Race Rocks Ecological Reserve- | marine ecology educational resource, remote-control webcams,elepha

Time 2021-09-14 19:18:54

Web Name: Race Rocks Ecological Reserve- | marine ecology educational resource, remote-control webcams,elepha

WebSite: http://www.racerocks.com

ID:193373

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Ecological notes:This week I have been fortunate enough to have uncommon visitors stop by the reserve Brown Pelicans!A group of a dozen pelicans have flown by 2-3 times this week and stopped for an afternoon break on an occasion as well!Weather:My morning routine consists of listening to the radio marine forecast accompanied by my cup of joe.  This morning they shared that there is a ridge (High pressure system) along the west coast once again.  This is good for the solar panels :) but will most likely indicate stronger westerlies (which had finally calmed down) coming into the straight once again.Weather – Current: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72Weather – Past: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?Environment Canada forecast:https://weather.gc.ca/marine/region_e.html?mapID=02Or call 2503636880 to hear the radio forecast (for the region around Race Rocks) on your phone :)Once you have chosen a region if you can also click on the synopsis tab it will show the marine synopsis.  This is the part of the forecast were they talk about the systems (high and low pressure) positions. Hello! Happy Friday:)This week I took on the task of counting all the animals on the reserve,Armed with a clicker, binoculars and my camera I got to work:I counted:23 California Sea lions115 Stellar sea lions133 Harbour seals4 Orcas (Transients)1 Humpback Whale7 Oystercatchers2 Cormorants6 Pigeon Guillemots20 Black Turnstones3 Ruddy Turnstones1 Short Billed Dowitcher (I believe)That day I felt that there were fewer common birds in the area than usual, except for the seagulls! They were everywhere!I counted 3885 seagullsThis, to me, seemed like an absurd number. I recounted the pictures multiple times as I was convinced I had made a mistake, but would be proven wrong (Although I am not dismissing the very big possibility of my human error)Here are some pictures of the waters surrounding the main island(Feel free to expand the pictures to appreciate the sheer volume of white specs that are on the images)Here are a couple pictures of the Short Billed Dowitcher (Thanks Halle), I had not yet had the chance to see this bird, it was hanging around the Turnstones for the better part of the afternoon.I was also very lucky with Orca seeing, yet again, the pod of transient orcas around the island.I was also lucky enough to see a humpback surface a couple of times, but it was too far away for me to capture it.Weather events:It has been quite uneventful, the intense westerlies have subsided for the most part and I am getting a break in the clouds mostly in the afternoons.I did see more cirrus clouds on Tuesday that were very similar to the ones we had previously seen in height, texture and size.  Those also brought me a few minutes of sprinkling the next day.Facility work:Washing solar panels (Daily)Washing windows (as needed)Sweeping second residenceMaintenance/Repairs on power washerWater levels in the batteryOptimizing electric fence (Jetty) Infractions:As I was sitting on top of the engine room next to the solar panels as I had spotted orcas in the distance.All of a sudden I see a motor boat that approaches the reserve and slows down as it should.  Nothing unusual here Until an adult an a couple kids carefully make their way to the bow (front) of the boat and sit down.I then see the power boat get closer and closer to one of the outer rocks in the reserve passing over the kelp bed and getting exceptionally close to the sea lions.I then try and contact the vessel on both channel 68 and 16 with no response.The vessel kept approaching the animals, without much surprise this boater makes the entirety of the island stampede and escape into the water, causing big disruption to the animals.Unluckily for this Sunday boater I had a 400mm telephoto lens with and a pair of binoculars sitting on my lap What an example to set for the kids sitting on the bow :(.I always wonder if these people are aware of the ecological impact of their actions or if they simply don t care.Facility Work:Improvement of Electric fence systemCleaning of solar panels (daily)Cleaning of windows (almost daily)Clearing remainder of scrap wood. Weather – Current: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72Weather – Past: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?Environment Canada forecast:https://weather.gc.ca/marine/region_e.html?mapID=02 One thing about being in the wild that I find exciting is how your planned out day can turn around in an instant. Yesterday I had one of those moments.Greg had scheduled to stop by the island to get some work done and drop off groceries, although the work part of his mission out to the rock fell through he still came out to drop off some food   And I m glad he did!Ecological Notes: As he was approaching the dock he gets word on the radio that a group of orcas are nearby.  After I bolt inside to drop off the groceries and grab the camera, we head out to fight the current and take a look.Fair enough the orcas, T018 s (from what I have been told, thanks Sean!) were floating about, they were quite calm and stayed put for the time we were out on the water but managed to snap a few shots to share with you :) Meteorology:The last few days have been overcast, but the cloud cover cleared up this afternoon.There is a semi-stationary ridge (fancy word for high pressure system that isn t moving very much) off the west coast of Vancouver Island.  This explains the constant and somewhat strong westerlies we ve been having.High pressure also usually means little to no clouds.  Now that the clouds have cleared I am hopeful that this might be the beginning of a clear sky break!!  I do my best to try and limit my power consumption on the island.  Days I can rely solely on solar power are quite rewarding, we ll have to wait and see.Tasks:Washed solar panels (Daily)Washed windowsContinuation of Moving old building materialsContinuation of cleaning the outside of secondary residenceMy name is Cedric,I have been settling into this seagull run oasis known as Race Rocks over the last couple of days. I am enjoying figuring out the inner workings of the infrastructure and discovering the ever present ecosystem that makes this place importantI have had the opportunity to witness the beauty of the Salish sea marine life from a variety of floating mechanisms (kayaks, sailboats, powerboats, etc.) but never quite like this . That being said, I have been away from the West coast of Canada for a while now and am greatly looking forward to diving back into the Salish’s magic!I will be doing my best to share with you, every few days, my meteorological and ecological findings, some upkeep tasks, day-to-day life and whatever else I can come up with!Ecology:Today after talking a quick walk around the island I spotted a few common birds. Although they are not particularly uncommon to spot, I enjoy seeing these animals living their day to day routine in numbers and tranquility.A walk to the jetty presented me with a few old friends, Pigeon Guillemots neatly lined up for a picture, one of which being quite vocal.Meteorology:This morning, as did yesterday, started with a dense fog that did not lift until very late into the morning.  Today the fog made a comeback and appeared for a second time around noon/early afternoon.  I found that quite interesting and wish I had been more attentive as to what caused it but was busy making myself lunch amongst other things.This afternoon around 1600 I noticed a Cirrus and Strato-Cirrus cloud, these two were not alarming (as they were not particularly “whisky”) but could mean some overcast and minor chances of showers for me tomorrow. Possibly the end of the sunny clear skies I have had since I arrived.(Pictures are not quite as clear as I would ve liked because of the unfortunate sun positioning)Although I do have a feeling that it will take me a little while longer to get a better pulse on what information the clouds are giving me in this microclimate.  We will have to wait and see how my predictions hold.**Update**The next day (and the day after) did have overcast but showers were limited to 30 seconds of sprinkling in the early afternoon.  Mostly right but not quite thereWesterlies have been blowing since I have arrived, today it has bounced around 12-20kn whereas the last two evenings it reached 30kn, will have to see if the trend continues.Maintenance activities since I have arrived:Solar panels (daily)Washed windows (almost daily)Topped up battery waterCleaned interior (started exterior) of secondary residenceMoved old building material to better location It s hard to believe a week has flown by!  The boat took me back to the big island shortly after 2 pm, but there was still plenty of time before they arrived to have an exciting moment. Daniel Donnecke from Rocky Point Bird Observatory persuaded me to do one last seawatch this morning, once again apparently showing that the birds that fly past Beechey Head do not come close by Race Rocks on their voyage east. It s likely that they move across the strait over to the American side. It may be wind dependent, but we had no correlation at all the three days we did seawatches at the same time.Seawatch is a fancy term for trying to identify little specks at the limit of your visual range. This is a Common Murre.I cleaned the solar panels for the last time this week.  The gulls had been pretty reasonable the last couple of days except for that one section where it was bad every day.Sparkling clean!There were several other things to get done to prepare for my departure and Greg s arrival, but I had plenty of time.  That is I had plenty of time until I turned the corner towards the house and saw a songbird on the ground.  There had only been a Song Sparrow and one or more Brown-headed Cowbirds on the island all week as far as passerines went, so this was good. And it got better when I realized the bird was a Yellow-headed Blackbird, an uncommon bird for Victoria. Normally, my camera is on my shoulder, but since I had been cleaning the solar panels, it was back at the generator building. I did have my phone with me, though, so I snapped a quick couple of documentation shots.  They were really bad, but showed some of the diagnostic features for the species. By the time I got back with the camera, the bird was gone. That just seemed weird, as normally a bird that lands on offshore islands does so because it needs to refuel.  I looked all around, but no luck. So I climbed the tower and searched the whole island from up there. Still no luck, so I came down and continued with my tasks. About two hours later, I looked out the window, and there it was!Nice of him to stretch out a wing so you can see the white edges on the primary coverts.Yellow-headed Blackbirds are common in the BC Interior. It s possible that the smoke may have moved him to the coast.I probably took 400 shots to make sure I got a few good ones. The time I took following him around, though, cut my packing and cleaning time down. I was just barely finished when the marine radio call came from the Second Nature that Greg and Jeff were only a few minutes away.Greg s stuff was unloaded and mine loaded, and before you knew it, we were headed back to Pearson College, leaving Greg on the dock-an unusual situation for him!It s been an amazing week, and I m grateful to the folks at Pearson College for allowing me to serve as the relief Eco-guardian this week. I hope that I will get the chance to do this again!Ecological Notes:Mammals1 Humpback Whale2 Harbour PorpoiseSteller s Sea LionCalifornia Sea LionSuccessful fishing!Harbour SealBirds5 Black Oystercatcher10 Black Turnstone41 Common Murre65 Pigeon GuillemotWhen in breeding plumage, the linings of the their mouths are as red as their feet.6 Rhinoceros Auklet1 Heermann s Gull60 California Gull700 Glaucous-winged Gull3 Pelagic Cormorant15 cormorant sp.1 Song Sparrow1 Yellow-headed BlackbirdFacility Work: Cleaned all the solar panels and the dirty windowsVessel Traffic: Shipping lanes were busy again today.  Several whale-watching boats ad 2 private fishing boats came by for the sea lions (which they saw) and the elephant seal (which they didn t). Weather – Current: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72Weather – Past: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php? Today (Thursday) is my last full day as a relief Eco-guardian at Race Rocks, so it seemed fitting that there be a few interesting events. The first was waking up to a sky full of wildfire smoke. We ve been so lucky with the westerly winds that kept all of the smoke away, but with the latest heat wave and drop in wind, it was on us before dawn today.Smoke on the waterIt was also eerily quiet.  The hundreds of California Gulls that have been somewhere around here each morning were missing.  What was present were tankers and bulk carriers. I m sure they ve been plying the waters of the shipping channel all week, but today was the first day I noticed them in such numbers.  There were 6 in quick succession in the first hour I was watching.One of many vessels that passed by Race Rocks today.It s amazing how much traffic there is in the Juan de Fuca Strait. It s possible to watch and get details on the ships in real time here.I started the day by washing the solar panels a necessary task given the amount of bird droppings on them.  They ve been outfitted with bird spikes, but on my last panel today, I found this: Yes, a gull demonstrating how clever he (or she) is in defeating the mechanisms we put in place to stop them. Just step on the flat side, not the pointy end!A closer look revealed something else.  This bird is banded!!!  For bird banders, there s little more exciting than finding out what has happened to birds you banded. That happens when others observe or find the bands, determine the band number, and report that information to reportband.gov  . Of course, I didn t have my camera with me, and the bird also wasn t going to stick around. In fact, it flew. The good news is that most of the gulls on the island are at least somewhat predictable as they are on territories right now. I saw him fly around the lighthouse but not come out the other side.  It was possible he was very close by.  When I finished the panel cleaning, I grabbed my camera from the generator room, and went off in search of a gull among 700. It didn t take me too long to find him, but not in a very convenient spot.Each bird band has a unique set of nine numbers.  You need them all to positively identify the bird.  This means you have to get a decent photo of all sides of the band, and that can take a bit of patience.  Fortunately, I have that! My presence riled the gulls enough that they were all yelling at me and the banded gull came in to help chase me off. That was good enough to get me a partial set of numbers.  Now I had to get him from the other side. I moved closer to the house and waited. After about 4 times of him coming to the ground and flying off, I finally had all the numbers! If you ever find or photograph a bird band, you should report it to reportband.gov. There are a series of questions to answer, but in the end, you will learn about the banding of the bird and receive a certificate of appreciation.Ecological Notes:Mammals1 male Elephant Seal departed today after molt. After he spent the night at the dock last night, I suspected this might happen.  He was in the water most of the day, and when I looked for him around suppertime, he was nowhere to be seen.Steller s Sea Lions Good numbers now on Great Race IslandCalifornia Sea Lions Numbers increasing dramatically on Great Race and surrounding islandsHarbour Seals Many throughout the areaBirds7 Black Oystercatcher, including young bird near the dock18 Black Turnstone5 Least Sandpiper1 Western SandpiperWestern Sandpiper in the lead, followed by Least Sandpiper11 Common Murre136 Pigeon Guillemot counted by clicker at around 8 am. There could be more, but no fewer.  Many catching gunnels or blennies (see last bird on right).3 Heermann s Gull400 California Gull, mostly feeding on krill today700 Glaucous-winged Gull, including 1 bandedTussles like this are going on all the time6 Pelagic Cormorant1 Bald Eagle on Turbine Island at dawn22 Purple Martin biggest bird surprise of the day! Flock circled the lighthouse at 8:35 pm and continued south. Only flyovers I have seen this week.1 Song Sparrow, rummaging in the compostFacility Work: Cleaned solar panels. Not one window had gull droppings today, thanks to the calm winds.Vessel Traffic: Many vessels in the shipping lanes today. Smaller than usual number of eco-tourism vessels, likely due to Biggs Orcas in other areas around the region. Several private fishing vessels came by the dock because of the sea lions.Infractions: Private vessel coming through the reserve at too high a speed. Warned them to slow down, which they did.Weather Events:  First day of noticeable smoke from fires on the mainland. Reduced visibility. Low winds from the south and east.Wildfire smoke was present all day. Weather – Current: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72Weather – Past: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php? The sunsets here at Race Rocks are amazing, but the sunrises are pretty spectacular as well. This morning the roving mass of California Gulls were hanging out among the kelp on the southeast side of the island. Hundreds of gulls all looking for breakfast!  The krill is still around, at least early in the day, but you can tell that it s moving around because the flock of birds will be here one minute and gone the next.Sunrise at Race Rocks with Mt Baker in the backgroundWhile I m not seeing a lot of bird diversity during my stay here, I have been given the chance to study the behaviours of the gulls. With all the krill in the area, there is no shortage of food, and the young Glaucous-winged Gulls know that.  Depending on their age and whether or not there are siblings, the adults may regurgitate directly into the chick s mouth, or onto the ground so the young can fight over it.Single chick gets special delivery of foodTriplets fighting for the goodies the adult brought from the sea.One of the most interesting behaviours I ve seen has been that of a young gull that has figured out that even though it can t fly, it can swim!  For three days now, I ve seen this single chick in the channel to the east of the island. I suspect that it accidentally ended up in the water one day and survived to tell the tale. It certainly is more mobile than the other youngsters on the island.Meandering along like this is normalCompletely able to come ashore when it wants toAnd speaking of flying, it s incredibly amusing to watch the antics of the youngsters trying to make their wings work. Today I saw the first Orcas of my visit here. The marine radio is a constant companion, and while most of the chatter is about where the best fishing is, tonight a call came in about Orcas just off Bentinck Island. A pod of 5 put on an incredible show for the whale-watching boats and private vessels.  They moved from Bentinck to the mouth of Pedder Bay and continued the action for more than half an hour.Surprise! The pod surrounded this small boat.Earlier in the day, Daniel Donnecke was at Rocky Point and spotted Humpback Whales to the east of Race Rocks. I managed to get on them thanks to his sighting. Two whale species day!Ecological Notes:Mammals2 Humpback Whale5 Orca2 Harbour Porpoise1 male Elephant Seal (went to the water early today around 10 am and spent the whole day there. Still on the ramp at dark)California Sea LionSteller s Sea LionGood contrast between male Steller s in the rear and male California in front of himHarbour SealMom and nursing pupBirds5 Canada Geese1 Killdeer8 Black Oystercatcher14 Black TurnstoneThis Black Turnstone hasn t yet moulted all of its breeding plumage. Note the white speckles on the chest and pale eyebrow.This one is a little closer to the birds we typically see here in the winter.3 Surfbird6 Common Murre60 Pigeon Guillemot3 Heermann s Gull700 California GullLittle white specks of a massive flock of (mostly) California Gulls600 Glaucous-winged Gull3 Pelagic Cormorant5 Double-crested CormorantDouble-crested Cormorants with Pelagic Cormorant and Pigeon Guillemots1 Brown-headed CowbirdFacility Work: Cleaned solar panels and continued fly-busting in the housesVessel Traffic: Late start for the eco-tourism vessels. Saw very few before 11, then they were steady the rest of the day until dusk. Very large container vessel heading west. Weather – Current: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72Weather – Past: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php? Fog rolled in on Monday night, activating the signal from the beacon. It s a piercing set of three tones every minute, and a sound that I am very familiar with from hearing it often while at Rocky Point. I had been warned to bring earplugs, which I did, but I didn t need them.Fog rollI was actually welcoming the fog for several reasons. Recent Eco-guardian Joan Rosenberg shared a tip about cleaning the solar panels when they were still wet with fog. Great idea! That made things go much quicker. There were also some things I really needed to get to on the computer, but when the weather is good, I want to be out looking around. The panels got cleaned, but the fog cleared fairly early, so things that should be done are still waiting.The fog clearing definitely made my planned census today possible. Here is my report:CensusMammalsHumpback Whale: 1Elephant Seal: 1 maleReturning from his daily swim.Harbour Seal: 191 including several pupsSteller s Sea Lion: 27Steller s and California Sea LionsCalifornia Sea Lion 23California Sea LionsBirdsBlack Oystercatcher: 8Killdeer: 2Black Turnstone: 21Surfbird: 1Rhinoceros Auklet: 5Common Murre: 1Heermann s Gull: 1California Gull: 700 (mostly early morning, although some lingered through the day)Glaucous winged Gull: 655 (by clicker highest count for me so far)Pelagic Cormorant: 5Double-crested Cormorant: 4Bald Eagle: 1Song Sparrow: 1Brown-headed Cowbird: 1Unidentified passerine: 1 (right as the sun set, the bird flew in east of the lighthouse, but I couldn t relocate it. I ll be checking the area in the morning!Facility Work: Solar panels and windows cleaned. Greg came by with a load of diesel. Arriving California Sea Lions prompted check and minor fixes to the fencing.  We also topped up all of the batteries with distilled water.Battery bank. 24 needing juice!Vessel Traffic: Ecotourism was big today with as many as five vessels in the reserve at once. Estimate more than 20 came through today. No private vessels noted.Another beautiful sunset!SunsetWeather – Current: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72Weather – Past: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php? Since the fog was staying away, Daniel Donnecke and I decided to have another go at a seawatch today, Daniel at Beechey Head and me at Race Rocks.  From my perspective, this one worked out much better, but we still were not seeing many of the same birds.  The exception, though, was a large group of (mostly) California Gulls that lifted off shortly after our start time of 6:30.  Like  yesterday, there were hundreds of gulls feeding just off Race Rocks. Although there was still krill in the area, there were also small fish that you could occasionally see glinting in their bills.  I was also watching a large barge of logs being towed towards Puget Sound.It wasn t clear what put them up, or whether there was just a signal that it was time to go.  Some headed to a bait ball to the east while several hundred headed east towards Beechy Head where Daniel saw them coming in.Ecological Notes:1 Elephant Seal80 Harbour SealCalifornia Sea LionSteller s Sea LionSeveral bird firsts for me for the week.11 Canada Goose7 Black Oystercatcher (including one juvenile)Baby Black OystercatcherStill under its parent s watchful eye1 Killdeer45 Black Turnstone55 Common Murre80 Pigeon Guillemot many carrying gunnels 2 Marbled Murrelet1 Cassin s Auklet14 Rhinoceros Auklet500 California Gull (probably a gross underestimation)400 Glaucous-winged Gull (not an increase, but a more accurate count today)1 Herring Gull4 Heerman s Gull1000 more unidentified gull feeding on krill and small fish.1 Bald Eagle perched on middle islands. First raptor of the week for me1 Song Sparrow1 Brown-headed Cowbird First passerine I saw during my stay.Facility Work: cleaned windows and solar panels.Vessel Traffic: lots of traffic in the shipping lanes including large barge of logsBarge of logsSteady stream of ecotourism vehicles starting mid-morning, but fewer than yesterday. 10+Weather – Current: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72Weather – Past: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

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