Small Seal Hauls On Bull Kelp

The wind blew steadily 25 to 30 knots from the west today, all day. The morning was relatively calm on the lee side but by early evening it was really rough all around Race Rocks. Cloudy morning skies gave way to a sun-dominated mix, of sun and clouds in the afternoon. There was no precipitation in spite of the clouds. Remarkably, the total annual rainfall here to date is ~22 cm, not much. The barometer climbed back up to 1016 hPA., before starting another little slide. The forecast is calling for sunshine with increasing cloud and continuing strong westerlies.

No vessels were observed in the Ecological Reserve during the day today. One whale watching vessel was observed working in the Reserve just at sunset.

Ecological happenings are all in motion and continue on the path that has been described over the last few days. The bull kelp growth may be slowing as evidenced by some epiphytic growth showing on a very small percentage of the “plants”.

These algae are super carbon fixers and not only crank out food, they also grow so thickly that they shelter the Sea Otter and today I saw a small Harbour Seal actually climbing out of the water onto the bull kelp. It is slippery stuff so I was surprised when I looked a few hours later: it was still there and had managed to dry off the upper part of its body while hauling on bull kelp.

 

Bull kelp is still actively growing.

I realized today that the Harbour Seals, of which there are a lot more (225 to 250) than Northern Elephant Seals (maximum count 35), may have had the short end of the stick when it comes to mentions in the Log entries. Maybe it is because the elephant seals are up close and personal and not bothered by our presence. Maybe it is because it has been such an priviledge to get to know the elephant seals and their diverse personalities and behaviours. The Harbour Seals are further away and hard to tell apart as individuals. An adult Bald Eagle was very interested in the Harbour Seals today and although it is early for inside waters, I thought that there might be some pupping activity soon.

Adult Bald Eagle on watch near hauled out Harbour Seals on Turbine Rock.

Chunk and Floyd often sleep together behind the science house. Floyd’s moult is more than two thirds done while Chunk has not even reached a third yet.

Chunk (closest) and Floyd stretched out behind the science house. Chunk is stretching his right fore flipper.

Chunk and Floyd also have their battles and tonight they chose to fight in amongst the nesting gulls, crushing at least one nest and killing an adult that was trying to defend its nest.

Chunk and Floyd go at each other in among the nesting gulls.

Gull versus adult bull elephant seal: seal 1; gull 0.

My favorite bird here continues to be the Black Oystercatcher, there is something about their very spartan nests and their willingness to take on adult Bald Eagles and Ravens that makes me cheer them on. Their looks are pretty great too. The newly hatched chicks are very precocious and can follow parental commands almost immediately. They are so good at remaining perfectly still when “told to” that they are almost impossible to see. Thank goodness for telephoto lenses. I will try to get a photo of the chicks from a distance tomorrow.

Black Oystercatchers are fiercely brave little birds and willing to chase off Ravens and even Bald Eagles. Their nests are entirely comfortless with only pebbles and shells for decoration.

There were no visitors today and chores were routine as I wrap up the last few days of my shift.

April 10

 

Light airs from the southwest and a light overcast sky, dominated the first part of the day. At about 16:00, an abrupt directional switch to west by northwest saw winds rise to 20 to 30 knots within a few minutes. Those winds were accompanied by moderate rain and a darkened, overcast sky. The wind direction remained the same but velocity dropped to 5 – 10 knots after the storm passed through leaving sunshine and outrageous double rainbows in its wake. The barometer continued to fall slowly today and the forecast calls for west winds and a 40% chance of showers.

There were five whale-watching boats observed in the Ecological Reserve today all during the downpour. One sports fisher was observed speeding in the go-slow area.

A sea otter was spotted in the Ecological Reserve again today, after being either absent or well hidden for almost a month. Thanks go out to the operator of the Prince of Whales vessel in the area, for radioing the location and description to me.

On land, there are many flowers blooming on Great Race right now. Many of the flowers are heritage plants, part of the legacy left by light keepers from 155 years ago and on.

 

Flowers lined the original route to the tower and keeper's house.

Flowers lined the original route to the tower and keeper’s house.

More heritage flowers.

More heritage flowers.

An exception to the imported non-native plants, are the Mist Maidens blooming right now. There are several patches but the most vigorous one is in the scree above the Pigeon Guillemot nesting area, just uphill from the boat-house. Mist Maidens or Romanzoffia tracyi are considered to be a rare plant and I will take some photos to share with you tomorrow if the light is better.

A group of visitors were here today using the science house and Great Race for a retreat. Courtney brought them out on Second Nature and stayed to help trouble-shoot a few issues with the generator and aggressive geese. Alex left with Courtney in the afternoon.

 

 

Sedum anglicum, English Stonecrop–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

stonecrop

Sedum anglicum,(in bloom in July,) English Stonecrop– invasive at Race Rocks

 

Englishstonecrop

Sedum anglicum, English Stonecrop all photos by Garry Fletcher

This plant was introduced to Race Rocks by Assistant keepers in the 1980s. From a small flower bed near the assistant’s house It has spread over much of the Great Race Rock Island. Since it is a member of the Crassulacea family, it uses the crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) method for fixation of

The crevices of the rock outcrops where native grasses grew are being invaded by this stonecrop.

The crevices of the rock outcrops where native grasses grew are being invaded by this stonecrop.

Carbon Dioxide for photosynthesis. Since it can fix Carbon into a chemical when stomata are open only when its cool at night, it is very resistant to drought, and can survive with very little soil.

stonecrop_cistern

The mat of green is a monoculture of Sedum anglicum, English Stonecrop growing on the concrete surface of the large gound-level cistern.

It is of course not the only introduced species on Race Rocks but since it is not grazed by anything, it is rapidly replacing the sparse growth of native species such as thrift  and grasses in the rock crevices.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Crassulaceae
Genus: Sedum
Species: S. anglicum
English Stonecrop
Other Angiosperms (flowering plants) at Race Rock

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.

 

Romanzoffia tracyi : Mist maidens–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Romanzoffia tracyi

Scientific classification
Family: Boraginaceae (Borage)
Subfamily: Hydrophylloideae (Waterleaf)
Genus: Romanzoffia
Species: R. tracyi (Jepson)
Common name: Tracy’s mistmaiden

General: Perennial herb from well-developed, brown-woolly basal tubers; stems several, ascending, long glandular-hairy, 2-12 cm tall [1].

Continue reading

Animal Census

Mostly clear skies. Strong West wind all day.

The flag was set at half-mast today to mark the national day of remembrance of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.  According to the Canadian War Museum, the capture of Vimy was more than just an important battlefield victory, it became a symbol for the sacrifice of the young Dominion. Brigadier-General A.E. Ross declared after the war, “in those few minutes I witnessed the birth of a nation.”

 

Animal Census

Steller Sea lion: 41
California Sea lion: 8
Harbour Seal: 153
Elephant Seal: 16!
Gulls: 301
Canada Geese: 20
Black Turnstone: 6
Harlequin Duck: 4
Oystercatcher: 8

Continue reading

Introduced Ornamentals

Light North wind this morning. Strong Westerlies this afternoon. Rain with periods of sun.

1 tour boat

This morning was the first time this Spring that there have been a few California Sea lions resting on the end of the jetty.

With Spring mostly here, many of the introduced ornamental plants are flowering. This isn’t a complete plant inventory, just a selection of plants that I noticed on my photo walk. The terrestrial plants at Race Rocks are dominated by introduced and invasive species. This is something that occurs at most light stations. There is a long history of trying to make the light stations look “like home”; Which is usually done by introducing hardy ornamental plants that can survive (although only a few thrive) on remote, salt and wind blasted light stations. Continue reading

A trip with BC Parks Staff to Race Rocks

On the morning of Wednesday June  6 , I went with Andy MacDonald,  the Vancouver Island Region (South) Parks and Protected Areas Section Head, and  Zsana Tulcsik, the new BC Parks Area Supervisor from the Goldstream Office out to the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve. ( A report by Garry Fletcher, Race Rocks ER warden)

College staff member Erik Schauff skippered Second Nature and we met Chris Blondeau , Director of Operations for Pearson College UWC  on the jetty. He is the relief ecoguardian at  Race Rocks for the week .

The elephant seals co-operated and were basking in the sun on the grass in the centre of the island. There were 4-  2 year olds and one large older Male, which may have been Chunk … the inflamed  right eye from an injury administered by Misery was a good identification mark.

Two Northern sea lions were observed in the water . I thought it was notable that there were very few harbour seals which usually have pups at this time of year, and none on the southern islets where they usually haul out. I will have to check over the next few days on the tower camera, as they may have been out foraging.

The glaucous-winged gulls are well into nesting season, with several nests containing three eggs. The image from the window of the science centre shows the distribution of pairs. Another picture above shows a nest precariously close to the elephant seal  haulout spot.

There was an abundance of pigeon guillemots on all corners of the island where they have their nesting burrows. They should be visible on camera 5 now out near the edge of the cliff to the west.  They have certainly been a success story in increasing numbers in the past few years. There must be well over 60 pairs nesting in the hidden burrows under the rocks. Ironically good habitat has been produced in several areas because of  human activity in the past by the blasting  of rock for the helipad construction by the Coastguard, and other construction on the islands done in the 1900s before it was an ecological reserve. This is a rare example of habitat enhancement that humans can claim, as usually it is the other way around.

On the return to the docks we were impressed with the clumps of Thrift in full bloom. Chris mentioned that the Black Oystercatchers had been in the area on the rock right off the sidewalk by the docks and we soon spotted the nest. This is the same area they have used for many years. The videos of the hatching oystercatchers in this link  are from the same area.

In addition to the vast monocultures of pineapple weed as shown above, this is the second year we have noted large patches of Fiddleneck, Amsinckia spectabilis in the same compacted and richly fertilized areas where the grass was killed out by the sealions and intense Canada Goose grazing.

Armeria maritima: Thrift–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Armeria maritima, sea thrift is in full bloom and looks very striking at this time of year.

Armeria maritima, sea thrift is in full bloom and looks very striking at this time of year. G.Fletcher photo.

There are several patches of this xerophytic plant located on the dry rocky knolls of Race Rocks. It is one of the native plants of the island.

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Core eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Plumbaginaceae
Genus: Armeria
Species: A. maritima
Armeria maritima (Mill.) Willd.
Other Angiosperms at Race Rock

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.

 

Amsinckia menziesii: fiddleneck–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

gfjun11fiddleneckflo2This fiddleneck, Amsinckia menziesii  was a recent arrival to the islands,  (2011) In that year , although not a garden escape, it colonized many areas at Race Rocks possibly because of its unpalatability to Canada geese.

 

Note the fiddle shaped seed heads of Amsinckia spectabilis.

 

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: (unplaced)
Family: Boraginaceae
Genus: Amsinckia
Species: A. menziesii

Amsinckia menziesii  (Lehm.) Nelson & J.F. Macbr.

Fiddleneck,  Menzie’s fiddleneck, Menzies’ fiddleneck, small flowered fiddleneck

Other Angiosperms (flowering plants) at Race Rock

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.

 

Nereocystis luetkeana- Videos of Kelp

 

Kelp and color. At the end of a live underwater video session, I inadvertently left the camera “on while I was waiting in the kelp bed off the jetty at Race Rocks Ecological Reserve.  It was a sunny day and the effects created by the sunlight streaming through the canopy of the forest gave this interesting effect.” GF-2003

Note: The video pauses on each clump in order to have a better view.

When Race Rocks was declared Canada’s first Marine Protected Area, Holly Arntzen offered Pearson College the opportunity to use some of her songs as video backgrounds. Her CD entitled “The Salish Sea” is about the fading beauties of the oceans and it stresses the importance of their protection.
Using the song “Saltwater” as a background, this video shows images of divers and the bull kelp, Nereocystis leutkeana, a species of brown algae present in high density throughout the summer and fall at Race Rocks. Their lamina provide a special protective canopy for a delicate ecosystem with many species of invertebrates and fish under their canopy. This video was filmed and edited by Jean-Olivier Dalphond (PC yr26) and Damien Guihen (PC yr27) in June 2001.

See the Taxonomy File on Nereocystis