August 22 – More Flashers

Posted on Saturday,August 22, 2020 by Nick Townley

Wind: W 9-12 knots
Sea State: calm in morning, rippled in afternoon
Visibility: 10-15 NM
Sky: clear
Temperature: 13-15 °C
Atmospheric CO2: 412.45 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

It rained heavily overnight, giving the windows and pathways a much needed cleaning of the built up bird poop. I have been able to collect run off water from the downspouts on the main house and energy building, which can be used in the pressure washer to clean paths and exterior walls.

This morning, two steller sea lions were spotted with flashers hooked to the left sides of their mouths. One appears to be the sea lion spotted over the past few days. The other has an identical flasher. The Marine Mammal Rescue Centre has been updated, as this makes three different stellers with flashers hooked to their mouths in a week and a half.

Here are a few photos from today:

: A gaggle of Canada geese stopped by this morning to mow the tall grass.

: Two steller sea lions have similar red and silver fishing flashers hooked to the left sides of their mouths.

: This sea lion spent most of the day in this spot on the northern part of the island, near the jetty bay.

: This is most likely the same steller sea lion with a flasher that has been spotted for the past few days on the jetty and middle rock.

: Seven SCUBA divers were exploring in the water off the jetty early this afternoon.

: A 354m container ship bound for South Korea passes near the south end of the Ecological Reserve.

One Day Old Elephant Seal Pup

Posted on Monday,December 30, 2019 by Nick Townley

Wind: Yesterday 5-15 knots W to N; Today 0-18 knots SW to E
Sea State: up to 1 m chop
Visibility: 10-15 NM
Sky: overcast with light rain this evening
Temperature: 8-9 C
Atmospheric CO2: 412.75 ppm (recorded by NOAA at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii)

The one day old elephant seal pup is doing well. It seems to have got the hang of nursing. The alpha male elephant seal, who in the past has been referred to as Bernard, interacted with the pup and mother several times today.

I heard from elephant seal researchers in California that the new mother is T562, who also had a pup on January 4, 2019 on Race Rocks. She was born in the 2010-2011 breeding season on SE Farallon Island, near San Francisco. Until the beginning of 2019, she hadn’t been recorded anywhere since her birth. See Garry Fletcher’s post from February 9th about the elephant seal cow.

Last breeding season, three elephant seal births occurred between January 4 to 20. I will keep a look out for more elephant seal arrivals. Usually, they haul out and then give birth a few days later. Although, the new mother T562 was here for a couple weeks before she gave birth.

The entangled california sea lion is still present on the rocks near the winch and jetty. There has been no sign for the past two days of the entangled steller sea lion.

A previously rescued california sea lion was spotted today and appears to be doing well. More can be read about the care given to that sea lion during the visit by the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre, as detailed in Laas’ post from November 9.

Several eco tour boats have been in the reserve each evening. Yesterday, SCUBA divers were in the water near the North Rocks.

Here is a video of the new elephant seal family:

: The elephant seal pup is getting the hang of nursing.

: A black turnstone joins in to sample some milk.

: The alpha male elephant seal is sliding back up the ramp from a morning swim.

: Elephant seal family viewed from the lighthouse. The pup is underneath or possibly in the large male’s mouth

: One of the two california sea lions that were rescued by the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre on November 5. The neck wound from entanglement appears to be continuing to heal. It is identified by the tags VA017 and VA019 on its fore flippers.

: A beacon of light on a dark and windy night.

March 11 – Cleaning, Diving and Nearby Blasting

Posted on Wednesday,March 11, 2015 by Nick Townley

Overcast with periods of sun and rain
Wind: 1 – 17 knots NE, switching to W in the evening
Air Temperature: Low 9.0°C, High 11.3°C
Ocean Temperature: 9.0°C

In the morning, the visiting students helped with a service project to clean the algae off the exterior walls of the tank room and boat house. Elbow grease, a non toxic de-algae formula, brushes and water were used to tackle the algae. Rain water was pumped from the collection tank at the Ecoguardian’s House, which saves the energy intensive desalinated water for the kitchens and washrooms.

For several hours beginning at 10:30, DND set off explosives on nearby Bentinck Island, which is less than 1km from the ecological reserve. Birds, marine mammals and an Ecoguardian were startled by the blasts.

This afternoon, the four students doing the rescue diving course practiced more scenarios off the jetty with Chris.

Chris brought a volunteer from Pearson to visit for a couple hours. Myriam Guilbert, who is the mother of second year student Chloé, toured around the island snapping photos of the flora, fauna and views. She had heard lots of stories about Race Rocks from her daughter.

There were two eco tour boats, one recreational boat and the Pearson’s Haiku in the reserve today.

: The visiting students assist in service project to clean the algae off the buildings.

: A water pump is used with the rain water tank to help clean the exterior walls around the island.

: Yam and Neel check out the Race Rocks species from up high.

: A loud blast is detonated by DND on Bentinck Island.

: Myriam Guilbert, the mother of second year student Chloé, visits Race Rocks after spending the week volunteering at Pearson.

: Students practice rescue scenarios for diving.

: Bader removes Martin from the water in a rescue diving scenario.

March 10 – Juncos and a Robin

Posted on Tuesday,March 10, 2015 by Nick Townley

Cloudy, with fog in the morning
Wind: 0 – 16 knots from the W then NE in the morning, switching to SE in the afternoon
Air Temperature: High 10°C, Low 7°C
Ocean Temperature: 8.9°C

This morning, the Pearson students here for Project Week helped stack firewood in the cupboards outside of the Engine Building.

Four oregon juncos and a robin were seen flying around the southern part of Great Race.

This afternoon, four students took part in rescue diving scenarios with Chris. Afterwards a few of them went snorkelling around the jetty to check out the sea stars, a sea slug and other species.

Chunk continues to hang out near the Marine Science Centre.

Three ecotour boats came into the ecological reserve to share the sights, sounds and smells of the marine mammals and birds with their customers.

: Chris runs rescue scenarios with the divers: Sean, Yam, Bader and Martin.

: Race Rocks now has one less canada goose thanks to a bald eagle. There are enough down feathers on the south eastern side of Great Race to make a duvet!