Tag Archives: entangled sea lions

Summary of Sea lion brands and entanglements and Shift Change

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Reflection: Race Rocks grows on you. It encourages wonder and awe. You are constantly stopping to catch a glimpse of whales, check out a new scent on the wind, a new sound from amongst hundreds or to stand mesmerized by the moment. It is a complex physical operation, keep going by amazingly dedicated staff. It is a living, breathing treasure.

Facility Work: Fence repair as required, cleaning of solar panels, sea and temperature measurements in the morning now. Plans in place to fix desalinator.

Vessels: Pedder Explorer for pickup.

Photos:

Eight branded California sea lions were observed from September 01 to 15, 2025 at Race Rocks.

Three sea lions, one Steller and two California, were noted with current or healed neck injuries.

Census day

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Wildlife: Conducted wildlife census, counted from the lighthouse last week, counting from viewpoints on the ground and photos from the tower for cross check.

Amazing day for whales. Observed eight blows in less than two minutes south of Bentinck island.

Entangled Steller sea lion seen again on Middle Island.

Facility work: Fueled generator, cleaned solar panels, fence maintenance, temp and salinity measurements

Solar panels, birds and the sun

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Wildlife: The morning presented itself with the barking of sea lions on the north side, closer than expected. Looking out to see the new north electric fence lying on the ground and three pleased California sea lions lying on the fence line itself. Repairs undertaken. A pattern with the fence seems to be emerging.

First sighting of entangled Steller sea lion mentioned by previous Eco guardians. May be a female, with a weeping wound around the neck. Wary of humans.

Oyster catchers, black turnstones on eastern part of big island.

Facilities: Solar panels require cleaning every day. Surprised at how tenacious bird droppings can be, especially if the sun has had a chance to bake it on. Became very apparent when trying to clean the science building windows. Needed to use a razor blade scraper to get it off.

Vessels: Twenty one tour boats today. 15 humpback whale sightings. Two pelicans on south islands.

Sea lion frustrations

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Much quieter day workwise today.

The sea lions are taking over! They have knocked the fencing down in several places and once again have cleared the fence posts from the jetty. I am conceding defeat! I know Greg and Richard are planning to redo the fence system this week, so the sea lions can claim victory–for now.

During yesterday’s census, I saw a Glaucous-winged Gull with a seriously broken wing. It looked like an old injury given the condition of the wing. I couldn’t relocate it after viewing it from the tower, but today it was near the solar panels. I managed to catch it and will take it to WildARC when I leave on Monday.

The bird of the day remains unidentified. I flushed a small sparrow twice today, but it went too far for me to get a positive identification. I suspect it is a Savannah Sparrow. I am annoyed I didn’t get a better look as there are very few songbirds here.

The entangled sea lion is still present. Fingers crossed for a rescue soon.

Facility work:

  • Clean the solar panels
  • Clean the west and north windows of the Science Building
  • Took hydrometer readings of the batteries in the generator building.

Weather:

  • Sky: clear and sunny all day
  • Wind: variable 0 – 20 knots
  • Sea: rippled
  • Air temperature: low 13 °C, high 27 °C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 10.9 °C

Photos from today:

Western Gull, an uncommon species for Race Rocks, although there are a few who are breeding with Glaucous-winged Gulls on site.

One of five Ruddy Turnstones seen today

 

 

August 22

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One more time!  I’m back on Race Rocks for a short shift of just a few days. The last time I was relief ecoguardian was in 2023, and while much remains the same, there have been some changes, too. Nick left the house in great shape. What a nice welcome back!

I got my first trip on the new Pearson College boat. She’s a beauty! With lots of interior seating, I’m sure the students and visitors will appreciate the comfort of future journeys. We came across with several guests including Alex Fletcher, a former long-term ecoguardian on the Rocks.

After a quick look around, tasks began right away with the scheduled water temperature and salinity tests that are taken from the end of the jetty. No problem with the sea lions today as the boat was tied up and keeping them at bay.

One of the major chores for the ecoguardian is keeping the solar panels and building windows clean. Strong west winds this week resulted in the pelting of the Science Building. I know where I’ll be spending some time tomorrow!

As the Pedder Explorer departed, Greg yelled back to me about an entangled sea lion. A female Steller’s had the tell-tale signs of something wrapped around her neck. A close inspection of the photos showed a packing band which must have been on her for years given how far it has cut into her neck. The incident was reported to DFO. If she stays around, they may make an attempt to rescue her and remove the band.

Facility work:

  • Reset the electric fencing on the jetty. Despite Nick’s efforts, the sea lions had knocked several posts off the jetty.
  • Inspected the fence line around the perimeter. Again, the sea lions are not respecting the barrier.

Weather:

  • Beautiful and clear on arrival at approximately 2 pm.
  • Wind: Variable 2-13 knots
  • Sea: rippled
  • Air temperature: low 14 °C, high 25 °C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 10.7 °C

 

Saturday Update

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Today’s weather has been significantly better than yesterday although its still grey and quite cold. The logs at the jetty are slowly breaking up a bit but there are still a ton down there. I did manage to drag in a couple more for firewood while the tide was low. 

There have been 20-30 eagles here lately which is pretty neat to watch, but still no elephant seals! 

The little entangled Cali is sticking around which makes me hopeful we’ll be able to to help her. I also spotted a juvenile Steller on the jetty today with a large fish hook and lure in his lip. A hooked lip is far better than him having swallowed the hook but its still not great. I expect that it’ll get stepped on or ripped out before we can do anything for him but I’ll keep an eye on it regardless. The young Stellers LOVE to play with anything they find, I’ve been watching them carry sticks around and chunks of fish, and unfortunately some plastic debris as well. They’re like curious little toddlers and I love watching them play – I’d just prefer it not be with garbage! 

Nothing too wild going on today! Chopped some wood, and got a few tasks done inside. No vessels in the area today, everyone seems to be laying low. 

Stormy and Cold

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Not much of an update today. Woke up to strong winds and sideways rain that I’m surprised didn’t turn to snow with how cold it felt. Definitely a stay inside kinda day! 

The entangled Cali is still here, hopefully it sticks around until we have calmer weather to organize a rescue. 

One thing I have noticed thats changed since October is how many more Steller sea lions appear to be here as opposed to California sea lions. There are also a lot more young/juvenile Stellers than the fall as well, super interesting and I wonder if Race Rocks will ever become a rookery?

Very young Steller resting on a California sea lion

Slightly older juvenile Steller

High Tides and Logs Galore

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Over the past few days I’ve noticed how many logs and driftwood seem to be out in the ocean this time of year. I’ve heard its significantly worse than previous years but thankfully not too much has been accumulating at the jetty (as I’ve been told it can). Until today. 

Yesterday afternoon there were a few small bits of driftwood/logs but nothing out of the ordinary, however the tides and wind must have been combined in all the right (or maybe wrong) ways over night. This morning when I woke up there was enough logs and debris around the jetty to open up my own lumber mill. I’ve never seen anything like it. For the better part of the day the waves have been crashing directly into the jetty making it impossible for any of it to be pushed out. In the afternoon I pulled a few of the reachable logs up to use for future firewood but it barely made a dent in whats there. Hopefully some of it gets pushed out tonight! 

The fur seal has not shown up again, so I guess he was just passing by, although I’m hopeful we’ll see him again one day! Ollie is still around and a few humpbacks are passing by each day. 

I haven’t seen the entangled sea lions today, but the Cali was around yesterday and the Steller the day before. 

Vessels:

  • Ecotourism: 2

Facility Work:

  • Topped up battery electrolytes 
  • Cleaned/organized inside main house 
  • Hauled in logs for firewood 

Last Census of 2024 & 2 Entangled Sea Lions

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Gorgeous day today!

Since it looks like it’ll be my only sunny day of my trip out here, I spent most of it outside. It was also the perfect day for an animal census.

While out and about today I unfortunately came across two entangled sea lions. Both have been reported to the right groups and I will be monitoring them over the next few days to see if they stick around.

Facility Work:

  • Topped up battery electrolytes
  • Repaired electric fence
  • Dug up weeds
  • Washed main house windows

Vessels:

  • Private: 1
  • Ecotourism: 3

Dec 30 Census:

Mammals:

  • California sea lions: 182
  • Steller sea lions: 339
  • Harbour seals: 24

Birds:

  • Bald eagles: 25
  • Canadian geese: 15
  • Gulls: 531
  • Turnstones: 47
  • Cormorants: 132
  • Oyster catchers: 6
  • Harlequin ducks: 8

Mixed Weather

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Ecological Notes:

  • Female Elephant Seal has left the ramp area…… back to sea for now it appears.
  • Sunday night high winds brought down the pier fencing, and the Sea lions sure took advantage of that fast!

  • Very young, tagged,  Elephant Seal visited the ramp area briefly. I saw him coming up fast, so I left the area. When I returned a couple hours later, there were sea lions on the ramp and the Elephant Seal was gone. This was at the same  time the adult female left.
  • A known California Sea Lion, that was freed of an entanglement last year is around the north side. Although the wound still looks rough, the last Ecoguardian (Kendra) assured me this is a good improvement.
  • In addition to the expected numbers, there have been a couple very large flocks of both Black Oyster Catchers, and Black Turnstones. Groups were seen briefly, before flying off.
  • Nearly double the normal number of Canada Geese here still. 

  • There are still many Humpback Whales viewable from the park, and Transient Orca have passed by nearly every other day.

Visitors:

  • Work crew still working on the windows on the Student and Science centre, as well as finishing the inside of the last window on the main house.
  • A small group of donors, and a couple college staff visited for a tour of the facility.

Facility Work:

  • Ongoing repairs and upgrades to the electrical fencing. Awaiting new connectors to replace a couple sections and add a new section.
  • Fuel transfers and an extra check on battery electrolyte levels.
  • Although not overly high, wind direction has blown some doors off, including the boat shed …. minor items, but they add up!

  • Taking advantage of the rain periods to clean the sidewalks (mostly goose poop), as well as cleaning the salt off the windows.

  • Cleaned the windows on the tower, inside and out.

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Still a few Ecotourism vessels
  • 2 Jet skis have visited the reserve a couple days in a row.

 Noted Infractions:

  • The first time the jet skis were scene, they were doing doughnuts and high speed passes in the main channel, disturbing birds and sea lions. My camera was charging, but i signalled to them with the blowhorn siren and waved them off.

  • The next day, they stayed out of the reserve, playing in one of the standing current waves a little further out. They did a wide sweep around the area on their way back (hopefully realizing they were being watched).

Weather Events:

  • Monday, November 11:
    • Sky: overcast with frequent sunny breaks
    • Wind: Morning Westerly winds to 25kts, veering to west at 5-10 kts in the afternoon
    • Sea: 1 meter swell, calming to slight chop by afternoon
    • Temperature Low 12oC, High 18oC
  • Tuesday, November 12:
    • Sky: Overcast, with sunny breaks
    • Wind: mixed N-NE 5-10 kts
    • Sea:  slight chop, but a swell wrapping around into the pier area by afternoon
    • Temperature Low 10oC, High 112oC
  • Wednesday, November 13:
    • Sky: Overcast with light rain later in the day
    • Wind: Variable direction Northerly winds, 5-10 kts, shifting to WSW later in the afternoon
    • Sea:  light chop, some tidal swell in the reserve
    • Temperature Low 9oC, High 13oC

 

 

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

 

Weather – Current:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

 

Weather – Past:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?