over 4 (moderate) today and should drop with cloud cover and showers predicted for tomorrow.

There were no whale watching or sports fishing vessels observed in the protected area today. The blustery winds and choppy, rough seas were a deterrent and there were whales elsewhere. A tug called Service X, about 35 – 40 feet long, was observed travelling west through Race Passage. It was plunging and taking waves over the wheelhouse as it made headway towards the west coast. One float plane flying fairly low at ~250 to  300′ passed over the island from west to east.

In the Ecological Reserve many of the animals were seeking shelter from the winds. A lone male, Sea Otter came close enough to be photographed and he appears to be in fine form. It may the same individual who was here for the last couple of years. He was seen once in the early morning about a week ago and then yesterday during the census, I spotted him drifting near the few, old Bull Kelp that survived the winter near Turbine Rock.

The eagles continue to chase the gulls and keep them flighty. I didn’t get a good count, but estimated early in the day that there were at least, twice the numbers of gulls counted in yesterday’s census. I will try to get a high count at some point during the week. Two of the juvenile eagles were also observed battling several times today, knocking each other out of the air and tussling on the ground. Chasing off geese is starting to be a losing effort. There are at least two nests now.

Chores were focussed on cleaning and the ever constant battle of the fly today. There were no visitors.

 

 

 

Eagles Use Foghorn Daily

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The morning started with either low cloud or high cloud. The sun shone under the fog on the Victoria side and on the Sooke side it thickened and the ceiling lowered to become more fog-like. Port Angeles was obscured early. The fog lifted from east to west and resulted in a beautiful clear day with a west wind of 20 – 25 knots, constant throughout the day. Barometric pressure held fairly steady as well, at 1016 -1017 hPa. The marine forecast for the central Strait has a strong wind warning in effect, calling for west winds of 20 to 30 knots and there are showers in forecast.

No whale watching vessels were observed today. One ‘sports’ fishing vessel was observed inside the boundary today but no fishing activity was observed in the protected area.

Second Nature visited briefly with Kyle at the helm and a second person that was supposed to be measuring things.

Today was census day and the results are below. It should be noted that the Bald Eagles were hunting gulls all day on Great Race Island. Although no takes were seen, the gull population thinned significantly during the day and the gull numbers today may not reflect a representative sample of the true numbers seen this week.

Animal Census

2016 01-Apr
River Otter 1
Northern Elephant Seal 8
Harbour Seal 176
Northern Sea Lion (Steller’s) 28
California Sea Lion 103
Canada Goose 5
Brandt (flying through) 75
Harlequin Duck 11
Surf Scoter 0
Common Merganser 2
Brandt’s Cormorant 2
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Pelagic Cormorant 3
Cormorant (not ID’d to species) 0
Bald Eagle (juvenile) 4
Bald Eagle (adult) 2
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Killdeer 4
Black Oystercatcher 12
Black Turnstone 70
Surfbird 0
Rock Sandpiper 0
Dunlin 2
Mew Gull 0
Glaucous-winged Gull (+ Xs in nesting area) 210
Glaucous-winged Gull (+ Xs outside of nesting area) 98
Thayers Gulls 0
Calfiornia Gulls 3
Western Gull 1
Common Murres 12
Rhinoceros Auklets 2
Pigeon Guillemot 40
Common Raven 2
Northwestern Crow 2
Fox Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1

 

 

 

Eco-Guardian Outreach

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Weather Information

It was a beautiful day, calm with lots of sunshine until the fog and fog wind came in from the west in the late afternoon. The westerly rose quickly to 30 knots, gusting to 35 knots as the light faded. There is a gale warning in effect and although it is supposed to come down to 10 – 15 overnight the westerly is expected to rise again late Friday afternoon. The forecast calls for sunny skies with some fog patches. Today the UV Index was just over 4 (moderate) and tomorrow it is expected go higher, to 5 (moderate). Today the barometric pressure went up, from 1016 to 1018 HPa, then back down to 1016 HPa.

Vessel Observations

I picked up Riley this morning in the whaler and then spent most of the day ashore returning in the late afternoon with Alex just before the fog and wind. I was not here most of the day to observe vessels. Second Nature made a visit and delivered 4 barrels of fuel in the morning. On return in the late afternoon, there was one ‘sportsfishing’ vessel trolling in the area closed to fishing. It was enveloped in fog soon after our return.

During the time ashore today, I worked with a group of grade 7 students from the Victoria school district. These students are taking a year-long marine studies program and were very lucky to be able to spend most of today’s school day, studying plankton, marine invertebrates, algae, birds, physical oceanography and marine ecology in the lab and on the foreshore at Pearson College. Thanks to Project Wild, Kelly Nordin and Kathryn Cook, Monterey Middle School parents and Laura Verhegge for making this great learning experience happen.

Ecological Observations

There are still Northern Elephant Seals on Middle Rock and it will be interesting to see how many during tomorrow’s animal census. The Steller’s Sea Lions were sound asleep on South Rock as the fog rolled in late afternoon.

The eagles and gulls continued their deadly game of chase. One goose nest was found with three freshly laid eggs, in front of the student house. This nest is the first of the season.

Solar energy was high and contributed significantly to the island’s power needs, today.

 

Nothing Subdued About a Westerly Gale

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The west wind came up sometime after midnight and was already blowing 25 to 30 knots at 04:00 in the morning. The wind rose more with the sun and blew 35 gusting to 40 most of the morning and early afternoon. Late afternoon it dropped to 25 – 30 knots. Although there were showers and some very dramatic looking thunderheads, west wind also tends to bring good weather and the barometer which had taken a dive overnight, spent the day climbing out of its hole. The forecast calls for the wind to drop to light after midnight.

Except for large sea-going vessels, sea conditions around Race Rocks and the central Juan de Fuca Strait area were unsuitable for safe boating. No small vessels were observed in or out of the Ecological Reserve today.

There were eight or nine Bald Eagles here today and as usual the gulls would all lift off when the eagles they passed over the flock. A smaller, more compact bird of prey that flew and behaved like a Peregrine Falcon but had a reddish tail like a Red-tailed Hawk made the gulls extra nervous this evening as the sun was setting. The light was not good enough to get a good look at it except to note that it was an exceptionally agile flyer in the heavy winds and from top view it had reddish, burnt sienna-coloured tail. It would swoop through the vegetated area about a half-meter off of the grass; pick up speed and then wheel up into the flock of gulls. The hawk (?) falcon landed on the rock beside camera five, a vantage point, then peeled off backwards with the wind as an eagle approached. It was almost half the size of the eagle.

It was a day dominated by wind and that is perhaps why the big female Northern Elephant Seal left early this morning. Other pinnipeds continued to haul-out as usual.

Sunshine powered the desalinator again today. The system’s media filter was back-flushed, rinsed and refilled and the 20-micron cartridge filter, replaced with a clean one. Other chores were more routine, such as fighting entropy. There were no visitors.

 

 

 

 

 

A Subdued Day on the Rock

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Light northeasterly winds and grey skies made for a subdued day. The barometric pressure dropped a little, from 1020 to 1010 hPa. The forecasters are calling for a westerly gale starting after midnight, with showers and a risk of a thunderstorm.

Five whale-watching vessels were observed working in the protected area today and there were lots of sports fishing boats in the area, not fishing in the Fisheries and Oceans conservation area.

The usual Saturday dive charter was operating in the protected area and had his divers in the water on the ebb tide. They were picked up over by Turbine Rock.

Ecologically, more migrants are passing through each day. More Dunlin were spotted today, all with two legs. There were larger numbers of Black Turnstone and Surfbirds today as well. California Sea Lions are hauling out on Great Race again now, a little too close to the house for a quiet night. Geese are starting to arrive in the middle of the night too and they always do a lot of honking on touch down.

Work was mostly cleaning up and packing for a few days away. If the weather cooperates, I will head home tomorrow and Riley will take over until March 31st. I look forward to reading Riley’s blog.

 

 

Classic Spring Day

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Weather Observations

Today was quintessentially spring. It was already getting light at 05:30 and although there were a few clouds around during the day, it was sunny all day. The UV Index reached almost four, which is rated as moderate. Accumulated solar energy for the day in Langleys was the highest day this week at over 450. (One Langley = 11.62 watt hours per meter2.) Winds were 5 – 20 knots from the west until evening, when they switched to light easterly breezes. There was a significant ocean swell late in the day. The barometer was steady most of the day at ~ 1020 hPA. The marine forecast is calling for light winds becoming easterly 10 to 15 knots early Saturday morning.

Vessel Observations

There were seven visits by whale-watching vessels into the Ecological Reserve. Except for getting too close to the rocks and wildlife, most operators followed the regulations and were careful. The same company that is problematic almost daily has a new larger vessel that sped in the Reserve twice today. The company was notified. Not all vessel operators in this company’s fleet behave badly however the reputation of the company will suffer with a hothead at the helm and so will animals involved in collisions. One speedboat broke down between Great Race and South Rock. The engine cover was off and they were drifting (slowly). I asked them if they were okay and they said they were fine. Soon after, the two-stroke sprung to life in a cloud of fumes and they motored off towards Pedder Bay. An Oak Bay Marine Group vessel followed one of the whale watchers in behind South Rock today and then sped out of the Protected Area. Pedder Bay Marina was advised although they are able to track their boats so can tell where the vessel is and how fast it is going.

Today was animal census day and the results follow.

2016 25-Mar
River Otter 1
Northern Elephant Seal 2
Harbour Seal 72
Northern Sea Lion (Steller’s) 78
California Sea Lion 176
Canada Goose 2
Harlequin Duck 12
Surf Scoter 0
Common Merganser 1
Brandt’s Cormorant 42
Double-crested Cormorant 71
Pelagic Cormorant 43
Cormorant (not ID’d to species) 75
Bald Eagle (juvenile) 7
Bald Eagle (adult) 2
Killdeer 4
Black Oystercatcher 12
Black Turnstone 30
Surfbird 6
Rock Sandpiper 1
Dunlin 2
Mew Gull 0
Glaucous-winged Gull (+ Xs in nesting area) 558
Glaucous-winged Gull (+ Xs outside of nesting area) 529
Thayers Gulls 0
Calfiornia Gulls 11
Western Gull 1
Common Murres 0
Pigeon Guillemot 93
Northwestern Crow 2
Fox Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Red-winged Blackbird 1

Maintenance

Chores were routine, plus tank shed reorganization and basement clean-up. Month-end report started.

Sunlight levels excellent for making water, doing laundry and charging batteries.